Jumping on the Whole30 Bus!
I’ve been intrigued by this whole Paleo thing since Kelly posted her story months ago. Yes, I know we are a site that has Paleo MENUS, but that doesn’t mean I cook all of them! ;) Kelly shared with us the need for the Paleo menu (and so did many, many readers), so we decided to meet that need, but I had no intentions of jumping into the lifestyle.
Over the last couple of months as I have reviewed and edited Paleo menus I find myself saying, “I would eat that. I would eat THAT. I would eat THAT TOO!” The menus look absolutely delicious to me. And then I find myself telling Kelly that I think I could do Paleo, as I load my plate with pasta and bread. Sigh. If I CAN do it, why DON’T I do it? Good question.
Fast forward to last week when a blogging friend of mine revealed she would be doing a Whole30 to experiment to see if it improved her health. This on the heals of a visit from Kelly and at a time when I am just really fed up with our eating habits. So I took a leap and said I would join this friend (and several others) in a Whole30 journey.
So here I am, on the eve of the journey. Meal planning, freezer cooking and preparing for the 30 days ahead. I am excited because my husband has also agreed to join me on this journey, I have blogging friends to do it along side, and now I have YOU! You accountability keepers, Paleo eaters, freezer cookers – I am sharing this journey with you because I thought that many of you who have gone before can help encourage me. And perhaps some of you have even entertained the idea of a Whole30 yourself. Would you like to join us on our journey? The more the merrier!
My plan is to have a weekly meal plan, report to you regularly through Facebook and to encourage any of you that are on this journey as well. Perhaps together we can lead healthier lives. What do you think?
(Please note: I am NOT a Whole30 expert. If you have specific questions about Whole30 you will need to visit Whole9life.com or get the “It Starts with Food” book/ebook.)
Motivation/Goals
Someone in my accountability group asked the us our goals, and I was left with mostly a blank slate. I know it is hard to accomplish something if you don’t have goals, so I am more motivated by the reasons behind the change and and less by actual goals ahead. Here are my motivations:
- To experiment to see if I feel better not eating sugars/carbs.
- To see if this helps curb some of my drastic symptoms during “that time of the month” (and for once I am NOT talking about freezer cooking). ;)
- To prove to myself that I CAN do it.
- To lose some of the bloat I currently carry with me.
Meal Plan
Okay, so what you really want to know is my plan, right? That is the HARD part I think (well at least until I get to day 2/3 and have that massive carb withdrawl headache). If I don’t have a plan I am a sunk ship.
So here is my plan for this coming week:
- I am going to prepare the Slow Cooker Paleo Mini menu that just came out because that will give me 10 dinners out of the starting block that I don’t have to worry about preparing through the week.
- I am going to prepare some other meals (such as Paleo “Sausage” and some simple marinades) to have in the hopper as well.
- I ordered heavy from my CSA box this week in preparation for the extra fruits/vegetables I will be consuming.
- Making a meal plan for the kids that corresponds but is not the same as my husband’s and my meal plan.
- Putting the grandparents on childcare standby in case mom and dad get “ugly” over the weekend.
Our meal plan for the first few days looks like this (I’ll give next week’s schedule to you on Sunday. I want to try it out for a few days first to see what we are liking and not liking):
- Thursday – Bfast: Eggs, Avocados, Bacon; Lunch-Salad with Grilled Chicken, Nuts, Veggies; Dinner – Stir Fry Veggies and Beef.
- Friday – Bfast: Egg Muffins, Bacon; Lunch-Salad with Grilled Chicken, Nuts, Veggies; Dinner – Beef Fajita Bowls, Guacamole.
- Saturday – Breakfast – Eggs, Sweet Potato Hash; Lunch – Salad with leftover Fajita Beef, Veggies; Dinner – Grilled Ranch Burgers (no cheddar), Guacamole, Roasted Brussel Sprouts.
- Sunday – Breakfast – Omelets, Breakfast Sausage; Lunch – Stir Fry; Dinner – Buffalo Ranch Meatballs, Carrots, Celery.
I want to try this. I have to let this digest in my brain for a week before I can jump in. AND i just bought a vitamix with which I am obsessed, so i have to combine the two. Should be easy? but I have to go through a thought process first. Good Luck!
I was the exact same way. I knew for a week that I was going to do it which allowed me time to make plans and mentally prepare. Feel free to jump in whenever.
I felt 1000 times better even a couple days in. I did mine starting 1/1 and haven’t gone back. I’ve been cooking more and love experimenting with things I used to not like (shrimp, liver, steak) There is so much great food inspiration out there – I have tons of pins for great recipes (tried and untried) so feel free to browse! http://pinterest.com/yecatsml/
Oh thanks for the pinterest board, I will definitely check that out!
You can do it, and because you’re doing it now, I’m going back on, too! Press on towards the goal line, lady!!
SWEET!
I did a Whole 30 last November which I kept at and then slowly switched to Paleo. I am a big fan as I feel so much better plus just purchased jeans in my pre-wedding size! I wrote about my results here: http://missionalmamassoul.blogspot.com/2012/12/my-first-whole30-results-journey.html although now I could add more to that post! Here is to how great you will soon feel!
Amy
It just so happens that my husband came home a few weeks ago proclaiming he wanted to go Paleo. I have been following you and saw the challenge and decided we’d give it a try with you. Can you tell me more about the headaches and what, if anything, can be done? We’ve been following the diet pretty closely for over a week and my head is killing me. On the positive side my digestive issues are greatly improved.
I don’t know much about the headaches – I haven’t started yet. You might try reading their site or searching to see what they say about headaches. I’m not sure there is much that can be done during the “withdrawl” stage. There might be more in the book too. I will probably know more in a few days when I have one but that won’t help you. ;(
What beautiful timing you have. We are starting our Whole 30 on Saturday. My 17 year old son’s blood work came back and he already has a high cholesterol and liver output. I have a menu for one week made out, but after that, I was a little scared of what I could come up with. So I will follow you to help me figure out what other meals I can have. I also suggest getting “Well Fed” by Melissa Joulwan. Every recipe in it is Whole 30 approved but one.
Glad to have you along for our journey. Doing it in groups is always more fun. ;)
So excited for you Tricia!!! You’ll love it! Well, after a few days :) I’ve been cheating a little too much lately so I’m hoping your journey will push me into being strict again. Good luck!!!
Beware the placebo effect.
So excited to hear this. You will be amazed!!
I made it to Day 20 before I caved and ate a so so sugar cookie leftover from a baby shower that I hosted:( I felt fantastic and I’m still kicking myself when I was so close to the end. I won’t lie….the first week was rough and then I felt wonderful! I want to do it again….maybe I’ll join you all?
you can do it – join us!
Welcome to the Whole30! We have a fabulous (free) forum for questions, motivation, and inspiration (http://forum.whole9life.com), and a very active Facebook page, so feel free to drop any questions our way. Keep us posted as to how your Whole30 is going!
Best,
Melissa Hartwig
Whole9
Thanks Melissa, we will be sure to direct our readers to you (and ourselves of course)! :)
I highly recommend The Whole 30 Daily emails as a motivational tool. They are fun, informational, and inexpensive. At the end of each, there’s a button you push if you succeeded that day, and a button for “Restart” if you didn’t. I REALLY didn’t want to push that restart button.
Just finished a Whole30 last week. I plan on continuing with a Paleo diet now. I have no desire to go back to eating junk. I had already been on a gluten-free diet for almost a year and gradually transitioning to a healthier diet. But I had eaten way too much sugar over the holidays, so it feels good to only eat “real” food.
I hope you enjoy your Whole30 adventure as much as I have!
Thanks Liz, I hope I do as well. So glad to hear that you are feeling better than ever.
good luck! I’ve done two and felt awesome after both. getting ready to do #3 in a few weeks. :)
were you able to find sugar-and-nitrate-free bacon? I hear US Wellness Meats has an awesome, whole30 approved one. :)
Yes, Kelly said she gets hers from US Wellness. I had some that i ordered for my husband for Christmas from Pig of the Month Club (http://pigofthemonth.com/shop/bacon/smoked%20black%20pepper%20crusted%20bacon) so we are started by using that. I haven’t found any locally so I might have to order myself.
I am on week 8, did a whole30 and have just kept going…ur gonna get sick of eggs every am, just looking at ur menu, I’ve made some pumpkin “pancakes” and done things like pork chops, sweet potatoes and sautéed apples just to mix things up…just a suggestion…I even went backpacking, did the food prep for all 5 of us, and stuck to the program, it rocks!! Good luck!
HI! I am only on day 3 of this program-LOVE IT. Would love to join ya’ll for accountability. Maybe a FB private group of sorts? My facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/demibean and once you add me as a friend (and everyone else) we can create a pvt group. Would be nice to share recipes and what not! I am a fitness athlete and I just felt like I needed a little reboot on my insides, and as someone who is way into health-I just had to try this. I have a lot of friends who swear by it. Note to everyone-you may experience a bit of a “carb-flu.” (in regards to the above poster who started to get headaches). This only lasts for maybe the first week at most, and some dont’ get it at all. It’s just headaches, bodyaches, and general fog from dropping your carb intake. Once you pass that “valley” your energy levels will skyrocket. I will be checking in here for sure!
Demi,
I like your suggestion BUT Whole30 has communities and forums (http://forum.whole9life.com/) so i would like to not take away from what they have already established in their community. I would love for us to talk publicly on our FB page and encourage each other though. And by all means, feel free to start a private group of your own if you would like. :)