Whole30 Update – The First 15 Days
Hi friends! I’m currently on day 19 of Whole30 and had such a positive response to my “Whole 30 101” post that I thought I’d pop in and give a first half update! I’ll plan on doing one more wrap up of this round after the full 30 days, but this check in will go over how I’m feeling, favorite recipes we’ve tried, and other tricks and tips that have helped me so far.
How I Feel
Overall, I feel awesome! This is the best I have felt on any of my rounds (this is my fourth) which I’m honestly surprised about. This season of life has been busy and crazy and I was starting to indulge in sweets (mostly donuts…) a little too often and would grab whatever I could find for breakfast as I ran out the door to get Luke to daycare before heading to work. I also had SUCH a fun girls weekend in Asheville, NC where we ate rich and delicious food and had beer and wine all weekend the two days before I started, so I was expecting to feel terrible my first week as my body detoxed. I typically get some headaches and feel pretty blah that first week, but besides a slight headache on the first day, I felt really good all week!
As I moved into the second week, I had so much energy and felt really great. On day 13 (a Saturday), I got home from a barre class and literally had so much energy. I was in such a great mood and couldn’t wait to shop in the shower and get my day started haha. I’m pretty sure I was annoyingly perky, but hey…after being in a sleep deprived haze for the first few months of Luke’s life, I’ll take all the energy I can get! My skin also is a bit clearer – I even had a coworker comment and tell me my skin looked good!
Best Places to Eat Out
Zoes Kitchen – I used to eat at Zoes Kitchen all the time, but for some reason we haven’t had it recently. When Blake’s sister was in town, we were out running errands and decided to stop in at Zoes Kitchen. I looked up their menu on the way there and was over the moon to see they had actually partnered with Whole30 and have a Whole30 symbol to designate compliant dishes on their menu! I’m so excited to have another place I can go when I’m sick of cooking!
Chipotle – I don’t think I would survive Whole30 without Chipotle! It has saved me all four rounds, especially for lunches during the work week and weekends when we are out and about. Since the chorizo has been taken off the menu, I get the carnitas with pico, lettuce and guacamole!
Five Guys – Obviously Five Guys isn’t the BEST place to go, but their burgers are Whole30 compliant if you swap the bun for a lettuce wrap. The fries are cooked in peanut oil (and technically fries of any kind are not approved on the program), but we stopped at Five Guys when we needed to get out of the house and I got a double burger with grilled onions and a lettuce wrap.
The Not So Great Parts
While I am feeling really good and have a lot of energy, I had some stomach pains throughout the first two weeks that I was surprised didn’t go away since I cut out pretty much everything that typically irritates me. There must be something else I was eating a lot of that had an effect (I’m thinking either tomatoes or peppers!). It wasn’t too terrible, but typically on Whole30 my stomach feels great and I don’t have any bloat. I still have some bloat this time around, but I’m chalking that up to still being on my postpartum journey!
You also have to prep a LOT on Whole30. We typically meal prep Sunday nights anyway, but it takes a little more preparation for lunches than I’m used to. You can’t just quickly make a sandwich the night before or in the morning, you have to pretty much have an entire meal planned out. It’s also hard to just run out and grab something when I’m at work because it’s hard to know what all is in certain marinades and sauces at restaurants.
Finally, it’s not as fun to go out to eat when you’re doing Whole30. I LOVE going out and trying new restaurants, but most of the time I feel like it’s just not worth it unless it’s for a special occasion.
Favorite Recipes
Pretty much everything we ate during the first half came from this book or was something we just threw together:
My favorite lunch was one I had on repeat the first week. I made a big batch of the Carnitas from the Whole30 cookbook and ate it over riced cauliflower with salsa and guacamole.
For dinner, one of my favorite recipes is just to spiralize zucchini and pair it with shrimp and a homemade Romesco sauce. I also love a good burger, so we will do bunless burgers with roasted sweet potatoes.
I pretty much ate the same thing for breakfast every morning because it was quick and easy – rather than scramble eggs in a pan, I scramble them in a ramekin and pop it into the microwave for about 45 seconds – 1 minute. I top it with a little “Everything but the Bagel” seasoning from Trader Joes and fresh salsa!
Must Haves for Whole30
(Click on each image to be taken to the product page)
Tessemae’s Dressing – Ya’ll this stuff is SO GOOD. I use it even when I’m not doing Whole30. This flavor (the Lemon Garlic) is my favorite – I use it as salad dressing, a marinade, and even over a baked potato to give it some pizzaz. The Balsamic Vinaigrette is also really good and I’m going to pick up a bottle of the Ranch to try soon.
Olive Snack Packs – I happened upon these at Kroger and grabbed them last minute and am so glad I did. They are easy to pack for lunch and add a good amount of healthy fat to your meal!
Hope this was helpful for anyone who’s doing the program or thinking about. Let me know if you have any questions!
xoxo,
Lauren
