This was written on the beginning of Day 4. The meals shown below are super easy quick meals that anyone can make. I am not a chef and they are not meant to impress you. They were tasty though!

Day 1: Woke up like I always do, went to an AM spin class and made my first Whole 30 meal:

Trader joes power of the greens & scrambled eggs cooked in olive oil, salt, pepper, and 1/4 of an avocado with black iced coffee. Other than the black coffee, this meal is something you’d normally find me eating. I had to babysit for a few hours mid afternoon that day so lunch ended up being an RX bar, fruit, and some almonds (not ideal I know, but I was on the move!) Dinner looked like this:

Chicken sautéed in olive oil, paprika, salt, pepper, with a side of brocolli and sweet potato! Super good. My fiance was impressed by my chicken (goes to show how much I don’t cook as that’s such a simple meal). I tried ghee with my sweet potato but found it a little odd and haven’t quite adapted to that.

How do I feel? This could have been any day for me, so fine. Hardest parts? The black coffee, and not being able to eat cheez its  with the kids while babysitting.

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Day 2: Still feel normal. It was one day of healthy eating sooo I’m fine. Back to work today! Nervous that I’d see donuts and chocolate all day. Started my day at Orangetheory Fitness and had an awesome work out. (I truly believe eating sweet potatoes before a hard cardio day sets you up well!)

Breakfast: Hard boiled eggs and a fuji apple, half an RX bar. — Quick and Simple b/c I had to shower at Orangetheory and run to work. Ate at my desk.

Lunch: Verde Salad – Combo of spinach & arugula, shrimp (I asked Verde and ALL meats are only seasoned with garlic, salt, and pepper!), tomatoes, cucumber, broccoli, sprouts, and avocado! For dressing I did olive oil and a whole lemon squeeze.

Dinner: So I forgot to take my picture before I started eating, but grilled steak with salt and pepper and roasted brussels (olive oil, salt, pepper, oven to 400 degrees, 30 min).

Snacks: I know Whole 30 encourages 3 meals a day, but it’s really hard for me to do that as I usually eat every 3-4 hours. This is especially hard when I start the day with a workout so sorry Whole 30, not going to stop snacking.

RX bars have been awesome (love blueberry)! I have had that, fruit, pistachios or cashews for snacks. Trader Joes sells CHOMPS jerky that is also Whole 30 approved and I recommend for a good protein kick.

End of Day 2: The headache kicked in. I also did not sleep well this night.

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Day 3: My headache today was awful, I craved bread all day. I couldnt tell if I was having a headache because of sugar/carb withdrawal, maybe not eating enough, or what.

Breakfast: Same egg combo with mixed fruit. I tried cooking in coconut oil and I WISH I could say I loved it but I just can’t stand the taste of coconut oil. I will recommend cooking with it if you can stand the taste as it has TONS of health benefits.

Lunch: Another Verde Salad, this time with chicken. Planned to bring leftovers but my 6’6 fiance has taught me that leftovers don’t exist when we’re sharing meals 🙂

Snacks: I had an RX bar around 3, but felt SO lightheaded / headachy again by 5. I went to harris teeter and got some cashews and more fruit and it helped / was a good pre work out snack before I had a strength training session with one of the OTF trainers.

Dinner: Grilled steak & sweet potato topped with Trader Joes Crunchy almond butter. No picture to show bc I was super hangry when I got home and ate really quickly.

End of Day 3: Today was by far the hardest day. I went back and forth from feeling lightheaded to ok, to head-achy. I really really just wanted a piece of toast with my eggs in the AM (I usually eat Ezekiel toast with eggs) and I was dying for a piece of gum after lunch. If I wasn’t on Whole 30 with a larger group of people, I would have probably quit today.

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Day 4: Woke up and went to a 730 Orangetheory Class. Post class headache was gone! This is the best I have felt so far.

 Findings So Far:

• Day 3 I woke up feeling & looking significantly less bloated
• The headache everyone talks about is real, but seriously have faith and fight through it, it will go away
• Black coffee is not so bad. I hope this keeps up so I spend less on Starbucks this year 🙂
• My brain feels clearer and my anxiety levels are much lower. (My fiance is going to love this)
• I know its only been 3 days but I realized how much I give myself the excuse to snack. On day 3 I would have totally bread, crackers, or another starchy carb when the headache kicked in and given myself the excuse because “I work out a lot and need them.”
• I know I snack when I’m bored at work but I realized the extent to which I do so and it’s a little alarming
• Apples, fruit, and sweet potatoes are good carbs with more nutrients than my usual go-tos and lessened my headaches when they arose. I don’t need as many other carbs as I think I do.
• WTF sugar is in EVERYTHING. Also everyone seems to be on Whole 30 — Trader Joes and Whole Foods are running out of produce and Whole 30  – friendly foods daily!
• I eat way more sugar and carbs than I ever realized. Ingredients are in fact, super important.
• Day 4 I feel great. I am definitely ready for the next 26 days.

Check back on Sunday for a recap to Week 1!