First, let me just say that there is sugar in EVERYTHING. You would be hard-pressed to find a package of bacon without sugar of some kind. (I finally found some at Publix...3 months AFTER I started Whole30...)

The first trip to the grocery yielded, well... not enough food. I had no idea how hungry I would be!

The idea is to eat a lot at meals and not to snack in between those meals. The amount of food you have to eat on a WHOLE30 seems insane, but don't fret! If you're staying full until the next meal, you're doing it right.

Basically, when you're shopping, you'll be staying on the perimeter of the store. That's where the fresh vegetables, fruits, and meats are. Remember, anything in a box is more than likely not going to be compliant.

WHOLE30 Shopping List

I bought a LOT of sweet potatoes. Seriously, I had them every day, usually for more than one meal. I did my WHOLE30 over Thanksgiving and Christmas, so the sweet potatoes were usually on sale!

I also bought a lot of frozen veggies. Since fresh veggies can spoil too quickly, it's always good to have some in the freezer for quick prep.

Speaking of prep, listen up. MEAL PREP IS KEY.



You absolutely cannot allow yourself to be hungry with nothing ready to go. Unless you have a TON of willpower, you will cave and head to the nearest Burger King for some greasy fries, ruining everything.

I spent a couple of hours every Sunday afternoon making my meals for the week. 100% worth it.

For breakfast, I usually sautéed sweet potatoes and/or apples and had those ready in the fridge for quick warming while I fried a couple of eggs and chopped some fruit.



Lunch had to be something I could pack and take with me, so that usually consisted of a salad or soup. Several days I just packed a baked sweet potato, some ground chicken (SO much more flavorful than ground turkey!), and green beans.



Since I had more time to cook for dinner, I could bake some salmon or saute some chicken tenderloins. Adding an already-baked sweet potato and some veggies, and I was good to go!



I will admit, for the 30 days, I didn't really think outside the box too much with recipes. I'm a simple girl, and I don't need to make things with 17 ingredients to be happy. But now, I'm doing Paleo, so I'm experimenting a bit since the rules are a little more relaxed.

I realize this might sound really difficult. It's a lot of trouble! But I cannot say this enough: It is completely, 100% worth it. This changed my life.

Read about it in my next post, WHOLE30: Was it Worth It?

No sugar for 30 days??? And no dairy???

Impossible.

This past November, I decided, on a whim, to do my first WHOLE30. If you aren't familiar with the program, it's a 30-day food reset where you only eat real, whole foods.



From the WHOLE30 website:

It will change the way you think about food, it will change your tastes, it will change your habits and your cravings. It could, quite possibly, change the emotional relationship you have with food, and with your body.

Specifically, you cut out sugar, dairy, grains legumes, and alcohol. This, of course, means you basically can't have anything that's processed or comes in a box.

There are countless studies that point to things like dairy, sugar, and grains/gluten as being harmful to our bodies.

• Eating Too Much Added Sugar...
• Is Milk Bad for You?
• What is Wrong with Grains

After looking around and deciding that her owners weren't anywhere to be found, I tried to catch her. Let me tell ya, puppies have WAY too much energy! She had no interest in stopping long enough for me to check her tags, so I had to bribe her with a stick and a good ole' game of fetch. Works every time.


When I finally wrestled her to the ground and saw her tag, I saw that there was no name or number there; just the number for a humane society and an ID number. Welp, better than nothing, right? After having memorized the phone number long enough to dial it (She was REALLY hard to keep still, so I had to do it fast before she bounded off into the field again), and calling, I realized that without the ID number, this call was pointless.



So, here I was, crouching in the middle of the street, on the phone with a very patient receptionist, trying to get this hyper dog to come over to me again so I could read the ID. Grabbed another stick and voila! It worked.


Well, the girl couldn't give me any information about where to take her (very frustrating, but I get it), but she said she would call the owners and I could bring her in. I knew as soon as she called them, they would come outside looking for her, so I just waited, hoping I wouldn't have to drive across town alone with a crazy puppy in the backseat of my Altima.


Pretty soon, a mom came out of her house with a baby on her hip, calling out for Bella. Well, Bella had no desire to go home, so she made the transfer quite difficult. When we finally coaxed her to the house, she pulled away and slipped out of her collar and RAN! The poor mom, baby still on her hip, couldn't do anything about it.


So I grabbed a stick, called out for that puppy, and grabbed her. Picked her up and carried her to the house. Immediately, this sweet woman starting apologizing for the fact that her baby had thrown cheese on the floor. I said, "It's okay, don't worry about it. That's what babies do!"


I find lessons in everything. It struck me how quick we are to apologize for being human. Here was this woman, whom I'd never met before, telling me she's sorry that her baby messed up her floor.


We like to hide our messes. We tailor our Facebook albums and our Instagram feeds to portray the lives we wish we lived. And even when we spend time with people who love us no matter what, we still feel the pressure to avoid being too vulnerable. We fear judgment. We fear rejection. We fear not being good enough.


But you know what's funny about this whole story? I don't know this woman, this mother with a baby on her hip and cheese on her floor; but I felt a connection with her in a weird sort of way. It was a reminder to me that we're all human and behind our closed doors, the ones in our houses AND our hearts, there are messes we don't want anyone to know about.


Loves, we all have cheese on our floor. And that's okay.

• I hate to hear people crunch on their cereal.
• A lot of people talking at once really bothers me. (Yes, I see the irony in the fact that I'm a teacher.)
• I'm a light sleeper and wake at most noises.
• I cry a lot, both sad and happy tears.
• I hate letting people down and feel guilty for awhile after I do.
• I have a really hard time making decisions.
• Stress affects me much more deeply than it affects most people.
• You will not catch me watching a violent movie.
• Criticism, even when constructive, is amplified.
• I'm extremely empathic.
• I notice tiny changes in voice, expression, etc.

• Noise stresses them out more than other people.

• They notice details and changes in environment, voices, faces, tones.

• Violent movies are usually a no-go.

• When they're criticized, it's amplified and they tend to take it more personally.

• They're incredibly empathic.

• Good manners are usually very important to them, both in their own lives and in the lives of others.

• They don't like to be rude or cause conflict.

• Exercise is something they enjoy, but they prefer to do it alone.

• Making decisions takes longer. All outcomes matter. They hate making mistakes.

• They cry more easily, for good or bad reasons.