We did it! 10 days! If you’re also on the Whole30 journey, kudos to you and thanks for reading about my experience so far.
My biggest piece of advice is this, find a support system. Doing this with Ben has been really exciting. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s fun to do it together. I joined Lauren McBride’s Whole30 Facebook Group, too, and it has been such an awesome resource. I also reached out to one of my sister’s dearest childhood friends who is a Whole30 pro. She shared tons of recipes with me and was a great support, too. If she can do it with her husband as they parent two toddlers, I figured Ben and I should be good to go. If you’re interested in seeing some of the recipes we cooked this week, you can follow my Pinterest Board. I also purchased the RealPlans App, and feel like it was completely worth the $30. I’m a visual person, so it also helped me organize for the week.
Planning is key to success on Whole30. I’m used to meal-planning every week, but Whole30 planning is way more intense. We also used to do take-out most Fridays and dine out on Saturdays. During our first 10 days, we ate at home for every meal. That being said, I am really enjoying all the extra time I’m spending in the kitchen. I even decided to spend Wednesday night’s doing more meal prep rather than taking an additional spin class. This is a change that I plan to maintain after our 30 days.
My Week 1 Schedule:
-Upon waking-up (around 5:15am): 16 ounces of water with lemon
-8am: Breakfast (Two Breakfast Meatballs, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Watermelon,Cucumber, and Mint)
-11am: Leftover breakfast/snack
-12:45: Lunch (Cold grilled salmon, greens, 1/2 avocado, and tomato with basil)
-3:00: Coffee with Nutpods **some days I found that I was craving water instead of my usual coffee**
-5:00: Pre-Workout Snack…which I know you aren’t supposed to snack, but I wouldn’t make it through my evening workout without something in my system (Handful of almonds or an RxBar)
-7:30 Dinner (See pictures and Pinterest Board for recipes)
Days 1&2- We started on a Wednesday, and I would do it over again this way. It gave us just three work-days to figure out the way that Whole30 would impact our meal-planning. The biggest change I made was to my morning schedule. I start my morning with a glass of water with lemon essential oil. I usually eat several eggs, gluten-free toast, and an avocado within about 30 minutes of waking up. Don’t be fooled- I put hot sauce on my eggs and add a generous serving of Daiya dairy-free cheese. I felt really lethargic, but was never hungry or physically sick. I typically drink a lot of water, and I think this is what helped)
Day 3- It was a Friday, and I had big intentions to make it to a 5:30pm pilates class. Around 2:00, I got majorly bloated and felt nauseas. I ended up coming home and laying down for awhile after work.
Day 4- This was our first big challenge- attending my niece’s 2nd birthday party. It was really hard for me to miss the appetizer table. For the first time in my life, I realized that I must easily consume 600 calories of fuel-less junk at the apps table. This is my huge downfall. Biggest lesson learned- I don’t need to snack on any of that. It was also hard to forgo the wine and cake. We brought RxBars to have as a snack, and I really enjoyed my LaCroix. (Seriously…it was really refreshing).
Days 5-10- We finally feel like we’re into a routine! That being said, I find myself getting a bit frustrated. Day 6 brought huge GI upsets. This can be common, and I’ve been upping my digestive enzymes and started taking a probiotic. By Day 8, I was feeling much, much better. I keep asking myself, “When is my stomach going to finally great? When is my bloat going to go away?” The reality is, this is a marathon and not a sprint. In just 10 days, I’ve realized some simple changes I can make to feel healthier. I just ordered a new probiotic, Life9.
Side note, I cannot believe I’ve managed to go 10 days without a sip of wine. It really hasn’t been too unbearable- shocking.
