Garrett and I have officially made it through one week of the Whole30. Hallelujah! I kid you not -- never have I made it this long before through any dietary restrictions. Seven days may seem minimal to you, but to me, this is huge.
I attribute my endurance to:
1) Preparation. Had I not planned out each meal of the week and grocery shopped accordingly over the weekend, this whole thing would have fallen through the cracks on day 1. (See the general grocery list I worked off of here.)
2) Time. Other than a few yoga classes, I left my evenings open to allow myself the time to cook dinners and prepare breakfast and lunch for the day(s) to come.
3) Open Calendar. Garrett and I picked a month where our social engagements were low -- no big events, no traveling, etc. There's no way I would do this over a vacation or during a time busy with celebrations (you can't drink alcohol!).
But mostly, I think that I've been able to stick to this (so far) because I haven't been hungry.
So, with that, let me share our filling Whole30 Week 1 meal plan:
Monday
Breakfast - Egg muffins (eggs scrambled with onion and green pepper, baked at 350F until done), banana
Lunch - Salad (chicken, lettuce, cucumber, jalepenos, onion, no dressing)
Snacks - Apple with almond butter*
Tuesday
Breakfast - Egg muffins, banana
Lunch - Homemade chicken salad (chicken, onion, celery) with homemade mayonnaise (1 egg, 1/2 c olive oil, 1 lemon juiced, tsp of mustard)
Dinner - Spaghetti squash with spinach marinara (5 tomatoes, 1/4 c water, salt, basil, oregano, pepper, onion, olive oil, garlic) and meatballs (1lb ground beef, 1 tsp basil, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, 1/4 c sundried tomatoes in oil)
Snacks - Apple with almond butter
Wednesday
Breakfast - Banana. Egg scramble -- eggs, red onion, green pepper
Lunch - Salad
Dinner - Italian pork roast, broccoli, cauliflower rice
Snacks - Apple with almond butter
Thursday
Breakfast - Banana. Egg scramble -- eggs, red onion, green pepper
Lunch - Leftover pork roast, cauliflower rice, and broccoli
Dinner - Apple dijon burgers and sweet potato fries
Breakfast - Banana. Egg scramble -- eggs, red onion, green pepper
Lunch - Leftover pork roast, cauliflower rice, and broccoli
Dinner - Apple dijon burgers and sweet potato fries
Saturday
Breakfast - Sweet potato hash topped with a fried egg
Lunch - All-natural turkey breast from the grocery inside of the San Francisco Ferry Building (they prepare their turkey breast daily), apricots, and leftover broth from Friday's tikka masala
Dinner - Keema (without peas) and cauliflower rice
Snacks - Banana Bread Larabar**
Sunday
Breakfast - Sweet potato hash with onions and green pepper, topped with a fried egg
Lunch - Curried cream of broccoli soup
Dinner - Steak and sweet potato fries
Snacks - Dried fruit (no sugar added)
Although I didn't feel hungry throughout week one, I did experience some changes in my mood and energy levels. On days 2 and 3 I was in a funk -- a little bit moody, testy, and down. The downswing of emotions was the side effect of my body going through sugar withdrawal (for real. See the Whole30 Expected Timeline here). On days 5, 6, and 7 I was pretty tired -- also totally normal. It wasn't necessarily fun, but once I passed day 7, my mood and energy levels were back to normal.
*I did a little overkill with the apple and almond butter as my snack in week 1 -- really, I shouldn't have had as many nuts as I did (read through Whole30 rules for explanation). I wasn't really thinking of snacks when I grocery shopped for week 1, so I made sure to add snacks to my list for week 2.
**Larabars are our "emergency" snack, as they're good to bring when you're on the go. Whole30 rules discourage you from eating them as treats, as your brain doesn't really know the difference between a Snickers bar and a Larabar. Each bar is different, so if you're picking some up, be sure to read the ingredient list.
Breakfast - Sweet potato hash topped with a fried egg
Lunch - All-natural turkey breast from the grocery inside of the San Francisco Ferry Building (they prepare their turkey breast daily), apricots, and leftover broth from Friday's tikka masala
Dinner - Keema (without peas) and cauliflower rice
Snacks - Banana Bread Larabar**
Sunday
Breakfast - Sweet potato hash with onions and green pepper, topped with a fried egg
Lunch - Curried cream of broccoli soup
Dinner - Steak and sweet potato fries
Snacks - Dried fruit (no sugar added)
Although I didn't feel hungry throughout week one, I did experience some changes in my mood and energy levels. On days 2 and 3 I was in a funk -- a little bit moody, testy, and down. The downswing of emotions was the side effect of my body going through sugar withdrawal (for real. See the Whole30 Expected Timeline here). On days 5, 6, and 7 I was pretty tired -- also totally normal. It wasn't necessarily fun, but once I passed day 7, my mood and energy levels were back to normal.
*I did a little overkill with the apple and almond butter as my snack in week 1 -- really, I shouldn't have had as many nuts as I did (read through Whole30 rules for explanation). I wasn't really thinking of snacks when I grocery shopped for week 1, so I made sure to add snacks to my list for week 2.
**Larabars are our "emergency" snack, as they're good to bring when you're on the go. Whole30 rules discourage you from eating them as treats, as your brain doesn't really know the difference between a Snickers bar and a Larabar. Each bar is different, so if you're picking some up, be sure to read the ingredient list.
Also, sweet potato fries may have just become my new best friend. (Just wash, dry, cut into strips, toss in olive oil, sea salt and petter, and bake (lay out flat) at 400F until crispy, about 35 minutes.)
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