Whole 30, Year 3

Posted on by Jennie

This year’s Whole30 was the easiest by far. We knew the rules backward and forward, and I wasn’t pregnant or nursing Evie every 3 hours, so I wasn’t hungry all the time.

Whole 30 Burger Salad
This was a typical lunch – burger, greens, some garlic dip, avocado, and of course, my fave plantain chips!

PROS: The Whole30 is always a sure way for me to lose weight – one of the only ways that actually gets me to lose a sustainable amount without limiting calories. In Whole30 you can eat whatever you want within the rules, and I take this to heart. I believe that they say to not snack and rather only have 3 meals, but I find that if I just stick to the rules, I don’t get too hungry and just to my body.

I lost 6.5 pounds this time around, which is a great loss for only 30 days. In 2017, I lost 9 pounds, and last year I lost 13 pounds, so it was the smallest lost I’ve had, but I am also feeling very good, knowing I’m trying to leave some of my lasting baby weight from my pregnancy. Shedding a few pounds and generally feeling better is a win.

Whole30 also is a great way for me to actually eat better, and different. We always get into a rut and suddenly we’re eating Chicken Quesadillas three nights a week and I’m convincing myself I deserve some ice cream.

For me, the hardest parts are: 1) Social and 2) Reward Expectations. First of all, most social things revolve around food, and having to not just have what I want is a difficult mental block to cross – book club, birthdays, dinner parties, etc., all events that make me want to eat sugar and carbs and drink.

The second is built into the way I reward myself – I had a hard day, a good day, a stressful day, I’m sick – and somehow I deserve, therefore, ice cream or bread or crackers or wine. Trying to find another way to reward myself – earlier bedtime, sitting down to read, a steaming cup of tea, all helped me try my hand at self care without also being self destructive.

This is the Egg Roll Soup we made twice from Unbound Wellness. It’s linked down below.

CONS: Guys, I really feel like Whole30 isn’t great for the environment. Because you can’t have certain proteins, you end up (or at least I did) eating a lot of meat. I understand conceptually why it’s built the way it is, and I know it’s not a forever-diet, but I think in general I’ve done it enough times that I don’t need to do it again that restrictive. I know the triggers for me are sugar, dairy, and grains, and I will hopefully change my diet accordingly. I also feel like I end up eating a lot of cold foods (salads for lunch) but this year I focused on soups and that helped me to stay warm through the coldest LA month!

That said, I have some tips and tricks for how to do Whole30.

These meatballs and that “cheese” sauce were so delicious! I love spaghetti squash, so using that and a sauce with some meatballs and veggies always was successful.

Breakfast – I ate a lot of eggs, almost every day. I would make a big batch of sweet potatoes or cauliflower rice on Sundays to eat with my eggs, and then the morning of make them overeasy with a green – usually spinach or kale.

Lunch – I typically had leftovers from dinners, but also would make a soup specifically for lunch. I loved tons of veggies with chicken sausage in a broth. I also would make salads, usually with a nut and/or seed, olives, a meat, and some greens.

Snacks – I ate a lot of olives and nuts, and some RX bars or Lara bars that were compliant. I would also eat tons of fruit, and some veggies – sugar snap peas, cucumbers, zucchini, etc.

Dinners –Here are some go-to recipes we ate a lot this time around for dinner. I also have a Pinterest board here.

Indian Meatballs (40 Aprons)

Egg Roll Soup (Unbound Wellness)

Crockpot Carnitas (40 Aprons)

Vegan Butternut Sauce with Spaghetti Squash (Bites By Mi)

Zuppa Toscana (40 Aprons)

These were all huge crowd pleasers and we ended up making them all a few times each and having lots of leftovers.

I hope you find this helpful! Are you planning on doing a Whole30 ever? Have you done one before? Have you tried another type of diet change that’s worked for you?


 

[addtoany] Yum
 

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