No sugars or grains. No dairy or legumes. Yep, I’m doing the Whole30 for the next 30 days. Here’s how it’s going:
When I started this thing, one of my favorite pastimes was fantasizing about what I was going to eat the second it was over. Maybe an apple fritter doughnut from the Donut Den or a wedge of that triple-chocolate cake with Sambuca sauce from Buca di Beppo. Or a wheel of cheese.
I’m happy to be over it.
I mean, I’m a former pro baker. I used to have a Costco card just to buy massive quantities of butter, eggs and sugar. “Cake” is in my blog name. And until this streak with the Whole30, I probably hadn’t gone a day without some form of chocolate in years. If we didn’t have a chocolate snack in the house, I wasn’t above opening a bag of chocolate chips and grabbing a handful. Right before I started this, I was still having a cup of sugar-free hot chocolate after dinner every night.
It’s good to be free of that sweet tooth and not NEED something (anything) sweet around 3 p.m.
As for my old friend cheese, it was not uncommon for me to have some with every meal – in my omelets, on my sandwiches and salads, even with my veggies – without giving it much thought. At one point, I counted up 12 or 13 different cheeses in our deli drawer. Need to make something more palatable in less than 10 seconds? Put some cheese on it.
Getting used to cheese-less salads would not make my list of Favorite Things, but adding avocado or nuts and experimenting with different dressings has definitely helped.
I don’t miss specific foods anymore, but I do miss the convenience of being able to order a pizza on a Friday night or grab lunch out with Jeff without having to Google menus for 20 minutes. He used to go out and pick up breakfast for both of us on Sunday mornings, which was such a nice ritual, but my diet has pretty much shot that all to hell. Still, he goes out and brings me back a really great cup of coffee from somewhere.
Monitor and adjust. Monitor and adjust.
The really important thing to me is that this is working. I do feel better. I’m not stiff anymore when I wake up. I don’t get that weird pain in my right hip. The brain fog is gone (you should see me blazing through those Spanish lessons on Duolingo), and the days seem longer, which is fantastic. I used to feel like I blinked twice, and the day was over. Now, I’m looking at the clock, and it’s just noon, and I can’t wait to see how much I can get done today.
That’s worth sacrificing a cupcake or two.
What I Ate: Day 12
- Breakfast: Omelet with sautéed veggies, banana
- Lunch: Chicken thigh (leftover), apple with almond butter
- Dinner: Barbacoa Pot Roast
Day 13
- Breakfast: Omelet with sautéed veggies, strawberries
- Lunch: Barbacoa Pot Roast with an avocado half, salsa and black olives
- Snack: Pistachios and an apple
- Dinner: Two green bell peppers halves topped with homemade pizza sauce, homemade Italian sausage, sautéed onions and mushrooms, and black olives
Day 14
- Breakfast: Omelet with sautéed veggies, banana
- Lunch: Barbacoa Pot Roast with a few avocado slices and a chopped Roma tomato
- Snack: Pistachios and strawberries
- Dinner: Grilled chicken salad with lettuce, tomato, avocado, black olives and Rick Bayless’s Lime-Cilantro Vinegreta
Day 15
- Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with sautéed veggies, strawberries
- Lunch: Grilled chicken breast, roasted asparagus, and an apple with almond butter
- Dinner: Pulled pork over baked sweet potato slices, roasted pistachios