Just a year ago, I did a Whole30. At the time I was on the fence about whether my Whole30 was a success or not because I pretty much went back to my old eating habits right away, but now, I can appreciate that pregnancy is a perfectly good excuse for needing carbs and snacking all day long!
Now that I’ve had my baby and have had a few months to get back into a routine, I am ready to shed the “baby weight.” I’ve gained about 50 pounds with each of my three babies. The first time, the weight melted off without effort just by making the switch to eating real food. The second time, most of the weight came off but I hung onto 10-15 extra pounds until I really worked at getting rid of it. This time, I came home from the hospital with a 7lb 8oz baby, but had only lost about 10 pounds. I also happened to have a baby two days before Thanksgiving which means I had about six weeks of gluttony before the holidays were over so instead of losing weight like I probably would have, it didn’t budge.
My wake up call came when I had to visit my OB at 12 weeks postpartum because I hadn’t stopped bleeding since the delivery. Everything checked out fine, and she told me it was most likely a hormone imbalance and that I needed to lose weight. I knew it, but something about hearing it from a doctor makes it all too real.
There are people who say that weight is just a number or “muscle weighs more than fat,” but to me, my weight is important. I come from a family with a history of obesity and all of the terrible effects that come along with being fat. I’m not concerned with my weight for vanity, I’m concerned because I want to live a long and healthy life for my children, to be able to play with my grandchildren and travel the world when my husband retires.
I am starting at 189 pounds. I’m 5′ 4″ and my typical, easy-to-maintain, not pregnant weight is 155 pounds. This extra 30+ pounds of weight means that my wedding ring doesn’t fit, my feet hurt when I walk long distances, my arms don’t fit in a lot of my shirts with sleeves and I have a double chin in pictures when I’m looking at my baby. Ugh…all hard things to say, but I want to remember why I am doing this!
Round 2
My second round of Whole30 started with a practice week. I highly recommend this to anyone planning to do a Whole30! I followed the plan as closely as I could taking note of ingredients I’d need to switch out next time I went to the store and spent the week getting used to eating three meals without snacking.
When my practice week was over, I had my meal plan, my refrigerator full of vegetables and I was ready to start. Week 1 went pretty smoothly since we were mostly at home and didn’t have anything major going on so I could spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I had to make an extra trip to the grocery store because I forgot just how much produce we eat when I’m cooking Whole30 meals!
During my first Whole30, I chronicled each week and all of the meals I ate. I have loved looking back on that for meal ideas so I’m going to organize my round 2 photos a little differently to make it easier for me (and anyone else!) to reference.
Day 1: Breakfast casserole, cherry tomatoes, 1/2 banana & almond butter
Day 2: Spinach scramble with roasted veggies, avocado & pico de gallo
Day 3: Poached eggs with roasted veggies, avocado & pico de gallo
Day 4: Veggie scramble, hash browns & avocado
Day 5: Oprah’s Sexy 7-minute egg salad & breakfast potatoes
Day 6: Kale smoothie & a hard boiled egg
Day 7: Sweet potato quiche & avocado
Day 1: Grilled chicken breast, roasted potatoes & green beans
Day 2: Deli turkey, veggies with guacamole, plantain chips & strawberries
Day 3: Pot roast with asparagus & green salad with ranch
Day 4: Green salad topped with salsa chicken, guacamole & pico de gallo
Day 5: Veggies with guacamole, apple with almond butter and deli turkey
Day 6: Grilled chicken, roasted potatoes & greek salad
Day 7: Garlic chicken with coconut cauliflower rice (Whole30 book) & butternut squash soup (Whole30 book)
Day 1: Lemon herb salmon, roasted brussels sprouts & tarter sauce
Day 2: Pot roast, sweet potato fries, asparagus & broccoli
Day 3: Instant Pot salsa chicken, fajita veggies, guacamole & pico de gallo
Day 4: Instant Pot buffalo chicken meatballs with zucchini and squash noodles
Day 5: Buffalo chicken meatballs with roasted veggies
Day 6: Spaghetti squash with meat sauce & green beans
Day 7: Tuna salad, green salad, cashews & raisins
Week 1 is in the books! So far I haven’t noticed any drastic changes although I did run to tell my husband that my pre-pregnancy jeans fit without suffocating me this morning so I’m guessing I’m on the right track! Looking forward to Week2! Do you have a favorite Whole30 recipe to share? Leave a comment here or on our Facebook page!
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