Whoa! It has been awhile since I have blogged. I guess that’s what having a baby will do. I don’t have much time for blogging…or much of anything. It has been a wonderful transition into motherhood, but now that Annabelle is 9 months old, I feel like I can finally focus on my health. Adam and I did Whole30 in October and really like it. He lost 23 lbs and I lost 11… then the holiday hit and our healthy eating habits went out the window. Christmas cookies are just too hard to resist… of course, it didn’t stop there. We ate and drank ALL THE THINGS. So now, we are back at it. Week 1 of Whole30 and it is easier this time. I think it is because I know what to expect. I know that planning is the key to success and I am more comfortable with the “rules.” I had planned to outline our entire experience in a series of blog posts… best intentions… but time got away from me. This time around, I will try to post recipes and information as I go so I don’t get overwhelmed.

If you are going to attempt Whole30, you need to read “It Starts with Food.” I highly recommend you get “The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom.” The Whole30 website and e-newsletter are essential too. All of these resources will help you understand WHY you are doing what you are doing and HOW your body is responding. They will also help you know what to expect and provide you with tools to fight cravings and resist giving up.

Here’s what you should know:

You will spend more time that you are used to in the kitchen. I already spent a lot of time there, and I found it to be pretty intense, especially in the beginning before I got the hang of it.

You must prepare meal plans and food prep. I cannot imagine how anyone could be successful on this diet without doing those things. I created a weekly spreadsheet of all of our meals and snack with links to corresponding recipes. This would help me create my grocery list so that trips to the store were more efficient.

You will spend more at the grocery, as well. We found that we ended up saving money because we weren’t going out as much, but our first few grocery bills were a bit of a shock.

You will feel terrible and then AMAZING. As your body adjusts and goes through sugar withdrawal, it will suck. If you can make it past that, I promise, you will feel amazing.

Here’s what our first few days looked like:

Day 1: Breakfast- Egg Casserole*; Lunch- Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps; Dinner- Chili (from the Whole30 cookbook); Snacks- Almonds and Raisins

Day  2: Breakfast-Egg Casserole; Lunch- Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps; Dinner- Steak and Brussels Sprouts**; Snacks- Pistachios

Day 3: Breakfast- Egg Casserole; Lunch- Leftover Chili; Dinner- Buffalo Meatballs and Salad; Snacks- Honeycrisp apple with almonds

*I use this recipe as a base, leave out the ham, and add any veggies that I like. My favorite is sweet potatoes and green apples with homemade sausage (recipe for the sausage– I do not form them into patties).

**Heat olive oil in skillet, add brussels sprouts and red onion. Cook for a few minutes until edges brown. Add beef broth and spices (garlic, onion powder, ground mustard, dill, salt and pepper). Cook until tender and broth has been absorbed.