My WHOLE30 Journey | Week 1 | Detoxication

It has been more than one week since I started the Whole30 journey, along with my husband. This was a really tough week for both of us, and I really want to share everything that was going on, plus some tips. If you’re just joining now, check out my post Why I’m Doing The Whole30 Challenge to catch up 🙂

Ok, here we go!

My Whole30 Journey: Week 1

As I said, this first week was really tough for us, mainly because Vesely (that is my husband’s nickname) was very sick at the beginning of the week. He had a very high temperature and headaches (just like I did a week before). I even wanted to postpone the challenge for one week. But I figured that this whole food is going to help him get better and I stuck with it.

When it comes to myself, I felt really hungry and tired for the first few days. I attribute those to eliminating the sugars, so I really tried not to think about it. I also had to go on a business trip for one day, so I had to be prepared for that too.

Despite all that, I am proud that we’ve stuck with it, especially because I started to see some positive changes at a very beginning.

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation…

Just as it has been many times repeated in The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom book, PREPARATION is the key when it comes to any type of diet change. So, I wanted to be ready for any type craving and hunger.

My first step in preparing for the Whole30 journey was to clean out the fridge and pantry of any food that we would not be eating in the upcoming days. I had to pick up every bottle/jar/package and read the labels and see if that particular food was compliant or not. And to be honest, most of those weren’t. I honestly COULDN’T BELIEVE how much sugar(s) there is added, and not to mention sulfites, MSG, and other additives. 🙁

The next step was to make a meal plan for the whole week, and I’ve decided to do the meal prep as well. Then, I had to go grocery shopping, and here is my grocery list:

Produce:

• • Bananas,
  • Lemons,
  • Ginger,
  • Peppers,
  • Arugula,
  • Cucumbers,
  • Carrots,
  • Fannel
  • Cauliflower,
  • Potatoes,
  • Sweet potatoes,
  • Radishes,
  • Zucchinis,
  • Celery,

Protein:

• • Eggs
  • Ground beef,
  • Ground turkey,
  • Pork belly,
  • Bacon,
  • Prosciutto,

Dry fruits and nuts:

• • Dates,
  • Figs,
  • Banana chips,
  • Apricots,
  • Almonds,
  • Hazelnuts,

Fats:

• • Butter (to make Ghee)
  • Olives (black, green and Kalamata)
  • Sesame oil

Tins and packages:

• • Canned fish (tuna and sardines)
  • Coconut milk,
  • Tapioca starch
  • Tomato paste,
  • Plum tomatoes

I’ve already had some things in stock, so I didn’t have to buy them. Those are olive oil, coconut oil, herbs and spices, chia seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, vinegars, frozen veggies and fruits, and two whole chickens that I cut up. I also had my homemade marinara sauce and salsa verde (which I made without additives, out of my garden veggies), so I didn’t have to buy those either.

My plan was to meal prep for the whole week, so all I have to do is to assemble the meal in 10-15 minutes. Since grocery shopping happened on Saturday, I did meal prep on Sunday, plus some additional prepping on Monday. So, here is what I did:

• Put all the ingredients for the chicken soup in the slow cooker to make my Homemade Slow Cooker Chicken Stock;
• Baked 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (took them out of the freezer the night before to thaw);
• Hard-boiled 8 eggs (Vesely is allergic to yolk in boiled eggs, so these were just for me);
• Made a buffalo ranch dressing with coconut milk (here is the link);
• Roasted sweets potatoes to have a side dish for breakfasts, and to add to salads.
• This was the first time I made almond butter, and I was amazed at how good it was;
• Made a whole bunch of oven-baked beef meatballs (to combine them with marinara sauce or coconut milk curry sauce);
• I also made almond milk and combined it with chia seed to have a quick and easy breakfast in the fridge. That is how I also got the almond flour/meal, so that was a win-win;
• And while everything was simmering/baking I did some veggie chopping for quick salads and easy snacks (if we get cravings).
• Washed and spin-dried green lettuce that I have in the garden.

It took me about 2 hours to prepare everything (not counting in the slow cooker chicken stock because it took about 10 hours to cook). I guess, it could be all done a bit faster, but since Vesely was already a bit sick, I had to do the meal prep and take care of him at the same time.

Breakfasts mostly consisted of fried eggs and omelets combined with sweet potatoes and other prepped veggies; or almond milk chia pudding with fruits and almond butter. I tried to keep it nice and simple. For lunch, it was usually a chicken cobb salad or the leftovers from the day before. And for dinner, we had meatballs or chicken with mashed potatoes, salad or cauliflower rice.

On Thursday I had to go on a business trip for one day, and I took some leftover meatballs and cauliflower rice with me. I also had fresh and dried fruit, and olives with me, in case I get hungry (but I didn’t! Yay!).

Everything went really smooth and I can’t be more happy about it!?

My Thoughts About Whole30 Week 1

For the first 2 or 3 days, I felt very tired. I believe that was because of the cutting off of all the sugars, and the fact that Vesely was sick, and I had to take care of him. When it comes to the Whole30 Timeline, I didn’t experience everything from the list. Actually, I only wanted to Eat All The Things and to get a nap.

One night I had a dream of eating a lot of bread, and I remember that I felt really guilty about it! But when I woke up I was glad that was just a dream 🙂

I am happy to report that, after just one week, I feel a lot lighter (read – I’m not bloated as usual) and my breath is much better. I didn’t have any „unexplained“ allergy bursts. Also, the only thing that I actually miss is yogurt. Not chocolate or sugars, I really, really, REALLY miss yogurt. But, I will stick to the rules for few more weeks.

And there you have it! I know this was a long post, but I had to share my thoughts with you!

If you have any questions or want me to post any particular recipe that I’ve listed above, let me know in the comments below.

Until next week…