Whole30: Week One Recap

I have done a round of Whole30 every January for several years now. I always start on January 2 – have to have my black-eyed peas, mashed potatoes, greens, and cornbread to welcome in the new year on January 1st! I may do a round of Whole30 here and there throughout the year, but my January Whole30 is the one where I go all in and this year is no exception. I haven’t always documented my January Whole30s, but I decided I would this year, both here and on social media (mostly in my stories). 

Pre-Whole30

I generally eat well. I choose clean ingredients, stick to the gluten-free diet I’m supposed to be on (Celiac Disease over here), and limit dairy (I’m also lactose intolerant). I’ll admit it though – I went off the rails for most of the time period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, especially the last three weeks of the year. I spent a lot of time in the car driving from Nashville to Virginia and back which meant fast food and then there was eating all the holiday treats, all the restaurants I love back home, snacking a little too much… 

I’m paying for it now. I didn’t gain weight (which, honestly FLOORED me – I expected a few pounds of gain when I finally stepped back on the scale), but my digestion has taken a nosedive and after dealing with an on and off sore throat most of the week leading up to Christmas (and no other symptoms – or so I thought) it hit me upon my return to Nashville that I’m dealing with a lot of acid reflux. Like, a lot. It’s not a good time, friends. My throat burns, I’m producing a lot of extra mucus (TMI, but we roll like that), hoarseness, throat clearing, ear pain, and I’m having the occasional sternum pain of indigestion as well. 

Don’t worry, I have a doctor’s appointment and now that I’ve cleaned up my diet, I’m already seeing improvement. 

It suffices to say I need this Whole30, and I need it badly. 

What is Whole30? 

Whole30 is a 30-day elimination diet that cuts out foods that cause inflammation and negatively impact gut health and hormones. For 30 days, you cut out gluten, dairy, sugar, soy, alcohol, and legumes. 

So basically everything good and right in the world, right? 

Not exactly. 

You can have protein, vegetables, fruit, nuts, nut butter (except peanut butter – peanuts are a legume!)  and other Whole30-compliant snacks. In a traditional Whole30, the goal is to eat three square meals a day, plus a snack if you workout. If you want to be totally strict and by the Whole30 book, you’re not supposed to substitute compliant foods for snacking or as alternatives to, say, pasta or baked goods, either. For example, Trader Joe’s has excellent compliant plantain chips, but on a by-the-book Whole30, you’re supposed to sustain from them. Same goes for their cauliflower gnocchi as it is considered a pasta replacement. 

My hot take? 

If it’s compliant, it’s fair game, especially on a day when you’re busy and those plantain chips are all you have time to eat. Whole30 already removes so much from the day-to-day diet that I can’t fault someone, let alone myself, from grabbing a bag of cauliflower gnocchi after a long day in the office or a handful of plantain chips when the office snacks are calling during a long stretch of meetings. 

If you want to learn more about Whole30, I highly recommend the book It Starts with Food.

Whole30 Prep 

I’ve done Whole30 enough at this point that I know what recipes I like and how to stock my fridge and pantry accordingly. I keep it simple. If you google Whole30 recipes, you will find a lot of complicated meals that involve ingredients that cost a silly amount for the teaspoon or so you’ll need and never use again. I stock up on proteins like chicken and ground turkey burger, and plenty of veggies, fruits, almond butter, and nuts. I’ll also get a few “in case of emergency” items like compliant Larabars or RXBars and those above-mentioned plantain chips. 

I also meal prep – I cannot emphasize enough how helpful meal prepping is on Whole30. When my meals are ready to go, I’m far less likely to cave for something non-compliant. Meal prepping and planning ahead also helped me stay compliant during an all-day Pure Barre training on Friday. I took fruit and a Larabar with me and because of meal prep, had dinner waiting when I got home. 

Week One Reflections 

I felt the withdrawals a bit more this time than I have in previous rounds. I’d eaten a lot of sugar and junk in the days leading up to Whole30 and while the dreaded detox wasn’t awful, it wasn’t the easiest round I’ve gone through. Day 3 was especially challenging as I navigated an awful headache most of the day along with low energy.  

I could feel my body “getting smaller” over the course of the week and while you’re not supposed to weigh on Whole30, I have decided to weigh daily to track that data point as I have a few theories I want to explore. Through day 6, I lost 4lbs, most of which was water weight. By bedtime on day 6 though, I could feel my waistband expanding and woke up on day 7 knowing there was going to be a gain. Sure enough, I was up 2.6lbs “overnight.” It’s water retention and the beginning of the infamous “my pants are tighter” phase of Whole30 as the body continues expelling all the junk and getting used to a new way of eating. Day 8ish is usually a bit of a digestive adventure, so we’ll see where things go. Very interested in tracking the weight data point over the 30 days. 

I’m also doing Intermittent Fasting with this round. I started IF before Thanksgiving mostly to help my digestion, but to also jumpstart losing a few pounds which, pre-holiday, I did and managed to keep those pounds off over the holidays despite how not great I ate. IF is proving to be good for me – I eat between 12pm and 8pm – and I’m curious how well it will work with the benefits of Whole30. 

Final Thoughts 

Week one of Whole30 was a solid week. I was compliant, saw improvement in my digestion, and overall felt better. Week two tends to be a rollercoaster from the digestive side of things, so I’m looking forward to that (sarcasm font). I’ve already meal prepped for week two and pre-planned what I’ll have at a work lunch on Tuesday to continue to stay compliant. 

Check back next week for an update on week two! I’ll also share some of my recipes and go-to foods.

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