Fun Fact: The Whole30 was a big reason I wanted to work at Tessemae’s! Other fun fact: It’s the end of Day 6 AND I WANT WINE….like really really bad!!!!

Over a year ago my friend Kristen, you know her as Chef, told me about a crazy food plan her office followed called the Whole30. I thought she was flat out crazy and I remember telling myself that there was no way in hell that I would ever give up booze, cheese, and hummus (in that order). It took me a few months to get up the nerve to do it and I am proud to say that I finished my first Whole30 January 31, 2015. It was almost as life changing as finding out that I have a very strong bakers and brewers yeast intolerance. I had already gone through making a huge change to my diet once, and I was really worried about being even more limited.

Last week my husband and I were in our local Wegmans doing our weekly shopping to prepare for the start of round 2, and it hit me how transformational my first Whole30 had been. Our shopping cart looked the exact same as it always did. We had chicken, steaks, ground beef, eggs, tons of veggies of all colors, apples, grapes, cashews, RX Bars for emergencies, and guac lots of guac. While I have to avoid recipes that use dark vinegars, essentially everything else that is Whole30 is yeast free. Once I got over the hump of the first 10 days, I had never felt more amazing and I stopped running into hidden yeast in processed and prepared foods. Again, LIFE CHANGING. Other than occasional treats (cheese and crackers), nice meals out, and way too much wine I follow Whole30 on a weekly basis. 

Today I made it through Day 6 I am feeling pretty good. I hit the “I Just Want To Nap” stage yesterday, but bounced back today. It’s hilarious to be doing this with an office full of people, some who have done it before and a lot of newbies. Everyone is in a different stage so you will be in a meeting and one person is falling asleep, the other is being a total B* in their “Kill All Things” stage, and one is already approaching “Tigers Blood” and annoying every one else. The best part is that our CEO, Greg, accepted Mellissa’s whole office challenge and then disappeared from the office while the rest of us are going through the “Kill All Things”!!!!! Not cool :)

My goal for this round is to reset as I started eating and drinking wayyyyy to much this fall and holiday season. I need to stop my nightly wine habit stat! I also want to use this time to recommit to the gym. The results from the eating plan are great along, but amp up the work out and it’s even better.

Things I will not/can not live without for the next 30 days: Tessemae’s Ranch, Tessemae’s Lemon Garlic, Tessemae’s Mayo, Tessemae’s Hot Buffalo, Trader Joes Sweet Potato Chips (dipped in Tesse Ranch), coconut milk curry sauce, cashews, premade egg muffins, RX Bars for emergencies and pre gym, and sweet potatoes!