So. I know there is a burning question keeping y’all up at night. It’s “How are Dave & Stacey doing on their first Whole 30?” You guys are so sweet to spend your evenings wondering about us. Rest assured, I’m here to put an answer to that question. Right. Now!
We are thriving. Hitting that “tiger blood” stage and lovin’ every minute of it – ah ah ahhhh! Dave is down 12 lbs in 23 days and I’m down 10. I know you’re not suppose to weigh yourself but we did anyway. Rebels that we are. We both totally understand that this 30 days isn’t about weight loss, it’s about breaking bad habits – so we felt okay about weighing ourselves. Our clothes are looser, we have more energy (hello 6am, I see you and we are no longer enemies), our caffeine intake is majorly decreased and we feel really great – hence the tiger blood.
Guys – you’ve got to try a Whole 30 if you’re so inclined. If you’ve been on the fence and wondered if it’s too hard, it’s definitely not. You can for sure do it! And because I’m officially an expert after 23 days, you’ve come to the right place for hot tips and how to get started. Here’s how we did it.
- To begin, go check out the Whole 30 website HERE. It is full of all the info you need and it’s free. There you’ll find tons of recipes, program rules, approved products and just a wealth of knowledge.
- Next you need to prepare. We knew where our weaknesses were going into this. And by we, I meant me because my super-human hubby seems to have none in the eating department. He is so casual with food it’s not even funny. I’m not sure craving is even in his vocab. Here are some of our (my) weaknesses and how we (I) overcame them from the beginning.
- Too busy for cooking dinner every single night. I went online and found this website with a FREE freezer meal plan for crockpot dinners. I printed it out, went shopping for double the ingredients and made 14 freezer bags of food in 2 hours. Each meal is W30 compliant and so far they’ve all been very delicious with so little work. It’s been a lifesaver and we haven’t eaten dinner out once.
- Snacking. I knew the first few days I’d go crazy because late night snacking is a bad, bad habit. And I was SO ready to break that one. But just to be safe, I had some easy and Whole 30 snacks ready to go. My first step every night when the munchies hit was to make a glass or two of hot peppermint tea. When that didn’t work I had a handful of sliced bell pepper and dipped it in Primal Kitchen ranch dressing or guacamole. After a week and a half my late night snacking stopped all together. WIN!
- Friday Date Night. We go to our favorite steakhouse/local bar every Friday night. It’s non-negotiable for Dave. He loves that date night activity and I didn’t want to take it from him. He usually consumes 2 margaritas while we are there and I go for a glass of red wine. I am fine giving up my vino for 30 days. But DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT come between my man and his once a week margaritas. We made a plan ahead of time to eat dinner at home each week (so far so good!) and I’ve been sipping on club soda with a lime at the bar, or else water. Dave has been getting a tall glass with tequila and water on the rocks (salt rimmed) and we add in our own fresh lime juice. It’s no margarita (actually, I took a sip and I really would PREFER that new concoction! I don’t like sweet drinks to begin with), but it’s getting the job done for him and that’s what matters. I know, all you purists out there are cringing right now because alcohol is a giant NO on W30. Dave really was fine without it, but we love our date night and felt like we had to order something if we were going to sit at the bar.
- We planned out several lunch ideas ahead of time and had supplies ready because of our busy schedules. We’ve had things like tuna salad, egg salad, leftovers from the fabulous crockpot dinners, cauliflower stir-fry, egg scrambles full of veggies, turkey clubs on sweet potato toast, sweet potatoes with w30 compliant chili and a lot of salad. We make sure one meal a day includes a nice veggie salad.
- We bought some Whole 30 Sauces, I made my own homemade version of a Nutpod for Dave’s coffee in the morning. BIG PAUSE here for some recognition for this guy – he hasn’t complained even once that his coffee doesn’t have Stevia in it, which he usually loves to load in there! But back to the sauces, The New Primal sauce line-up is fabulous. Their mustard BBQ has become my go-to to dip about everything into. I’ll post our fave products on their own tab at the top of this page for you to check them out.
- If you eat out, have a plan. I’m gonna be reeeeeeal honest with you here. I’m a weak-in-the-knees, totally in-love, all heart eye emojis, taco Tuesdays for life kinda girl when it comes to Mexican food. Ride. Or. Die. So I’ve refused to step foot in a Mexican restaurant. I have a lunch date with my granny every week (call your grandmas, people!) and so we decided to go to a breakfast place in Granger that serves healthy options I could eat. I’m not even putting myself in a position to be tempted anywhere. We ate out once at Chipotle because they partnered with Whole30 to offer a Carnitas Salad Bowl that is w30 compliant. But I can’t even drive by Ricky’s Taco stand in Elkhart right now. You feel me?
- Last but not least, if you find yourself deeply in need of chocolate one evening, make sure you have a Lillys Chocolate bar on hand. I realize chocolate eating, especially in a desperate, emotional state is the exact opposite of the goal of w30. But a Lillys bar is low-carb, only sweetened with Stevia and most of them are dark (translation: health benefits!). This is not likely to defeat the point of the program. Unless, of course it’s happening every night. But have one on hand in case. And make a point that it is a one time, fail-safe, emergencies only type of deal. Got it? Also, Lillys chocolate, with a cup of salted almond butter to dip it in, is bomb-dot-com. Or so I’m told… ahem.
That is all, folks. We are continuing to chug right along. No one is starving. Not even close. We’ve eaten such delicious, hearty and filling foods all month-long – and still lost weight and gained more control over cravings and bad habits.
Last but not least, I leave you with this.
Potatoes. They’re Whole 30 compliant.
You’re welcome.
Who’s done a Whole30 out there or would consider doing one, comment below. Dave and I are going to stay on this path even after the 30 days are up. Anyone care to join? You can do it!
Cheers,
Stacey
Sarah says
My hubby and i have been doing this as well. And actually kind of following a similar philosophy when it comes to certain things, date night out, being prepared, knowing our weaknesses. It’s helped us tremendously. I’m down 10 lbs so far but i also feel way more in control. And I know how to make better choices. Great article! And I’m going to have to check out those sauces!
staceymkidder@me.com says
They’re sold at Whole Foods and Thrive. Probably on Amazon too! Congrats on the 10 lbs!