Whole 30: Week 1

It’s been 7 days since I started the Whole 30. This first week has been fairly easy. Part of it is the enthusiasm that I have a plan and am doing something about my health. In part is that the Whole 30 isn't hat difficult. Admittedly, I haven’t had to travel this week and have had some extra time at home for planning and cooking. But even the few times I’ve gone to a restaurant it hasn’t been too difficult to find Whole 30 compliant meals. Planning has been the key.

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As I mentioned in the Action Plan, a couple of posts back, I’ve been using a combination of cooking at home and ready made meals by Model Meals. So far just about every meal I've had has been very tasty and easy to heat up. I'll highlight some of these meals in future posts.

The other tool I’ve used to plan out my weekly meals is Real Plans. They provide recipes you plug in for 3 daily meals, When you're done they provide a grocery list for easy shopping. This service is great for meal planning in general, it just so happens that it gives you the option to use only Whole 30 compliant recipes.

​I’ve also let a few days where there is no meal plan for flexibility to either go out or riff in the kitchen at home. One of my favorite meals this weeks was a riff on Saturday morning: Sweet potato and bacon hash with two poached eggs. Check the recipe section.

Have I noticed any differences?
OK, ok, that's all fine, but have I noticed any difference? Absolutely. Around day 3 I noticed considerable less inflammation in my hands.  I had been feeling quite a bit of joint pain in my hands and they would become very inflamed to the point that making a fist was difficult. I can’t say it’s 100% of the joint pain is gone but, I’d say the inflation is gone, with a little joint pain remaining. I'm hoping that as I progress over the next 3 weeks, I'll see the same improvement in regards to stolen ankles and feet.

The other big difference is that I don’t feel the need to constantly graze. I’m eating 3 meals a day and for the most part it suffices. Occasionally I'll either have an RXBar or my last meal of the day might be a little bigger. Remember, in the Whole 30 there is no calorie counting. You eat until you feel satisfied. Not full, but satisfied. I’m adding exercise to my routine this week, so we’ll see if I have to make any adjustments.

No update on weight loss, since while on the Whole 30 you’re not supposed to weigh yourself. The idea behind that is that  you’re supposed to look for “non-scale victories.” Things one might not notice if we were fixated on weight loss. The big win for me this week was the lessening of the hand inflammation.  More to come!