I (almost) completed Whole30!!!

Alright guys...I've gotta be real.  I didn't make it.  Not for lack of trying, and not because I didn't want to (I truly loved the experience and plan to do it all over again when the timing is better)...but you see, when I decided to dive in to Whole30 and started sharing about my game plan I didn't realize one small little detail...

Yep...I was pregnant!!!  I found out a few days before my April 1st start date, but was feeling good, and after discussing it with my doctor she agreed I could give it a go as long as I felt up to it...so I stuck with my plan (still not ready to share this little Carrot with the world) and dove in!

The first 20 days were GREAT!!  I felt amazing!  But then when the final 7 days rolled around my body decided enough was enough.  Eggs, protein and veggies all sounded awful, and despite trying to stick to the plan I just couldn't stomach it.  I needed something to help with the nausea and the Whole30 restrictions just weren't cutting it.  SO...with one week left to go, I decided to show my pregnant self some GRACE and ate what I could keep down...carbs.

I did my best to choose "healthier" carbs...whole grain bread, cereal with minimal ingredients (there is added sugar in almost EVERYTHING so this was a tough one to find), quinoa and veggie pasta.  I paid close attention to the nutrition labels and found these options that I was happy with, and even tried to gradually add things back in to see how they affected me.  

One of the big reasons I did Whole30 was to see what foods caused me to feel bloated, fatigued or irritated my skin...and I was determined to get at least a little insight into these things even though I wasn't getting to day 30!

And despite the nausea, I did try and stay on track as best as possible those last 7 days.  Fruit played a big role as far as snacks throughout the day to keep me going, I found that seafood and potatoes were pretty good on my stomach, and even tried to get my veggies in where I could with some mild salads and spinach...which you can really add to almost anything and barely taste it!!

So what did I learn?

When you are done with Whole30, the game plan is to gradually add foods back in to your diet.  For example, you'd allow yourself pasta for dinner one night, eating Whole30 the rest of the day, then the next day go back to Whole30 eating to see how that pasta affected you.  You would do this with all the foods you cut out; sugar, different types of carbs, dairy, peanut butter, etc.

I did my best to do this too, though with not going the full 30 days I can't say how accurate it was...but I DID learn a lot and accomplished A LOT of what I had hoped to during the 23 days I stuck to the plan to a T!  

• More energy (although the last few weeks I've felt drained due to the baby, I felt more energized before the baby-symptoms hit!)
• Dairy and grains are what cause me to bloat, so I need to eat these in moderation and am planning on going gluten free after this nausea settles to see if that helps
• Sugar is what makes it hard for me to fall asleep.  I was falling asleep and sleeping soundly while doing Whole30, but the second I added even a little sugar into my day it became increasingly harder to fall asleep at night
• I learned to LOVE cooking!  It was so much FUN to try new recipes, it was WAY less expensive than I'd thought (especially because we planned well...see my previous posts for more info!) and we have so many new additions to our go-to cookbook!
• Although it was tough to get my son to eat a lot of the foods...doing Whole30 has committed me to finding a way to help him develop healthier eating habits.  I picked up a book (It's Not About the Broccoli) on Amazon and have dove into this new research! 

Also, for you pregnant mamas out there, I learned that you need to read the labels of your prenatal vitamins as well!  There is SOY in a lot of them which isn't necessary!  I found these that I was happy with.  Not 100% Whole30 approved, but Vegan and as close as I could find at Sprouts!

So overall, I gotta say it was worth it!  I may not have made it the full 30 days, but this is something I will definitely do again and it opened my eyes to all the added sugars and unnecessary ingredients that are in so many of the foods we consume without even thinking about it.  I'm more confident going in to the grocery store and picking out foods that will be healthy for my family, I'm more comfortable in the kitchen cooking, I understand nutrition labels better and know what to look for and I know that Whole30 is DOABLE!  Don't get me wrong, I don't plan to cut carbs out forever EVER, but I do like knowing how these foods affect me so I can decide when I'm okay splurging on Mexican food and feeling a little bloated the next day!  

Oh, and the craziest part???  I LOST 6 pounds my first two months of pregnancy between Whole30 and continuing my 30 minute/day yoga practice!  The baby is thriving, I'm feeling way better than I probably would have had I NOT done this, and I'm ready to have the healthiest pregnancy I can!

xoxo