This is the second post recapping my June 2020 round of Whole30.
Because Brian and I eat mostly paleo at home, we got through the first five days of Whole30 on what we already had on hand. But after that our pantry was only full of crackers and cereal and chips and cookies and all sorts of bread products and non-compliant foods — also known as the COVID-19 pandemic comfort food we had been bingeing on. So I hit the grocery store to stock up and do some meal prep.
I grabbed lots of fresh fruit and veggies, chicken and turkey, nuts, and some Whole30 compliant snacks like RX Bars, Beet Chips, and Epic Bars. We had some fish in the freezer already and I had recently stocked up on all of the Tessemae’s dressings and sauces that I like so now we’re set!
Having a variety of dressings and sauces on hand to level-up meals makes a huge difference!
Meal Prep
In terms of meal prep, I don’t really worry about dinner — I like taking my time with dinner and spending time with the family in the kitchen while we’re all cooking various things. My meal prep focus is on making breakfast and lunch easy and fast because those are the meals that affect our workdays the most.
- I chopped all the breakfast veggies and turkey sausage and mixed them with hash browns to create a ready-to-go breakfast mix for quick scrambles. I just add eggs and fresh chopped spinach and it’s done. Breakfast for two is now prepped for the entire week. Clearly we’ll be eating a lot of scrambles, which is A-Okay!
- I sliced pineapple and strawberries and made up a fruit salad with grapes and blueberries to make choosing fruit easy. When I don’t cut everything up or create the fruit salad, no one eats it. When I do, it gets devoured. No one likes to work for their food in this house!
- A custom trail mix of nuts and two types of raisins to mix in means skipping the unhealthy oils (like peanut oil) that is typically added to off-the-shelf nut mixes.
Whole30 Day 6
Not going to lie: With no set schedule, the weekend is a little harder to stay on track with meal timing. I also find it harder to stay on top of my water intake.
During the week, I’m at my desk all day and keep a full water bottle on my desk at all times to make sure I drink enough water. On the weekend, because we’re moving around more, it’s a bit more difficult and I really have to make it a priority.
While looking at property and running a couple errands, Brian and I stopped at a local farm brewery to check it out. Brian had a beer but also had to order food with it — nothing on the menu was Whole30 compliant so we donated our nachos to the people behind us in line.
Yes, Brian knows beer isn’t Whole30 compliant. He’s doing Whole30 with me in terms of food and still drinking beer because his work… well, let’s just say beer helps.
- EXERCISE: Brian had to get up early for the weekend launch of a client website, so I was up early too (but not quite as early) and got in both a T25 Beta workout and a Barre Blend workout. I’ve finally decided that Barre Blend has to be the first workout when I double up — otherwise my legs are too tired to do my T25 workout justice!
- FASTING: Because we were up so early, I was starving and ate breakfast around 10:30 am. Afternoon plans out of the house pushed my second meal back to 4:00 pm and we didn’t end up eating dinner until 7:00 pm. I was off my fasting schedule but close enough to the window to still feel good about it. I do really need to watch the timing of that mid-day meal though and remember to throw an Epic Bar or RX Bar in my bag when I’m not at home just in case.
- FOOD: Brunch was a Whole30 snack plate of fresh fruit, beet chips, mixed nuts, and a Chicken Sriracha Epic Bar cut up. Beet Chips give me the crunch I really like! Mid-day was a Vegan Cafe Latte Shakeology with Spinach. Dinner was leftover Artichoke Garlic Meatballs sauteed in barbecue sauce and roasted broccoli drizzled with Tessemae’s Everything Bagel Ranch.
Whole30 Day 7
It may have been Sunday, but I had to work. My recent struggles with focus and productivity caused me to fall a bit behind on some projects and now I’m playing catch up. Thankfully, it was a beautiful day, so I worked in the cabana with music playing and the waterfalls running while Brian tore up parts of our yard that we’re redoing.
- EXERCISE: Rest day! I spent a good hour stretching though while watching Schitt’s Creek. That felt great but I did miss my normal workouts.
- FASTING: I stayed on track today no problem, eating at 11:00 am, 2:00 pm, and 6:30 pm.
- FOOD: We had some veggies leftover from other meals, so I diced them up for a veggie scramble while my Smash Potatoes were cooking. I skipped using the breakfast mix I meal prepped because it had hash browns in it and I didn’t want that much potato! Lunch was Vegan Chocolate Shakeology with spinach. Then for dinner, we had Bacon Wrapped Asparagus, roasted potatoes, and salad — with a turkey bacon option for Brian.
Whole30 Day 8
I slept terribly, woke up at 3:30 am, and never went back to sleep. I was the photographer for my daughter’s Senior Sunrise, so I was out in the freezing cold from 5:00 am to 7:00 am and my body never really warmed back up. I was freezing all day long — so much so that mid-day I went into the backyard and laid on the hot concrete for a half hour!
- EXERCISE: After a rest day, I was really looking forward to my workouts today but I felt groggy and sluggish and there was no way I was going to be able to do two workouts, so I settled on Barre Blend to stay on schedule with the program.
- FASTING: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were at 11:00 am, 2:30 pm, and 6:00 pm like clockwork. Brian has been following this fasting schedule with me and we both really like it!
- FOOD: I kicked things off with another delicious breakfast scramble topped with avocado and Tapatio. Lunch was fresh fruit, carrots, and a Chicken Sriracha Epic Bar. Dinner was leftover meatballs with Tessemae’s BBQ Sauce, a salad, and Rhythm Beet Chips. I blended my Shakeology extra thick and enjoyed it like ice cream.
NOTE: Technically, the strict Whole30 rules say you can’t replicate trigger foods or junk foods with compliant ingredients. For example, paleo muffins may follow the Whole30 eating rules but they aren’t in the spirit of Whole30. So, if I were doing a strict Whole30, my Shakeology ice cream would be a big non-no and I’d have to start the program over.
Whole30 Day 9
Today was a good day! I got my workouts in early, drank a ton of water, stayed within my fasting schedule, had a Zoom catch up with a good friend, and got to say hi to my adorable nephews. We’ve been babysitting my three nephews every week since the oldest was 6 months old (he’s now 5) and we have missed them so much during the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders!
- EXERCISE: I kicked off the day with back-to-back T25 Beta and Barre Blend workouts. I noticed a couple moved I had to modify a couple of weeks ago no longer need to be modified — Woohoo!
- FASTING: Meals stayed mostly on schedule with breakfast at 11:30 am, lunch at 2:30 pm, and dinner at 5:30 pm. A meeting pushed my first meal back a little and visiting my nephews before their bedtime pushed my dinner up a bit.
- FOOD: My meal prep for the week means it’s veggie, potato, and turkey sausage scrambles every morning. Today’s was topped with avocado and Tapatio. Lunch was a Shakeology with spinach and a Chicken Sriracha Epic Bar. Dinner was turkey burgers with roasted grape tomatoes, Roasted Onion And Garlic Carrots, and fresh fruit.
Whole30 Day 10
We have been eating really good on Whole30 and my daughter has loved all the veggies we’re getting in! One of the things I love about Whole30 is that it forces me to pay attention to my food and everything I eat, so I end up putting far more effort into my meals than normal!
We don’t like to have any food waste, so we tend to repurpose leftovers and eat the same food for a couple of meals in a row — today’s salmon dinner was a nice break from the normal turkey and chicken.
- EXERCISE: I had a huge amount of work to get done before noon today and skipped the morning workouts. I HATE doing that because working out in the afternoon or evening is so much harder! I squeezed in my workout in the late afternoon while the kids went swimming. By the end, I was so hot and sweaty that I jumped in the pool too to cool off before dinner.
- FASTING: My meals stayed on track, with me eating at 11:00 am, 2:00 pm, and 6:00 pm. With my husband Brian deciding to follow the same meal plan I’m doing (because I make all of his food) it has been easier to stay on track.
- FOOD: Breakfast (although it’s so late it really should be called brunch) was a Chocolate Shakeology with almond butter and spinach. Lunch was a snack plate of spicy deli turkey, apples and almond butter, and fresh fruit. For dinner I forgot to defrost the salmon, so I tried cooking it frozen in the Instant Pot and it worked perfectly! I paired the salmon with a lemon dill mayo and roasted broccoli and carrots.
Reflecting On Whole30 Days 6-10
Ten days in and I feel great! I noticed when I put my jeans on for the first time since the pandemic stay-at-home orders went into effect, that they were looser than they were before. I also was able to wear a shirt that was too tight in February! Overall, I’m smaller than I was in February — and that is definitely something to celebrate!
I did great staying on top of my water intake, consuming 100 ounces of water minimum each day. I also did pretty good with my eating over the past five days too, but noticed that I tend to use Epic Bars as a crutch. I love the spicy chicken bars — they are sooooo good and if we have them in the house, I’ll eat one every day until they’re gone. They’re good to have in a pinch, but I need to be careful to not let them replace more nutritionally diverse foods.
I feel great with my workouts and I’m stretching every night for 30 minutes or so before bed, which helps get rid of any soreness. I have, however, noticed that my body is tired. I’m not sure what to do about that, so I’m just planning on keeping on keeping on.
That’s it for now…
My Month Of Whole30 Recaps
Catch all of my modified (including Shakeology) Whole30 recaps — five days at a time — and get a glimpse at my workout routine and my first try at intermittent fasting:
