THIRTY!

Okay y'all. It's day 30 of my Whole30.

I did it. And it's been incredible.

To say that I started out Whole30 with limited expectations would be an understatement. I had never been super successful with low-carb 'diets' in the past, and always found myself slipping back into old eating habits.

Reading "It Starts With Food", though, really helped me figure out why I struggled with food so much. More than anything, this experience has changed my mindset in a lot of ways. Whereas I used to think of eating this way as sort of a personal punishment ("but what if I'm having a really crappy day and just want to munch on a packet of Cheez-its?") I've been thinking more in the mindset of "man, there is so much awesome healthy food that I can have". And sure, cruising through the aisles of the grocery store for foods that are full of preservatives (and weird chemical ingredients that you can only pronounce with an advanced chemistry degree) might be cheaper than stocking up on quality meats, good vegetables and fruits from the much-more-Whole-30-friendly perimeter of the store, but knowing how awesome I feel right now, I can't imagine ever going back to where I was a month ago.

Now that's not to say I'll never eat anything non-Whole30 or non-Paleo again. Let's not get crazy. I sort of consider Nom Nom Paleo's Michelle Tam to be sort of my Whole30 godmother, so I was super excited to finally get her Nom Nom Paleo iPad app over the weekend. It's full of super-tasty recipes that I can't WAIT to try, including one for Pumpkin Maple Coconut Custard that I think might have to whip up as a special treat to enjoy the day after Thanksgiving as we put up the Christmas tree.

The most exciting stuff? I'm down over 10 pounds. I wore a pair of pants today that I wouldn't have even attempted to put on before my Whole30, and they are so big I think I need to go buy a belt. I am in the best shape I've been in since I was a kid running track and field. My skin feels incredible, and I have way more energy than I've ever had.

I worked it out today, and if I stick with eating the way I have been (and I plan to because I feel amazing, and YUM everything is just so good) I will be done 150 days of clean Whole30 eating by December 24th....just in time to enjoy a Christmas cookie or two!

Have you been thinking about trying your own Whole30? Tomorrow marks day 31 for me, and I plan to do a whole bunch of recipe and meal recaps throughout the month, so why not join me? You can always leave me comments and ask questions - I'd love to help you get started! Here are a few link resources that you might find helpful:

All About Whole30: a great place to get started!

The Whole30 Timeline: your guide to how you might feel, and how your body might respond as you progress through your Whole30. For me it was pretty spot on! Around day 6, I started to feel super tired and lethargic, but thanks to the timeline, I knew it was just a product of my body getting rid of all the junk in it. I was able to push through and keep on goin'!

Whole30 Shopping List: this was one of the most helpful things for me - a clear list of things I could fill my cart with at the grocery store.

Whole30 Vegetarian Shopping List: you can be a vegetarian and do a Whole30! Honestly I'm not sure why you'd want to, but just in case you are considering it, I wanted to make sure you had a shopping list too!

The Whole30 Meal Planning Template: this is a great guide to help you build your plate at meal time! The right amount of protein, veggies, fruits, and fat in every meal are what helped me kick the wicked snacking habit I had pre-W30.

Paleo Flow Chart: The Paleo diet and the Whole30 program are very similar in a lot of ways. This chart can help you figure out whether a particular food is okay to eat or not. There are slight variations in what is OK by Paleo standards, but not OK for your Whole30, but this will get you started!

PS: BIG thanks to my sweet awesome husband for being so sweet and encouraging, and for eating all the weird stuff I've been cooking up lately! Also big thanks to my friend Lindsay for inspiring me to try the Whole30 lifestyle to begin with...