Post Whole 30! With lots of photos!

So I completed my first Whole 30! And even though I did eat compliant the entire time, I know there are a few things I need to work on to do it over again. I had a hard time not snacking between meals, so I think increasing my water intake may help with that. I also need to not eat nuts, or nut butters, too often since eating too many omega 6's can cause inflammation. Plus, turning to them as a snack is just feeding a sweets craving, something I was trying to kick in the first place! One of the main reasons I wanted to do the Whole 30 was to find out what is causing me to be bloated. So even though I had cut out all those gut disrupting foods for 30 days, I still have bloating. I think if I try increasing my water and not snacking, it may help. Otherwise I may need to eliminate another food to figure it out. So I am still working on that.

Some of the changes I have noticed are more energy throughout the day. No more sinus drainage or morning sinus headaches!!!! And I really noticed the cravings start to go away by the 3rd week. That was awesome! It just proved to me that I CAN eat food without added sugar and enjoy it! And even though I have always loved cheese, I am surprised by how much I did not miss it!

Today was day 31, so the only thing I introduced was sugar. I even had some dark chocolate today. And while it tasted good, I know that I need to remain disciplined with my sugar intake, or I could easily slip right back into the habit of eating it constantly.

Below are some photos of some of my meals from the last 30 days. Many of them I posted on my Instagram page. Please come follow me there!

How about you? Have you completed a Whole 30? Or are you thinking of doing one? Let me say this, if I can do this, so can you!! I am not by nature a very disciplined person, so I really did not know if I would get through this. And even though there were ups and down days the first few weeks, I pushed through!! And now I will never look at food the same way again. I want to prepare very healthy meals for myself and I try to balance protein, fats, and veggies with each meal as best I can. It truly does change the way you eat and the way you think about food. I hope you decide to try this life-changing adventure sometime!

Day 1 on the Whole 30 challenge

So besides the extra prep time, eating this way is really not "hard". We have already been a pretty healthy eating family, but I know I need to make some better changes. So this program is very helpful for me as it is all laid out for me with the do's and don'ts and meal plans and recipes. I was already gluten free, so that part is already cut out. I have no problem not eating legumes as I already know how bloated those make me. I do like peanuts and peanut butter, so this is the first time I am cutting that out. Corn is not hard either as popcorn has bothered my gut for a long time anyway. Dairy I know I will miss at some point as I do like cheese, but I can handle it. I may miss having a glass of wine a couple weeks in, but that's okay. :) I will see how long it takes for me to crave some dark chocolate, or just sugar in general, my biggest weakness.

Below are my meals for day one. Lots of fresh veggies today. Some days will have more cooked than fresh, but at least I am definitely getting more helpings of veggies this way.

Breakfast was two fried eggs, sweet potato hash browns, and avocado.

Lunch was tuna with avocado mayo, romaine lettuce, sliced hardboiled egg, and tomatoes and cucumbers.

Dinner was grass fed burger with avocado mayo, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, and radishes.

How about you? Are you doing the Whole 30 challenge? I would love to hear what day you are on and how you are doing!

Join me on my Whole 30 challenge!!

Brushing the dust off my blog as I begin a journey with the Whole 30 challenge this month! If you have not heard of Whole 30 before you can begin by visiting their website HERE. I have spent the last couple weeks in preparation for this journey. The main things I cannot eat while on this journey are: grains, legumes (including peanuts), soy, sugar (not even natural ones like stevia), dairy, sulfites (meaning no alcohol), MSG, carrageenan. HERE are the program rules. 

I know this may sound "strict" but its only for 30 days as a way to reset the brain and heal the body. After day 30 I will slowly reintroduce some of these foods back in and see how my body responds. Basically a form of an elimination diet. I am actually looking forward to it very much! I have been wanting to do some kind of elimination diet, but I was not sure how to start. So having a whole program set up that tells me what not to eat and what to eat makes it much easier. The book It Starts With Food is on its way to me now so that I can read it and get the full grasp on this program. I did not buy their cookbook though as you can find many bloggers who have already laid out meal plans and recipes for you on their sites for free. The Nourishing Home has been one of my favorites so far.

So as part of my preparation the last couple of weeks, I have been reading labels on many products at the stores when I get groceries in order to find which foods are compliant with the program. I've also been collecting and printing out recipes and meal plans and filing them into their own notebook. I have been cooking meals that are compliant as well, at least for me personally. My family will still eat other things that I will not be eating. Pictured above are a couple of the meals I did. I made sweet potato hash browns one morning, those were amazing!

I am planning to post about my journey here and there along the way. To share recipes and tips, to see how I am feeling and how my body is responding. I know for me the biggest craving I need to overcome will be sugar. Especially dark chocolate. (Oh dark chocolate, I will miss you!) So I plan to use my wonderful essential oils along the way to help keep me on track mentally and physically too.

Would you like to join me on this journey? I would love to hear from you!