Whole30 ~ Week 1

7 days of no grains, legumes (including soy or peanuts), dairy, or added sugar. 20 days of no Dr. Pepper. This is shocking, people.

Day 1: Ate good food. Had energy. Felt great.

Day 2: Levi gave me his cold bug (sore throat, stuffy head). Massive headache. Shaky and felt like I was going to pass out. Foggy brain. Yuck. Still ate good food.

Day 3: More of day 2, but on no sleep as Lola was now sick. Oh, and Luke and Leif, too. Ate more good food.

Day 4: Sore throat, headache, and shaky/dizzy feeling mostly gone, but stuffy/runny nose persisted AND Lola spent a second night not sleeping. I was beyond tired, and Little Miss wouldn’t sleep during the day, either. I wanted a babysitter and a long nap. (My mom is out of town for over a week…what was she thinking?! Just kidding, Mom. I hope you are having a terrific time.) Oh, and what I really, really, REALLY wanted was a whole batch of hot-out-of-the-oven-chocolate-chip-cookies and a 32 oz Dr. Pepper. Ate good food instead. Please pat me on the back for surviving this day.

Day 5: Lola slept the night (mostly), but not so much during the day, so I was a little tired. Lingering cold.

Day 6: More of the same. Really great dinner, though! Levi gave the bacon, onion, garlic, zucchini, yellow squash, baby spinach, and shrimp (with a spritz of lemon juice) stir fry two thumbs up!

Day 7: Fabulous (not) sinus headache. Still not getting quite enough sleep at night, and it really wears on me! And I cheated. I popped a cough drop in my mouth at 4:30 am because I couldn’t stop coughing, I didn’t want to wake my family, and I desperately wanted to get a little more sleep!

I was crazy in the mood for snacking and eating out, and I had to run errands with the kids. It took all of my will-power to bypass all the drive-thrus and the snack aisle at Target and 95% of the food at the grocery store. The boys were ‘starving’ so I bought a big bunch of bananas, and they each snacked on one on the way home. This Whole30 is going to change their lives, too. I was shocked to see them inhale salmon burgers, baby spinach, and oven-roasted green beans for dinner. Who knew.

 

What I’ve eaten this past week:

Roma tomatoes, grape tomatoes, red leaf lettuce, iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, baby spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, Brussels sprouts, yams, pumpkin, red pepper, onion, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, avocado, bananas, kiwi, apples, strawberries, blackberries, mango. (That’s got to be some sort of record…)

Baked steelhead trout (heavenly), basil-grilled chicken (on a bed of baby spinach, topped with chopped sun-dried tomatoes), marinara meat sauce (over thinly-sliced, sauteed red cabbage), tuna, shrimp, and salmon.

I’m drinking about 96 oz of water (sometimes part unsweetened green tea) every day and supplementing with calcium.

(I’m not going to lie. I want food I can’t have. It isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. But I still want it.)

Do you feel sorry for me, yet?

Let me add: No portion ‘control.’ No counting calories. Ate when I was hungry. BBQ burgers (bun-less) topped with dijon mustard, lettuce, tomato, guacamole, and bacon served with yams oven-roasted in olive oil and sea salt, sliced apples fried in a generous amount of coconut oil (cinnamon and nutmeg, too!), banana split milkshakes (full-fat coconut milk, frozen bananas and strawberries, and unsweetened cocoa powder…. oh. my. goodness!!), deviled eggs, sweet potato chips, sunflower seeds, black olives, dried apricots (like candy), at least two eggs scrambled in bacon fat with bacon every morning, most of my veggies have been oven-roasted in a generous amount of olive oil (I never knew veggies could taste so yummy!!), more coconut milk in smoothies, almond butter slathered on sliced apples, and one Lara Bar (those things are tasty!).

I would have taken pictures, but, trust me, we didn’t stand on ceremonies when it came to digging in.

I think Russ is loving this diet. He gets a hot, home-made, interesting, delicious dinner EVERY night. And a lunch packed for him every day. I think he’s getting spoiled.

(If only this diet came with grocery delivery service and a kitchen clean-up crew!!)

As I was chowing down on yummy food, I couldn’t imagine losing weight, especially as someone who never loses weight. And here it is:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I lost 5 pounds.

Yep.

I don’t expect to continue that kind of weight loss (or even maintain it), and I realize much of that is water weight, but it still feels good, ya know?

Here’s to week two. Let’s raise a glass of banana-split milkshake. Anyone joining me? Grin.

Check out more fabulous recipes at The Clothes Make the Girl, Whole9 Steal This Meal, The Foodee, Whole Life Eating, and ChowStalker.

 

Live in rooms full of light

Avoid heavy food

Be moderate in the drinking of wine

Take massage, baths, exercise, and gymnastics

Fight insomnia with gentle rocking or the sound of running water

Change surroundings and take long journeys

Strictly avoid frightening ideas

Indulge in cheerful conversation and amusements

Listen to music.

~A. Cornelius Celsus