Whole30 Diet | Round 3 | Week 1

Hi Friends! I cannot believe that it’s been a full year since my first Whole30 diet post! Since then, it’s completely taken off on my blog and Pinterest and it’s now how so many of you have found me. Dan and I were both really ready for another reset after a few weeks (read: months) of really unhealthy eating. We contemplated quite a few plans, but kept coming back to the Whole30 diet. We didn’t feel that anything else would be as challenging and rewarding as eating only clean and whole foods for another 30 days. We feel really confident in the plan and have always seen wonderful results, so here we go again. Little did you know that YOU guys who read this are a huge part of my Whole30 journey. Documenting it all here holds me so accountable and also makes it much for fun for me, which is why I’m actually excited to go for it again.

Whole30 Diet – Round 3

My WHY this time revolves around how I want to feel. I want to feel leaner and get my muscle tone back. I want to have more energy and not have to get my afternoon coffee fix. I want to be ready for the Spring and Summer and not give a second thought to wearing white jeans, denim shorts or a two piece swimsuit. I want to feel healthy and happy and not one ounce insecure or exhausted.

Before I move on, I will tell you that we attempted the Whole30 diet in September, and I fell off of the wagon after about 20 days, because it just got too overwhelming. I was exclusively nursing Lawson at the time and the dramatic change in my diet caused my supply to drop overnight. I worked so so hard to get it back, but it never quite came back and her weight dropped off of her curve, so at around 6 months we had to switch to formula. It came down to me not being prepared and skipping meals so as not to cheat. I was also not balancing my fat to carbs to protein ratios enough to produce healthy milk. All of this to say, I was real mad for a long time and it took me a while to get over, but I should have been more prepared. If you are attempting this as a nursing mama, I will warn you that it was very very hard for me to balance it all. I felt it was much easier pregnant and hopefully this go-round is the easiest of all.

Overall, this Whole30 diet post will be short and sweet, because nothing could ever top THIS RECAP that I did last year. Today I’m giving you some weekly recipe inspiration and some high level tips. I have the ingredients on hand to make all of these recipes this week:

Crockpot Pulled Pork Chili by PaleOMG | Great as a chili, but also good to serve over a baked sweet potato.

Banana Pepper Shredded Beef | Serve this over cauliflower rice or roasted butternut squash

Chicken Tinga by thirtyhandmadedays | Another great option to serve over cauli rice or a baked sweet potato

Italian Lemon Chicken by MoneySavingMom | Serve over smashed potatoes or cauli rice

Recipes that I always keep ingredients on hand for:

Dairy Free Baked Potato Soup by GalOnAMission | I’ve made this soup so many times now that I have nearly changed the entire recipe, so I’ll blog my version soon…but the original is still pretty dang good, too!

Egg Roll in a Bowl by MostyleHomemadeMom | A family fav!

 

Things to buy on Amazon:

Tessamae’s Dressings |If you buy ONE thing, buy this. It’s SOOOO good and the perfect drizzle on nearly anything!

Nutpods | Try the assorted pack first, then decide on a favorite. I’ve also had luck finding these at Homegoods.

Whole30 Compliant RX Bar Value Pack | Only Whole30 approved flavors + it saves you about $1 per bar!

Bare Apple Crisps Snack Pack | These are a great afternoon snacking option and buying them in bulk saves you quite a bit per bag.

Whole30 Diet – What to expect:

The first few days (7-10 to be exact) never get easier to me. My body withdraws hard and I often have headaches, am nauseated and I’m hella moody.

Don’t weigh yourself! You can step on the scale first thing on Day 1, but after that hide that little devil. By not focusing on a number I’m able to really tune in to my body and asses how I FEEL. Understanding how food makes me feel is a huge part of the reset for me. I did take some “before” photos this morning so that I can document week by week the changes I am seeing.

Cheating once opens the flood gates. A little pinch here, a small bite there, etc…all resets your mind and your body’s levels to crave it again and again…then you’re back at square one. I found that really believing in the process and plan and going in to it knowing that it’s going to be hard, but that I could do it was a really big part of the overall 30 days for me. It was a mental challenge that I needed to better understand why I was craving certain foods and how I could break that unhealthy relationship.

I find the periods between meals very blah. Since you aren’t allowed to have gum, mints, etc. I very often feel like I have dry mouth and/or bad breath. To avoid this, I usually start by brushing my teeth again and then having lemon water or a La Croix.

Expect more dishes. Ugh, one of my least favorite parts. Normally we eat on dinnerware every night, but during Whole30 I buy paper plates and bowls and that way we at least cut some of the dishes, since we are almost always scrubbing pots and pans at the end of the night. It may seem silly, but the amount of dishes was completely overwhelming at first.

Don’t let the grocery bills scare you! Yes, $200+ dollars per week is totally normal to spend at the grocery store each week while on Whole30. You have to consider that you aren’t eating out anymore, going to Starbucks or grabbing junk on the go. For us, we save anywhere from $600-800 per month when we stick to Whole30.

Do your own research. Know which foods are compliant, know what to avoid and know tips and tricks to get you through. Don’t rely on anyone but yourself for information. I have the Whole30 homepage book marked on my computer and phone because it really is the one stop shop for answering any and all questions!

Overall, just a note to say that you CAN indeed do this for 30 days. If you’d have asked me 2 years ago if I would ever do a Whole30 diet, I would have laughed in your face. Now, I am so proud to know that I can control my relationship with food, reset my body when I feel it needs it and spend 30 days really working on the health of not only myself, but of my family. 

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