Today is Day 30! We did it! It has taken over our lives, but we did it. Now what? Whelp, tomorrow is Day 1 of reintroduction. As much as we'd like to raid the pantry and the freezer and eat everything we've desperately missed this month (smell the chocolate.... angghhhhh), we can't. If we do, then the past thirty days of avoiding all the things will be for nothing. So now, we slowly reintroduce eliminated food groups, and we pay attention. This is how we find out if we are lucky and can eat whatever we want (but maybe be a bit more reasonable about it), or whether dairy, grains or anything else is going to kick us in the shins.
To catch you up... Hubs Mike and I are doing the Whole 30 for the month of January. I'm doing it to identify food sensitivities, following my GI doc's recommendation. Mike is doing it for solidarity's sake (best hubby ever). Here are the first four articles: Getting Ready, Week One Recap, Week Two Recap, Week Three Recap.
Tomorrow is DAIRY day. That means Ima drink a big ole glassa milk for breakfast tomorrow. And have some cheese for lunch. And more cheese for dinner. And prolly some snack cheese too. Ice cream? Oh........ ice cream........ maybe. I may be hiding in a corner curled up in a ball by dinner time, we'll see. I hope not because, boy, do I miss dairy. Whole30 is supposed to kill your food cravings by the end of the thirty days and give you "total food freedom." I certainly think we have learned a ton on this journey about how food affects us psychologically. BUT, we are still slaves to our cravings. It is probably because I've been keeping my sugar dragon alive and well in the basement by feeding it 900 mandarin oranges this month. I'm sorry, but that thing is a loud creature. It does not want to be ignored. The true Whole30 disciples are nodding their heads and thinking, yep... too many oranges. Sigh.
In the next week or so, we'll learn some more about how food affects us physically. If we are lucky, we won't have to keep anything out of our diet permanently. Otherwise, we will learn what to avoid from now on.
Roasted and carmelized brussel sprouts and beets, with garlic, bacon and balsalmic vinegar. SO good.
Days 22 - 27 - "The Scale and Mirror are Calling"
As you may remember from last week, this totally happened. And neither of us was able to resist. Last week I told you I was going to resist, and stay off the scale for the rest of the time. I lied. Which, if we're being honest, means we failed doing a true Whole30. Stepping on the scale during the thirty days is totally not allowed. But, eh. I'm ok with this kind of cheating. We didn't step on the scale every day, so that's an improvement. And improvement is what we're aiming for here people.
Day 28 - "Is 28 as Good as 30??"
No it is not. There were no problems here. We made it this far, there was no way we were going to quit. *BUT* I did make the mistake of perusing the Whole30 support groups on facebook and discovered something I wish I hadn't read. I found out that store bought chips, of any kind, even if they are made from Whole30 compliant ingredients are not allowed on the Whole30 anymore. Apparently this was made into a rule AFTER the book we have, was published. Well, crap. Because, I've been eating plantain chips like a deprived monkey in a banana orchard. And I had the gut feeling (just like there can be such a thing as too many oranges), that this was no bueno. In fact, the post made me laugh out loud, saying face-planting into any kind of store bought chips is not in the spirit of resetting your food habits, "especially plantain chips. You know you crack out on them..." Ummm, yes. Ha.
My Whole30 undoing. These chips made with Whole30 compliant ingredients (plantains and salt), are not technically allowed on the Whole30 program, because they can become 'food with no brakes." So true, but they are soooooo good. Great substitute for less healthy chips any other time.
Days 29 - 30 - "HolyOprahItsAlmostOverWhatAmIGoingToDoNow?"
Thankfully, I am not really feeling this way. If there's one thing I've learned while attempting this program, it is this.... plan, plan, plan and plan some more. So, throughout this journey we have planned 4-5 days at a time, in advance. The meal planning service that I'm using to do this (realplans.com if you're wondering), even has a "Whole30 reintroduction," tool. It is so awesome, and makes it so much easier.
Takeaways This Week
Even though we are technically supposed to wait until tomorrow, Mike and I both hopped on the scale this morning to see the final result of the past thirty days, at least in the weight loss department. I have lost 7.6 lbs, and reached a new low, since I first began trying to exercise my way out of my unhealthy diet a few years ago. That's almost 2 lbs/week! Mike, incredibly, has lost 20 pounds! But he did not weigh himself starting on Day 1, so we're not sure exactly how much of that is from this month. We're guessing at least fifteen pounds. And the best part? All that with virtually no exercise! Of course, we're not advocating for that. We'd certainly like to start exercising, to improve our health even more. But, it's nice to know that eating better is really all it takes, and that getting sick or injured will not derail our plans. We can always be more conscious of our eating habits. As parents, it is SO hard to find the time to exercise, so this is great news, right?
Also, Mike and I were talking one morning about how awesome it has been to be doing this together. I have already said this, but I'll say it again. We both agree, there is no way we could have done this alone. Having each other as accountability buddies, and living in the same household, has definitely made it much easier. You can totally do this without your significant other though. Just find a friend, neighbor or new friend online to do this with you. Having someone to share the struggles, and the triumphs, is so important!
I have decided to keep going with these articles next week. I realized that half the Whole30 journey is actually what happens AFTER the thirty days, when we start reintroducing those food groups we've been missing. So if you want to find out, look for a new article next week! Thanks for following along with us so far!
Mexican salmon cakes, with mango, avocado, lime and cilantro relish. Tasty but fell apart during cooking. Think I'll add eggs if I make this one again.
----------------------
Get a FREE kid-friendly event calendar for families living from downtown B'ham and south to Alabaster full of festivals, fairs, activities, events and more! Sign up by clicking HERE!
Macaroni Kid South Birmingham is a free weekly e-newsletter and website focused on fun family events and things to do with kids in the South Birmingham region. We gather together all kinds of local family events and activities each week, and add useful information about classes, family-focused businesses, book and product reviews, recipes, crafts, school and camp guides and more. We proudly serve families in downtown Birmingham, Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover, Pelham, the Oak Mountain and 280 area, Helena and Alabaster.
