I thought about titling this post “Getting in Shape Before Memorial Day” because let’s be honest, that would also be applicable! It’s been a VERY long winter, one that called for quite a few carbs and more than a little chocolate to push through. #amiright?
I am so glad I promised you all in this post that I was going to embark on a Whole 30 eating plan this spring, it made me feel obligated to just jump into it even though I have been procrastinating :). While I did a similar diet last spring but didn’t blog about it, this year I thought I’d share my journey for those of you who might be motivated to join in for the next month {with an extra week or two for good measure} leading up to summer. I am only so-concerned with bathing suit season, this is much more important for my health and general well-being, but whatever your motivation is, getting healthier is always a good thing!
The Whole 30/AutoImmune Protocol Eating Plan
To make this more general I am calling my diet this next month (or hopefully 6 weeks) a Whole 30, which if you aren’t familiar with you can read more HERE. I actually try to do a more stringent version, which is technically called the AIP Protocol (or Autoimmune Protocol). This diet eliminates any inflammatory foods to give your immune system a rest and help in healing. I probably should eat this way 100% of the time with my Lyme disease but it’s just too restrictive for me, life is too short for that! However, I felt fantastic when I ate this way last spring so I thought it would be worth doing again to see if I could get a jump start on this summer, and hopefully feel just as good.
I am not a doctor or a nutritionist, so I can only share my personal experience with you all. I have been very upfront that I had a long-undiagnosed case of Lyme disease (almost six years ago) that presents an ongoing health challenge for me. Thanks to antibiotics, herbal treatments, and lifestyle adjustments (and great doctors) I feel pretty good most days. However, keeping my overall health in balance is crucial to managing my symptoms. Last year we went through a fairly stressful period and I came out of it with my health starting to fail again. Feeling almost desperate to not go down a repeat path of illness, thankfully I found Amy Myer’s book on The Autoimmune Solution. I began her recommended diet and tried to eliminate as much stress as I could, started more seriously exercising and with the help of my naturopathic doctor, increased supplements that would help my system recover. Within a week I felt better than I had in years.
With that positive experience, I thought it would be great to do the diet aspect again this spring. After six weeks last year I did add back in many foods (though I always eat gluten-free/clean/organic to manage my symptoms–I am a fun dinner guest, no? ????) because I didn’t want to be limited in what I could eat or drink for an indefinite period of time. Overall, my baseline energy level has been much higher since I did this diet and I have seen other health improvements as well. While my goal was never to lose weight it was an unexpected benefit of changing how I ate and exercising more, so that is always a plus, right?
So here is my basic plan for the next month to six weeks. I am eliminating all carbs, dairy, inflammatory foods, wine, sugar and obviously anything processed or ‘fast’ food. I will follow the same plan as I ate last year, and if you are curious no I wasn’t hungry and I definitely lost weight. My understanding is this type of eating helps stabilize blood sugar, and I definitely felt like my system quickly became accustomed to getting an abundance of healthy nourishing food instead of always looking for its next ‘carb fix’ throughout the day. While last year I eliminated eggs and nuts (to determine any sensitivity) this year I won’t bother with that, which does open up a whole new level of things I can eat, that will thankfully make things much easier.
As I go down this road, I have four posts planned for you all:
- Today’s Post–Introduction/Eating Plan
- What to Eat/Meal Plans/Recipes/Shopping List —READ THAT POST HERE
- How to Meal Prep {recipes & shopping lists to make ahead}
- Self Care/ Supplements/Exercise/ Lifestyle
I will get these up as soon as I can over next few weeks, I’d love it if you want to jump in on a healthy eating plan along with me. I also wanted to mention Keto since that is the hot new diet plan. I think it’s a great plan (the diet is similar to how I eat but it allows high-fat fat dairy among other things), however, if you suffer from adrenal issues like I do (symptoms here if you are unsure) Keto can make adrenal issues much worse, for that reason I steer clear of that plan, so it isn’t for everyone.
Here are some general Whole 30 meal ideas to get your wheels turning….be prepared that you will need to shop more and cook more (meal prep is an important key to being able to stick with it!) but I’ll be posting soon on how I do all that so stay tuned.
BREAKFAST
Homemade pork/chicken sausages (or you can use natural ones if you can find them in your store)
Roasted Butternut Squash with Cinnamon and Coconut (sounds strange for breakfast but so good!)
Eggs with Avocado Slices
LUNCH
Salads with fresh greens and lean protein (grilled chicken, turkey)
Ground Turkey Lettuce Wraps with Veggies
SNACKS
Terra Chips with avocado
Carrot sticks with avocado
Organic Green Apples with Cinnamon
Bananas dipped in Coconut (unsweetened)
DINNER
Zucchini Noodles with Grass-Fed Beef Meatballs
Spaghetti Squash with Basil and Grass Fed Ground Beef or Natural Ground Turkey
Steak, Sweet Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts
I post my favorite recipes and meal prep on my partner website, 11MLWellness.
XO,
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