Who has done a Whole 30? Or maybe I should ask, who hasn’t? I was a “who hasn’t” until this past Monday. I decided to jump on the bandwagon for a few reasons. I have done the 21 Day Sugar Detox a few times and actually love the program but when some of my friends and fellow bloggers were starting a Whole 30, I figured this was as good as time as any to give it a try!
While I eat relatively “whole30-ish”, I have a weakness……and that’s dark chocolate! Yes, I am a chocoholic and thankfully it’s dark chocolate I love! My favorite percentage is 85-90% DARK chocolate. Anything lighter in percentage is a bit too sweet for me. That being said, I can’t always rest on the fact that dark chocolate has it’s benefits because a little too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing, especially when you find yourself in tears as you reach into the cupboard and find that the cupboard is bare! And yes, that happened to me last week so when I realized it was a bit out of control, I decided to jump on board with my friends and tackle a Whole 30!
So what is a Whole 30? Well, though I have done the ‘21 Day Sugar Detox‘ a couple of times, I wasn’t exactly sure what the difference between the two were. They are quite similar in the fact that it’s a plan for a certain amount of days, ridding yourself of sugar (basically…..in a nut shell – but read more here to get all the deets). The differences are this (in a nut shell)……’21DSD’ allows you to make “treats” using a green banana or green apple as sweetener. This would allow you to make pancakes, cookies, muffins or even candies but not using anything sweeter than a green tipped banana or green apple. On the Whole 30 plan, you cannot have anything related to something sweet in terms of making up a “paleo-fied” pancake, muffin or cookie. They call those treats, SWYPO (sex with your pants on). The plan is to get your mind out of the treat area all together. The plan does allow you to have fruit though, whereas the 21DSD doesn’t (aside from the green tipped banana and green apple). I decided to give Whole 30 a-go instead of 21DSD again, simply because I hadn’t tried it and it definitely helps when you have others on board to help with encouragement and support!
Week 1 has been pretty good! I kept hearing that I’d have a slump or have headaches but I have to admit, I don’t “cheat”, if you will (and I hate using that word so please take it lightly). I don’t partake in the occasional gluten, sugar ladened treats that you might find at a gathering. I am not at all tempted by food that doesn’t comply with my healthy eating lifestyle. If there’s nothing but crap at a party, I simply don’t eat til we leave the party — it’s just how I roll and I am obviously fueling myself properly because there has been no slump or headache this first week without CHOCOLATE! I do love to make waffles or pancakes ….and I love to bake! But I’m not the one who loves the sweeter breakfast — don’t get me wrong, I’ll eat my paleo pancakes but I really make them for my hubby so this area hasn’t been an issue in terms of giving that part up.
Meals have been pretty much the same…..well, exactly the same. And as always, prepping is key! You can’t make a bad decision on food if you’ve planned it out ahead of time. Here’s just a few of the meals: Eggvocado w/kale & approved bacon, Eggs on cauli-rice with spinach in ghee & approved sausage.
Crockpot chicken (prepped for the week), roasted asparagus and brussel sprouts. Fried Cauli-rice and Shrimp (recipe to come SOON!)
I will say this: One of my favorite things to do and it’s probably just because it’s become a little tradition, is to grab a piece of dark chocolate almond bark at Godiva when strolling the mall with my hubby or daughters. My husband and I had Veterans day off and we grabbed lunch and walked the mall a bit. As we walked by Godiva, I had to keep chatting and not look into the store! It took everything I had to keep me from veering over in that direction. I was proud of myself as we got a few stores past, that I was able to make it by…..and I didn’t look back. I know, it sounds pretty ridiculous but it’s become that bad lately. A piece of chocolate after lunch and dinner, soon became after breakfast and then a few pieces after dinner……and then a couple more when I walked through kitchen to get ready for bed. So walking past my favorite chocolate store was a huge deal for me.
Well, there ya have it. That’s how this week went and though there’s not a lot of crazy stories or information I can give you about this week, I will say that I am glad I’m doing this. I can tell that just breaking that habit is what this is about and whether it’s to detox or just dial back into the basics, it’s only 30 days……and anyone can benefit from a 30 day of ‘getting back to the basics’ when it comes to health!
