Starting September 16

[eedeck1752]

This will be my very first Whole30 and I'm excited and nervous.

my husband isn't on board but considering I'm not cooking two seperate meals, he won't have much of a choice when he's home!

I do have two small children (5,2) and I'd love any easy, family friendly recipes you can offer!

[kirbz]

I'm also planning to start on Saturday! I'd very much love all the support and encouragement that I can get! This will be my second attempt at completing the Whole30. 

I'm doing this for a couple of reasons. One, I just want to be healthy again. I know I'm not and I feel it in every part of my body. I'm "only" 32 and shouldn't feel that way. Second, I want more energy. I comment that I'm tired almost every single day and that drives me crazy. I wake up tired, I'm tired throughout the day, and I go to bed tired. Third, I want more stamina to do the activities I love (i.e., hiking, mountain biking, stand-up paddleboarding). Fourth, I don't want to be a slave to food. I LOVE chocolate and sugar and all things bad and eat them in ridiculous quantities. I want my food freedom to allow me to have a small portion of something I love and feel satisfied, rather than getting out of control so that I eat the whole bag of chocolate or the whole tub of ice cream. 

The meal prep is definitely the part I find most challenging and most intimidating. I don't like making meals ahead because I'm weird about eating things that are more than a day old. I also don't like to plan meals in advance, I like to eat what I feel like in the moment. So, in preparation, I spent a crap ton of money on pre-made sauces, spices, and dressings because those things take time and that's my biggest limitation. I'm hoping this will allow me to be flexible in putting together quick meals on the fly.

So, let's do this journey together! I hope there are more of us and I hope we can support each other to get through this and achieve our goals! 

[eedeck1752]

Yay! I'm the most nervous about not being able to have ranch dressing! I'm kinda addicted BUT I'm tired of being a slave to food and I want me kids to have a normal and healthy relationship with food and right now I'm showing them the opposite.

I totally know what you mean when you say you love sugar- I'm the carb queen! 

I cant wait to start!

 

[kirbz]

You can still have ranch dressing while doing the Whole30! It doesn't necessarily taste the same but it's not terrible... ?? LOL, here's a link to a homemade one that seems to be very popular: https://www.whole-sisters.com/dump-ranch/. You can also buy ranch from Tessemae's (which I've found at Target, Walmart, and other common grocery stores in the refrigerated section) and Primal Kitchen (which tends to be a bit harder to find and is in the regular grocery aisle). They tend to be pricy but it's up to you whether you have more time or more money to make this a success!

I'm excited to start as well! What are your goals in doing the Whole30 (sounds like improving your relationship with food is one)? 

[kirbz]

I don't have any advice on easy family meals but if you haven't checked out the whole30recipes feed on Instagram or Facebook, you definitely should! They have great meal ideas and recipes, and many of the guest posters have kids and recommend meals that are kid-friendly. 

I'm doing this alone, though my fiance is supportive of eating and cooking dinners that are Whole30 compliant! Fortunately, his snack foods are also different than what I prefer (he's a salty kinda guy) so they won't be tempting to have around! 

[eedeck1752]

Thanks- I am for sure gonna check to see if I can find those options around here!

my goals are to improve my relationship with food and to loose weight! I've started working with a personal trainer doing crossfit twice a week but I've got to get back to basics when it comes to my diet. It doesn't make any sense to spend all this money on a trainer then put a bunch of garbage into my mouth and I'm never going to get the results I want that way either!

 

[kirbz]

Oh my goodness, can you believe we start tomorrow!? Are you ready!?

I'm feeling nervous because I'm trying a very different approach this time. Did I mention I tried this once before? Well, I quit on Day 7 that time. Before I even saw or felt any of the benefits. I was stressed trying to plan meals all the time and I didn't like eating that way anyway and I was bitter about giving up a Sunday to meal plan and prep. So, I'm not gonna do it this time! I'm gonna wing it! 

I have done a lot of research though. I've read all the books, most more than once. I have a ton of meats in the freezer. I have a ton of dressings, sauces, mixed spices, and other stuff on hand to whip up a quick stir fry or salad or whatever I feel like! So, fingers crossed that this method works for me! For now, I have breakfast planned for tomorrow. And I tentatively plan to make a lasagna on Sunday!

What's your method to this craziness? How are you feeling?

[eedeck1752]

I know! It seems like it snuck up quick.

I am kinda a little nervous about not having my creamy coffee but other than that I've been dairy free since April, so that doesn't stress me as much as other people who know I'm doing this, lol

We just bought our first home (FIXER UPPER) and are currently living with my parents while we remodel so I'm trying hard to plan meals that everyone will enjoy.

I also usually don't eat breakfast so I'm going to have to plan for that but since I've been doing low carb so long I'm welcoming the opurtunty to have things like fruit and nuts!

for the most part I'm going to try to plan my meals for the week but cook them on that day vs prepping a week of food at a time. I'm hoping our winging works!

[Bridgetr30]

Good idea to plan your meals. Tomorrow I start day 8 and I found the days I planned my meals (fitness pal) were much easier.  I will say that my lifeline this week has been having compliant bacon available. Breakfast typically will be sautéed cabbage slaw, apple, butternut squash or sweet potato.  Protein I use chicken with homemade bone broth... or the turkey bacon.

One night I cooked a steak and added homemade blueberry basalmic  vinegar sauce over it.  All you do is cook the blueberries on medium heat until they begin to pop. Add about Tbls of balsamic vinegar and a Tbls of  red wine vinegar. Stir until the natural pectin of the blueberries are released and the sauce begins to thicken. Then taste and tweak if necessary.  Next time I am going to add orange zest to it.

I hope that helps.

[kirbz]

@eedeck1752 How did your first day go?

I felt pretty good and my strategy of winging my meals felt really good! I enjoyed the food I ate, as did my fiance, who is not doing the Whole30. 

If you're interested, I'm logging my daily meals under "Kira's Whole30 Log" if you want to follow along and see how my meals are coming together. :-) 

Good luck for Day 2. Stay strong!