It was a little bit wussy of me but I didn’t post much when I started my journey on the Whole30 last week. If you aren’t familiar, the Whole30 is an extreme paleo diet for 30 days. No dairy, legumes, grains of any kind. No wine!
The idea of announcing that I was starting it was really daunting. Committing to not drinking wine or any creamer in my coffee for 30 days is SCAAAAARRRRY. So I quietly started.
Here’s a pretty basic list of what I can have over the course of the 30 days:
Now that I’m 7 days in, I feel confident that I can do this! I can make 30 days & I already feel great! The biggest challenge will be the no wine thing at parties and in social settings (I have two big parties coming up before my Whole30 is over) but I know I can handle the food aspect.
I took a couple of notes each day that I thought I would share and I also kept track of everything I ate so I’m sharing that here in case anyone else wants any ideas. I kept it pretty basic this week. There are so many great recipes and ideas out there but this is a huge overhaul to my daily diet so I had to jump in with a simple first week. I was very thankful for the recommendation (from a random lady I met at the spa over a week ago) of this book:Well Fed 2. All recipes are Whole30 compliment & most of what I’ve tried so far is great.
First, here’s my meal plan. I kept track at first just for myself but I found myself Googling and looking so many other people’s meal plans, I thought I might as well share it. Because hey, if it helps someone out there, awesome!
View the PDF version of my meal plan here
Notes from my first 7 days, taken daily:
Day 1: This isn’t too bad. That big glass of wine wine and half a box of Girl Scount cookies that I had for my “Last Supper” last night really did me in. Feel like sh*t, which is definitely incentive to jump in with gusto to this Whole30 thing. I had to take the boys to a fundraiser tonight for their karate school and of course it was at this new flatbread/pizza place in town but I wasn’t tempted. They actually had organic, raw Kombucha there (random!) so I was able to order something for me which was nice.
Day 2: My oldest son had off school so I took him out to lunch at Panera. I had visited the Whole30 boards to see if there was anything approved on the menu and with a lot of changes to the actual meal and in talking to the manager to make sure it was okay, I ordered a Turkey Club Salad with no dressing. It’s nice to know I’ll be able to go to *few* places if I really talk with someone there and make edits. Also, I did end up with a mild headache this afternoon. I was REALLY missing my afternoon decaf coffee with Coffeemate creamer. I have that every day after lunch. Not sure if the headache was related but I’m not normally a headache person so probably? Made an amazing dinner tonight – Chicken wrapped in proscuitto. Delish.
Day 3: I know I’m not technically supposed to use the Lara Bar as a “meal,” which I’ve done twice now for breakfast. But normally I just grab a Luna Bar and go, so, baby steps. The Lara Bar *is* Whole30 approved so I’m going with it being okay. Headed to the gym for a run and noticed I was dragging more than usual.
Day 4:Today is hard. It’s a Friday during Lent so no meat. All I want is a big tofu & cheese quesadilla and wine for dinner. So sick of eggs already.
Day 5: Missed having wine last night. I poured some La Croix seltzer into a wine glass & squeezed some fresh lime juice in. It was good but it certainly couldn’t call itself Pinot Grigio. Other that that, it seems to be getting easier. Went to Kettlebells and felt like some of my workout energy is returning.
Day 6: Woke up feeling awesome. Went to Cycle and felt like I could conquer the world. Starting to really appreciate using spices – even just using more fresh ground pepper on my food more than usual.
Day 7: Still feeling good. Had a nice run at the gym. It’s definitely getting easier but I’m skeptical that I’m losing any weight. Not allowed to weigh myself until the full 30 days are up so it’s going to be awhile before I find out if I have. Happy that tomorrow will mark a week I’ve made it!
I’m very interested to hear how you do with this. I have a girlfriend who did this diet and lost a ton of weight. I don’t think I could give up wine.
Thanks for the comment Gina! I truly didn’t think I could give up wine either. I have a glass most nights. It was hard the first few nights for sure but has been getting better… have yet to be challenged in a true social situation yet though. Going to stay strong!
All I can say is good for you! And, with each day what will develop is a routine. There’s something to be said for ‘routine’. A habit will define , and this one for certain, a healthy habit! Habits are an automatic response thing translating into EASIER! The 30 days will seem like a walk in the park at the end. Must say does sound daunting , however , to begin the process. . give up my Jim Beam?? i dunno . . . hmmmm.