This Friday, 6/12, I'll be starting the Whole30 Elimination diet. I've done this twice before, with life changing results! Not only did I learn a lot about nutrition and my body in particular, it also helped me get several health issues under control. I lost 30 pounds the first time, got off both my blood pressure and thyroid medicines, and kicked my sugar & pepsi habits. With the second one, I lost about 15 pounds, but some of that I had gained back. I did a really detailed food journal the first time but fudged the reintroduction stage, and I didn't keep a food journal the second time but did somewhat better on reintroduction. This time I want to really focus on both, noting how specific foods affect me and continuing to avoid bad ones after the program.

I'd love to have some accountability buddies if anyone would like to do this with me! For 30 days, you focus on eating healthy whole foods. The program rules can be found here, and you stick to the meal template found here. It's very strict, but totally worth it, imo. The foods that you eliminate completely for the 30 days are:

• Sugar/sugar substitutes of any kind


• Alcohol


• Grains


• Legumes (Soy is off-limits!)


• Dairy


• Carrageenan, MSG or sulfites


• No “Sex With Your Pants On” (SWYPO): recreated 'whole foods/paleo' baked goods or snacks. While some things are across the board off-limits (egg/banana 'pancakes', grainless muffins and wraps, etc.), I think SWYPO foods are highly individual. Cauliflower 'rice' or 'tortillas' aren't going to be a problem/trigger food for me, whereas veggie 'chips' or trying to replicate anything cheesey absolutely would be.

My garden was started late, but I'm hoping that it will help provide healthy fresh veggies this summer. We are getting eggs regularly, but they are phoenix eggs and very small. 4 would probably be one serving. Still, I'll use those farm-fresh eggs when I can. We have a freezer full of deer meat that I plan to take full advantage of, and we even have a bit of our harvested pig left (though not much). I hope to find a local source to buy a couple of rabbits.

I'm always so surprised by how much I eat while I'm on the program. Cooking gets very hot – and so does Missouri – so I plan to cook large batches of things on rainy days and maybe some late nights. I'm doing as much prep work ahead of time, including freezer meals, so that I have things ready should we have a busy day or if I get sick again. The meal plans never work out quite like I hope, so this time I'm just going to list things I plan to make over the next week or two. I'll fix them as time allows.



Pre-prep


Salsa

Beef broth

Chicken broth

Hardboiled eggs

Chicken breasts

Browned ground beef

Amazingly Good Paleo [Venison] Jerky and [Venison] TeriJerky

Chorizo

Mason Jar Salads

Veggie hash

Steam-sauté veggies

Baked potatoes/sweet potatoes




Week 1-2 Menu


Breakfasts

Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup

Golden Cauliflower Soup

Slow-Cooker Breakfast Meatloaf

Spicy Salmon Frittata

Broccoli Spinach Frittata


Lunches


Tuna Cakes w/Green Olives

Eat Your Greens Detox Soup

Simple Shrimp Ceviche

Magic Shrimp

Ahi Tuna Salad




Dinners


Crockpot Cilantro Lime Chicken

Tuesday Night Chicken

Paleo Meatza Pies

Paleo Tex Mex Casserole

PaleOMG Pizza Spaghetti Pie



Pre- or Post-Work Out meals


Spicy Chorizo Scotch Eggs

Citrus Bison Meatballs w/Crispy Sweet Potato Noodles

Paleo Sweet Potato Chili

Paleo Mediterranean Steak

Roasted Rosemary Almonds