Whole 30 Week 1

The Whole 30. And so it begins. 

Today was the end marker of my first week on the Whole 30 journey. Last week while driving back from Florida, my mom read the book "It Starts With Food" and wanted to try the Whole 30 challenge. So after a few months of travel and a holiday weekend, mom and I decided to start the whole 30 challenge. Interested in the Whole 30? Not sure what the hype is all about? Check it out here. 

The Whole 30 was "established by Dallas Hartwig and Melissa Hartwig (of Whole9) in April 2009, the Whole30® is our original nutritional program designed to change your life in 30 days. Think of it as a short-term nutritional reset, designed to help you put an end to unhealthy cravings and habits, restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, and balance your immune system" 

Basically it's a 30-day reset of your body that changes your relationship with food, resets your metabolism and helps restore order and harmony in your body. So here is an overall recap of my first week on the Whole 30.

Day 1

Breakfast was great: eggs, bacon and fresh fruit. Nothing too crazy. Lunch on the other hand, I would've quit if I wasn't doing this whole thing with my mom. A stressful day at work had me craving things I couldn't have, chips, pretzels and lemonade tea. So instead I made a "tuna salad" boat made with avocado and a side of grapes. Eh. I survived. Dinner was a simple grilled chicken, green beans, sweet potato mash with ghee and cinnamon. Not too bad overall but again- a support system is crucial.

Day 2

Breakfast is simple and easy, eggs, bacon and fruit. Lunch was a salad that was less than thrilling and left me starving by mid-afternoon. Dinner was a failure, I overcooked pork chops and failed at making cauliflower rice so I ended up going to bed just tired, grumpy and hungry. Day 2 wasn't shaping up to be much better either.

The rest of the week was a mix of emotions. Breakfasts were always easy although I'm getting a little sick of eggs and bacon; I felt great and could head to work energized and ready for the day. Lunch time made me annoyed because I wanted things I could't have (have I mentioned that sugar is in EVERYTHING?!). However dinner time was the hardest. Getting home from work and being purely exhausted, all I wanted to do was snack or munch. The carb flu also hit me hard at the end of the week; I felt tired, sluggish, kind of in a daze somedays, hungry and just ill in general. 

Things I learned on Week 1:

1. I love sugar…oh wait, I already knew that

2. I get exhausted during the afternoon…but I already knew that too

3. I workout in the morning before work so by 10am, I'm hungry again- I think I need to add a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack in, almost as a "post workout" snack

4. Cauliflower rice isn't as easy as it looks

5. When in doubt…just go to bed.