Whole 30

A couple months ago I was feeling exhausted.  Super tired - much of the time.  I continued to blame the tiredness on random night wakings from one (or two) of the kids, it being the middle of winter, etc.  

But then one day, one moment, really, I felt worn down to the core of my body. I had just parked at Target and needed to unload the three kids from the car and get us on our merry way to get a few necessities.  Except, I didn't feel like I could do it. For a moment before starting the unbuckling of the carseats, just the thought of this process made me question whether or not I might drop Otto or Wren when trying to lift them out of their seat or while trying to lift them into the shopping cart.  I felt so weak and worn down.  

I kind of felt like when I've heard severely overweight people talk about their weight gain.  Slowly the pounds came on.  They may have noticed it initially, but then it just became their "way of life," putting on a couple pounds here and a couple pounds there.  Until suddenly they were unable to walk around the block or up a flight of stairs.

I feared that if I didn't try to change something about my lifestyle, too much time would pass and I would be living in a tired haze during this fun part of my life. I am young - not even 35 years old - I didn't want to feel exhausted.  I need to outlast my kid's energy each day.  

But I wasn't sure what the best fix was for more energy.  I'd gradually gone from a cup or two of coffee each day to about 3-4 cups. I have no interest in Red Bull or 5-Hour Energy.  I've been struggling to fit in quality, frequent work outs between the demands of work and home.  

But food?  Food is something I have to eat every day and it's also one of the biggest things I've been hit or miss on recently.  Lots of unhealthy, processed junk here and there (and everywhere at times).  I started to think I needed to be much more careful in my food choices.

I'd heard a bit about the book It Starts With Food and the Whole 30 "nutritional reset."  So I read up a little and loved what I was finding.  The biggest benefit I read over and over from folks who had done a Whole 30 was increased energy.  This was exactly what I needed.  The main thing I was looking for was sustained energy.  Not feeling like I wanted to flop the moment the kids were in bed at night.  

So the last week of March Joe and I talked about, and committed to, doing a Whole 30 together.  The last weekend of March I went on a veggie and lean protein shopping binge.  April 1st we started our Whole 30.  Now we're 18 days into the 30 day program.  

So what is the program?  Basically a commitment that health starts with food.  And some foods have a positive affect on your health and some have a negative affect on your health.  For 30 days we agreed to only eat Whole 30 "approved" foods.  This means basically only whole foods. And also refraining from eating a lot of foods we generally eat (and love).  

Off the Whole 30:

- No Dairy.  No milk, butter, cheese, you get the picture.  Eggs are allowed.

- No Grains.  Of any kind.  No wheat, rice, quinoa, oats, corn, etc.  

- No Legumes (we love our beans)

- No Alcohol (we really love our beer)

- No Added Sugar.  

On the Whole 30:
- Lots of Veggies
- Plenty of Lean Protein
- Occasional Fruit
- Nuts (cashews, macadamias), coconut, 
- Olive Oil, CoconutOil, Ghee (clarified butter)
- Spices & Herbs for flavor

It's only been 18 days, but here I'd like to share some thoughts on how the past couple weeks have been going for us; what we're eating, how we're feeling, thought on coming off the Whole 30 now that we're closer to the end than the beginning.  

First, in full disclosure, I have not read It Starts With Food yet. I am more of a doer than over-analyzer or researcher.  So, after just a bit of exploring the Whole 30, and pretty much no complaints found from anyone who stuck to the program, I decided I'd rather just jump in and do it.  Half way through it I have the desire to read the book.  I'm actually feeling as good as they said I would.  I want to better understand why this is working (other than knowing I'm chocked full of healthy energy, vitamins and minerals). 

We're eating so much closer to the way we were eating before kid's kind of took over our nightly meals and turned them less healthy than we desire.  Closer to how I cooked and we ate when I was on maternity leaves, prioritizing fresh meals. The Whole 30 meals ideas I've found and we've made have been so delicious.  It's taking more time - to chop a ton of vegetables and always have the meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) planned - but I can feel the payoff.  It's very hard if not planned because we'd be living off of nothing but raw veggies for every meal.  

Here are pictures of some of the meals we've enjoyed since starting.

Crock Pot Chicken Salsa Verde with Avocado & Tomato, Broccoli

Moroccan Chicken Stew (Butternut squash, Carrots, Tomatoes) with Cilantro 

Baked Cod with Leeks & Tomatoes

Sweet Potato Hash for breakfast (Sweet Potatoes, Peppers, Onions)

Sauteed Scallops on Zoodles (julienned zuchinni)

Tropical Turkey Burgers (w/ mango, coconut, red peper & green onion in them) with Sauteed Mushrooms, Broccoli, Avocado, Tomato & Greens

Check out all the color!  Sometimes I just feel more healthy and energetic by handling so many dang veggies every day (shopping for, hauling in/out of the store and house, replenishing our upstairs fridge from our downstairs fridge, etc).  I think the program strives to have you eat 3-5 servings of veggies at every meal!

After eating all this, YES!, I have more energy.  I wake up less groggy.  I'm not yawning or zoning out throughout the day. At the end of the day I am tired, but not totally wiped out. It's really, really great.

While doing the Whole 30 you can eat as much as you want of veggies and lean protein.  No need to be hungry.  It's just about picking the better choice.  Cafeteria cookie in a meeting or my baggie of carrots?  Twix bar from the candy jar or my berries?  Free taco buffet at a lunch meeting or my salad with tuna?  I never have to be hungry if I don't want to be.  That said, sometimes I've found myself preferring to be a little less full than eat another salad (like when Joe and I finally sit down on the couch at 9:30pm and I want a bowl of cereal or ice cream).

So far Joe and I have done the Whole 30 "by the book." Neither of us has "slipped" and eaten anything off the Whole 30.  I want to have a baseline for how I'll feel differently when eating No Dairy and No Grains whatsoever (among other things) after this month.  I liken it to when I trained for my first marathon. I followed a specific training regimen to the tee.  Whatever mileage and pace they told me to run, that's what I did.  I want this Whole 30 to be that way so that once I start to add dairy and grains back in I can see if I feel a difference in my energy and how I react to the re-entry of these foods.

Some Things I've realized after a couple weeks on the Whole 30
- I need the coffee more than I need the cream (black coffee is acceptable, but no cream allowed).  And I need less coffee on the Whole 30 than off the Whole 30.
- I'm in love with Coconut Oil.  Sure, for use in cooking, but more so as my and the kid's face and body moisturizer.

- Eggs are getting old for breakfast.  By week two I was eating full on dinner for breakfast.  Left over pork loin, roasting up a zucchini and tomatoes, etc. 

While I think I'm doing very well managing my urges for many of the foods I'm not eating right now, here's what I miss most.

- Miss my beer (almost) every night. 

- Miss my chocolate/treat/snack...at night. Don't during day.

- Miss a little more variety - and an easy way to get it (i.e., carbs &/or packaged food).  

- Overall I miss Dairy more than Grains. Every time I pour a glass of milk for the kids I'm wishing for one myself.
- Miss variety at breakfast.  Pancakes and cereal.

- I can actually get sick of macadamia nuts after we've eaten a Costco size container of them in less than 2 weeks time.

- Joe misses rice/pasta with meals.  I'm not craving that too much.

It's only been a couple weeks, but so far I am very pleased with the increase in energy that I'm feeling.  I'll finish out the back half of my Whole 30 and report back on how it goes and if the energy and positive attributes continue or if if might just be "beginner's luck" I've been experiencing.

In the meantime, if you're looking for something to help you refocus your efforts on nutritional eating and prioritization of food choices, I'd highly suggest exploring this!      

Week 1 Menu
Scallops on Zoodles, Asparagus, Salad
Salsa Verde Chicken w/ Tomatos Avocado Cilantro
Cod w/ Leeks & Tomatos
Venison Tenderloin w/ Sauteed Mushrooms, Broccoli
Meatballs w/ Sundried Tomato & Basil, Crushed Tomato Sauce
Pork Tenderloin w/ Rub/Sauce, Brussels

Week 2 Menu
Turkey Zucchini Meatloaf, Cauliflower
Scallops w/ Pea Shoots, Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Lime Mustard Chicken, Broccoli
Tropical Turkey Burgers
Moroccan Stew, Asparagus
Tomato Basil Beef Soup
Roast Chicken w/ Carrots & Onions