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So here we are. I am officially one week into Whole30. I haven’t been perfect but I think I’ve done pretty darn well!! I am actually excited to meal plan, grocery shop and meal prep. Y’all. I have never been excited to meal plan, grocery shop or meal prep before. This is improvement!!! So now let’s get into my week…
Day One. So day one was actually supposed to be last Tuesday but my niece was visiting and we went to a children’s museum and I ate a candy bar for breakfast and had a shrimp salad for lunch. Total fail. So I decided to officially start the next day, Wednesday January 11. For those who don’t know during Whole30 you only eat clean, unprocessed food. That includes no dairy, no grains, no legumes and no sugar. At first, I totally balked at the idea but it’s only for 30 days and I can do anything for 30 days!
After my utter failure that was supposed to be day one I really got on the ball and meal planned my little heart out. I scoured the Whole30 website (it is a fantastic resource for recipes, shopping lists, and everything Whole30 related) and Pinterest to find something that I would actually eat, made my list and went grocery shopping. Keep in mind that I was also sick as a dog last week so my food preferences were a little weird, LOL!!
Shopping for Whole30 compliant food was really shocking at first. I honestly never realized just how many things contained sugar. I swear there is some form of sugar in just about all of my favorite foods. I messed up one night by marinating some chicken in worcestershire sauce. Apparently it’s full of sugar. Who knew?? Also all of those condiments which currently take up residence on the door of my fridge? Sugar. Every single one. Y’all I am the self proclaimed Condiment Queen. I think everything should be dipped or smothered in some type of condiment. This Whole30 thing sure opened my mind to just how much sugar I was consuming a day and it scared me a little!!
So here I am a week later. Living the condiment free life and surviving and you know what? It’s not really bad. I have learned to love and savor the taste of the actual food instead of covering it up in ranch or yum yum sauce. (Those are two of my faves!!!) Now this is not to say that when Whole30 is over I am going to give up my condiments forever, they will still be around but maybe not used nearly as much.
So let’s talk about what I’ve actually been eating. For breakfast every singe day (creature of habit??) I have eaten a banana, some blueberries and almond butter. It is a surprisingly filling breakfast and keeps my sweet tooth satisfied as well. I tend to eat my biggest meal at lunch and the past couple of days that has been a mix of red potatoes, bell peppers (green, red and yellow), onions, garlic, mushrooms, grilled chicken and cajun seasoning just thrown together in a big bowl and it. is. DELICIOUS. I sauté all the veggies together in some olive oil and grill the chicken on my George and then just throw the cajun seasoning on top and it is seriously mouthwatering.
For snacks I have been eating a lot of fresh fruit, pickles, boiled shrimp, lunch meat and banana pancakes. Dinner has been a variation of things from fajitas (no tortillas, lots of wholly guacamole), chicken and veggie soup, and italian sausage spaghetti/zoodles. Y’all. I am proud to say that I made my very own spaghetti sauce the other night!! All the store bought had sugar in it so I decided to be brave and make my own and it was pretty damn good. I just browned some Italian sausage with some onions and set it aside and then in the same pan sautéed some onions, garlic and mushroom until they were soft and then added some tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, garlic salt and Italian seasoning and BOOM that was it. I put my sauce over some zoodles and loved it!!
Now I have to admit that I was extremely wary of zoodles because I just wasn’t sure if I would like them or not but I found these bad boys at Target and of course, fell in love with them so I totally bought a Vegetti today so I can make my own!! They are so easy to make! I just threw mine in a small sauce pan with a little olive oil and cooked them for 3-4 minutes just until they started to get soft and they were done. And they don’t really have a taste, they just take on the taste of whatever you pair them with. I was really worried about that part, LOL!! But I really loved them and plan on making that meal many more times!!
That’s it for food. Now I guess on to how I have felt. In reading up on Whole3o before I started I read where a lot os people suffered from a “crash” at the end of the first week because their bodies were detoxing. They felt sleepy and had no energy and I am thankful to say I haven’t had that crash yet. I’m sure it’s coming since I had a few oopses but that’s ok, at least then I will know I’m doing it right!!
So overall week one of Whole3o was not bad at all. I am excited to continue and see where I am this time next week!!
Have you done Whole30??
Zoodles are surprisingly delicious, aren’t they? I don’t like squash or zucchini, so I was very hesitant to try them, but they were way better than I thought they would be.
I’ve been hearing good stuff about the Whole 30, I am very interested! What book do you use as a guide?
Just remember- once you get through that crash, you feel better than ever without the sugar!!!
I have tried Whole 30 and stop after 3 days, I just can’t do it. I love zoodles. I make them all the time with my spiralizer, I use that for everything.
Keep it up!! THIS is the way eating is MEANT to be by nature! It is not TOO hard once you go for about two weeks. It takes about that long to develop new habits, after that it usually is smooth sailing. Yes temptation is always there but soon you will find when you DO “cheat” you will really feel crappy and easily get back on track! Good work!
This is my first time hearing about the whole 30. I may have to try this out myself. I have been working on trying to do better with my eating and become my healthy.
Whole30 seems like a great plan for a healthy lifestyle. I would love to do this with my husband.
I love the Whole 30!! I need to try giving this ago, I know i have a lot of bad food habits I need to break.
I have never heard of this and I’m very interested in trying to like this. I don’t think I give up completely on sugar or some of the condiments or use but I could definitely cut down on them.
Isn’t it amazing how the taste of real food comes through. It takes some people awhile to get use to not having all the sugar added or salt. Enjoy your adventure into enjoying real food.
I’ve been trying to decide if the Whole 30 is something for me. My goal is to eat better and live healthier. I’m going to be watching for more updates on the Whole 30.
It really is amazing how much sugar is in EVERYTHING! Sugar is totally my downfall. That stir-fry you made really looks good. I’m just not sure I could eat it without sauce (which would have sugar!). Good luck with this! I know I need to start eating cleaner.
I’ve been hearing a lot about the Whole30 diet. I honestly don’t think I can do it. Like you, I LOVE MY CONDIMENTS! I was reading another post, they shared a recipe for making mayonnaise for this. The recipe was really simple.
Whole 30 seems so daunting! I know a lot of friends who really like it though and do it at least once every six months to “Reset” their system.
I will have to share this post with my son and let him know about Whole30. He’s gained weight over the course of 3 months and he really wants to get back in shape. I know it will be difficult for him to give up on his chips and dips and of course, his beloved donuts. But if others can do it, I know he can too!
It sounds like you tried your hardest and did the best you could. It is never easy to change your eating habits.
I’ve never heard of this plan before. All that food looks really good and healthy. Maybe I’ll try this.
Oh my, I love zucchini, so zoodles are one of my favorite things to eat. I’ll be sharing this with my husband as he has been changing his eating habits and is always looking for something new to eat.
Whole30 seems like a great guide to living a healthy lifestyle. The new year has started great for me to a healthy living. Looking forward to keeping it up.
I usually don’t think too much about how much sugar is in something but where I can help it I try not too.
I know we get sucked into things like shop bought smoothies but they have so much sugar! So what I usually do where I can help it is make my own or just go for plain old water!
Good luck with your journey, I think the fact that you can recognise mistakes so earlier on I.e Worcester sauce just shows how much progress your making already.