We Did It! We Completed Our First Whole30: Day 29-30

We did it! We completed our first Whole30!

For all the procrastination and delay that went into us actually starting the program, The Whole30 actually flew by. It’s hard to believe we’re already done.

We went 30 days with no grains, no dairy, no sugar, no alcohol, no legumes, no baked goods or treats, and no carrageenan, MSG, or added sulfites. It sounds awful. Just reading that you wonder, what the heck do you eat then? And you think, no way am I doing that.

But then if you’re like me you wonder about it some more, and you’re sucked in by the fact that this might help you get some health issues under control that the doctors haven’t been able to help with.

Before we started Whole30 felt big. It felt difficult. I wondered if it would even be worth it. I wondered if I could even stick to it. Now that we’re done and looking back, it was pretty easy and totally worth it. Just a few of the benefits include:

• Brian has lost 8.5 pounds and at least two inches in his waist.
• I have lost 9 pounds!
• All of my pants are too big and saggy.
• Shirts that were a bit too tight that I was hanging onto are now too big to make work and I had to get rid of them.
• We’re both sleeping more soundly.
• We have way more energy.
• All of the erratic digestive issues that I have been plagued with are gone.
• Brian’s gall bladder issues have remedied themselves.

The Food: Tired And Lazy And Busy

This is the last Whole30 recap post of this experience, covering Days 29 and 30.

The last two days, the final stretch, and the two hardest days of the entire Whole30. I didn’t cook very much, so I don’t have lots of mouthwatering Whole30 recipe photos for you, but I do have some insights into the reality of the Whole30.

You can check out the other Whole30 recaps here:

• Getting Started With Whole30 In The Real World: Day 1
• Getting Used To The Whole30 Rules: Day 2-5
• Whole30 (Spring Break) Road Trip Food: Day 6-10
• Staying On Track With Whole30 On A Holiday: Day 11-16
• Whole30 While You’re Sick, Parties, And Date Night at A Brewery: Day 17-22
• Date Nights And Eating Out During Whole30: Day 23-28

Whole30 Day 29

Today was Star Wars Day at the Sacramento Zoo! We bought the 9:00 am entrance time tickets months ago and were so excited… but I was dragging some butt because we didn’t get home from date night until 1:00 am that morning. We were running a bit behind and anxious to get on the road, so I grabbed an RxBar and headed to the Zoo.

Star Wars Day was AMAZING! We got photos with almost every character we want to see and some we have never seen at any Star Wars event before, like Emperor Palpatine. They even had characters there from Rogue One. We had a blast snapping photos with the characters, checking out all of the animals, and if course, the kids had popcorn and ice cream, and I drank a ton of water.

Brian had been working in the yard all morning replacing a couple sections of the fence that were falling down, so we picked up Chipotle on the way home.

While Chipotle is a quick, easy, lazy, take out meal that’s Whole30 compliant if you only get the carnitas, salsa, guacamole, and peppers and onions, I’m over it. It sort of sucks paying full price for a burrito bowl that’s nothing but meat with a little salsa and guac on top. And, it sucks even more when you’re starving, you order double meat, and then you not only pay full price, they also charge you extra. And to be honest, our meals at home taste way better.

At normal dinner time neither of us were really hungry and we failed to eat dinner. By the time we felt hungry, it was time to head over to Folsom to see our friend Matt Rainey play with his full band The Dippin’ Sauce at Gaslight Company. So we each grabbed an RxBar to eat in the car on the way.

I was a bit mad at myself for not planning better and eating an RxBar for a meal twice in one day, and when I told Brian, we laughed because he did the same thing. Really though, these things happen. We’re going to have hectic busy days where we don’t cook. We’re going to get off schedule or fail to meal prep. We’re going to mess up. That’s just real life. I don’t mind life getting in the way of meals every once in a while and eating RxBars instead — as long as it doesn’t happen often.

Now about hanging out at a bar while doing the Whole30.

We went to see Saints of Circumstance play at Blue Note Brewing in Woodland on Day 22 and that was no big deal because the brewery is a huge, laid back place. We drank water, grabbed some chicken and polled pork (plain) from the food truck and had a great night.

On Day 28 We went to see Coral Creek and Achilles Wheel at the Auburn Event Center, only had water, and while it was ok, it was weird and sort of sucky. We like to support the bar and at least have 1-2 beers or ciders because that’s how they make money and we want the local shows to continue!

Today, we went out again to see a local band, this time to a small bar in Folsom, and in a small bar, where everyone around you is drinking and you’re not, it’s weird. And again, we like to support the bar and not going out to dinner beforehand was a bummer. We love our date night dinners.

Hmmmm… Whole30 and our date nights don’t quite like each other.

Whole30 Day 30

The last day of Whole30!

Today was my niece’s birthday party that started with lunch and ice cream at Leatherby’s and ended with Mini Golf at Sunsplash. There is definitely nothing on the Leatherby’s menu that is Whole30 compliant, so we ate a huge, late breakfast before we left.

I made a Broccoli Slaw And Pancetta Breakfast Scramble (Brian’s had no pancetta) that was absolutely amazing! We were stuffed, which was good because sitting through an almost 90 minute lunch while everyone else ate chicken nuggets, French fries, and ice cream.

I brought a Larabar with me and ate it in the car between Leatherby’s and Sunsplash and before mini golf, grabbed a large unsweetened black iced tea. But their unsweetened iced tea tasted sweet. I took one sip, spit it out, and went back to the counter, thinking they gave me the wrong drink. But nope. That was their PEAK unsweetened Iced Tea. I even checked the labels. But I swear, it tasted sugary before I spit it out, so I switched over to a large iced water instead. I think an employee mixed up the iced teas when filling the machines.

By dinner time, I was exhausted. Two date nights in a row means very little sleep, plus we had Star Wars Day and my niece’s birthday party. I didn’t want to cook. I wanted to go out to dinner, sit down at a restaurant, have someone else cook, and order a billion iced teas delivered right to my table. But…

• Few of my favorite restaurant foods are Whole30 compliant.
• If we went out, we’d be eating salads with just olive oil and vinegar, or something else pretty plain and boring.
• We’d be paying restaurant prices for a mediocre meal.

I just couldn’t do it. Plus, it was our last day of The Whole30!

We had top finish strong! So Brian cooked with me and we made Ground Turkey Taco Salads again, this time with the Tessemae’s Creamy Ranch Dressing.

Making Our Whole30 A Whole60

For the last week we’ve been kicking around the idea of making our Whole30 a Whole60. But we’ve been waffling on the idea…

• Do we do another strict Whole30, staying with all of the rules?
• Do we stay Whole30 at home and don’t worry about it when we’re out and about?
• Do we stay Whole30 all the time, but allow for Date Night to be the only exception, so we can have a beer or cider with friends?
• If I do another Whole30, will I start right away, today on May 1? Or will I give myself one day as a break to eat some cheesecake or some Urban Fries from Jacks Urban Eats?

Hmmm… What to do? What to do?

Last night we made the decision to make our Whole30 a Whole60 and stick to all of the rules 100% through the entire thing. No exceptions. No cheating.

A few things helped us (mostly me) make this decision:

• It’s Day 30 and I’m already thinking about eating Urban Fries and cheesecake and chips. I think truly shifting my eating and snacking habits is going to take longer than 30 days.
• Documenting my Whole30 experience publicly on my blog has helped keep me accountable. If I cheat or make allowances, I’m not really doing Whole30 again and we won’t really be doing a Whole60.
• I did this Whole30 with out exercise. Now I’d like to do Whole30 with an exercise program and see how I feel, how exercise affects my hunger, what I eat and when I eat, and our meals.
• This first Whole30 was sort of a novelty. But because we did this for long-term, sustainable, healthy shifts, we’re going to stretch it out and work on adapting it into normal life. For example, we only ate out a handful of times during the Whole30, and three of those times it was to Chipotle. If this is going to be sustainable, we’ve got to get good at navigating restaurants.
• I just feel way to good to go back to eating all of the things we used to eat.

Like I did with my first Whole30, I’ll be documenting my Whole30 Round 2 experience with exercise here on the blog. It will help me stay on track and hopefully it will inspire you too — or at least help you find some delicious, healthy, Whole30 recipes.