I don’t believe in New Years Resolutions.  I see them as an excuse to fail, they are usually to vague to help you succeed with what you want to do, or they are just empty promises you say to yourself every year.  Things like “I want to loose weight, I want to quit drinking sodas, I want to workout”.  They don’t have attainable goals attached to them.  Without goals, they are just empty promises.  So what do I do instead?  I set goals, have a plan and then put that plan in place.  It’s how I train for races, it’s how I change my diet and how I make permanent changes in my life.

I’ve been following a nutrition program from Precision Nutrition from my friend Jess (who has a blog – go check it out!).  It’s been great and I’ve lost 10 inches since starting in July. But over the holiday’s I saw a stall in any loosing and saw myself grabbing for things I didn’t need, upset my stomach or were easy.  So from the encouragement of some friends with a coaching program I have used and race with (Multisport Performance Coaching) we decided to do Whole 30 for the month of January.

What is Whole 30? It’s a clean eating food plan.  You cut out sugars, grains, dairy, beans, legumes and processed foods.  You may ask, what in the world do you eat? Good food is what.  Proteins, eggs, fruits, veggies, nuts, healthy fats, spices – You are to eat good food as close it’s wholesome form.  It takes planning, prepping and some dedication.  I said it takes planning – for what you are going to eat and the book/website help you to plan out what your 30 days will be like, how you will feel and resources that are available.

You may ask me, why would I do this?  I needed a reset on my eating.  I already eat gluten free (most of the time) and have food sensitivities.   But over the holidays I found food I didn’t need sneaking into my diet. So this plan is a great way to cut your dependency on sugar, get back to eating wholesome real food that is not prepackaged, and as an added benefit I can loose weight/inches.  This is not a weight loss plan, but many people loose weight.

So I have made it through the first week of Whole30 and here is what I have been eating.  Yes I have had plenty, I have been full, aside from a headache and feeling more tired than usual, I’ve been doing ok.

I’ve been posting my food on my Instagram each day but in case you missed it, here is all the good wholesome food I’ve been eating.

Day 1

Breakfast: Sweet potato hash with pork sausage and 2 clementines.  Coffee with coconut milk.

Lunch: Homemade chicken salad (paleo mayo) over spinach, avocado, strawberries and blueberries

Dinner: Taco night – chicken with my own taco mix, tomatoes, homemade guacamole.

Snack: strawberries, blueberries, macadamia nuts and coconut. 

Day 2: Before anyone says anything, yes that is oatmeal.  Yes I know oats are not on the program.  Here is the thing, at the end of the week I was planning on running the Red Nose Half Marathon and I did not need to sabotage myself.  I kept oats and higher carbs until my race day.  I cut out everything else.  I needed to do this for me and I’m ok that it wasn’t Whole 30 perfect because it was perfect for me.

Breakfast: Apple pie oatmeal (Apples, spices, oats, water), coffee with coconut milk

Lunch: Chicken salad over spinach, tomatoes, avocado, and banana.

Snack: Dried apples, apricots, peaches, raw cashews, macadamia nuts, coconut

Dinner – roasted chicken, roasted zucchini and cauliflower, sweet potato fries

Day 3: Ended up being the day of the sweet potato and I loved it.  🙂

Breakfast: Apple pie oatmeal, coffee with coconut milk

Lunch: Sweet potato hash, clementines

Snack: dried fruit, nuts, coconut, coffee with coconut oil

Dinner: Mashed sweet potato, Aidells chicken sausage, spinach, fried egg

Day 4: I’m helping a friend with some computer work, so it’s no excuse Thursday.  Packed anything I thought I would want and then some.

Breakfast: Sweet Potato hash, coffee with coconut oil

Lunch: chicken salad, spinach, tomatoes, avocado, and 2 clementines.

Snack: Dried fruit, nuts and coconut.

Dinner: Because I liked it so much, I made it again.  Sweet potato with chicken sausage, spinach and a fried egg

Day 5:

Breakfast: Sweet potato hash, I didn’t end up eating the hard boiled eggs.

Lunch: Chicken salad, spinach, tomatoes, avocado and a banana

Snack: hot tea, strawberries, blueberries, cashews, macadamia nuts, coconut.

Dinner: Spaghetti squash and zucchini “noodles” with a home made meat sauce

Day 6:

Breakfast: Sweet Potato hash, banana, coffee with coconut oil

Lunch: Spagetti squash noodles, meat sauce, 2 clementines

Dinner: Chicken dredged in Almond flour, mushrooms, avocado and butternut squash soup

Day 7: I had the best night of sleep in a long time.  Woke up late and had breakfast almost at 10:30.

Breakfast: 3 egg omelet with mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes.  Coffee with coconut oil.

Lunch: Wasn’t super hungry and I was going out for a run so I had 2 bananas and almond butter.

Snack: dried fruit, nuts, coconut – had some before lunch and after my run.

Dinner: Chili with avocado.  Had a couple strips of bacon while meal prepping for this week.

 

Ok so now you know what I’ve been eating this week.  You may ask, how do I feel?  I’ve had a dull headache most days but it’s actually improving now.  For days 3-5, I was very tired at about 4 pm and would take a nap.  On day 6, I finally didn’t need a nap.  I have not been having crazy cravings and anytime that I’m hungry or wanting something I grab a big mug of hot tea or fruit with nuts and coconut.

What will keep me going on this for the entire month of January is planning, variety and my friends who we will support each other.

So there you have it, make goals, make a plan on how you will get there and then you can achieve anything.