Over the month of October, my god-sister and I decided to try the Whole 30 Challenge to jumpstart our health and make a change in the way we eat, and look at food. It is not a crash diet, but a lifestyle in which you only eat whole and natural foods. Meals consist of a preferably organic source of protein like chicken, steak, eggs, a large serving of fruit and veggies, and healthy fats. On the plan you cut out dairy other than eggs, sugar, legumes, starches, grains and alcohol.

A day in my life on Whole 30:

Breakfast:

Aidells chicken apple sausage scramble with grapefruit

Coffee with cashew milk

Lunch:

Steak or chicken salad with kale, tomato and avocado

Snack:

Apple and almonds

Dinner:

Cod Cioppino (leave the baguette out)

After one week, as long as I loaded up on protein I was feeling great. My head felt clearer, my body felt lighter and my clothes fit a tiny bit looser because any water bloat that I did have was gone. You cannot weigh yourself, but as the weeks went on I noticed my clothes fitting looser and my Pilates muscle definition showing through 🙂

In the middle of the month, I did get a little bit hormonal and hungry, so I had to add more protein, and if I really wanted something sweet, bananas with no added sugar cashew butter did the trick.

I did have one moment of weakness on Sunday the 25th and had some pizza and wine for dinner, but I am not going to beat myself up about it, I got right back on track and finished strong. I did feel a small difference in how I felt after eating that pizza when I woke up the next morning.

The hardest part of sticking to this is definitely in social situations, like when your mom makes a huge bowl of pasta with homemade Barefoot Contessa sauce and you cannot have any. So in these instances I would grab a healthy snack, and make sure a form of protein/veggie was available to me.

Now that I finished this phase, the way I eat has completely changed. I feel so much more productive and healthy!  I really do enjoy preparing my meals, and cooking healthy meals with Roger for dinner brings us closer together. I took a before and after photo, and my muscles are much more defined, and I went down a pant size. It was not easy, hence my pizza breakdown, but it really has made me re-think what I am putting into my body and how it affects me. Going into the future, I will allow myself to have a day each week that is not so strict, and I can have my cheese and wine in moderation!

here are some pics of our yummy meals this month:

Aidells chicken apple sausage scramble with grapefruit

salmon steak with lemon and arugula, avocado and tomato salad with balsamic vinegar

taragon and cumin crusted chicken with zucchini and carmelized lemon

cod ciopinno

steak with purple potatoes and sauteed garlic spinach

summer peaches with banana dessert