Monday, March 4, 2013

Whole30, the beginning.

I know I have mentioned Whole30 and taking a 30 day challenge.  The challenge is to eat fresh fruits and vegetables and organic meats for 30 days. It's a lot like the Paleo or Primal diet only quite strict. 

I started with this book.

My review for this book is that I love it!  Although I skipped around a lot and haven't read it all the way through yet.  When I get excited about something I tend to skip to the facts.  But I plan on reading it page by page this month.  I've already read a lot about nutrition and how food affects the human body so I was on board pretty quickly.  Another book I recommend to people, especially if they are interested in facts, studies and details is called Why we get fat.


I have been following Whole30 on Facebook and after January (a big Whole30 challenge month) I started reading about peoples experience and how it affected their health and overall well being.  

To be honest, I have been eating mostly Paleo for about 16 months, but the last 4 or so months it has been a half ass effort at best.  I ate way too many dark chocolate covered pomegranates and a few too many fancy coffees.  Overall I did good, but I wasn't feeling that great and a little sluggish.  Was it my diet or the other things going on in my life?  Divorce, injury, kids moving out?   Yes, yes and yes!  

I decided to give it a try.  I read-ish the book, bought a couple of good cook books, tried a few recipes and started taking some of the really crappy stuff out so I didn't go in full on withdrawals. 

I'm on day 3.  I just want to go back to bed.


Here is the basic rules for Whole30.


A lot like Paleo.  Whole30 or Whole9 has a great website for information, support and links.

I have a freezer full of organic beef and I went to the Utah Natural Meat farm on Saturday to get some more ground beef. While I was there I picked up a couple of dozen eggs too.  So fresh and delicious.  I signed up for the local Bountiful Baskets and picked up a huge basket full of fruits and veggies.  I also precooked chicken, some Asian meatballs, hard boiled some eggs and cut up tons of veggies.  That made it possible to eat without cooking much and helped the first few days go better.  Even Daniel is on it and eating quite well.  Austin was here when I was cutting, slicing, dicing and cooking and he loved everything.  

The loot.

Stocked fridge


If you want to have some fabulous ideas, menus and recipes I can't tell you how awesome these two sources are.  First, Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan.  Not only does she give you great recipes but helps you plan a big one hour prepare fest once a week that makes the rest of the week eating a breeze.  


I downloaded it off Amazon to my iPad Kindle app. 

Another source is an app that I downloaded onto my iPad.  I have followed this web site for a while and know she has some great Paleo recipes.  This app is the very best I've seen as far as recipes.  You can even make a shopping list off of it and the picture instructions are perfect.  It's called Nom Nom Paleo.  I think it's about 4 dollars for the app.


Most of the recipes are very easy.  Michelle Tam is a mom, wife and a full time pharmacist!  

I started on March 1st and on my 3rd day I am not hungry but my cravings for sugary sweet things is strong.  I miss drinking a Crystal Light.  I used that as my sugar fix along with dark chocolate.  So today I am cooking a Whole30 approved chili and serving it with steamed spaghetti squash.  I'm also going to hard boil a few more eggs and make the "Sunshine Sauce" from Well Fed that tastes a little like a peanut sauce only made with sunflower butter.  Daniel and I think it tastes good on EVERYTHING!  

Wish me luck!  I can't wait to get to day 4-5!  Just what I need is to feel super cranky on days when I meet with the accountant about taxes with Matt and a Best Practice meeting for work.  Good news is that I have a massage tomorrow that should help.  

Have you ever tried a cleansing or special eating plan to clean up your diet?

How did you do it without going crazy?

Blog on.................




7 comments:

  1. I could never do this.....all this fresh food looks amazing though. I've gained sooooo much fat on my body since stopping with my conscious cleanER eating. It's crazy! I may need these books!

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  2. I always look at those plans and think "Oh, I could easily live without ____"...until I actually try it. If I were really in need of a "reset", though, that one would be pretty tempting to try.
    Good luck! I'm curious to see how it goes for you.

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  3. I am eating up every word Kathee....keep up the posts!

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    1. When I started just eating Paleo I read a great book called "21 day total body transformation" by Mark Sissan that is really simple and is a lot less strict. I found it a livable lifestyle for over a year. I started the Whole30 just to jumpstart some better eating habits!

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  4. Wow, I'm super intrigued. The most difficult thing for me is that I hate cooking, so losing the convenience foods would kill me! I look forward to hearing how it goes.

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  5. Great post, so much info! I have some stomach trouble for a while and consider to change my nutrition. I just wish I would have a personal chef, that would it so much easier. Or a book that tells me exactly what to eat and cook, kind of like a training plan for a marathon. If you come across one, let me know :)

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  6. I've been eating Paleo since September. I used to be vegan!! I have read all these books and it changed my mind completely about the food I eat. I have felt great! Not as tired and have not gained any weight eating all the good fat!! I can run 10-12-14 miles and still have energy to do what I need to do the rest of the day! I also LOVE to cook, so it is a good fit for me... I try to help my 'dreambigrunner' friend... she likes my paleo desserts! ;-)

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