Here we go again! Month #2 – Whole30. I feel so good, so much better after the first month. I did an update yesterday and today I start anew. The picture I posted above is my breakfast for today. An omelet of sorts with baby spinach, onions and mushrooms (things we prepare in bulk and keep in the fridge to use over a day or two) and roasted vegetables from dinner as a side. We have finally gotten the hang of preparing larger quantities of delicious, healthy vegetables and lean meats so we always have a perfectly balanced meal on hand. Frank does most of the cooking in the house, which I have to say, is not only nice, but I will admit that I am completely spoiled by this.
The toughest part of eating whole foods, especially following a plan like Whole30 is not the foods that are excluded. That becomes pretty easy early on, no, it’s the meal prep. Eating whole does not = eating quick in most cases. There’s very little boxed/microwave food that comes to my mind when I think of fresh, whole, unprocessed meals. Where most people fall down is letting themselves get too hungry. Once you’re hangry, you lose patience for prepping, cooking, and waiting for your meal. I have found some helpful snacks to have on hand.
Costco caries several items that I love including dried fruits with no added sugar such as apricots, papaya and mango. I’m not a huge passion fruit fan (frank is, though), so the apricots are my favorites. And they recently carried (and hopefully still do) little dried sausage sticks with no added hormones, nitrates, sugars, etc. They reminded me of a really pure Slim Jim. And I love them. So, when I am on the run, I throw a few meat sticks and apricots in a baggie and I’m off. Or I snack on a few cashews and a Cutie (mini oranges). Being able to incorporate fruits has been helpful. They are not the main staple for me, but having them here and there helps fight off a sweet tooth and let me tell you…when you remove all added sugars from your diet, fruit is AH-MAZING. Sweet & refreshing — it just hits the spot. When I prepare and have things on hand it buys me time to prepare a healthy main meal without feeling like I’m going to die in the mean time, and I think that is a huge part of success.
Not to mention that eating whole foods, especially more lean protein, all but eliminates sugar drops. My insulin levels stay pretty consistent so the occurrences of “hangry” are far and few between.
I look forward to becoming more active again this month as my knee continues to heal. And I look forward to the challenge of balancing my food intake to match that activity level so that I don’t feel like I’m burning every ounce of food I eat off all the time. I will have to up my calories, but in a healthy way. That will be a challenge, but one that I’m excited to take on. #whole30
Shrinking Shay 
I certainly enjoyed reading your blog Shay! I’ve experienced many of the same struggles and even related to your feelings as a child in a very “active” household. Anyway, thanks for the inspiration. I’m going to check out the “Whole 30” plan, although I’ve been doing pretty well with following a pseudo-Mediterranean thing. Low carbs, low sugars, red meat in moderation, more chicken/fish and I have all but quit drinking beer… I’ve had two since Thanksgiving! But I still drink Scotch and bourbon, occasionally I’ll have Diet Coke as well. I’ve lost over 20 lbs now but need to start exercising regularly. Keep up the great work – or, excuse me…. lifestyle change, and I’ll check in on your progress periodically.
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Congrats on the 20 lbs! What a great accomplishment! And way to live it in moderation!
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