Starting Whole30: diary of days 1-7 (where I 100% want to quit)

No dairy (see ya later cheese). No grains (goodbye bread and pasta). No legumes (so long chickpeas and hummus). No sugar (even dark chocolate). No alcohol (rip chardonnay).

Welcome to my life for the next thirty days.

In fact, I can’t believe that I’m actually doing this. I’ve committed to the Whole30 plan. It’s a concept created by Melissa and Dallas Hartwig to reset your body, eliminate all the “bad stuff” from your system and hit the refresh button.

In theory, it’s pretty good. And it’s a plan that I think is super effective for people who have dietary problems that they are looking to solve. A few months ago, my doctor recommended that I try a FODMAP diet and this is essentially what it is. And yes, it’s taken me a few months to actually come to terms with trying said food plan. It’s hard to convince yourself to eliminate all the foods you know and love (I’m looking at you bread and especially you again pasta). 

Not having dessert would be the easy part – I’m more of a pass the bag of Doritos kind of gal. It was the rest that was going to be a challenge. So I’m bringing you my honest Whole30 daily diary. I’m not going to get it right 100% of the time. And I’m a-OK with that. In fact, the book/Whole30 plan says if you cheat or accidentally eat something “non Whole30 compliant” that you have to start over from the beginning. I don’t look at eating as a punishment so I’m not down with that idea. I’ve even had some slip ups already, pretty minor ones, but I’m certainly not about to roll back to day one.

My main aim of trying this plan is to reset some healthy habits for myself. At the end of last year I found I was drinking a lot (holiday habits/busy social schedules) as well as reaching for easy to eat foods rather than nutritious meals. Thirty days with a plan in place is meant to give my body a boost back into health eating and making smart choices rather than about losing weight.

So, you ready to come along on this wild journey with me? Let’s go!

First week of Whole30: Days 1-7

Day 1:

I wake up with a hangover from the night before. I had four incredibly large wines and we stopped at McDonald’s on the way home. I remember shouting into the drive through about the “cheese dippers” vividly. I’m pretty sure this isn’t what the Whole30 founders had in mind when they say you should ease your body into this process by eating healthy in the days leading up to your Whole30 commitment… but I push that thought aside. 

Instead I reach for two ibuprofen and cook up a breakfast of scrambled eggs, compliant bacon (no nasty sulfites in the bacon commoners *cough me cough* usually consume) and avocado. Toss some hot sauce over everything for good measure. Eggs and bacon are notoriously good for hangovers, so this actually feels like I’m already cheating the system. 

Eat a salad that is not particularly inspiring for lunch. Drink a coconut water that I realize now is likely noncompliant but here we are.

Dinner is a salad with mushrooms, tomatoes, a piece of bacon and a fried egg on top. Joe isn’t home, he’s off working so it’s a sad looking dinner.

*note: I also ate a banana and an apple, which is something I can guarantee happens each day during this plan. 

Day 2:

Breakfast is identical to yesterday’s but it still feels like a novelty to me. I’ve lost the hangover so feel freshly smug about doing the Whole30 challenge. Talk about it on Instagram for good measure. Would like everyone else to know how smug I’m feeling. 

Have some carrot sticks and hummus. Realize hummus is a legume and is not Whole30 approved. Apparently this is when you’re supposed to “start the 30 days over” if at any point you mess up. I think that’s ridiculous and finish the hummus. 

Dinner is roast chicken, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and a bed of spinach. I say things like a bed of spinach now and we’re only on the second day.

Bought some sparkling water which is APPROVED. Go wild with your sparkling water! 

*notes, I DEFINITELY ate a banana and an apple. Oh and I drink black coffee all the time so if I don’t write it, please assume I have had around 3-4 cups each day.

Day 3:

I take some “before” pictures so I can see any Whole30 progress and it feels grim. Looking at my body in my sports bra and underwear… I didn’t realize how much weight I’ve put on over the past few years. It’s 20 pounds in case you’re wondering. Funny enough, I actually am more body confident now than I was when I was 20 pounds lighter. Still, while I’m not fussed about the weight, I would like to tone up and generally have healthier life habits. So, before pic is complete so that I can, I hope, see a bit of muscle at the end of this thing. 

We head to the gym for the first time since getting back to the UK from our Christmas in America. It feels incredibly challenging but we get through it. Turning up is the hardest part, right? 

Breakfast: Cook up some vaguely compliant sausages (now, I think they might have had sulfates but I thought they were the good ones when I bought them), scrambled eggs, avocado. More hot sauce. 

Small salad for lunch: spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, balsamic and olive oil

Dinner is… steak and it’s absolutely freaking beautiful. Joe has cooked it to perfection. I am also… so unbelievably hungry. We also sautéed some mushrooms and spinach to go with it. 

Sip some sparkling water and watch tv for awhile before bed. Living that wild life.

Day 4:

Well, well, well, back to scrambled eggs, bacon and avocado. I have a raging headache. Apparently this is normal as it’s my body adjusting to life without all the things it knows and loves. 

Lunch: Salad with leftover roast chicken, spinach, tomatoes and cucumbers. 

Dinner: Salmon, sweet potato rice. I feel weirdly so unbelievably full today and literally can’t add anything else to my plate. It’s almost that I’m so full I think I’m going to be sick. This is a feeling I’m really not used to and spoiler alert… it continues throughout this Whole30 deal. 

*notes, more coffee, banana + apple. Add that to the day before too. 

Day 5:

Joe whips up breakfast! I’m writing that like he hasn’t prepared anything thus far. He has literally cooked almost everything. The roast chicken, steak, salmon. I’m on breakfast/lunch shift mostly though. Anyways, he can stick to dinner because he’s not great at making eggs. Scrambled eggs and chopped tomatoes are a quick breakfast because we’re off to London today.

My headache has cleared luckily but I’m feeling pretty hungry today. Of course it’s the one day I’m going up to London, but sure. I get a coffee at the train station and we wait for our incredibly delayed train. Joe heads off to work and I go en route to catch up with my friend Allie. Before I do, I stop into M&S and pick up a salad with grilled chicken on top, some mangos and a sparkling water. Boy, do I know how to live.

We shoot some photos and hang out at Allie’s until we head off to dinner at her local pub with some of our other friends. This is my first proper meal out on Whole30 (I’m not counting the M&S salad) and I’m a little nervous. But its 50% off food at the pub so I don’t feel bad going with the very meal compliant steak! I get sweet potato fries which are unlikely to be compliant but they are close enough and SO DELICIOUS. Us gals also order a round of mocktails and I get mine made with sparkling water. It feels fancy so it’s like I’ve tricked myself here.

I meet Joe back at the train station to start our journey back home. We pick up some fruit for the train and bananas for tomorrow morning. Comment on the train that I rarely come back from London without having had a glass or two of wine. Makes me sound like an alcoholic but I usually do cocktails or catch ups with pals when I’m up in London so it’s a nice change being a sober Sally on the journey back. 

But I’m proud as a peach because I made it a whole day in London without breaking Whole30!

Day 6:

I wake up feeling unbelievably good. We make the usual scrambled eggs, bacon and avocado for breakfast. It doesn’t even feel repetitive today even though I’ve eaten this almost exact thing for the past six days. 

We spend the day working from home, as usual. For lunch I make sweet potato rice on top of a salad of spinach and some beetroot. 

Dinner tonight is a tough one. We head to our favourite Indian restaurant with Joe’s family. I resign myself to the fact that I will not get my usual chicken curry dish. We opt for the Tandoori Grilled Chicken and Salmon to split. It comes with grilled peppers and onions. We also order a few potato sides. It was delicious! But my downfall is that we ate too late and were starving. So I ended up overeating in my ravenous state. Add that with the fact that while we were waiting, I had a TON of sparkling water and honestly by the time I went to bed I felt horrendous. Incredibly bloated and feel like a stuffed pig. 

Day 7:

Wake up and I still feel sooooooo bloated but my energy levels are kind of up? Body wise, it feels a terrible day to go out and take photos for my blog but that’s exactly what we’re going to do anyways because I need the content.

Breakfast: a quick scrambled egg, bacon and tomatoes situation.

Lunch: We skip it entirely as we’re not that hungry. But we do have coffees.

End up doing a food shop while hungry. It’s a mistake but also kind of good. We end up buying some new looking treats! And some flavored sparkling water. Can you believe the things I get excited about right now? 

Dinner is roast chicken with salad, tomatoes, beetroot and a scoop of hummus (yeah I know, non-compliant, don’t worry, I’ll pay for it shortly). Feel pretty terrible after dinner. I wonder if it’s actually the hummus? Decide to follow the Whole30 no hummus rule from here on out even though I truly love it so much. 

That’s a wrap on the week (mmm a wrap sounds quite good, doesn’t it?)

Stay tuned to see if I make it through my whole… Whole30 days. Have you ever done Whole30 before? Or are you thinking about starting? Let me know in the comments and always feel free to get in touch on Instagram. 

Kelly x