You might be sick of me talking about Whole30 by now, but I can’t help it!
This is honestly the most effective eating plan Andy and I have ever followed. It didn’t just change our month, it honestly changed our lives.
We introduced legumes by having a dinner that included a side of black beans.
It was wild cod broiled in ghee, lime juice, and salt with a side of roasted broccoli (which we are currently OBSESSED with) and then black beans simmered with onions, garlic and a few dashes of cumin.
Overall we felt fine after our legume experiment. I felt tired a little earlier than usual and Andy wondered if he might have had a smidge of indigestion, but nothing too crazy, so I think we’ll definitely add beans back into the rotation here and there. They are very filling, inexpensive, a nice alternative to meat, and the girls LOVE them!
We had popcorn and wine the Friday night after our end date and let me tell you the popcorn was every bit as delicious as I’d imagined and maybe even more! We pop ours on the stove with coconut oil and it’s the bomb.com. I had a bottle of local cherry wine that we chilled and sipped on along with our popcorn and weekly Netflix ritual and the whole experience was a fun departure from our hard-core discipline!
Corn didn’t seem to negatively impact us, so I’ll be curious to see how we handle things like rice, oatmeal and quinoa. I would have planned to re-into those right after corn, but we ended up having an impromptu family shopping/dinner out outing that fast forwarded our dairy and gluten reintro.
Saturday afternoon we took all 3 kids to the mall and scored BIG at the Sears Land’s End spring sale. I’m talking $60 corduroy pants for Andy for $20 and $49 cardigans for me for $17! We wandered the mall a little, picked up matching adorable denim mary jane sneakers for the girls at Payless and even grabbed some flip flops and spring dresses at Old Navy.
By the time we finished shopping, everyone was HANGRY (hungry+angry) LOL. Red Robin was next door and offered a variety of things we all like (plus I was secretly thinking I could get something almost Whole30 compliant) but they had a 30 minute wait which was TOO LONG for us.
Andy thought pizza might be fun since it’s a favorite of Grace and Avery’s and why not re-intro the ultimate splurge food sooner rather than later!
We went to the Pizza Hut near our house and it was practically empty which is right up our alley! We got a double cheese pizza and Mountain Dew and cautiously took our first bites and sips.
The Mountain Dew totally grossed me out! In the book I remember reading that previously normal tasting sweet food and drinks tasted overly sweet and nasty to people after Whole30, but I didn’t think that would be my story. Turns out it was! I drank about 1/3 of my Mountain Dew and switched to water. Soft drinks are just too sweet for me at this point.
The pizza was definitely delicious! It tasted about 10x more flavorful than the last time I ate pizza. I think my tastebuds were tuned into the saltiness of the cheese and the nuances of the crust more than usual. It’s so funny that pizza tasted almost foreign after just a month!
Of course I had to dissect everything I was thinking throughout the whole meal and for a while afterward. Andy had me cracking up with impressions of how my sister would probably mock our conversation if she was listening to it!
“BABE, THE CHEESE JUST TASTED SO FOREIGN!”
LOL.
Ellen is good for my ego. She keeps my absurd overthinking in check by mocking me from time to time :)
I ate WAY LESS than usual and felt extremely full at the end. We came home and I was exhausted. It was like a gluten and dairy COMA.
ICK.
I could not WAIT to go back to clean eating the next morning! In fact, I’d venture to say that I felt off for several days after indulging.
It wasn’t a great idea to reintro gluten and dairy at the same time, so I plan to see how we respond to them individually too.
But in many ways I’m glad we ripped off the bandaid and ate out over the weekend. It helped me to see that I can manage a lifestyle change. We can eat out and then return to healthy eating.
Historically that has not been the case.
We usually leap out of a diet plan right back into our old ways.
Not that we are terrible eaters in general, but we love to indulge and haven’t found a great balance of doing so only sometimes. Keeping the weekend for splurge meals will help us stay in better shape and health overall.
I’ve got to say that I enjoy the Whole30 meals just as much if not MORE than the things we splurged on over the weekend. I’ve come to really appreciate the fresh flavors of the healthy foods we’ve been eating and even more than that, I love the way I feel after each meal.
Satisfied and nourished rather than bloated and full.
I can’t get over how crazy it is that this 30 day journey had such an impact on us. It blows me away.
As if all the benefits we discussed in our Whole30 Video weren’t enough, I’m happy to report that my blood pressure is back in the normal range without medication!
The numbers on the scale are steadily creeping downward and I’m wearing clothes I haven’t fit into since I lost weight after Avery…like 6 MONTHS after Avery! I’m wearing them now even though Drew is only 3 months old!
Whole30 has been shown to stabilize blood sugar in diabetics, reduce pain in people with joint issues, clear up acne, alleviate asthma, and about a million other things for a host of other ailments.
If you are struggling with a health and wellness issue or know someone who is, I highly recommend Whole30!!
Read this book and give it a whirl. I’ll even be your personal cheerleader if you decide to try it!
The following instagram accounts have also REALLY inspired me:
Also, my own account: @wholedailyrebecca ;)
I know I was supposed to do a post about what we ate over the 30 days, but apparently I had a lot more to say!
Shocking, I know ;)
I promise I’ll be back next with a food rundown. I’ve got the collages all ready and I’ll be hunting down links for any recipes I used.
As always, if you have any questions, let me know in the comments!
I enjoyed reading your blog. I can’t wait to start my own whole 30 experience in a few weeks. I will probably be back with questions :)
Please do come back with questions!!! I’d be more than happy to answer them :)
Haha, thanks for the shout out!
You never cease to amaze me Sweetie!!!
Boy you have certainly inspired me Rebecca and tempted me. My major cop outs are that we don’t have all those yummy foods close by, even the veggies and I’m not an egg eater. I would like to at least read the book to see if that pushes me over the edge. Loved all your posts and the videos! Again, you are AMAZING!!