I learned that baby carrots make excellent "chips" when eating guacamole, that I can live without coffee, my love for tea has been renewed, and that I feel the best when I consume fresh, unprocessed food!
Here are some of the meals I ate during the 30 days.
Breakfast looked like:
2 eggs with saute' onions, peppers, and greens
Frozen blueberries with a drizzle of coconut milk and ground flax
A banana with almond butter, raisins and ground flax or chopped nuts
Lunch:
Guacamole (Lg. avocado, cilantro, onions, lime juice) with baby carrots
2 slices of turkey (g-free, no additives), an apple, and slice of *raw cheese (*not Whole30 but on my "okay" list)
A salad, run through the garden (chopped onions, cilantro, carrots, bell peppers, olives) with chopped chicken breast
Snacks:
Organic Fuji apple w/ almond butter
Roasted seaweed
Trail mix: cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and raisins
Dinner:
Cauliflower rice with grilled chicken and greens
Venison w/ tomatoes over steamed squash
Roasted root vegetables with grilled chicken
A few of my "cheats" were a square of dark chocolate, glass of red wine, and paleo almond bread. My goal wasn't to make it through the entire month without cheating as much as it was to avoid the grains, sugars, soy and legumes, and see if my health would improve.
Now that I've made it past the 30 days, I can report my results:
~ I've lost 7 pounds, and several inches all over. The most dramatic change was losing 3 inches off my waist! Whoop!
~ My clothes fit better and I feel better in them.
~ Somewhere during the month, I realized my hypoglycemia went away. I used to get shaky if I didn't eat at regular intervals...no more! This is a very exciting development!
~ My headaches and brain fog are gone. Nuff said.
~ I no longer feel bloated/puffy (umm...eww...TMI?).
~ I have more energy. Wha? Really? YES!
~ Increased happiness/confidence/clarity. I credit this one to not being full of hormone swaying, chemically-laden processed food.
~ The idea of eating poorly isn't all that tempting because I know it'll just make me feel icky.
~ Being careful with what I've eaten has developed a greater level of self control which has bled into other areas of my health; being consistent in taking my vitamins/CLO and drinking more water.
Going off of all that I did for a month was totally worth it. Whole30 is super strict, so while I want to keep eating like this, the guidelines for the Paleo diet are looser and for me, a lot more doable long term. Because of my few cheats, I can't declare that I did the entire Whole30, but am very happy with where my version has gotten me. Huge kudos to the people who have eaten a totally, untainted Whole30 approved diet!
Budgetary note: Eating healthy meat, fruit and veggies did cost a bit more than our regular monthly food budget. However, as the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It was totally worth spending a little more upfront for all of the good things I've gained.
If any of you want to take the plunge and see how you feel on just the good stuff, please let me know! It was through the recommendation of a friend on Whole30 and later Paleo that sparked my interest. It took a year for me to decide to give it a try, but I'm really glad I did. Give me a holler if I can encourage you in any way! I'll offer a "Cheers" and raise a mug of green tea in your direction!
The bounty from a Whole30 inspired grocery shopping trip!
**Fear not, all the meat to go with these goodies was in the freezer** ;)
