Thank you so much for your comments on yesterday’s post about my first Whole30. I appreciate both the support of me doing the program as well as all of the experiences you shared about dealing with skin issues like eczema and dermatitis. While I’m sorry to hear that there are so many others struggling with similar frustrating and painful skin issues, it’s always nice to know you’re not alone. I was so on the fence about whether or not to blog about doing Whole30 but I’m so glad that I did. I promise to be open and honest about it.
I’m currently on Day 5 so I wanted to go ahead and share day 1-4 of what I’ve been eating for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in a day-by-day format. I’ll do food photos first for those of you who are more interested in food and not the Whole30. Scroll down to end of post for more insight on days 1-4.
DAY 1
Two scrambled eggs and one-fourth of an avocado. I had not been food shopping yet so my fridge contents left much to be desired.
I made some amazing salads post-farmers market to make up for it. Seared chicken breast with salt and a lemon pepper seasoning over a salad with kale, arugula, carrots, apples, avocado, radishes and spiced walnuts. I made the walnuts in a cast iron skillet with coconut oil, chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper. Dressed with balsamic and olive oil.
Late night dinner after seeing a movie. Chicken quarter, brussels sprouts tossed in ghee, salt and pepper and butternut squash sauteed with coconut oil.
DAY 2
Pre-run banana with almond butter and sunflower seed butter. Black coffee. Very fortunate to already drink black coffee! Many struggle with giving up the cream and sweetener.
Post-run brunch was sauteed spinach and tomatoes and half of an avocado topped with two fried eggs and salsa. Mandarin on the side.
Dinner was flounder seasoned with salt and a lemon pepper grinder and dredged in coconut flour. Served with sauteed spinach and mashed cauliflower. Instead of using broth or milk, I added a little reserved cooking water to thin and seasoned with salt and an olive oil with truffles.
DAY 3
Breakfast was a kale wrap with two scrambled eggs and sauteed tomatoes with mixed berries.
Lunch was seared chicken breast over spinach and arugula with cucumbers, radishes, pine nuts, kalamata olives and Tessemae’s Caesar Dressing. It was nice to find a few salad dressings that were compliant…I knew I would get burnt out on balsamic and EVOO.
Dinner was Crockpot Salsa Chicken (minus the black beans and corn) over zucchini noodles with avocado. This is one of the easiest recipes of all time and always good! (Note: please omit corn to make this dish Whole30 compliant.)
DAY 4
Breakfast was chia pudding made with mashed banana, cinnamon and homemade almond milk. (More on the homemade almond milk soon…SO GOOD!) Topped with almond butter and berries. While I’m not the world’s greatest fan of chia pudding, this breakfast is going to be a lifesaver for me because I cannot do eggs every morning and I’m really trying to adhere to the program’s advice to skip smoothies. (Which I’ve been trying to do anyway for “always cold” reasons.)
I roasted a huge pan of root veggies at lunch with lots of coconut oil. Carrots, turnips, beets and sweet potatoes.
And served it on a salad with leftover shredded chicken breast, balsamic and olive oil.
I prepped a sirloin tip roast yesterday afternoon.
I got it at the farmers market last weekend from my favorite farmer at Windy Hill who sells local, pasture raised, grass-fed beef. (Also who I bought all my eggs from.)
I used this recipe for the roast and served it with potatoes, mushrooms and broccoli roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper.
THE EXTRAS
I have had an apple and sunflower seed or almond butter with a cup of tea every single afternoon for a snack. I usually end up eating 2x this nut butter because I run out 3 slices in. 😉 This has been a godsend for staving off hunger and definitely something I will continue throughout the program.
Kombucha is allowed on the program! (As long as there is only fruit juice added and no cane sugar. Read your labels!) This has been a great treat for me in the evenings and great to replace a glass of wine. LOVE this new blend from Buchi of tumeric, pineapple juice and coconut water. I also have a cup of hot tea before bed.
And then all I gotta say is thank you god that coffee is allowed.
HOW I FEEL
Overall, really good so far. Here are my insights and experiences so far. I’m going to bullet them for ya to make it easier to read!
- I haven’t had any crazy headaches, cravings or lack of energy. A lot of people in our group had a pretty serious “hangover” on days 2-3 but I somehow escaped that.
- I did have a really hard time sleeping on day 2…no sure if that was anxiety or program related. It’s gotten better the last couple of nights but not amazing. I’m not a great sleeper in general so I’m looking forward to weeks 3-4 when sleep is supposed to be amazing.
- I had to pee a TON on days 3-4. We’re talking hourly here. Apparently, it’s due to your body not storing so many carbohydrates and being able to release the water it was holding to store excess carbs. It was insane but seems to have tapered off now.
- Workouts have been wonderful and I’ve been motivated to get up and get them done early in the morning after I finish training clients rather than waiting until later in the day.
- Digestion is good and I already feel so much less bloated and puffy than I did coming out of the holidays.
- No noticeable improvement in my eyes yet but overall my skin is clearing up. I had some hormonal stuff ongoing on my cheeks and chin and no new breakouts, so that’s good. I also attribute that to a topical that I’m using as needed on top of Whole30.
- I feel excited to create food with all of the different fresh produce, proteins and fats that are program approved and I’m trying to not eat the same thing over and over so I won’t get burnt out.
As always, let me know if you have any questions!
What’s your favorite “mocktail?”
If you’re doing Whole30 in January, how is the first week going?
