The Almost Whole 30

I've resisted the Whole 30 phenomenon for years. I argued that changing the way I eat for 30 days won't have a lasting effect, and besides, I eat healthy already. I also thought I couldn't give up things like bread, cheese, and sodas. 

And then I had a baby. We started relying on fast, cheap, and easy meals for ourselves. I didn't lose the baby weight. In fact, my weight has bounced around in the upper range of where I was in my third trimester. I started looking for diet and exercise plans designed for busy moms who are still breastfeeding their babies. I stumbled on a plan written by a woman who was my height, weight, and build before she got pregnant, who gained what I gained in pregnancy, and who lost what I lost before stalling where I stalled. Her secret? The Whole 30 and lots of walking! 

A friend of mine was pinning a ton of Whole 30 recipes on Pinterest, so I asked her if she was planning to do it soon. She was, so we formed an accountability group that will begin on Sunday, January 31. Trevor will also be following the diet while he is home, but he plans to keep his travel diet the same. We just aren't sure what he could pack that would be compliant! 

 The big challenge for me will be making sure I don't "sample" Hudson's non-compliant baby foods. He loves small cubes of peanut butter sandwiches, corn puffs, rice cereal puffs, cheese, and yogurt melts. Grain, dairy, and starchy vegetables are off limits during the While 30! 

However, I'm taking a very laid back approach to this first Whole 30. 

•I'm not making my own almond milk, but I am using an unsweetened, unflavored version of what we normally buy. 

•I'm not giving up my coffee creamer, but simply cutting back. 

•I'm taking a short trip in early February, and I plan to cheat a lot that weekend! 

•I'm making my own Lara bars, but I couldn't find dried cherries without added sugar. 

•I bought a jar of marinara at Trader Joe's that has soybean oil in it. Otherwise, it is compliant. 

•I'm probably going to drink wine or rum once a week. TV chef Alton Brown lost 90 pounds on his radical diet, but he still has one martini a week. I think it's OK if it fits into his diet. 

•I'm not giving up Diet Coke cold turkey. I'm going to wean myself and start drinking flavored sparkling water in its place. La Croix is amazing, anyway, so it should be an easy switch. 

•I might actually go 60 days! 

I'll be documenting and sharing my Whole 30 journey through the next several weeks. I plan to post about the process at regular intervals, sharing meals and compliant packaged foods I've found along my journey. I know I wouldn't be able to do this if I hadn't read numerous blog posts sharing the same information, so I feel obligated to contribute to the Whole 30 blogging community!