We decided we were Going Whole 30 in the middle of January when I first learned about by stumbling upon the Nom Nom Paleo site.  We are now at the halfway point.  So I thought I would share some reflections on the adult perspective at Day 15.  You can also read about my thoughts and struggles on Going Whole 30 with Kids.

Whole30 Day 15

The adults have found it far less challenging to be Whole30 than the kids have.  It has definitely meant some lifestyle changes.  Reading It Starts with Food has definitely changed the way I think about food and what is healthy.  Here is what we have found.

I am truly finding that I am less hungry between meals.

Not once since we started have I had that stomach turning inside-out feeling of being ravenous.  Don’t get me wrong.  Eventually, I do feel hungry, but it’s a little growl, like a newborn baby black bear, instead of an angry growl of adult male polar bear.  Jim agrees, though perhaps his growls are a little more like a mama black bear, but it’s still not the polar bear.

My workouts have been better.

Exercise is not something that happens very often here.  But baby steps.  Once a week, before school, I get up early and meet a couple of co-workers to swim laps.  At the end of the first week, I felt strangely energized during my lap swim.  The second week, I was able to add 100 yards to my workout and my hands had not fallen asleep.  I have carpel tunnel syndrome which has not been bad enough to treat, but it’s annoying and I used to have to stop a couple times during lap swim because my hands were tingling.  It wasn’t until I was nearly done that my fingers, just the tips, started to tingle.  It was then that I realized I had gone through the whole first part without an issue.

We have been eating good food.

Not just food that is good for you, but things that taste good.  Things that we like but maybe aren’t part of the regular rotation for whatever reason.  We have made Whole30 Chicken Nuggets (recipe on Friday) and we’ve been having eggs for breakfast.  There are more fresh fruits and vegetables in our house.  Our electric smoker is still getting a work out on most weekends, so hello Smoked Tri Tip.

Blood sugar is down.

One of the things I have been most curious about is Jim’s blood sugar.  (He’s type 2 diabetic.) For the first week, he didn’t see any change; however, he admitted to me this morning (and I think he didn’t want to because he misses cheese) that his numbers are down a little, on average about 20 points.  Hopefully that trend will continue.

We have lost weight.

I have lost weight and Jim says he has as well.  We don’t actually know how much because you are supposed to weigh yourself at the start and then not step on the scale again until the 30 days are done.  But, we feel it.

We are trying new things.

Ghee, where have you been all my life?  This has been our most surprising food discovery.  Ghee is a healthier form of butter because the dairy has been removed.  And, cooking with it is amazing.  Eggs cooked in it come out perfect.  And melted on boiled potatoes?  More, please.

I made paleo mayonnaise, which I wasn’t impressed with, but hey, I gave it a shot.  The jar I purchased at the store was actually better, in my opinion.  Maybe I just need to work on my mayonnaise making skills.

I saved money on groceries.

Seriously.  I saved money on groceries.  This was definitely the most surprising outcome so far.  The book told me we would eat good food and lose weight and it would help with inflammation and blood sugar. But nobody told me I could save money too.  The first time I went grocery shopping, I totally expected to spend more.  I was planning to buy lots of produce and almond flour and and ghee and avocado oil.  High ticket items.  Because we have a freezer full of venison and pork, the only thing I bought from the meat department was boneless chicken thighs, but still. When the register totaled up, it came out to be about $50 less than a typical week.

The same thing happened the second week.

I think the secret is staying away from all those processed foods.  Sunshine went with me and we didn’t put a single bread item, snack item, dessert item, convenience item or soda into the cart.  No dairy either, and I do usually buy organic milk and and yogurt, so I’m sure that made a difference.  But I don’t think I generally spend $50 on dairy (though it could be $25, I guess).

Conclusions at Whole30 Day 15

At Whole30 Day 15 we feel pretty good about what we have accomplished.  Jim is not sure that he can sustain it.  He doesn’t think it’s a lifestyle he can live with.  He misses cheese.  There is a reintroduction plan that is part of the book, It Starts with Food, so he’ll get try cheese again.  Right now we’re moving forward with new recipes and meal plans.  Both are forthcoming here on the blog.

PS. This post may contain affiliate links. When you click the link and make a purchase through the link, we make a little money, this helps to keep The Semiconservative Granola Girl going. Thank you for your support.

Raise your hand if something relating to improved health was part of your New Year’s Resolution.  We didn’t intentionally start 2018 with this in mind.  Although, there was talk of being more healthy and losing weight before our Disney Cruise this summer (Alaska, baby!).  Then, I stumbled upon the Nom Nom Paleo Site and decided to read up on what exactly it means to be Paleo.  And now we’re going Whole30.

I have seen the term Paleo tossed around a lot on Pinterest, but I wasn’t exactly sure what it meant.  Apparently, it is sometimes called “the caveman diet” but really, it’s about returning to our hunter-gather roots.  Michele Tam, the author of Nom Nom Paleo is going Whole30 for the month of January, so I started to reading more.  And, I realized this is exactly what we need to do to re-ground our eating habits.

Going Whole30:  the Decision

I spent several hours reading up on what going Whole30 means.  All of the rules are posted right on their website.  It’s an elimination diet with a fair amount of science to back it up.  I began by reading the Whole30 website and buying their book, It Starts with Food.  Then I started to talk it over with my husband who is type 2 diabetic and “off the wagon.”  I printed the 4 pages of “rules” and handed it to him with the caveat, “We can still drink coffee” (both of us already drink it black).  He read the rules and said, “Okay.”

“When are we doing it?” he asked.

“Umm… February?”

“I don’t want to spend the next two weeks talking about it.  Let’s just start today.”

“We’re not ready.  Besides, we have a party tomorrow.”

After a little more discussion, we decided to begin Monday.  Monday was Martin Luther King Day, so I would be able to go grocery shopping to get some things we would need to begin.

Going Whole30 with Kids

Our kids are kind of picky eaters.  They like “kid food.”  Probably their favorite food is my Homemade “Instant” Mac and Cheese.  But, we decided that this was something that they needed to participate in as well.

We broke it to Sunshine as soon as we decided to start Monday.  “But that means I won’t be able to have peanut butter sandwiches.”  “Right.”  “No milk? No yogurt? No granola bars? No toast!”  “Right.”  “Why are we doing this?!”

I explained that we all needed a sort of food reset.  She didn’t seem convinced, but eventually we just had to put the parent stamp on it:  you don’t really have a choice because this is what we are doing. I also told her that she could go grocery shopping with me and pick out foods for lunches and snacks that would be Whole30 compliant.  She’s settling in to the idea.

We did allow as the kids could finish up the things we already have.  We are not going to waste food like milk, cheese and yogurt.  They could finish the open peanut butter (it was pretty nearly gone anyway) and the bread that I just purchased on Thursday.  But, when it’s gone, we are not going to open anything new or buy replacements.

Rethinking What We Put in Our Mouths

So, for the next month, we are going Whole30.  We are going to choose to eat only whole, unprocessed food without grains, legumes and dairy.  I’m going to make my own mayo.  I’m going to experiment with new Paleo-Whole30 recipes.  Fortunately, smoking foods is still on the menu, so that recipe for Smoked Tri tip is still a go for Friday.  And, we have had some success with Whole30 Chicken Nuggets.

And, we’ll give weekly updates along with our discoveries. Let us know if you are going Whole30 or tips you might have for doing it with kids.  We would love to hear about your experiences too.

PS. This post may contain affiliate links. When you click the link and make a purchase through the link, we make a little money, this helps to keep The Semiconservative Granola Girl going. Thank you for your support.