Whole30 Recap - Week 1 - Ashley & Emily
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Whole30 Recap – Week 1

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Whole30 Recap – Week 1

The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom

So, I wasn’t going to post about this Whole30 journey at all. But I have gotten so many texts, messages, snaps, and questions about it that I decided I should. If anyone else is doing Whole30, I would love to know how it’s going or any recipes you are loving. My first piece of advice is to please read both of the books above. They explain everything, what you can and can’t have, why the program is 30 days, why you can’t do a “mostly Whole30,” how to read labels, why you can’t have beans, etc.Week one is complete! I am already feeling SO much better. I have only had two cups of coffee so far in 2016. While I do feel tired- it’s a different tired. More of a body tired than a head tired if that makes sense. I think it’s because my body is adjusting to all these changes and is trying to adapt without the sugar, carbs and junk that it’s been used to for almost 30 years. I went from getting five hours of sleep a night to 7 or 8, which is my biggest victory thus far. I have struggled with insomnia and anxiety since I graduated college- and it feels so good to wake up in the mornings having slept a full night. I also haven’t needed to take my anxiety medication- which considering all of the 49er drama that has been happening, is a miracle in and of itself.

Shop Whole30:

I keep checking in with the Whole30 timeline because it is seriously dead on. It’s good to know that what I’m feeling is completely normal. My day two headache was realllly bad- but I felt better when I realized that was to be expected. The most hilarious phase to me is “kill all of the things”- thank god Joe is being so patient with me throughout this process and even eating all of my experimental recipes with me.

One thing that surprised me is you aren’t technically supposed to be working out, especially during week one. But I am too addicted to Barry’s to not go. Monday was my first workout while on Whole30- I felt weaker than usual, especially on my runs, but felt really good once class was over. The next day was leg day so I ate a bit more than I did the day before. My chorizo with eggs is like my special treat meal- so I made sure to eat it this day because I was going to be lifting pretty heavy and not running.

It has been so great to be doing this with other people too. I have about five or six ladies who are doing this with me and it has made it SO much easier. Jess (aka my life coach) who I met through Barry’s has basically been walking me through this step by step and helping me with any questions about labels, recipes, tips and tricks and for that I am so grateful. I literally text her 500 times a day- oops. And Joe’s mom who went to Whole Foods with me for hours reading labels and finding compliant items. It feels good to help each other out- we call each other from the grocery store, tag each other on really great recipes on Instagram, etc. This not only makes you accountable, it also makes it fun. Whole30 dinner party here we come!

I’ve been trying to snap all of my meals (be sure to follow me for updates @ashleyzeal)- but sometimes they look gross or are just leftovers. But here is a breakdown of what I ate the first week:

Day 1 (sick, ok, hungover)

Applesauce

Banana
Dried Mango
Orange
Coconut water
Day 2
Hot dog & egg
Cucumber, avo, roast beef
Spaghetti Squash w/ ground turkey & marinara sauce
Day 3
Chorizo & Eggs w/ an apple
Leftover Spaghetti Squash
Coconut chicken curry- without the rice obviously but made some for Joe
Day 4
Sausage & Eggs
Chicken curry leftovers
Post work out- hard boiled eggs & hot dog
Taco meat (with chili powder, cumin & cayenne) salad, cucumber, tomato, avo, salsa
Day 5
Chorizo & eggs
RX Bar (um, I’m obsessed)
Apple
Taco salad leftover w/ avo
Post work out- hard boiled eggs, banana
Chicken apple sausage, carrot sticks & guac, pear
Day 6
Eggs & chicken apple sausage
Chicken apple sausage with cucumber, red pepper
Sweet potato crockpot chili – recipe here
Day 7
Eggs and chicken apple sausage
Clearly Kombucha.. my first time trying this brand and I’m loving it!
Leftover chili
Egg salad (made with Primal Mayo) on mixed greens
Overall, I feel really great. I haven’t been hungry or really noticed anything thats missing from my life. Maybe just Starbucks. I think the biggest misconception with the Whole30 is that it’s a diet. It isn’t. It’s more of a reset that helps you build a stronger relationship with food. My main goal for this challenge isn’t necessarily to lose weight (that will happen regardless)- but to stop my cravings, and start eating food as fuel instead of as a reward. My bloating has already gone down dramatically, and my face is definitely skinnier.My friend Hillary who has done this before has been an amazing sounding board for all of my pesky questions. She warned me that the cooking and cleaning would be a lot- and that was her least favorite part. While it’s not my favorite, I don’t mind it as much as the grocery shopping. I have never grocery shopped more in my life. Last week I went three times. Granted, a lot of it was to stock up on the essentials (listed below) – but it’s seriously exhausting and time-consuming. That’s my only complaint so far. Here’s the rundown of what I bought at each store.

Trader Joes:

Chili chicken lime burgers
Hot sauce
Eggs
Compliant Sausage
Plantain Chips
Fruit bars (my favorite flavors are Apple& Mango and Apple & Strawberry)
Coconut milk
Nitrate free hot dogs- Applegate brand
Salsas – the jarred Salsa Verde and Salsa Authentica are both compliant
Dried mango (make sure you get Just Mango, no added sugar)
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Coconut oil
Almond butter & sunflower seed butter
Coconut milk & coconut cream
Nuts- cashews, almonds
Guacamole

Whole Foods:

Tessemae’s dressings: I got Lemonette, Lemon Garlic & Balsamic
Kombucha, tea, sparkling waters (LaCroix)
Spices: chili powder
Chorizo
Sausage
Spaghetti Squash
Marinara
Coconut milk

Safeway:

Chicken
Raisins
Olives
Ground meat
Apple chips
Produce- fresher than TJ’s, cheaper that WF
Adobo spice

Amazon:

Primal mayo

RX Bars

Disclaimer about the photos below: I am not a food photographer (I leave this up to Em), and it is really hard to make chili look appetizing. BUT, here are some photos of the chili I made on day 6. I had one of my guy friends over who is contemplating doing the program during lent- so I wanted to make him a good meal that kind of “sold” him on the Whole30. The chili was amazing and filled us all up! Plus, its perfect for this crazy El Nino weather we’ve been having.
Like I said, I had no intention of doing this post-so, next week my update will be a little more cohesive and organized!

 

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