It’s time for a new challenge. My friend and I decided we would go for a lifestyle change and try The Whole 30, from the book “It Starts with Food.”
What does this mean? In easy terms…
– No dairy
– No grains
– No sugar
– No beans
– No alcohol
– NO CHEATING
The book explains what types of vegetables to eat, the different types of protein and how important what they are fed and how they are raised is to your body. It also explains what we put in to our body can really affect the way we feel and perform.
FUN FACT: no counting calories or macros in involved! That’s a plus!
As we go through this process, I’ll document our food prep, best meals and even have my grandmother, Mema, weigh in with her advice! (She’s currently on a popcorn & boiled peanut diet — it’s baseball season, folks!)
Here is our Day 5 dinner: a Cobb salad with Bibb lettuce, tomatoes, yellow pepper, broccoli, avocado, bacon, shrimp and boiled egg. We topped the salad with a little light tasting olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Day 6 breakfast: an egg scramble complete with spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes. What breakfast is complete without bacon? So we added a side of bacon and grapefruit!
becomingmarketable 
that salad looks amazing!
Thanks! Can’t wait to check out your blog!
Good luck…I don’t think I could ever do it!
Thanks! You could– it just takes a good bit of planning, but if you do it with someone it makes it so easy!
I started my Whole30 15 days ago. I love it! FYI…if you are not hitting up the forum, do so! It helps stay compliant and motivated. I joined a group that started the same day I did and we all check in daily with each other. It really does help a ton and give you several really good ideas. Congratulations and good luck!
That’s awesome! I’m doing it with my best friend which has been super helpful and keeps us both motivated. How are you feeling?
I feel amazing! I find stress does not get to me and I sleep like a rock at night, yet wake feeling energized and ready to go. I feel less bloaty and more clear-headed already. Doing the food prep in advance is way handy. I love cooking but during the week, I work 50-60 hours in my office, so often I was buying my kids dinner out. I almost did last week, but found it much easier to say no, we are just 10-min away from a nice meal at home. Really, you spend that much time or more even hitting the drive-thru at McDonald’s. Did you just start yesterday?
No, we started last Monday — so this is day 8! I was feeling really tired the first few days (I think from the lack of sugar, really…), but today I woke up with so much energy and popped out of bed for a run before work. I don’t know how you do it with kids! I feel like that throws in a whole different element.
Honestly, the kids are a huge motivator. I want them to have healthy habits and make better choices. They are boys, 14 and 10 years old. Right now, they can choose what they stuff in their face and I want them to think twice before shoving those fast food nuggets and fries in there, then following it up with a huge soda or milkshake. Sure, those may be okay here or there (separately), but it shouldn’t be a norm.
I was going to do this anyway; however, my major push into it before I thought I was going to start came from a trip to Universal Studios we took. I was waiting for my kids to get off a ride and started really people watching. What I saw was a lot of people with bloated stomachs and people far too young to be in motorized wheel chairs (40’s and 50’s outweighed the elder crowd) who were morbidly obese. Then, there was the 14 and under crowd who were larger around the middle and generally looked unhealthy. It really scared me for myself and my kids (mostly the latter).
I already knew the pudgy around the middle was not a good sign and an indicator of possible diabetes and unhealthy diet, but the occurrence I saw was my freak out point. People watch at a mall or amusement park one day and see what you see. It is a great motivator to do something healthy. I am not trying to judge anyone, but this is what really made my mind up for me.
Good luck Jill! I’m rooting for you. This is inspiring to me, given that my diet has consisted of khachapuri (cheese pie), wine, and chocolate for the past two months. It’s doing nothing good for my body! I’ll be following along your 30-day journey. 🙂
Thank you so much, Meghan! Gosh cheese pie sounds pretty delish!!! I’m loving all of your photos and posts — keep ’em coming! Are you getting any running in?