Whole30 is completed! We are done and there was much rejoicing. I’m ready to do some baking again. These 30 days have actually gone by quickly and the overall experience has been pretty fun, dare I say.
Reminder: Who exactly is doing this challenge?
My husband and myself and our 16 month old and 3 1/2 year old. The kids are eating what we eat for the most part but the 16 month old still eats oatmeal for breakfast (no dairy in it though) and on occasion a rice cake. The 3 year old has an option of oatmeal for breakfast, but she’s only had a couple of bites. She used to love oatmeal, but it just hasn’t been her thing lately.
How Did We Feel?
Okay, so we all felt great again during the last part of our Whole30. The big difference for me though, is that the last week I’ve just been ready to be done! Weeks 2 and 3 I really didn’t think about off plan foods. This past week I have! Peanut butter, cheese, baking, oats, chocolate, beans are just a few of the things that have been filling my mind. Physically I’ve been doing great though and have had enough energy to get through my to do lists even on little sleep.
Afterwards!
What’s the plan going forward? I’m looking forward to incorporating legumes and cheese back into our diets. We will also add back in grains and wheat but hope to limit the quantities. We’ll also be watching how our bodies respond to these foods more closely now and hopefully adjusting as we need to.
What Did We Eat?
Chicken Salad, Sweet Potato Hash browns, Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole, and Chicken Curry Soup
Breakfasts: for the last 9 days we ate leftover sweet potato breakfast casserole (still my favorite), scrambled eggs, hash browns (made from sweet potatoes is my other favorite breakfast food), and scrambled eggs and veggies baked in muffin tins.
Lunches: The trends from the first weeks continued and Shaun and I had salads while the kids had leftovers or sweet potatoes for week day lunches. We also had Rosemary Chicken Salad served on lettuce and Paleo Sweet Potato Chili.
Suppers: We had a Ginger Beef/Broccoli/Carrot stir fry type thing, Chicken Curry Soup, Chicken and Veggie Soup, Crispy Chicken Thighs (recipe coming this Friday), and leftovers of all the above. Leftovers rock! I’ve been spending way more time in the kitchen for breakfasts and lunches than I normally do, so leftovers are a life saver.
Snacks: Nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruits and veggies
Just for fun, I asked my husband and daughter what food they want the most after the 30 days are up. Shaun’s request – pizza. Kenna’s first thought was bread with peanut butter. When I asked her if there was anything else she added “snack supper with popcorn and homemade ice cream”. What I want is alfredo sauce. I don’t even care about the noodles. I’d eat it plain or over sweet potatoes – I just want the butter and cheese. 🙂
The Results:
Number wise, over the last 30 days I lost 10 pounds and 1/2-1 inch on my thighs, hips, waist. I have also spend the past 30 days exercising 5 days a week – power walking with the double stroller and doing 10 minutes of pilates, so I’m sure it has been a combination of the two.
And that’s our last Whole30 recap! Even though is has been time consuming, expensive, and a little hard with social events it has been good and worth it!
Linking up to these fun parties!
You have done a great job! The Whole 30 seems pretty restrictive so I know it was probably tough. Just an idea-you might want to use this time to introduce one thing at a time into your diet. And then wait a few days before you add something else. Sometimes you will discover a food that doesn’t really agree with you (and drags you down). I have read alot about food intolerances causing health problems (because it happened to me). Of course, you should do whatever you feel is right for your family. 🙂
Thanks so much for your encouragement and advice! Introducing one food at a time is a great idea. I agree, it seemed liked it was easier to tell people what we could eat than what we couldn’t. 🙂
I’ve been seeing a bit about the whole30 challenge lately and am quite intrigued.
Our 2 daughters (1 Exclusively Breast Fed) both suffer from medium-bad eczema and I do wonder if a cleanse like this may help them… or at least reveal any allergies.
Thank you for the recap!
It does seem like there are a lot of people doing Whole30 lately! I’ve been meaning to for over a year and just got around to it. Eczema is no fun! My 17 month old had it on both cheeks when he was younger, thankfully that went away and he just has a few spots on the back of his legs and trunk but they are much milder. We cut out wheat early last spring to see if it would help, and I think it did make a difference – didn’t clear up 100% but it was much less.
Thanks for taking us along with you on this journey. I really need to try that sweet potato breakfast cassarole as we’re digging up our sweet potatoes this week. Hope to see you again at Simple Lives Thursday this week .
We love the casserole! I bought the stuff to make it again this week. How awesome you grew your own sweet potatoes! A garden is on my wish list for someday. 🙂 Thanks for hosting!
I am so impressed with your family! What a challenging adventure, yet wow, the results are amazing! The recipes look great, but you’re a fabulous cook, so they will turn out no matter what. Thanks for keeping us posted on how you all are doing. Carrie, A Mother’s Shadow
It was quite the 30 days! Then we went to TX for one of my sister’s wedding and blew it all. 🙂 We are back home now and I did a grocery run yesterday so hopefully we can find a new balanced normal that we can sustain long term! We’ll see how it pans out.