My Third Whole30 Experience {It Starts}

Hello friends! I am happy to say that I'm several days into my third Whole30 experience. As our local produce kicked it up a notch I felt like I was ready for a reset. I was ready for a complete and true Whole30 and I really wanted to stay clean the entire 30 days this time. {Read about my first - here + here - and second Whole30 adventures} I knew it was time for some seriously healthy eating and was already feeling grateful for all the things I would learn from this round.

The week before I was planning to start my Whole30 I splurged with pizza, ice cream, nachos, a root beer float and a hamburger - bun included - oh, and a pint of my favorite local beer! So of course the few days before I even started I woke up feeling bloated and tired. How poorly someone is eating can dictate how awful they feel during the first few weeks of the Whole30. So, I don't recommend going too crazy on poor food choices. I found my poor decisions and the consequences of how negative I felt actually fueled my desire to eat clean this summer.

To get started I did some easy prep to make eating whole food a tad bit more simple - chopped fruits and veggies, made bulk protein (like grilled chicken for salad, and browned sausage for breakfasts), filtered water and cold-brewed some coffee. I also stocked up on organic fruit, almonds and pickles. The first few days I was chugging water and black coffee and logging seven to nine hours of sleep to make sure I didn't have serious headaches. I also tried to eat very regularly with plenty of protein and good fats. On day one and two I had a few headaches and stomachaches but by day three I remembered to eat slowly and often. As my after meal stomachaches seem to stem from waiting too long to eat and then scarfing my meal down. Day four and five it was difficult to get up but for the most part I was already feeling better. I think it is all in getting enough water, sleep, and eating meals regularly - oh and if you are a regular caffeine consumer like me... quitting coffee should happen when you aren't also experiencing sugar withdrawals.

A few ideas that have really helped me so far:

+ pepper slices are pretty tasty with mashed avocados {just a little salt and pepper}

+ hardboiled eggs are great to have at the ready {ever try to make them in the oven? try it, you'll thank Corey from Family Fresh Meals too! - Thanks Corey!}

+ carrying around a large jar of ice water at all times means more water in my system {cute straws help too}

Anyone else working thru a Whole30 reset?