My Whole30 Experience

So for the month of October I decided to take on the Whole30 challenge. To sum it up in a nutshell; I stayed away from some foods that can have a negative impact on your health or body. So foods like processed, grains, bread, dairy, legumes, sugar, and alcohol (which I do anyway). I figured I could do this for thirty days, because in the long term, that is a short amount of time to help initiate a nutritional reset and feel better. I had made some goals before I started to help give me more of a purpose and focus on why I was doing this, instead of just avoid certain kinds of food.

Results

I had three goals; eat more intuitively, have better overall health, and up my energy levels. I can say that after thirty days I have eaten more of when I am hungry until I am satisfied rather than just going off of what time it was. I did not get sick when my family did this month, and I have had more energy than before with the amount of sleep I have gotten (with kids can be less than ideal). So I think my goals were met and I am happy and feeling great! However, these habits started forming at the end of my Whole30, so I decided to extend my Whole30 for fifteen more days to better get a grasp on those habits I have started. So my new end date will be November 14, but am thinking of possibly going until Thanksgiving. I am thinking of potentially adopting this lifestyle but adding in a few other foods not Whole30 approved; like sugar (every once in a while), yogurt, cheese, and bread. All of these would be on occasion and not at the frequency I had them at before.

Many times with the Whole30 people do it to kickstart weight loss, I did not do it for that reason but was pleasantly surprised to see a seven pound difference at the end of the thirty days.

Successful Recipes

With certain foods that I normally ate not in my diet for the duration of the challenge, I had to get creative and find other ways to enjoy the food. I tried some new things I found on Pinterest and thought I would share the successful and yummy recipes I would make again not on the Whole30.

Tuna Patties - I am one who like tuna and this made a great quick dinner when I was short on time. If you don't like tuna you probably won't like this one, but I thought they tasted great. My husband and little boy approved this one.

Cauliflower Rice - Surprisingly very tasty! I would definitely eat/make this again.

Almond Crusted Tilapia - This recipe use salmon, I only had tilapia on hand and it turned out great!

Buffalo Chicken Sliders - This had to be my FAVORITE meal on the Whole30, it was so tasty. And called for sweet potatoes as buns. I had never really had sweet potatoes before, but this was so good! I had it multiple times!

Pork Roast - I generally like a good roast, and it was so nice to be able to use the crockpot! I actually made this twice!

Two-Ingredient Pancakes - I found that it worked best to do one banana and one egg. It was too runny adding a second egg. No these are not like your traditional pancakes, they are hard to flip and have an eggy consistency, but they are good. Especially if you add in a little cinnamon.

Sweet Potatoes and Sausage - I altered this one a bit, since I don't like onions. I did add in some sweet potatoes and used a msg free pork sausage rather than kielbasa.

Lemon Garlic Salad Dressing - Salads were a meal I had maybe 5-6 times while on the Whole30. I knew I would need to find a good dressing. Making a Whole30 approved ranch seemed like a lot of work and I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand, but this dressing was so fast and easy and yummy! It was great!

Tips

Some tips I would give to first time Whole30ers are to:

1. Meal prep and meal plan - When I did not plan out what to make for dinner I did not generally have dinner, but snacked - which led to not feeling satisfied and made it harder to stick to.
2. Have Whole30 approved snacks on hand - When I needed a quick go to, nuts, fruit, or pre-cut veggies were a saver. When I ran out of these, I did not want to get something out to cook just because I was hungry.
3. Listen to your body - If you are hungry, eat! Don't deprive yourself because it isn't "time" to eat yet. I loved that I could eat as much as I felt like eating at the time and still accomplish my goals.
4. Take it one day at a time - Sometimes it can get overwhelming, just focus on the day and don't overthink.
5. Look at the Whole30 timeline - They have written out what you most likely are feeling and going through. It is so helpful and comforting to read because they are spot-on! So thinking that you are failing because you are craving everything non-Whole30 approved on Day 15, you are actually feeling how you should. 

I can't believe I made it through my first Whole30 and that I am actually continuing it. I love that I am happier and feel better! I hope to continue as best I can with this and continue improving my health!