Whole30 Week 3 Update

I AM MORE THAN HALF WAY THERE!

10 days to be exact! Not like anyone’s counting but who am I kidding I am counting down to the minutes, people!

This cleanse is NO JOKE!!!!

This week came with a few challenges and boy let me tell you, it was probably the hardest week so far because of all the temptation that was around me. But I did not cave! I am so proud to say that I did not cheat once! And trust me when I tell you that I had a lot of opportunity to and no-one would even know. But I didn’t.

Because I’d know. And I wouldn’t feel right with myself.

Okay, so let me tell you about the temptations that I had to endure this week.

My Temptations

My mom came to visit and stayed with us for four days.

She came bearing treats for the kids, of course, including a HUGE box of European cookies from Costco. They are covered in chocolate, drizzled with caramel, etc. I did not have one cookie! I watched everyone else eat those cookies in front of me numerous times a day and as hard as it was, I didn’t do it.

I could not erase an entire two weeks of clean eating with one cookie.

Dining out

We went out to eat for almost every meal while my mom was here. I had to make sure that the restaurant choices had something I could eat.

The first night, we had all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ. What I ate was meat (mostly not marinated) and salad. Thats it. No rice. No condiments. No noodles. And you know what? It wasn’t that hard. I was surprised with myself. The salad went nicely with the BBQ meat that even when I’m off Whole30, I don’t think I’ll need to order rice. I didn’t feel as full but still felt very satisfied.

The next day, we had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant where I ordered grilled BBQ beef and shrimp over salad and lots of veggies. This was so good! While the BBQ marinade they used is not Whole30 compliant, this was the closest I could get to Whole30 at the restaurant. I loved this dish. In fact, I’m craving one right now. It was so fresh and flavorful and left me feeling so full.

That evening, we went out to a Filipino restaurant. Lord have mercy, this was HAAAAARD! It’s virtually impossible to eat Filipino food without rice but I did it. I ordered a dish called Bulalo which is a beef soup with veggies and I ate this with no rice. I also ordered a side of sautéed bok chop with garlic which was delicious. If I’m being honest though, it was incredibly tempting not to eat what the rest of my family were eating, which were basically all my favorite dishes.

I just kept telling myself, DO NOT ERASE TWO WEEKS OF HARD WORK FOR ONE MEAL.

For her last dinner with us, we took my mom to a Japanese restaurant. This was actually easy for me because I love sashimi so I just ordered a sashimi dinner and swapped out the rice for salad. It was amazing! My mom also gave me a piece of her grilled fish which was yummy.

On Saturday, we went shopping (President’s Day sales, holla!) After a few hours of shopping, everyone got hangry, including the kids. So we stopped for some Aunt Annie’s pretzel. I love me some Aunt Annie’s. I mean, the smell just draws you in, doesn’t it? I want my house to smell like that. But guess what guys, I didn’t even have a bite. I could not believe it myself. But I have to give props to my Lara Bar because it saved me big time. I keep a Lara Bar in my purse for such occasions and when everyone was enjoying their pretzel’s, I busted out my Lara Bar and it worked! It satisfied my hunger and kept me busy.

When hunger strikes, grab a snickers or in my case, grab a handful of cashews. I was hungrier more this week than last, and I’m not really sure why. Maybe I’m eating less and just not realizing it at the time but when hunger strikes I am so tempted to grab a bag of chips or chocolate but nope, I reach for my handy dandy cashews and it fulfills my salty cravings for a while.

How I’m Feeling

I’m feeling great!

I feel lighter, less bloated and the sporadic headaches are gone. I have way more energy during the day and have been a lot more productive than in the past.

My cravings for salt and sugar are slowly dwindling. I used to crave something sweet after every meal and a salty snack mid-day. Now when I have those cravings, I’ll have fruit or cashews and it satiates my hunger.

I have not weighed myself so I have no idea if I have or have not lost weight.

The rule of Whole30 is to not weight yourself until the very end.

I will say that my clothes feel better and certain jeans that didn’t fit before are buttoning up. YAY!! Whole3o is not about losing weight though.  It’s about feeling better, gaining your energy back and essentially your life back.

It’s about living your best life through clean eating. 

The biggest change I’ve seen is not in my weight but on my skin. My skin looks so much better than it did three weeks ago. It’s brighter, clearer and firmer. I’m amazed at the results because I spend a lot of money on skin care. Like a lot. If you want healthier looking skin, eat clean. It’s that simple. I’m sure it has everything to do with detoxing your body and getting rid of sugar, dairy and preservatives. I’m so excited that my skin is looking better and better each day!

Looking Towards The Future

People often ask me what’s the first meal I’m going to have once I’m done Whole30 and honestly, it changes by the day. Actually, no it changes every hour! Sometimes it’s a double double burger at In n Out, other times its pasta, Chinese food, or sushi. But a big part of me wants to continue with eating clean.

My goal once Whole30 is complete is to live by the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time, eat clean, and 20% of the time, eat what you want. I think I can live with that. I know I can’t do this 100% of the time or I’ll go crazy! I love food way too much and if I’m being honest, it’s pretty restricting. I can’t imagine never having a cheeseburger or ramen or wine again. That’s just not life to me.

Everything in moderation, is my motto in life!

What has been your experience with Whole30? Was there anything you loved or hated about it? Leave me a comment below. I would love to hear from you!