Whole30 update

I have officially made it through my first week of Whole30, and let me tell you it was hard! I nearly gave up a couple of times, but now that I am 7 days in, I am feeling like I can actually do it. I wanted to update you on how I am feeling and share some of the recipes we have used.

Challenges so far:

• The hardest part for me is cutting out mindless snacking. I have a fast metabolism, and I snack pretty much all.day.long. However, you can’t just mindlessly snack on this diet because lots of normal snack foods are off limits and other foods that are easy (like fruit) can cause you to be more hungry. So I struggled the first few days to snack in a good way (I consumed way too  much fruit and too many nuts the first couple of days).
• I was hungry all day and night for the first 3 days! This obviously relates to the above, but I have a fast metabolism so my body burns food quickly. I also have low blood sugar so my body had to adjust to the lack of sugar coming into my diet. By day 5 I felt better and much less hungry (though more aware of true hunger).
• Cutting out coffee: although the diet does allow you to drink 1-2 cups of coffee a day, you can’t have any sugar or dairy, so that means  black coffee. I HATE black coffee. I would rather just cut it out then try to drink it (and develop a ‘love’ for it).
• Preparing food takes time: This diet takes a lot of planning and preparing of food. You have to plan your meals to include a balance of meat, fats, veggies and only a few fruits. Because we weren’t already doing this during our meals, we have had to adjust. The husband spent literally hours in the kitchen last week and we pretty much spent the whole week cleaning up dishes and making more dirty (with more cooking).

Changes I have noticed

• I am way more aware of my hunger. I think my body is starting to recognize real hunger verses feeling hungry out of habit. I noticed today at work that I really wanted to eat a snack as soon as school was out, but I didn’t really feel hungry. I just am use to eating then so  my brain said ‘it’s time to eat.’
• My stomach/intestines feels better. The first 5 days my stomach did NOT feel better, but the last 2 days it has felt better than it did before the diet. So that is good!
• My milk supply is up! This was a big shock today. I think my milk supply initially dropped on day 2 and 3 but then has increased since then. Today I when I pumped at work I got almost 2x the amount that I normally got (which is great because that means I can pump once and get two full bottles instead of just one!)
• The first 3 days I was way more tired. The second 4 days I have felt less tired. It is hard to tell if this is due to getting use to the diet, lack of coffee or getting more sleep (The first 2 days Millie had a rough night and cried basically all night long).

Recipes we have tried (and liked)

Sausage and Egg Breakfast Bites (we eat these every morning!)

Smoothie (you are supposed to limit smoothie intake, so I have only had this once, but it was really good)

Sweet Potato Fries 

Coconut Flour Pancakes (we had these on day 6, so good after not having anything bread like for days and days)

Seared Scallops with kale 

Ginger Chicken Soup 

What I have learned so far

• Try to keep the meals simple. Some of the meals you already know and love can likely be adapted to fit the Whole30 lifestyle. No need to completely reinvent the wheal
• Have snack options in your mind for moments of hunger
• Don’t snack only on fruits and veggies (I just become more hungry when I do this)
• The book (seen above) it actually really helpful. If you are curious get the book and read it BEFORE starting the diet (I sort of wish I had done this)
• I can do it!