#the one time i actually ate a significant amount of coconut as a kid (instead of tasting it and instantly spitting it out)

[theygender]

Jod help me I'm about to try something I'm allergic to to test if I'm allergic again

[thegrassisaalwaysgreener]

My Whole 30 Experience

Like many others, I have struggled with weight and the concept of “healthy eating”. While I do love sweets and “cheat meals”, I have always truly enjoyed fruits, vegetables and home cooked meals. Growing up, we ate pretty healthy but desserts were a fairly regular thing which probably doesn’t help me as an adult. While dabbling in various sports and activities, I did not find the true sport of “fitness” until I tried Crossfit. Now, everyone has their perceptions and opinions of Crossfit (many of which I have heard), however I have never found an activity that truly challenges me both mentally and physically in a way that I enjoy so much. The community, camaraderie, successes and failures, are all part of the process. I digress but, the moral of the this rant is, I have always strived to be healthy and active but have not always been the most successful in feeling the best I could be. My significant other has heard a lot about the “Whole 30” and bought me the book which I was only mildly offended by  (kidding). I was super interested in it as I have had a lot of success with lower carb and macro (protein/fat/carb) lifestyles and thought this would be a great adventure. I didn’t have a ton of time to read the book before starting as I had a goal. We were heading to Europe at the end of February and I wanted to be done the whole 30 before then. The day after he left, I was going to embark on this mission. Several friends\family members were surprised and some even had their doubts about it “being too hard”. While I am always up for a challenge, I did have my concerns about this lifestyle as it seemed a bit extreme at first with many steep learning curves along the way.            I haven’t even really explained what the Whole 30 ® is. This program has been tried and tested my millions of people since its inception in about 2009. Now, I am not in any way shape or form endorsing a diet or lifestyle change that does not appeal to you or that has not been approved by your md, but this one seemed pretty legit. The premise is to eat all whole foods for 30 days- seems simple enough. Many people who chronic health issues including IBS, allergies, skin issues, arthritis and a whole range of emotional concerns have found that when they cut out many of the irritants (e.g gluten, sugar, dairy, legumes etc), they have a resolution or at least improvement in their symptoms. While I do not suffer any chronic health conditions, I do have some MSK pain along with some mood swings (probably from hormones or sugar) and thought I would give this lifestyle adjustment a chance.            Since this was such a challenging, amazing experience, I thought I would document it and share. Of course, I am well aware that everyone will have their own opinion and input (heck, that is if anyone reads this!) but I figured it would be nice to share the tips and tricks that I have learned in this roller-coaster month. Week 1 (Jan 21-27):            Since I didn’t have a ton of time to read the book from cover to cover like I would have wanted to prep, I did my best to read the “what not to eat list” before prepping for my first few days at work. The Whole 30 ® book is super helpful with a step by step guide on basically what it is that I would be embarking on, tips, meal plans, recipes, Q&A and so much more. The website is even more helpful! Once I started taking a look at what the website had, I had a lot more confidence in the process. They had tons of FAQs regarding lots of different foods and help with various topics such as going out to eat, substitutes for basic stuff etc. In terms of meal prepping, this is one of my fave things to do to prepare for the work week so I didn’t see this as much of a challenge. While I won’t go into detail about each day or anything, I will mention each a few successes as well as a few struggles for each week along with some suggestions or learning points that I found helpful. Successes: meal prepping and getting right into it, decrease appetite at times while maintaining the sense of feeling full longer.  Having meals prepped is key. Improved energy around day 7

Struggles: cravings- the sugar detox on about day 5 was not nice. Super foggy, headache, lethargic etc.  new bowel habits . That sulphites are literally in everything (vinegars, nuts, dried fruit etc.).

Suggestions: While dried fruit are yummy and good for you in small amounts, make sure you truly portion it out. They are pretty high in calories as well as sugar and shouldn’t really be used a substitue for other unhealthy choices. I usually paired my fruit with nuts as a snack when at work or if I didn’t have time have a proper meal.                    

-make your house or a cupboard of your stuff in your kitchen The Whole 30® friendly. This is especially important if you live with others who may not be embarking on the same mission you are

-PLAN AHEAD. I had a few get togethers planned for the first week, which I was excited about, but also nervous about. I knew I would be bringing my own food and wasn’t sure how that was going to be perceived. Most of my friends/coworkers were pretty accepting and positive about this challenge which made bringing my own snacks and food a lot easier.

Week 2 (Jan 28-Feb 3): Successes: drinking only one coffee a day (since sugar and all milks are off limits) I made bulletproof coffee which was a life saver. If you haven’t heard of this, please google it. It is basically coffee made with butter. Since on the Whole 30 ®, you cannot have butter, I substiitued the butter with ghee and made sure to blend it using my magic bullet. It made “black” coffee bearable and even tasty. The ghee cut the bitterness and made the coffee super creamy and yummy. Definitely give this one a try!

Struggles: The 2-4 pm slump on a day shift (well and sometimes days that I was off as well). I am not sure what exactly the cause was as sometimes it was before lunch, others it was after but this is the time of the day where I felt utterly exhausted most of the time. Not to say that I didn’t feel this way prior to the whole 30 but I didn’t always keep track. -I had signed myself up for a study to measure brown adipost tissue and part of the study was taking place during this second week of the Whole 30 ® . The study included a lot of data including blood pressure, height, weight etc. One of the more interesting parts was a dexa scan. This is basically a large machine that detects fat and figures out percentages of fat for each part of your body. I had a very hard time with this. I found the results super disheartening and depressing to see your body fat percentages. I mean there is no where to go but up I suppose so this was a great learning point and helped to turn my perspective around. -This is also the time of the Whole 30 ®  where you might feel more bloated and such (as explained in the book) and I truly did. I also accidently saw my weight during the study and not seeing a drastic difference made me pretty upset. Then I remembered this was only the second week and things don’t happen overnight.

Suggestions: while The Whole 30 ® does not condone snacking, I personal have a hard time with this when I am working a 12 hour shift. Instead of not snacking, I made a conscious effort to snack more purposefully. Instead of just grabbing a bar (Lara coconut cream bars were my friend), I would think about whether or not I was hungry for salad or veggies. If I was, then I would have that (which I almost always had on hand) and if I wasn’t, then I wasn’t actually hungry. While this doesn’t totally support The Whole 30 ®, I found for the most part it worked and if I were to do this again and continue with it, I would make sure to have healthy choices and make sure I was eating because I was truly hungry and not just because I was bored/tired/stressed/sad/insert your own reason for unnecessary eating here. The reasoning around the not snacking is to not only change what we put in our mouths, but also the why we eat. If you are going to continue with the same late night snacking or stress eating that you were doing before (only with healthier options) than you haven’t really learned how to deal with the issue and are just making a substitute (yes a healthier one but still maybe not t he best choice).

Week 3 (Feb 4-Feb 10): Success: feeling a bit slimmer in some of my every day clothes. Also feeling a bit stronger at the gym, improved skin (which is a plus). I started seeing an osteo around week 3 and my knee pain was significantly improved with the manipulation s well as (hopefully) the anti-inflammatory properties of the clean eating.

Struggles: Emotions – while at first I thought I was way less moody than before, I did have a few days here and there where my emotions seemed to get the best of me. I can’t say that this was all because of eating -this was the first time I really had cravings for the food around me. Normally at work, there are tons of snacks and treats and for the first two weeks, this didn’t bother me. For some reason, in the middle of the week at my emerg job, I wanted the sweet treats so bad. I typically crave sweet way more than salty and love almost any sweet in front of me. Thankfully, I had a lunch packed full of Whole 30 ® approved food and just ignored the temptation. It didn’t last long, especially thinking about how far I had come.

Suggestions: eating out can be tricky, Make sure that if you are going to eat out during The Whole 30 ®, that you do your research before hand. Check the menu ahead of time to see if there are some options that you can enjoy. At first, I felt guilty being “picky” about my choices but in the end, it was never really a big deal and I just made sure to tip accordingly. You can’t really go wrong with a protein and salad (with lemon and olive oil on the side) which most restaurants have. There are certain oils that you should stay away from on The Whole 30 ® and others that you can have once in a while if eating out. I tried not use the word “allergy” to avoid certain food groups because I feel as though it is taking away from those who actually have allergies. On one occasion though, there was a bit of a mix up and I ended up having cheese on my salad which I kindly explained I could not have due to an intolerance (which isn’t necessarily a lie, just not a proven fact yet). -variety is important. I was trying to play it safe and make sure all my meals were Whole 30 ® approved which meant that I would eat the same things. I LOVE keto slaw (cabbage with ground beef and hot sauce basically) but did get really bored of the cabbage slaw I would sautee and make with many of my proteins. -While variety is key, keep it consistent. I tried to make sure I made one new recipe each which without stressing too much about it. Knowing what is Whole 30 ® approved and sticking to it helps when life gets busy. I am not saying you need to eat the same things every day to stay consistent, but remembering the basics and keeping things simple can go a long way. I found that there were a lot of great recipes in the book, however most of them weren’t overly appealing to me.

Week 4 (Feb 11- Feb 18): Success: Sleeping HAD improved significantly over the past few weeks however the last couple days of the Whole 30 ® seemed to not be my best sleeping days. I did flip flop from days to nights a few times which didn’t help and other factors including stress probably also played a role. I will consider the improved sleep a success seeing as my sleep drastically improved more than it deteriorated. (for anyone that knows me well, knows that while I love sleep, I have struggled with eating in the middle of the night and not being able to sleep through the night so improved sleep is a major win) -clearer skin, once again. I had never really had bad skin growing up until I was about 25 and became a lot more prone to hormonal acne. I have tried lots of basic run of the mill creams and plans but the Whole 30 ® really seemed to clear it up. A few of my coworkers at work and family members even noticed which is always nice and good pick me up when you might not be feeling your best. -Being at the finish line! I was getting more and more proud of myself and this small accomplishment with each passing day. I had a calendary that I used for meal prepping as well as on that I used for marking off the days that I had been successful. It was nice to have that visual reminder. I also kept track of how I felt each day which was not only for the purpose of the Whole 30 ®, but helped track moods and such. I am not a great journaler so keeping track of how things were going each day (or couple days when I would forget and have to back track) was a huge success and I am glad that I did it. - Whole 30 ® approved prosciutto! It made my life. While I am well aware of why proscuittiy is bad for you, it is something that I truly love and was super excited to find one without any preservatives. It did come with a heafty price tage ($8 or so for the package) but was a welcome treat for a couple lunches. Most lunch  meats are filled with preservatives including sugar and nitrates. I don’t love lunch meats but do often use them as “sandwiches” (peppers as the bread) with cheese for a work day.

Struggles: NO MORE EGGs. I made an egg casserole bake for two weeks that was delicious and chocked full of veggies and my fave nutitrional yeast (much to my co workers dismay and disgust) However eating eggs pretty well each day for breaky is not fun. Breakfast recipes were far and few between and I actually found a few great ones towards the end of the Whole 30 ® that I will incorporate into my next cycle. -Having to explain what and why the Whole 30 ®. I am a pretty open person and love teaching people new things, especially things that can be beneficial to their health/fitness/life but sometimes It got to be a little much explaining it to everyone and having to almost justify it. I believe everyone should be able to eat and drink whatever they want without having to justify it. I get that all of these “fad diets” are silly and/or intriguing to people so I do see why people have their apprehensions and questions.

Suggestions: TRY NEW THINGS. Combine textures and flavours! This week I had burgers but normally I love cheese on my burgers. Instead, I made some delicious guac and put that on my burger which made it super yummy and more filling! -Embrace the change. Embrace new things. I made a new recipe each week either from the book or from pinterest (which is so addictive it’s insane). When I worked 4 on 5 off a few years ago, I would strive to make something new each set off and I really missed making new things. I am super fortunate to live at home and have an amazing mum who helps/encourages healthy eating. She often makes new, healthy alternatives to our fave meals which was very helpful during this month. (Some faves are zucchini pastas, cauliflower rice, spaghetti squash etc)

Next Steps: Once the Whole 30 ® is over, there are two ways you can reintroduce all of the food groups and “trigger” foods you have been avoiding. I chose to do an accelerated version of the 10 day program because a week after finishing the Whole 30 ®, I was headed to Paris, France with my boyfriend and didn’t want to miss out on all the yummy cheeses and wines. I started initially encorporating non gluten grains (which I accidently added in legumes and soy at gthe same meal) to see how I would tolerate that. The premise is to add one of the food groups every 3 days while eating Whole 30 ® approved foods the rest of the time. For an example, on day 31, you would add a bit of milk to your coffee, cheese on your salad at lunch and some yogurt after your dinner. On days 32 and 33, you would eat Whole 30 ® approved meals again and see how you felt on those days. Monitoring things such as moods, energy, bloating, sleep etc are super important. I did pretty well until leaving for Paris when it all went downhill form there. I did exactly what you aren’t supposed to do- add everything (and anything!) you weren’t supposed to eat during the Whole 30 ® almost all at once. At least I had already slowly reintroduced a few of the food groups that aren’t Whole 30 ® approved before leaving.

Once in Paris, I have to say I felt pretty crummy with all of the foods I was eating. Don’t get me wrong, I had the best time and wouldn’t really change much but I did noticed a HUGE difference. I was far more bloated with a lot more digestive issues and issues with fatigue. I slept well however did have more “sugar crashes” along with snappy periods of moods (just ask Alex, poor guy). I may have overindulged for a week (macarons each day, wine and cheese for dinner etc) but enjoyed it and have to live with those decisions. Being back home, I thoroughly missed all of the amazing whole foods I was eating and the way I felt both mentally and physically. While I have not decided if I will redo the Whole 30 ® right away or just incorporate the most important parts (like no added sugar and minimal dairy), I am excited to get back to healthy eating and feeling better than yesterday!

This blog was pretty eye opening to write (just as the experience was) and I appreciate anyone (if anyone) who has taken the time to read it. This blog has been more personal to write as the topic is something that is quite personal and individual. I hope that I have at least prompted a thought about what kinds of things others might be putting into their bodies and how they are affecting them either physically or mentally.

PS. Thought I would add a small part on my basic meal prep. I developed a weekly meal prep guide that was super helpful for me. For anyone that knows me well, knows that I am super OCD and anal with organizing things and love having lists/plans/etc. My personal calendar is colour coded by event, job and other activities which causes a lot of jokes at work when left open unattended.. The meal prep sheet had room for each meal along with shopping list area and a spot for other info e.g what needed to be prepped when etc. I am happy to share any and all prep plans (I have a monthly one that is an easy basic prep one along with the more helpful weekly one that helps with grocery shopping and planning).

Basic meal prep: Breakfast: Bullet proof coffee (ghee, MCT oil and coffee in a magic bullet for 15 or so seconds), Lara bar with fruit or egg variations. I recently saw a lot of sweet potato toast recipes along with easy pancakes using eggs and bananas (which I do not like so have not tried myself) Lunch: Salad filled with veggies or tuna with homemade mayo (word to the wise, make sure you don’t put too much lemon in it). I also love cut up veggies with hard boiled eggs on the side. I love snacks for lunch and typically this works well at work when you don’t always have time to have a proper meal. Dinner: chicken/pork/fish with veggies. I used a lot of frozen veggies as they are often super easy to prep last minute and keep a bit better than fresh stuff sometimes. I typically use Mrs. Dash’ spices or other Whole 30 ® approved spices (there are tons online if you google them). I made a few great chilis and “taco” mixes that I enjoyed Snacks: nut mix (no peanuts) with sulphite free dates or apricots, kombucha, sparkling water, fruit, apple sauce, veggies etc. I LOVE sparkling water. I have never been the biggest pop drinker but do love sparking water and always buy cases of it when it goes on sale. This is not the most economically or earth friendly option so I do try and use our SodaStream as often as possible (they are well worth the investment).