Whole30: Week One

Last Saturday, I finally decided to take the plunge and commit to the Whole30 eating plan. I had been thinking about it for a couple of months and decided that I needed to put my excuses behind me (Belize trip, birthday, Valentine's Day, friends' birthday) and just start already! I want to journal my thoughts and experiences so this is where I'll do that.

I had heard of this plan before and had seen friends post about it on social media. Then in January, an acquaintance from church started a Facebook group to provide support for herself and others who were going to do a Whole30 in January. She wasn't going to start until mid-month, so my initial thought was that I'd join in a week later, after my trip to Belize, and be doing it right alongside those friends. Well . . . that didn't exactly happen, mainly because of my excuses I listed above.

My reasons for wanting to do the Whole30 plan are:

• to "reset" my eating and get off of sugar (again)
• to eliminate some things out of my diet to see if doing that helps some ongoing symptoms I'm experiencing
• to feel better physically
• to fit into my clothes better
• to continue a healthy lifestyle and have a healthy body as I finish up this decade of life (ahem)

Things I'm learning:

• it is important and imperative to plan, plan, plan
• there are lots of hidden ingredients in foods that you wouldn't think (example: soy in some brands of packaged tuna)
• withdrawals symptoms are real (headaches, gastrointestinal issues)

What I have been missing:

• oatmeal
• crackers or chips with my lunch
• toast

Things that I'm liking:

• how I feel (except for the headaches and gastro discomfort)
• finding new products 
• breaking out of my cooking rut
• the structure and challenge of the plan

Here are a couple of meals I've prepared this week:

Salad greens with grape tomatoes, avocado, chicken, topped with salsa

Ground turkey, roasted zucchini and yellow squash, roasted sweet potato

I thought I'd had a photo of one of my omelet breakfasts, but couldn't find it. One thing that helped in meal prep this week was that I roasted some veggies and cooked some meats so I could have them to eat on all week. I want to continue to do this and also look for some make-ahead breakfast ideas to give me a break from omelets.

As I finish out my first week, I'm feeling pretty good and have been able to stay strong, even when I see commercials for ice cream on TV or when I had to go to Panera to pick up food for a group at work. Having to go see and smell all of those baked good was just not fair! :-)