I've been trying to write this post for a long time now and I wish I had more eloquent words to describe how much our life has changed since finishing W30. and I'm going to throw in pictures of some of my favorite meals. So here we go, enjoy the read if you're curious!
Whole 30 changed our life. It did. It absolutely did. And we couldn't be more happy about it. I honestly didn't know what would happen after finishing W30, and I think Ryan and I both learned enough about self control and our motivations to keep it going.
We wanted and needed a lifestyle change, and that is exactly what happened.
We finished W30 on May 30th, and ever since then, we have been so happy. Food is such a tricky thing because it can taste soooooo good but confuse you that you're eating "healthy" but in actuality, you aren't. One of the biggest things I learned was READ THE LABELS. Read everything. I was in the grocery store one day (heck sometimes EVERY day), but I was there just to pick up a few things and one of the items was almond butter. Almond butter is pretty expensive because it can be 100% clean, but I was seeing if there were other cheaper alternatives because we plow through a tub of almond butter in less than a week. I found a tub of Jif "almond butter" and I got so excited! In my old life, pre-W30, I would have bought it with no questions. But that day, I turned the tub around to see a HUGE list of ingredients and I was not impressed at all. The almond butter that we typically buy at Sams has ONE ingredient, roasted almonds. That's it! So word to the wise...read what you're eating. You'll be shocked and appalled at what they are trying to get you to eat with just twisting their words or labels.
^^sweet potato cakes with Aidell chicken/apple sausage and asparags. For the cakes I mixed 1 grated sweet potato, 1 egg, and salt/pepper. They were tricky to cook, but turned out pretty delicious.
^^mashed sweet potatoes- boil peeled potatoes, smash and blend with some butter. season with salt/pepper
Before doing W30, I spent so much money and time buying processed foods, dairy products, frozen vegetables, cereal, and treats, and cans of various things. Yogurt, sour cream, cheese....CHEESE!!!, all kinds of cereal, granola, oatmeal, goldfish crackers, pretzels, tortilla chips, kettle chips, saltine crackers, fruit snacks, cans of cream of chicken, soups, beans, chili, and tomato sauces. I mean the list could go on and on and on! I would go up and down every single aisle at the grocery store to look for the items on my list, and of course find more things that we really didn't need.
^^roast veggies. Kale/asprargas/mushrooms/sweet potato/onion. EVOO drizzled on top. YUM. 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
^^taco night, grilled tortilla with salsa chicken, avo, cucumber, jalapenos, mushrooms, and asparagas
Now, I stick to the grocery store ends: produce and dairy/meats. I spend so much time in the produce section. I'm terrible at planning meals for an entire week, so I usually go 3-4 meals out at a time. I spend time brainstorming, seeing what's on sale, and go from there. When I see meat for sale, we will buy double and freeze it. The only dairy section items that I buy now are milk for the girls, using the occasional butter, shredded cheddar cheese for the girls, and eggs. I thought my egg consumption would go down after W30, but we still eat just as many eggs.
^^my favorite breakfast ever. No-flour pancakes. 1 banana/2 eggs/cinnamon-blend with hand mixer and cook on greased skillet. This plate was for Brinley so I put on a dollop of whip cream :-) She gobbled it up.
^^or make them thinner and do crepes.
I've always considered myself a "healthy" cooker but looking back now, I just laugh at the recipes I would try that would have over 15+ ingredients!! And barely any vegetables. My daily lunches consisted of whatever the girls weren't eating or mac n cheese, hot dogs, PB&J sandwiches, or just chips and salsa. I let myself snack whenever I wanted. Lunches now are usually left overs from previous W30 inspired meals or my avo/egg mix on a piece of whole wheat toast.
^^fried egg/Aidell's chicken/apple sausage and asparags with sun dried tomatoes
^^deconstructed burger. top down, avo/dill pickles/turkey bacon/turkey burger with sweet potato fries
For the girls, I still buy goldfish crackers and pretzels, but I limit their snacking during the day. Those girls could eat a whole tub of goldfish every week if I let them! Brinley has gotten so much better about asking for an apple or carrot sticks for her afternoon snack. It is so true that kids see our eating habits and will mold to whatever those habits are. Brinley has been so adventurous to try the foods that Ryan and I are eating. If I'm cooking in the kitchen, she will run over from playing in her room and ask, "what are you making? It smells so good!" and then I'll tell her and she'll ask, "can I have that for dinner too??" I won't lie though, Brinley and Ellie usually get their own special dinner. I will add pasta or rice to their dinners but typically leave the protein and veggie the same.
^^2 boiled eggs/1/2 avocado mashed together.
^^tomato/sliced avo on WW toast
It is amazing how differently I view meal time now. Now, we centralize all meals around vegetables when before Whole 30, vegetables were an afterthought. Isn't that terrible? Some days I would say to myself, Good thing we have multivitamins for the kids because they didn't have a single vegetable! Actually eating vs. serving vegetables are completely different realities, am I right? Kids and veggies. I'll never understand it! The girls rarely had any sugar as babies and they never ate fruit baby food, but it just goes with the territory I guess...veggies are hated by all in some way or another. Sometimes Brinley eats a handful of spinach leaves but refuses to eat carrots. Weird!
^^indulge. do it!
I'm definitely not perfect everyday, but I am so grateful for W30 and what it taught me. I've had so many friends do W30 because of watching Ryan and I go through it and love it. But seriously people, don't get the wrong idea. We are not perfect at it. W30 was hard. So hard. After we finished, I thought my sugar cravings would magically end and I would never have a dessert dilemma ever again! I learned very quickly that I just loooooove treats. I love donuts and ice cream and brownies and candy and basically everything with sugar in it. If I could have a treat every night I would, but I try my best to avoid buying them at the store so that they aren't a temptation. Most nights I succeed and push past my temptations. A few nights a week, I get a little handful of chocolate covered blueberries or a handful of oatmeal square cereal (so good, right!). There have been times where I eat something sugary, and know immediately that I regret it because of the sugar headache onset. It is amazing how immediate it comes on and how much I hate it! It is a good reminder that moderation is the best rule when eating. And that's what Ryan and I have concluded to. We are fine eating non-W30 foods, but we control our portions and not eat it consistently.
And the biggest change I've seen is just in my body from eating clean! I seriously barely work out, and wish I did it more often to see better definition and results. In just a few months, I have dropped pant sizes, bra sizes, and basically everything. All my clothes are loose now and I am feeling great. It goes to show that eating clean is far more important than working out intensively. You can work out as much as you want, but if you aren't eating clean, there's honestly no point. Start with eating clean, and fit in your work outs when you can. Some weeks are better than others, but I can't believe that I've seen this change just by changing what I put on my plate. And for Ryan, that boy didn't take a before picture, but DANG he looks so good ;-) Seriously! He has trimmed down and looks so hot! He's probably lost 15 pounds total, but the inches are much more obvious. It is hard for him to fit in his work outs with his busy schedule but he has been so determined to run 3-4 days a week before work. He is so focused and determined with eating clean and healthy, proud of you babe!!
