My reasons for wanting to do this are mainly just for my overall health. Lylah is 7 months old now, and although I only gained about 25 pounds with the pregnancy, I was already about 8-10 pounds over what I consider a healthy weight for me when I started. My diet during pregnancy and immediately after wasn't horrible, but I let myself eat whatever I wanted for the most part when pregnant and breastfeeding (hello ice cream!) Lately, I was having a hard time eating regularly, and eating enough, so I would end up shoving some goldfish in my mouth, or eating a cheesestick and calling it a meal. No bueno. I also had gotten lazy in cooking dinners and found myself wanting to get takeout multiple times a week (which we didn't do...but the desire was there). Also, I've been struggling with some PCOS symptoms lately that I didn't have before so I was looking for ways to treat them naturally, and I know diet can be a huge factor. I knew about the Whole30 but hadn't really looked much into it, mainly because I though it would be too difficult to "give up" all the things they recommend for a month.
But...after hearing about my SIL's experience and talking with my hubby, we decided to give it a try, but only for 20 days so we could still enjoy Thanksgiving. Yes, I realize we are going against the "rules" but, honestly I think it will be easier for me this way because I'll get to figure out what meals we like, how often I need to shop, and what works best for us before we commit to the full 30-40 days. So, with week 1 over here's my thoughts and a couple recipes that we like!
Non-Scale Victories
- One of the things they stress a lot in the book is non-scale victories. These can be different for each person but almost everyone that does the W30 even for a little while will have at least one. I don't have a lot so far since it's only been a week but I do have a couple that I've noticed!
1. Easier to fall asleep. I didn't even realize it was hard for me to fall asleep, until I noticed it was easier, if that makes sense. Once I get in bed I'm usually asleep in 5-10 minutes (unless I waste time looking at my instagram feed)
2. Easier to wake up. Now, this may be a result of Lylah sleeping through the night pretty consistently...but I think it's also a result of the W30. She sleeps through the night (usually about 9 hours) however the time change threw her off quite a bit for a couple days. Even so, it wasn't as hard for me to get up at the odd hours when she was adjusting. Also, the hubs had mentioned that he feels it's easier for him to get up as well.
3. Josh trying new foods, and liking them! Yes, I consider this a victory for me :) Everyone knows three year olds can be super picky eaters. Luckily Josh isn't too bad and will eat a good range of things. However, one of my goals during this process is to feed him less processed snacks (goldfish!) and more whole foods (fruits and vegetables). When we switched out our regular spaghtetti noodles (which were quinoa noodles so not terrible for you to begin with) to roasted spaghetti squash instead, he didn't even notice. I told him it was spaghetti and he shoveled it in without complaint. He also ate a full bowl of beef chili with tons of vegetables in it and loved it. Score.
4. I also feel like I am generally more patient, or at least am able to stop and pause before reacting in a way that would be harsh. I'll admit it's not all the time, but I have noticed that more often than not, I'm choosing patience when otherwise I would get easily frustrated.
5. My hunger is regulating to just meal times. I used to never be hungry in the morning when I woke up, which meant I would skip breakfast and then be starving by 10 am. The past week I have made breakfast every morning (except 1) and when I say breakfast I mean eggs with a vegetable, fruit, and usually sweet potatoes too. It holds me until lunch, and then lunch holds me until dinner and I don't usually need anything else after that. Occasionally I'll eat a snack in between, but that's only if I'm legitimately hungry.
Body Changes
- I honestly haven't noticed too much. You aren't supposed to weigh yourself during this process (hard!) so I'm not sure if I've lost any weight. I have noticed I feel less bloated now, although I felt more bloated the first few days (normal).
Cravings
- My cravings aren't gone, but I am very proud to say that I haven't cheated at all. Not even one little goldfish or lick of my finger. It's been tough, especially around days 4-5 when I really wanted chips and salsa :) But I've just kept telling myself that nothing will change if I give in, and that I'm in control of what I put in my body. If I do crave something, I'll drink some water and then try and distract myself doing something else. If I'm still "hungry" then I'll usually eat something with a high water and fiber content (like an apple or cucumbers).
Recipes
- I only chose a few recipes this time around, mainly because I didn't want to stress myself out with having to cook a new way AND a new recipe at the same time. I got most of them from the W30 book and others from Pinterest or YouTube videos of whole 30 success stories. Most of them turned out great and we will just keep cycling through these for the remaining 2 weeks. I'm lucky in that my hubby doesn't mind having the same things. I always made sure to make enough for leftovers the next day so that I didn't have to think about making something different for lunch. Huge time and money saver! Here's my favorite breakfast, dressing, and dinner recipes from this week!
BREAKFAST - Spinach and Sausage Egg Scramble
Ingredients:
- 1 T cooking fat (I like ghee (clarified butter) for this recipe)
- 1/4 C diced white onion
- 1 link Adelle's Chicken/Apple sausage, diced
- 1 handful fresh spinach, chopped
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Heat 1 T cooking fat in a skillet until completely melted
- Add onion, and cook until translucent, about 3-5 minutes
- Add sausage and cook until slightly brown
- Add spinach and garlic powder and cook until the spinach begins to wilt
- Add eggs and cook to your desired texture
- Add salt and pepper and enjoy!
I've made this almost every morning this past week, except sometimes I'll leave out the sausage or onion. But I always have the eggs and spinach. It's such an easy way to get protein and a vegetable first thing in the morning. I like adding the sausage especially if we are going to be out of the house because it really fills me up and helps me avoid snacking.
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| I buy this ghee at Trader Joes, but you can easily make your own too! |
SAUCE/DRESSING - Whole30 Mayo and Ranch Dressing
*Both recipes can be found in the Whole30 book*
Mayo Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 C light olive oil (don't use extra virgin for this)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
Directions:
- In a blender or food processor, mix 1/4 C olive oil, egg, mustard powder and salt until all combined.
- With the speed on low, add in the remaining olive oil until mixture emulsifies, and resembles mayo
- Stir in lemon juice
- Store in a jar or container in the fridge. Lasts for 1 week PAST when your eggs expire
That's it! So EASY!
Ranch Dressing Ingredients:
- 1 C mayo
- 1/4 C coconut cream (the easiest way to do this is to place a can of full fat coconut milk in the fridge overnight. The cream will rise to the top and you can just scrape it off!)
- 2 T red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1 T minced fresh parsley
Directions:
- Mix together the mayo, coconut cream and vinegar in a bowl (I found it easier to just do this in a food processor, but feel free to use a whisk and bowl if that's all you have)
- Add the spices and parsley and stir until combined.
- Store in a jar or container in the fridge for 3 days
DINNER - Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
*Idea from Brittaney Owen*
Ingredients (serves 2 with leftover chicken)
- 2 giant sweet potatoes, baked
- 6 chicken tenders (I used frozen ones from Costco)
- Franks Red Hot original hot sauce (to taste)
- Whole30 compliant ranch dressing
- 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 salt, 1/2 tsp pepper (mixed together)
Directions:
- Clean and vent sweet potatoes and bake at 400 for 1 hour
- When the potatoes have about 15 minutes to go, start your chicken
- Heat 1-2 T cooking fat in a skillet over medium-high heat
- Add in chicken (if your chicken isn't frozen like mine, the cooking time will be shorter)
- Season both sides of the chicken pieces with your spice mixture
- Cook chicken until golden brown and no pink inside (about 10 minutes for me)
- Cut chicken into bite size pieces and return to skillet
- Serve with a vegetable or salad
*I made sure there was leftover chicken and used it in a salad for my lunch the next day*
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| My kitchen "helpers" :) |
I know it seems daunting at first to make your own mayo and dressings, and I'll admit the first time I made them it took a bit of time to make sure I was doing it all right. But the next time I did these, it was super easy and took maybe a total of 15 minutes. And this ranch is SERIOUSLY good. My bottled ranch loving husband even said it was amazing. I'm excited to continue our Whole30 experiment and keep trying new things!
