We’re going to make it! It’s week 4 of the whole 30 challenge and I’d guess that, even if you haven’t been perfect, you’ve made some great changes in your diet. Now that I’ve read It Starts with Food, I understand better why there are no cheats in this plan and even that some deviations could undermine your efforts. The strict requirements of the plan aren’t meant to be overwhelming just to challenge your willpower but rather they are meant to cause a type of reset in your body. The goal is to remove all of the common irritant type foods for a full 30 days and then reintroduce them one at a time to see how your body responds to them. So, if you indulged in pizza on day 7 (as I did) or had soy sauce and dairy on day 25 (like I did), you won’t fully be able to evaluate how your body reacts to a reintroduction to those foods starting on day 31.
Now that I’ve read those details, I don’t feel like I can rightly say “I completed a Whole 30” on January 31st but I do feel like I’ve made some excellent changes in my diet and many of them I want to keep. I also feel like I’ve made some strides in my relationship with food (longing for sweets after every meal, wanting to eat greasy salty food when I’m stressed) in this journey but there is much more progress to be made in that area. After all, I formed habits over the course of years, I can’t expect to be healed of my habits and dependencies in 30 days. However, I think this may be the best ‘diet’ I’ve ever done. It wasn’t a quick fix, it wasn’t a fad, it wasn’t full of protein shakes and chemicals, and it wasn’t a bunch of food I can’t find, don’t want, and can’t afford. This has been a reprioritization…to vegetables, animal proteins, healthy fats, and fruit.
I may just extend my journey past day 30 so that I can do a proper reintroduction. Or, I may not. 😉 Part of this journey for me is learning not to beat myself up over food. If I indulge purposefully or if I eat something that I didn’t realize had a non-compliant ingredient, I just move on and get back on the program. Again, that doesn’t help with the reset process but it’s huge for me…a mental reset may just need to happen before a physical one. 🙂 I’m guessing I’m not the only one in that boat.
Here’s my meal plan for this week. Enjoy!!
Sunday (today) – chicken salad with homemade mayo, lettuce leaf wraps and berries. I made my chicken salad with celery and purple grapes (just like my good friend Jessica made for me last week) plus my normal seasonings of onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. My husband’s was way more involved with cilantro, red onions, sweet relish (not Whole 30 compliant), green olives, minced spinach, homemade mayo, and seasonings. I tasted his before I realized the relish wasn’t on the plan. It was really good!! If I can find a sub for those sweet pickles that will work, I may make that again for me. 🙂
Breakfast for the kids – Almond butter cinnamon bread with homemade almond butter and sausage/bacon
Breakfast for me – mini egg pizzas and zucchini fritters. The fritters are softer than I’d like even after frying them in coconut oil. The flavor is good if you season them properly though and the color would make them perfect for a St. Patrick’s day meal. 🙂
Snacks for kids – celery stick with nut butters, cucumbers, carrots, fudge babies, assorted nuts, coconut chips, cheese sticks, grapes, berries, oranges, bananas
Monday – Kalua pig, coleslaw, and sautéed green beans
Tuesday – Brazilian chicken with coconut reduction over broccoli
Wednesday – leftovers or tuna/chicken salad or scrambled eggs…something easy
Thursday – Asian meatballs with spinach guacamole. I’m going to mince the veggies for the meatballs in my food processor so the kids won’t notice them as much and so they cook thoroughly. I also found some sugar-free tomato sauces to try out if we want a dip
Friday – Comfort noodles
Happy Sunday everyone. It’s going to be a great week!!