Week 1 is in the Books!

Benefits Noted This Week

Noticed a boost in energy for sure, and my coffee/tea intake stayed level. I also felt better digestion overall this week; logically I am going to assume this is due to the elimination of dairy and/or legumes because this was the biggest area for elimination. It could also be some food combination which was not working as well, and I will certainly keep an eye on it.

Lets Talk About It-Quick Summary [Video]

What Went Well

Due to my preparation, the switch of mindset was relatively smooth. I was able to focus on my job, exercise, family time, and blog post notes during the week, and did not let food or snacking take up any mental space. I believe I set myself to feel like I am doing this program for the right reasons; I want to do it, and I am not “missing out” on anything by doing it. In fact, I am adding to and enhancing my health, which feels great!

My take away/tip from this experience is, get yourself in a frame of mind in which you feel like you’d be missing out if you DO NOT do this program. That will set you up to be more successful and limit the feelings that you are missing out on food, snacks, drinks.

What Was Challenging

The only noteworthy challenge was meal prep and planning. Having the staple meal of a nice hearty soup was very helpful, but with this not being ready until Monday evening, I needed to pinch Monday together on the fly. To address this challenge, I want to try and have the staple meal prepared Sunday evening, and map out some Whole 30 compliant meals I can go to if life happens and plans need to change.

Of note, meal prep and planning is a lot easier for me during week 1, because I am working from home. It is possible that within the coming weeks, I will need to address the challenge of commuting to work/working onsite.

Meals This Week

A note on my meals and structure, I have been experimenting with intermittent fasting recently. Basically, this means rather than eating more frequent, small meals during a day, I tend to eat larger meals less frequently. I did not see the need to change this up for the Whole 30, so long as the food is compliant.

When you see “green powder” listed as part of my meals, I have consistently used a green powder almost daily in place of a multi-vitamin. The idea is that this product helps you assure that you are consuming a daily allotment of vitamins and minerals, from dried fruits and vegetables rather than a tablet. This is not a necessary part of the Whole 30, but it is compliant and it works for me.

Monday:

Morning: Water, Coffee, Ginger Tea (Coffee upon wake up, Tea a little bit later during the morning)

Around 12 noon: A meal size salad with greens, cherry tomatoes, a can of sardines, olives, greens powder sprinkled on, dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Around 4:30 pm. 4 strips of bacon, roasted seaweed snacks, nut butter (peanut free), handfuls of mixed nuts (no peanuts).

Beverages: Water, Coffee, Ginger Tea, Green Tea

Tuesday:

Morning: Water, Coffee, Green Tea (Coffee upon wake up, Tea a little bit later during the morning)

Around 12 noon: Spicy tomato and pepper soup, with a side bowl of sauerkraut, avocado, olives, green powder, and a fried egg, seaweed snack, 3 handfuls of mixed nuts (peanut free)

Beverages: Water, Coffee, Ginger Tea, Green Tea

Wednesday:

Morning: Water, Coffee, Green Tea (Coffee upon wake up, Tea a little bit later during the morning)

Around 11 am: Spicy tomato and cauliflower soup with fried egg on top, avocado bowl with pickles, garlic, olives, bacon, green powder, and a fried egg on top, seaweed snack.

Around 4:30 pm: Compliant Rebel Keto drink (Vanilla Almond), a few handfuls of roasted pumpkin seeds with sea salt.

Beverages: Water, Coffee, Green Tea

Thursday:

Morning: Water, Coffee, Green Tea (Coffee upon wake up, Tea a little bit later during the morning)

Around 1 pm: 3 egg omelet with avocado, chopped garlic, chopped onion, green powder (in retrospect, a 2 egg omelet is probably good enough for next time), bowl of spicy tomato and cauliflower soup, seaweed snack.

Beverages: Water, Coffee, Green Tea, seltzer.

Friday:

Morning: Water, Coffee, seltzer, green tea.

Around 1 pm: Guacamole with bacon, onion, garlic, salt and pepper, lime juice; spicy tomato and cauliflower soup with a fried egg and extra onions; sauerkraut with green powder.

Around 5 pm: 3 strips of bacon, 3 handfuls of mixed nuts, 3 handfuls of pumpkin seeds, 2 spoons of nut butter.

Beverages: Water, Coffee, Green Tea, seltzer.

Saturday:

Morning: Coffee, Seltzer.

Around 12 noon: Spicy tomatoe and cauliflour soup with green powder, seaweed snack, two spoons of nut butter.

Around 5 pm: Lemon Garlic Chicken, Coleslaw with cabbage, carrot, red onion, scallion, garlic, bacon, avocado mayo, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper.

Favorite Meal of the Week:

Avocado Bowl with chopped garlic, chopped pickles, green powder, olives, avocado, bacon, topped with a fried egg. Delicious!

Training This Week

My training routine has been fairly consistent for a few weeks leading up to the Whole 30. Training goals include adding more volume to my deadlift workouts, increasing core strength, and adding in more Kettlebells to my routine. Training is not related to the Whole 30, but I am keeping a log just to stay accountable during the time frame.

Monday:

Morning walk, around 40 minutes, morning stretching and foam rolling.

Tuesday:

Deadlifts: work sets were 205 lbs, 5 sets of 5 reps; Ab roll wheel 6 sets of 8-10; hangs off the pull up bar, foam roll and stretching.

Wednesday:

Pushups: 5 sets, 10, 10, 12, 12, 8; Pullups: 5 sets, 1, 4, 4, 4, 4; Total Gym row/curl combo: 5 sets, 10, 12, 10, 10, 10 (each exercise); Double Kettlebell push press: 5 sets, 35 lbs 10, 53 lbs 3, 3, 35 lbs 10, 8

Thursday:

Walk about 40 minutes, stretch and foam roll.

Friday:

Morning stretch and roll, morning 4.5 mile run (with about 3 walk breaks), around an hour total time for run.

Saturday:

Mowed the lawn (push mower), around 2.5 miles, hour total time.

My Compliance Grade for the Week

Overall, I give myself a solid 99% compliance grade for the week. Most areas of elimination were complete 100% (Grains, added Sugar/artificial sweeteners, Legumes, Dairy, Alcohol, Soy, MSG); my one area of slip up was non-compliant bacon. Bacon must be nitrate free to be compliant on whole 30. I have since purchased some compliant bacon, so any future posts that read “bacon” please assume it is compliant (unless I confess otherwise). Overall, I am very pleased with my first week and sticking to the program!

Additionally, I did not take any body weight or measurements, and I did not count calories or macro-nutrient ratios (and will continue to not do so during the program).

Looking Ahead to Next Week!

Looking forward to trying new foods, and noticing any continued or additional benefits! As a reflection on training, I was not really doing full throttle this week. I would like to add a little bit more intensity and volume during more whole 30, and maybe add in some different exercises.

Thanks for following along with me, I’ll be checking in next Saturday for week 2!