Our Whole 30: Assessment & Plan

     Over the past five and a half years, using various diets and exercise plans, I've managed to lose and keep off over 70 pounds. Lately, though, I've been yo-yoing a bit. I keep losing and gaining back the same 5 pounds. I kept thinking that I need to step up my game a bit - cut out a lot of the sweets I've been eating - but the thought of doing it would just make me crave an almond flour and dark chocolate chip cookie. Then a friend of mine issued a challenge the other day. She was looking for others to do a Whole 30, and I signed up the whole family. I refuse to do things alone.

So as I promised I'm going to post our befores here along with our menu for the first 10 days.

Pre-Whole 30: Debra
Weight: 173.1
Waist: 43 inches
Chest: 44.5 inches
BMI: 30.66














Pre-Whole 30: Ray
Weight: 264.3
Waist: 49.5 inches
Chest: 49 inches
BMI: 37.01














     Armed with a mountain or two of books, I have written out the menu plans for the first 10 days of our Whole 30. Because of my random work schedules, I can only plan a little in advance at a time, so I'll post these in 10 day chunks.  The rules of Whole 30 are Grain Free, Sugar Free, Legume Free, and Dairy Free. Three of these will be easy because that's how we eat all the time, but Sugar Free will be hard. I do love an ounce of dark chocolate at the end of the day or a serving of coconut milk ice cream on pizza movie night. I'm also a huge fan of honey vinaigrettes. I'll be replacing my favorite honey with applesauce, and I won't be eating any baked goods. I've also added a few challenges for our family that I've been hoping to implement anyway. We are going to include fermented foods, small wild-caught fish, and offal. I am also going to try to eat beef again since it's been a few years. I'm hoping that my problems with beef were what I was eating the beef with and not the meat itself.

Menu for Days 1-10

Day 1:
Bacon, watermelon, braised kale, and fermented carrots
Chicken garden salad with homemade ranch
Chicken with roasted butternut squash
Snacks: veggies with baba ghanoush, apple

Day 2:
Apple streusel quiche
Salad with chicken and sweet mustard dressing
Turkey sliders with sweet potato buns, organic pickles, caramelized onions,
     and broccoli
Snacks: watermelon, apple

Day 3:
Bacon onion quiche and fermented carrots
Sardines with olives, avocado, lemon juice, tomato, and Italian herb dressing
Super sausage (ground pork and pork liver) stuffed butternut squash
Snacks: veggies with baba ghanoush, apple

Day 4:
Pumpkin tahini porridge with fried ham
Cauliflower rice sushi with fish roe
Meatza and salad
Snacks: watermelon, apple

Day 5:
Egg cups
Cobb salad with ranch
Beef tongue and broccoli slaw with plantain crackers
Snacks: bacon jerky, apple

Day 6:
Eggs and bacon
Pan-fried sardines with sweet potato chips
Chicken with mushrooms and onions and broccoli
Snacks: watermelon, apple

Day 7:
Fruit salad with pistachios
Butternut soup
Eggs and winter squash hash
Snacks: veggies with ranch, apple

Day 8:
Green eggs and ham quiche
Barbeque chicken with broccoli slaw
Fried chicken livers with plantain and apple fritters
Snacks: veggies with ranch, apple

Day 9:
Coconut milk yogurt, bacon, fermented carrots
Pan-fried sardines with roasted cauliflower
Chicken with bacon-y butternut hash
Snacks: sweet potato chips, apple

Day 10:
Super sausage (ground pork and pork liver) quiche, orange
Mediterranean chicken salad lettuce wraps
Braised ox tail with kale, onion, and peach
Snacks: bacon jerky, apple

     That's it. The hardest part was switching to Paleo in the first place. I know I'm going to miss my sweet treats and crave them for days, but I am armed with dates to get me through the really tough times. We'll be starting Monday, and I'm going to try to post at least a little something every day. At the end, we'll post our after pictures and stats. While I am a little nervous, I'm really looking forward to this! Thanks for the challenge!