WHOLE 30 WEEK 1 — Molly's Musings

So after reading countless blog posts and hearing so much about it, I finally decided to give Whole30 a try. You can read more about the Whole30 program here, but it is basically a rigid program where you give up all sugar, dairy, wheat and legumes for 30 days with absolutely NO CHEATING (crazy, I know)! After the 30 days are over, you slowly introduce these items back into your diet to see which food groups sit well with your system and which food groups do not.

If I am being honest with myself, when I first started this program, I more did it as a challenge for myself and not so much as a test for my internal systems. Now that I am officially finished with week 1 (HOORAY), I can say that I now see the benefit. I have struggled with stomach issues for a long time but always figured everyone else did too. I cannot wait to finish these 30 days to have a better understanding of how my stomach works and to try and eliminate those food groups which irritate me.

The first week has been HARD! It's not so much the cravings or the "I can't have that" mentality, but it's mostly the sheer exhaustion. My body is so used to using the carbs and sugars I intake for energy and not the stored up fat like it's supposed to. With the little amount of carbs and zero amount of sugar I have been eating, my body has been in total shock. The first couple of days, I could barely keep my eyes open and I felt so weak. I am now on day 7 and am feeling much better and I cannot wait to get to the point where I get the surge of energy that everyone talks about ( it is supposed to happen days 16-27).

Pros:

The not being able to eat things hasn't been that hard, yet! I haven't had any intense craving for chocolate or sweets (although they say that is coming)
I have never eaten this clean in my life. It has been really cool to see how unhealthy I really do eat for a girl who always thought she ate pretty healthy. I love to add cheese to everything, or a little bit more salad dressing here, or always wanting a small dessert after my meal. With Whole30, you cant do this and it really opens up your eyes to your eating habits.
Overall, I have yet to have any stomach issues!

Cons:

I have never been more tired or exhausted feeling! I haven't even had the energy to workout. I will definitely be incorporating exercise this week and getting back into my normal routine.
Eating out has been REALLY hard! It sucks to go grab dinner with a girlfriend and only be able to order a side salad with oil and vinegar, or when your friends want to grab drinks and you get to sip on your cold glass of WATER (not fun)!
I feel like I have never washed more dishes in my entire life!
It's EXPENSIVE. I have literally gone to the grocery store four times this week. I am hoping that now that I have more of an idea of the foods I will be eating, this will get better.

Things I have been eating:

Coffee with homemade almond milk ( I cannot do the whole black coffee thing, so I have been making my own almond milk. All of the store-bough almond milks have added sugar which is a no-no. It really isn't too hard to make and is definitely worth it to me. You can find the recipe here.
Lots of eggs for breakfast. I have been making these quick egg muffins on Sunday's and eating them throughout the week. They are great if you like to snooze a little longer in the morning. I put Franks Hot sauce (Whole30 approved) on mine and they make them really good.
I made a big batch of this at the beginning of the week and have been eating it for lunch. It isn't the most exciting soup, so I am looking for ways to make it a little better
For dinners, I have been sticking to what I normally eat. Some sort of a protein, a veggie, and then roasted cubed sweet potatoes.
La Croix with Lime juice makes me feel like I'm drinking soda!
Lots and lots of fruit! My favorites have been tangerines. At this point, they taste like candy!

Have you tried Whole30? What are some of your favorite recipes. Anything else you guys want to know more about?