him & her XXIII: whole 30

HER:

This past January Curtis and I tried something that was completely out of our comfort zones. We did Whole 30. We had heard a little bit about this program from our sister-in-law, Danna, but other than that we didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into.



So What is Whole 30?

We went 30 days without:

• Sugar of any kind, real or artificial.
• Grains
• Legumes
• Dairy
• MSG, Carrageenan, or Sulfites (I had no idea what these were either)

Your only job during the Whole30 is to focus on making good food choices. You don’t need to weigh or measure, you don’t need to count calories, you don’t need to stress about organic, grass-fed, pastured or free range. Just figure out how to stick to the Whole30 in any setting, around every circumstance, under any amount of stress… for 30 straight days.

Certain food groups can have a negative impact on your health and fitness without you even realizing it. It takes 30 days to push the reset button on your health and change your relationship with food. By eating non-processed whole foods and ditching grains, dairy, and sugar, you will reduce inflammation in your system. 

How it Went

So as you can imagine giving up all these (wonderful) things was very difficult. We did not eat out for the entire month, because we didn't want to accidentally eat something we weren't supposed to. The first week was pretty hard to get used to, but I feel like after that it was smooth sailing.

I had so much more energy, I slept better, and had less digestive issues.

When I read about Whole 30 before we started I thought it would help me feel a little better, but I had no idea the impact it would really have on me!


Friendly Advice

Preparation is key. You cannot survive the 30 days unless you prepare. Every Sunday Curtis and I would make our dinners for the whole week so we didn't have to worry about cooking every night. This saved our butts. Especially if you are not used to preparing well balanced meals every day this is a great tool.

Follow the rules. Do not think that you can do Whole 30 while also drinking soda or eating a handful of chocolate chips every now and then. You have to commit or it's not going to work.

Try not to go too crazy the day after you're done. I made this mistake the first time I did Whole 30. I had been without sugar for so long that I was pumped to eat it again. Probably too pumped. The morning after I was done with the 30 days I had two donuts. 10 minutes later my teeth hurt and my heart was beating so fast I felt I was having a heart attack! I had never experienced anything like it. So try to reintroduce sugar, grains, dairy, and legumes back into your life. (Easier said than done)

A Day on Whole 30

Breakfast: 1 fried egg and an organic sausage patty

Lunch: Chicken and broccoli
Dinner: Chorizo Sweet Potato Chili
Snack: Apple and almond butter 

Check my Pinterest to see all the recipes I made on Whole 30!

I would recommend trying Whole 30 to anyone. It completely changes your relationship with food and restarts your system!

HIM:

Why Did We Do It? 

Just like any other human, the thought crossed our minds about what we could do to be healthier. There are millions of diets, eating plans, exercise routines out there, but which one could we actually stick to? I knew I wanted to try something that wouldn't feel constricting, but also would help restart my system.

The few months before we started Whole 30 Hannah and I had been having a lot of issues sleeping. We would be really restless and always wake up at least 3 or 4 times during the night. This caused us to have absolutely no energy during the day. Between some weight problems, trouble sleeping and a yearning to do something good for our bodies,  we decided to try Whole 30.

A Day on Whole 30 

Breakfast: Two fried eggs with pico de gallo and organic sausage.

Lunch: Lettuce wrap with nitrite free turkey

Dinner: Sweet and Sour Stir-fry

Snack: Turkey roll up with a pickle and mustard

What Did We Learn?

Hannah and I continue to eat whole 30 approved foods with the occasional treat or eating out. I really did miss going out to eat from a social perspective. 

Getting processed food out of our diets also helped me in my ability to keep high energy at work and to be positive. We have all had those lunches where we eat too much, get back to work and the next two hours are just groggy. This didn't happen on Whole 30. It was great. 

Another thing I learned is that trying new things can be good and bad. Some meals it totally worked out, others they did not. We made ground turkey meatloaf that is indescribable and just wrong. If I talk anymore about it, I will make myself sick. We tried making tortillas out of cauliflower. That was a no go. So we had some fails, but we also had some successes. 

Whole 30 was by no means easy at first but training your mind and body to say no was totally worth it. 

Would We do it Again?

I saw real results from Whole 30. I lost weight, I started sleeping a lot better, I felt motivated and I didn't feel hungry. There were still days that I wanted to quit, because sometimes you just want a freaking cookie! But we held our ground and it paid off.

Whole 30 isn't a quick fix diet, but a way to help you rethink what you eat and how to eat. I would tell everyone to give it a try, because it will help you find the foods that might be causing any problems for you physically or mentally. 

That being said I do not think I would do it to a T again. Right now we are pretty happy eating mostly Whole 30 meals with the occassional treat. 


Here is one of our favorite meals we ate on Whole 30!

Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein

Ingredients

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 stalks celery, sliced diagonally
• 2 cups cole slaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)
• 1 lb of cooked chicken breast (optional)

Cut a spaghetti squash in half length wise and scoop out seeds. Lay skin side up in a 13 x 9 pyrex and pour 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of the pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until flesh is very tender. Once done, scoop out flesh with a fork so it breaks apart into strings, set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together coconut aminos, ginger, and white pepper; set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and celery, and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in cabbage until heated through, about 1 minute.

Stir in spaghetti squash, chicken, and soy sauce mixture until well combined, about 2 minutes.

Serve immediately.