remember everything: the journey of my whole30

Whole30 - have you heard this term lately? I would say it is the latest rage in the food world, but to me that implies that it will fade away just as fast as it came to be popular and that would be a travesty.

I would encourage anyone that has any interest in Whole30 to check out their website at Whole30.com because the best information always comes from the source. Whole30 is essentially a new way to embrace the food that you eat. For 30 days you are challenged to not consume: Sugar, dairy, grains, legumes, soy, alcohol and other specifics. The idea is to reboot your system.

About a month and a half ago we went on a trip to Boise. Before that trip I was doing Pilates religiously - daily for at least 45 minutes [have you checked out blogilates? it is Pilates on a YouTube channel, if you can read this post you can watch her videos which means she is just a click away :)]. I was still going to the gym a few days a week too, I could feel myself getting stronger but I was still the same weight I had been for the last few years. I felt like I was eating pretty healthy, always- whole grain, low fat dairy, lean protein, fruits, veggies, nuts, beans etc. But I almost always had a tummy ache after eating or at least once a day and after our trip to Boise I was feeling like total crap. Don't get me wrong everything was so yummy and I had a great time but I felt gross.

I knew it was time for a change. I knew that I had a messed up relationship with food (see a few posts back for control issues). I knew I was unhappy with how I felt about myself and how I looked.

Almost everyone I know says something to me along the lines of - "Amanda you're so little". But really I'm not (or wasn't). I am short. That is true. But at a whopping 4' 10.5" I shouldn't weigh 121 lbs. For God sake I was 135lbs when I DELIVERED my youngest. That 121lbs was with "eating well" and exercising.

I began scouring my Insta feed, I have been following @eatingwhole for a long time and love her approach to food. If you don't follow her, you should. Lauren believes in all things in moderation. She doesn't eat refined or added sugar of any kind, but otherwise she believes in balance and she is amazing. However, I followed a lot of what she did and I still wasn't feeling great. Everyone has their own perfect and I was still looking for mine. One of the ladies that posted comments on Lauren's feed was @cleaneatscleantreats. So one day I clicked on her name and low and behold her feed was full of amazing looking things too! On one of her recent posts I noticed the hashtag #whole30 and then #jennawhole30, so of course I clicked both. From Shannon's feed I had entered what seemed like a new food world. All of these amazing plates of food, full of nutrients, full of color, full of...Whole30.

At this point I had to know more because I kept seeing the term, "compliant", which honestly freaked me out at first. I fear rules with food, because I tend to feel restricted or setup to fail. I went to Whole30.com and read every web page- all of them. That night I went home and talked to Ian. I answered as many questions as I could for him and then showed him the site. After very little debate he was game. We decided to start the day after Easter.

We went to the store and stocked up on the pantry items and the approved fruits, veggies, proteins and oils. I threw everything and I mean everything out that didn't comply. If we were going to do it I had to remove all temptation from myself and the family.

Here is where I will tell you that I made my first mistake. Most of the people on Whole30 will tell you that you should read, "It Starts With Food", by the Harwigs (the founders of Whole30). I am going to tell you that you should not even start this journey until you have read every word. I did not do this. I read the book half way through. HUGE mistake. I didn't have a good understanding of what I had started and the information that they will give you will leave you feeling empowered and informed. Really - do it. You can get the digital copy for $10.00 - if you are willing to take this huge step to a better place with food, start with the book.

That being said, I took what I then knew, without the book, and jumped head first into this journey. Day 1, 2, 3 were rough. I mean rough. The cravings for things I couldn't have were nearly unbearable. My attitude sucked. I slept like crap. I couldn't concentrate. I was going through withdrawals, I know this because I have gone through them before. Only this time, the drug was food, bad food.

Day 4 was a revelation. I had a little more energy, I didn't hate eggs in the morning (you eat so many eggs), I was happy, I felt positive and oddly enough my stomach was flat - totally flat - on day 4.

I didn't keep a daily journal and thinking back that is something I will do next time. I can't really remember days 5-30 specifically but after the first week all of the cooking became second nature. The weekly grocery run was fun. My littles were eating everything we were and trying new things. Our friends were ridiculously supportive, finding compliant brunch places, making sure we could eat at the BBQs, trying what we were having for dinner. Everything just kind of fell into place. It didn't seem like we were doing anything challenging. We had just changed our lives.

On day 3 I went for a walk. Yep, a walk. I was exhausted. I went to the gym a handful of times over the month and I went for walks and runs with friends. I decreased my exercise by 80% and I dropped a pant size, and 6 pounds. I haven't dropped 6 lbs in 6 years! Ian dropped 20lbs in 30 days and he went to the gym 1.

I remember staring in the mirror around day 15 thinking, "what the hell was I eating before?!". I had thought it was healthy. I had thought I was feeding my family the right things. I had thought... a lot of things. But guess what? I was wrong.

Whole30 has changed my life. I know that sounds cliché. But I am not kidding, I don't feel like food controls my day. I don't feel like food controls anything about my life. It is liberating. I feel - free. And it feels GREAT!

I am not going to sit here and tell you it is easy and that you wont feel temptation, because that would be lie. It is hard - but it is possible.

After the 30 days you can keep going (many people do Whole60 or Whole90) or your can broach reintroduction. Reintroduction is basically when you try to bring things back into your diet that you had cut out, in moderation, using what you have learned from the book and your experience.

This is a life shift for us. We will do future Whole30 journeys and for the most part we will eat this way forever. I will not tell you that I wont ever eat a macaron or have a sandwich or have rice because I love those things and I have learned that I can have them and that I can also NOT have them and survive and even flourish.

Whole30 is about changing your relationship with food (and prep, it is also very much about food prep). We will be starting another Whole30 in August. I encourage all of you to purchase the book, read it, go to the Whole30 site and give this a try if you think it is something you want to do. Use the comments and reach out to me if you need support, Whole30 has a community like nothing I have every seen. You will feel inspired and that means you can do anything you set your mind to.

I wanted to share a few of our meals from this month. If you would like the recipes please use the comments below I am more then happy to share!

Fajita veggies for burrito bowls