Whole30, Anyone?

[LittleMissMickey]

I started a Whole30 for myself today, and I am so excited to take control of my diet again!

More information can be found here: http://whole30.com/

It's very restrictive, but I have had a little bit of experience with it in the past. Nearly three years ago I lost 15 pounds following a diet with similar grain, dairy, and legume restrictions. It was amazing, because it never really felt like work! I have spent a considerable amount of time following a paleo-style diet since (I still had some dairy, but not much and always full-fat). I'm glad to say that I weighed in this morning at the same weight that I weighed after my first restriction round three years ago. It's incredible motivation!

I'm planning to follow the program for the most part, with the exception of the scale. I am just not ready to break up with my scale yet, especially because my wedding is less than three months away. I feel that it is important for me to know what's going on with my weight. I would also like to keep track of what is happening with my weight each step of the way - maybe it will be helpful for someone else!

Has anybody else done a Whole30? Considering one in your future? I'd love to have some buddies!

 

[ZellyB]

Hi there,
My husband and I are going to give it a try. We are waiting a couple of weeks to start though. DH has a business trip in a week and we think trying to just be starting this while he has to be away and eating out would be difficult. So, first of February is around our start date.

My husband has a co-worker who also did this about a year ago and had great success. She has continued to follow a modified version for the past year and feels it really transformed her eating habits and health.

I think it sounds pretty challenging to do, but we feel like it's worth a shot and surely we can manage for 30 days, right?

 

[LittleMissMickey]

Definitely give it a go, Zelly!

My fiance travels for work, so he just follows it when he's with me and as best as he can on the road. He has excellent self-control and doesn't react to foods in the same ways that I do, though, so I am just glad to have his support when he's home.

I see that you have run a couple of the Disney races - that is an area where I saw a huge improvement in the past. My body runs totally differently when fueled by proteins, fruits, and vegetables! I can no longer rely on toast, PB&J or other common prerace fuels.

Update here when you're ready to get started!

My Day1 went perfectly! I clarified butter, made mayonnaise, and made a large vegetable soup. Tomorrow I hope to tackle a Whole30 beef stew if school gets called off again. We'll see!

 

[ZellyB]

We got the book today and I'm excited to read up on it and give it a try. We are hoping that the transition from easy carbs for energy will really help us with our running, so it's good to hear from someone who has done it successfully.

Glad to hear your first day went so well!

 

[Castillo Mom]

I started a Whole30 for myself today, and I am so excited to take control of my diet again!

More information can be found here: http://whole30.com/

It's very restrictive, but I have had a little bit of experience with it in the past. Nearly three years ago I lost 15 pounds following a diet with similar grain, dairy, and legume restrictions. It was amazing, because it never really felt like work! I have spent a considerable amount of time following a paleo-style diet since (I still had some dairy, but not much and always full-fat). I'm glad to say that I weighed in this morning at the same weight that I weighed after my first restriction round three years ago. It's incredible motivation!

I'm planning to follow the program for the most part, with the exception of the scale. I am just not ready to break up with my scale yet, especially because my wedding is less than three months away. I feel that it is important for me to know what's going on with my weight. I would also like to keep track of what is happening with my weight each step of the way - maybe it will be helpful for someone else!

Has anybody else done a Whole30? Considering one in your future? I'd love to have some buddies!

Congratulations on the weight loss and your wedding! How exciting!

I'm not really familiar with Whole30 but it sounds like it involves controlling carbs which is great. I restarted Atkins two weeks ago and seems there are many similarities between the two. I started a thread on low carb chat which I'm hoping more people join. Thought I'd invite you to come on over and post your progress or tips if you like!

 

[LittleMissMickey]

Thanks for the invite, Castillo Mom!

I have lurked over there a little bit. I'm not sure that it fits low carb rules, but my meals are probably similar to those eating low carb diets. I'll pop in!

Zelly - You will love it! You'll go through a transition, of course. The website outlines the stages pretty well, because a lot of people experience withdrawal-type symptoms as they remove sugars and grains from their diets.

Keep me posted!

 

[ZellyB]

Well, tomorrow is the day!

We spent the weekend buying groceries to support the new diet. I'm not sure I've ever bought a healthier cart of groceries.

Today we cooked up some things to prep for next week. I bought the book and it had some good, basic recipes for compliant meals. I figure in the first couple of weeks making it as easy as possible to stay true to the restrictions is key. So, I cooked up some items for breakfast and have our lunches packed and ready for work tomorrow.

I cooked up a frittata with ground beef, spinach and onion and it smelled delicious and will feed my dh and me for two work day lunches along with a salad and some fruit.

Here's hoping all goes well!

 

[LittleMissMickey]

How did it go? I'm one week in and I feel great!

Recipe swap, maybe? That fritatta sounds relish!

Are you weighing in or doing before/afters?

 

[southlakejr]

DH and I did a Whole30 last year and really enjoyed it. It ended up more like a whole 23, because the last week got waylaid by some crazy life turnabouts, but we really enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, we ended up back in old habits this year due to a lot of change, but we've been doing a pretty good job getting back into it. I would like to do another W30, but we don't have a good time to fit it in in the near future. So, we're doing our best to stick pretty close to W30 now, though we do have some honey here or there, etc. We're also not as strict about our lunchmeat/bacon choices, and eat soy sauce because I just don't like coconut aminos.

Last night we had tandoori chicken and cauliflower rice with cilantro and lime- delicious! I found the tandoori chicken recipe on Nom Nom Paleo, and kind of adapted the cauliflower from what I've seen from cauli rice recipes. Just added lime juice, garlic powder, salt, and cilantro.

I highly recommend the book Well Fed. It has fantastic recipes, but what I really love is how she sets up a good plan for success during the week.

The first week is always pretty brutal, but you feel fan freaking tastic by the end. I never would have thought that we would have stuck to as many of the restrictions as we have. (Though we seem to let that all fly out the window when we eat out... so there's certainly room for improvement!)

And as a last ramble- one of my big food loves came from Whole30- pears and prosciutto. It's an amazing salty sweet combo.

 

[ZellyB]

How did it go? I'm one week in and I feel great!

Recipe swap, maybe? That fritatta sounds relish!

Are you weighing in or doing before/afters?

So far so good! Finishing out day 2 and while I'm certainly missing sugar, nothing I can't handle so far.

I weighed right before we started and I'm going to be good and stay off the scales until the 30 days are over.

I'm just starting to gather some recipes, but I'm happy to swap some.

The frittata came out of the It Starts with Food book.

9 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sweet paprika

Mix these in a bowl until blended.

In a large oven-safe skillet, heat up 1-2 Tbsp cooking fat. Add ground beef and onion and brown up the protein. Add spinach and cook for a short time to soften spinach. Pour in egg mixture. Gently scrape the bottom to make large curds for a short time. Shake the pan to even distribute and let it sit for 30 seconds so the bottom sets. Place the pan in a 400 degree oven for 13-14 minutes until the top is puffed and beginning to brown. Remove from oven and let it set up for 5 minutes. Then cut in wedges to serve. Tada!!