The Liebs take the Whole 30 Challenge
I’m not much for New Years Resolutions but I do like the clean slate that comes with a new year. I’ve heard a lot of people talk about the Whole 30 challenge and Paleo diet, don’t let the term “diet” throw you the Paleo diet is supposed to be a lifestyle. The Whole 30 challenge is just that, a challenge to eat a Paleo diet for 30 days, like a trial run. After trying the diet you should feel better and that should convince you to switch to a Paleo lifestyle. So that is what we are doing for January, the Whole 30 Challenge.
I plan to document all of our meals and struggles as we, as a family, partake in the Whole 30 challenge. I’m no expert and I’m learning as we go so this should be a lot of fun.
Week 1 Meal Plan
What is Paleo?
YES
- Meat
- Fish
- Veggies
- Fruit
- Nuts
- Eggs
NO
- Grains
- Legumes
- Dairy
- Soy
- Processed Foods
- Sugar
- Alcohol
Want to learn more about the Paleo diet, check out this fun blog post from Nerd Fitness, complete with Lego illustrations.
Starting tomorrow I will list our meal plan for the week, I think planning our meals will help us stay on track.
Have you taken the Whole 30 challenge? Do you live a Paleo lifestyle?
If so I would love to hear your thoughts, tips and recipes.
We completed our Whole30 challenge during the first week of December. Yes, I survived Thanksgiving. Actually, it was the BEST Thanksgiving ever. I made a few side dishes that were Whole30 compliant, and it was the first Thanksgiving that I didn’t hurt after eating. I was a little wary of breast feeding and doing the Whole30, but I just learned how to listen to my body. For me, I had to snack more, especially before bedtime (slice of avocado and a few pieces of celery). Otherwise, I’d feel lightheaded in the morning. Overall, I was eating more than hubby because I’m burning so many calories while breast feeding. The first week was tough, but I learned that my body was killing off the sugar-eating bacteria in my gut. What I thought was my body’s desperate plea for chocolate or sugar was just a plea for good, healthy fats like avocado and real coconut milk (not the stuff in the catons).
Sorry for the novelette, here. My weight loss was much bigger than I expected, but I think that some may have happened anyway, due to bf’ing. It was 20lbs. My favorite part was the constant energy. It doesn’t dip and peak like a sugar rush. It’s all day, which I love bc I have 2 boys and a 3 1/2 month old girl. After my 2nd, I never had energy like this until he was almost 1.
Oh, I intended to share a recipe I loved for turkey sausage (great for breakfast or dinner). http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/make-homemade-turkey-sausage
Wishing you the best on the Whole30. I didn’t have my boys on the challenge, except they ate the same dinners as we did. However, I took my 5 yr old off dairy during that time, and his eczema cleared up. We’ve added a little dairy back, and there’s no sign of the eczema so far.
Awesome! So great to hear the results were positive, I’ve only heard great things about it. I think the hardest part for me will be the no sugar but I’m glad that Joe is doing it with me to hold me accountable. We aren’t totally including the boys but they are generally eating the same meals as us.
I’m hoping to lose some of this baby weight, I’m almost down to my pre-Simon weight so I’m hoping to lose some of the Noah weight!
When I had the flu I lost those last few lbs and that’s actually when I started Paleo because I knew eating better would help me heal faster, and it worked! That’s really what got me started.