#YDMGoesNatural: Whole30 Update

Well, we’re about halfway done with Whole 30 and despite some very minor setbacks, I’m doing great! I wanted to give an update on what I’m eating, how I’m making it work, and my thoughts so far.

SETBACKS

At Chuy’s for lunch one Sunday, I’d had a coldbrew coffee for breakfast (bad idea, already starving) and we waited for our food for three hours. Sue me, I ate some chips out of sheer starvation. When I say starvation, I mean the kind of starvation where you see your dead relatives floating around you beckoning you into that foggy meadow over there. Then there was that time a LITERAL teaspoon of cheese was mixed in with the breakfast taco guts. And that time I put in two of those tiny plastic half and half cups in my coffee and I couldn’t pour it out because the person who’d just made it was standing right next to me in the break room. And I’m sure the two times I’ve been out to eat haven’t been 100% kosher, either. But, hey! I’m halfway done and feel really good about myself despite The Chip Incident.

GETTING CREATIVE

During the first week, it was easy. Chicken, vegetables, fruit, repeat. No big deal. But when you eat chicken that way that often, it can get old. So you think of things you’re hungry for and figure out a Whole 30 way to make it! Ergo, my homemade mayonnaise, hollandaise and tarter sauce! There’s millions (probably) of recipes for Whole 30/Paleo sauces out there; ketchup, ranch, barbecue, steak sauce. My perception with Whole 30 was that if it’s rich and creamy, it’s out. But that’s not true! Like I said, you’re eating like a caveman. If cavemen had almond milk. It’s impressive how many recipes come up just googling “Whole 30 recipes.” I mean, things you thought were off limits have suddenly been transformed into something natural and delicious. The hardest thing to do during these 30 days is plan a meal. If you can do that, you’re golden.

Here are some of the things I’ve made so far:

-Chicken and broccoli stir fry
-Creamy foil packed potatoes and onions (I made this up! Want the recipe?)
-Turmeric and dill pan fried tilapia
-Tarter sauce (homemade mayo + dill + pickles)
Hollandaise
Mayonnaise
-Mixed greens and vegetable salad with balsamic vinaigrette
-Grilled chicken and vegetables
-Mashed potatoes
-Cherry lime-aid

WHAT I CAN’T WAIT TO EAT AGAIN

Breakfast has been the hardest for me. I keep oatmeal in my drawer at work and normally eat that, but oats are off limits with Whole 30. BUMMER. I’m not a huge fan of eggs either, fried or scrambled, I mean, I’ll eat them, but they’re not my #1. I usually just eat fruit. So, oatmeal. Cereal. WHISKEY, for God’s sake. Cake. Chocolate. Chips and salsa. CHEESE, DAMMIT. Sugar! (It’s literally in EVERYTHING.) Whole grain mustard. I really don’t miss a lot of things. I haven’t really been that much of a bread eater this last year, and I’ve severely cut down how much sugar I intake. Whiskey, though? I miss it. Not like in a dependent sort of way, like, I’m at a concert and want a drink kind of way. Before I started Whole 30, I ate and drank literally whatever I wanted. These 30 days are forcing me to be more intentional and thoughtful about what I eat and the things I buy.

HOW I EXPECT TO LIVE WHEN THIS IS OVER

I expect to live lighter. By that I mean, keep being intentional and thoughtful about the food I eat. I’ll still eat whatever I want, just less often than I did before. I’ll eat better fats, still cut out a lot of sugar, plan meals more, cook at home more often than not and generally be mindful. Can I make something at home instead of buying it? (ie: mayonnaise!) Probably, yes. Can I eat a salad for lunch and then cake for dinner? Sure. You’re an adult. Should I walk the dogs for an hour or keep binging on the Olympics? Probably binge on the Olympics, but w/e.

THE NEXT FIFTEEN DAYS

They’re probably going to hurt. But now that I’m on the downhill slope, maybe it’ll make it that much easier to resist temptation. Or that much harder. While at my parents’ last weekend I had a dream I ate a bag of chips from Chili’s. Like, I’d hidden them in a closet and ate them in my sleep. It was the saddest dream I’ve ever had. AND SHOULD TELL YOU HOW MUCH MY BODY MISSES CARBS. My brain is literally talking to me and asking me what is happening because we never go this long without carbs. Someone wrote out a timeline of how most people feel during the thirty days and it’s hilarious. I should’ve read it before I started this whole thing and maybe I’d have been more prepared. Last week when I was exhausted for no reason, right on schedule, I realized my body was finally starting to learn to live and run on good things. Not carbs. Way to go, body! You’re pretty cool.

 

Now the question is, who wants to take me to dinner September 1 when this is all over? #whiskey #missyou

 

xx

4 thoughts on “#YDMGoesNatural: Whole30 Update

  1. my check in has been that i have been doing my best to snack more on veggies and fruits and not have too many sugary things. i did eat a mini milky way earlier last week, though. and right now i’m drinking an iced coffee. *non fat* diary but it’s also got mocha. -___- it’ll be my last one this week i swear!

    i’ll make myself work out to make up for it, haha. i kinda skipped on that this morning, but usually i’m still wired enough after work to do it. anyway, i’m doing my best not to beat myself up about it either, and just do my best. proud of you and your progress! i actually think i might start a weekly/biweekly health check-in on my blog. i figure the more open about it i am on my blog the more committed i’ll be because people will be *watching*. we’ll seee…..

    i need to start looking up whole30 recipes for my meal preps. i re-pinned your ketchup recipe from pinterest recently. it looked real good in the pictures, haha.

    also your first celebratory dinner in september needs to not just include whiskey but an egg-white whiskey sour. i mean really, that’s all i need these days.

    the golden days | http://herestothegoldendays.blogspot.com

    1. EGG WHITE WHISKEY SOUR SAY WHAT?! That sounds so good.

      Good for you!! That’s so great! Let me know if you make that ketchup, I haven’t tried it yet. And YES. Totally start something on your blog about it!

      I also find that because Whole 30 isn’t necessarily a diet, it’s easier to me. It’s not like, “Hey, drink this cabbage soup for 9 days and sh*t yourself skinny.” It’s more like, “Hey, cut out that crap you’ve been eating and see what happens.” I see why people adopt this model for the majority of their life. It’s really rewarding and seriously makes you scrutinize what you put in your body.

      Do you normally work out in the mornings? Don’t you get up, like, insanely early? I’ve really been wanting to get up early and workout before work. There just never seems to be enough time after work! I’ve just found a bunch of yoga studios by me that have 6 AM classes I want to try. Maybe that’ll motivate me.

      1. GIRL. GIRL. GIRL. GIRL. You need to get on this train. Next time you’re somewhere with a whiskey sour, ask ’em to add egg white. It’s great. I would imagine you do, but hopefully you’ve got the good places there, as well, that can hook a sister up.

        I really like that idea with Whole30. I actually had a lot of success during college with weight watchers, but I recently gained some of that weight back and fell into some bad habits with my job and schedule, so I’m retraining myself.

        Haha, I did do a morning shift for a month when we were short-handed, but I’m back to my evening shift again, so I wake up at around 10 a.m. and then I eat a breakfast and work out then before I shower and get ready for my day. I ended up not working out when I said I would, but I also ended up getting really exhausted after work, so I figured it was safer to sit it out that night, haha.

        I plan on doing an intro post this week – probably Saturday.

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