Whole30 Recap/Precap

Posted on by Amanda

“I’m trying out this new diet called Whole30. I basically can’t eat anything delicious, but am losing a ton of weight. You should try it.” – Unnamed friend

“Yeah, put me down as a hard-NO.” – Me (circa Fall of 2017)

Fast forward to the end of 2017 when I was feeling shitty, uber shitty every day, all day! I decided to take the plunge and give it a try. Before we get into what Whole30 is, it is essential to know WHY I choose to do it. My why was a huge reason I was able to succeed.

(Ps. if you get uncomfortable talking about digestive stuff, STOP READING RIGHT NOW.)

I have had digestive problems for as long as I can remember, dating all the way back to being a young child. I remember not wanting to eat dinner because within ten to fifteen minutes I would have the worst stomach ache. No matter what I ate, when I ate or how fast I ate, I would always end up in the bathroom feeling sick. I would tell my mom I didn’t feel right but could never express why. She took me to multiple doctors, who ran numerous tests only for everything to always come back healthy, which then was just caulked up to me being a picky eater, which for the record I am.

This problem is something I grew up knowing to be normal. It was ok for me to go days, almost weeks without having a bowel movement. It was routine for me to appear so bloated strangers asked me how far along I was in my pregnancy. All of these things were just part of my life that I learned to live with throughout my childhood, my teenage years and the beginning of my adult life. One night I was having a conversation with a few of my good girlfriends, and somehow our girl talk turned to poop. I was mortified because while I am a very open and honest person, I hated talking about anything digestion related. I spent years thinking it was a private, intimate matter that should never be spoken about because of how embarrassing it was. Apparently what was embarrassing was the fact that I did not poop like most people. I was not regular; I was the definition of irregular. Once I started to open up about my issues, I learned a lot of people; women especially deal with this issue. Right then I vowed to make a change and start eating healthier for myself. Well, as the years went by I did indeed eat healthier, but unfortunately, nothing changed. In fact, it got worse. It turned from never going, to having to go immediately after I ate “certain” foods. The reason I use quotations when saying certain foods I started to notice at random times while eating I would get violently ill without any symptoms. I would go from great to miserable in less than five minutes.

I tried everything to figure out what was the cause. And everything I tried, failed. At this point, I finally decided to take extreme measures. I started researching this thing called the “elimination diet.” The elimination diet is precisely what it sounds like. You eliminate many food groups from your diet and then slowly add them back in hoping to find the root of the issue. The more I read into it, the more complicated it got. I happened to stumble upon an article on Pinterest talking about the re-introduction phase following a round of Whole30. Instantly I was intrigued and ultimately decided to give it a try, because what did I honestly have to lose? Answer –> Nothing!

So, now that we know why I did the Whole30, what is it?

The short version is thirty days of NO:

  • SUGAR (real or artificial)
  • ALCOHOL
  • GRAINS
  • LEGUMES
  • DAIRY
  • No MSG, SULFITES (Aka processed foods)
  • No baked goods or “treats” even if made with only Whole30 “approved” ingredients.

Once you complete thirty days of no cheating, you begin your re-introduction phase. These phase work by you slowly add in each of the above categories one at a time. For day one, you eat Whole30 everything other than whatever group you choose. Then on day two and three, you go back to eating only Whole30 approved meals again and see how your body feels. Did your body react to the newly re-introduced food? If everything went well, you move on to the next category, so on and so forth.

Looking at all of the rules that Whole30 has the first thought everyone has is what the hell can you eat? The answer is a TON; you just need to get creative. Pinterest was my best friend during the Whole30; there were so many fantastic meal ideas.

— Now on to MY JOURNEY —

 While I did do the Whole30 for the full thirty days, I like to call my journey Whole27 because I bent a few of the rules.

The first rule I broke which was in the fine print, that I did not read beforehand, as you are not supposed to have any juice for thirty days… Yeah, so I don’t love water. They already took away my milk; I needed something! I went to Sam’s club and bought a variety pack of 6oz Naked Fruit juices. They have no added sugar, are made from strictly fruit juice which I thought was okay… I was wrong. However, those juices saved me. I had one every morning for breakfast and let me tell you; it hit the spot. It was exactly what I needed to get my day started and keep my immune system health during this cold and flu season.

The second rule I broke was the one about making baked goods. To be honest, I did not realize that was such a strict rule until I was looking up information to compose this blog for you guys. As you keep reading, you will see eggs are a massive substance in everything Whole30. However, it is tough to eat an egg every single morning for breakfast; I needed variety. I (like I said before) went on Pinterest and found many “Whole30 approved” recipes. One of my favorites was the Banana Bread Muffins (recipe below). Which was terrific, but muffins do count as a baked good. Hence rule number two broke.

Other than those, I never broke any other rules and to be honest with you, I don’t even care I broke those. At the end of the day, Whole30 is about jumpstarting your nutrition and learning about how your body reacts to certain foods. I achieved that, even by altering the program slightly.

— Results —

I didn’t take before and after pictures or measurements like I wished I had. However, I did weigh myself. After 30 straight days on Whole30, I was able to lose 11 pounds and many inches. Like I said I don’t have exact measurements, but I know I did lose inches because my clothes are fitting SO much better. I bought a new pair of jeans before the Whole30, and I have to wear a belt with them otherwise they are a way to big. Woot – Woot! That my friends are what it is all about, while I was happy with a decrease of 11lbs on the scale the best feeling was my clothes fitting the way they are supposed too AND not having to run to the bathroom after eating anymore. That victory was the biggest and best for me.

— Favorite Recipes —

      

First photo: Banana Bread Muffins (My second rule I broke). Like I said previously, I needed to be able to eat something different for breakfast OTHER than eggs, so these hit the spot. I loved this recipe, but I did do a few changes. I added walnuts instead of chocolate chips, I used almond flour instead of coconut flour and substituted butter with olive oil. My favorite thing about Pinterest recipes is that I can add and subtract things as I needed. Just use the recipe as a starting point and get creative from there.

Second photo: MEAL PREP CITY! Yes, this is not a recipe but it is the key to success and I had a ton of fun with making new recipes to try. One of my favorite things I got for Christmas (thank you Mom) was these meal prep containers. They make lunches, dinners and work meals SO MUCH EASIER.

Third photo: This was not a recipe I found online it was something I managed to throw together on a night where I had little time. It is a handful of cauliflower clusters, cut up and then placed in the food processor to make the consistency the same as white rice. Once small enough I added the “rice” to a skillet along with a can of Rotel tomatoes and cooked shrimp. I cooked over medium heat until everything was mixed thoroughly and heated to my liking. BAM that was all there was too it. Fast, easy and Whole30 approved.

  

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Spaghetti Squash — I’m such a fan of “one-pot wonders” so the fact I can use the shell of the squash to cook the other ingredients as well. The only thing I changed was I decided to make my buffalo sauce and let me tell you; IT IS FANTASTIC! — Homemade buffalo sauce. And as you’ll see both of these recipes comes from one of my favorite Whole30 blogs!

   

First photo: Egg White, breakfast scramble. Indgrienence includes Applegate Sausage, Sweet Potato, Cauliflower Rice, topped with an egg white, avocado and my favorite salsa.

Second photo: Grilled Chicken, zucchini noodles, grilled sweet potatoes, and tomatoes. Nothing too special about this recipe either but it is such an excellent healthy simple meal.

**** LAST but certain not least: Banana Coconut Waffles; These beauties are Paleo, Gluten-Free and the most delicious thing I have ever made. And if you don’t believe me, notice there is not a photo of them? The reason is I could not pause for even a minute before eating these. Sincerely, even my grease loving, sugar addict, the more fat, the better loving husband also loves these.

— Going forward —

Now that I have been done with Whole30 for almost six weeks now I feel like I have a real understanding of my body and how certain foods affect me. After doing the re-introduction stage, I found that my body does not like certain oils. I can hand coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil, but anything other than those is a hard no. Which is why I believe I had such a hard time when I would go out to restaurants. We as consumers never know what type of oil they have used, hence making me ill. The second thing I have learned and was very upset about was artificial sugars tend to affect me negatively. They don’t make me rush to the bathroom, but they do upset my stomach making it very unpleasant to enjoy them. Next up was carbs. My one true love. Carbs, especially bread, does not make me sick in any measure but does make me bloat way more than any other food. And now that I have lived a life without bloating that is not something I want to go back to. And the one thing that surprised me was dairy. Dairy didn’t make me feel like any specific way, but I realized other than a glass of milk now and then, I didn’t miss it. Which means that is also something I have decided to continue to leave out. Cheese, ya see ya never. Yogurt, maybe once a month for a smoothie, maybe. Milk, I have learned to love almond milk, so I am getting it there and then, of course, ice cream, I have learned to ration that as well and learn to live without it.

I have tried many different ways of incorporating my new eating habits into my life. Some ideas I had have failed, but I finally feel like I have found one I can stick with. My new “balance” on life is eating Whole30, Sunday through Thursday and then spoiling myself in moderation on Friday and Saturday. I have read a lot of people who did Whole30 around the same time as I did have been using this method as well and are still consistently losing weight and feeling good about themselves. That is all I want. To continue to enjoy my life, no count calories, count memories but still feel good about myself, my body and my eating habits.

— Helpful Resources —

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