Yes, I’m still alive. My world has been overtaken by the most adorable little boy, who is now 7 months old. That means I haven’t updated this blog in 6 months. I’m sorry I fail. I’ve missed you guys, and I’m hopeful that you all have missed me.
Isn’t he adorable?
I’m slowly getting my life back to normal, though. Well… as normal as possible with a new addition. I’m finally able to get back to the gym. It’s been a battle because Grayson refuses a bottle. That means I’ve been his only source of food until now; he’s finally showing some interest in solids.
I’m also trying to conquer my PCOS. It’s nice to have a name for the mystery illness, but it still sucks. With this comes insulin resistance and hormone imbalances, both of which hinder weight loss. The only real way to alleviate the symptoms? Lose weight. Ha.
Of course the medication they usually prescribe is not recommended while breastfeeding. Just my luck, right?
That just leaves diet. I wasn’t sure where to start because I’ve heard a lot of different things: no dairy, no carbs, no sugar, no this, no that, blah blah blah. I have a few friends who were talking about doing the Whole 30 program this month. After some research, I decided to jump on the bandwagon to see how it affects my PCOS.
So, starting today, I’m committed to 30 days of no alcohol, dairy, grains, legumes, added sweeteners, carrageenan, MSG, sulfites, or overly processed foods. It’s a huge undertaking, and I need as much support as I can get. That’s why I decided to dust this blog off and post: it’ll help keep me accountable. Plus, menu planning will help me stay on track. Plans are awesome.
Breakfast: I had a plan to make fancy breakfasts ahead of time and just reheat them. I failed at that. So, I’m just having eggs, chicken, and veggies, pan fried in coconut oil… and black coffee because black coffee > coffee with coconut milk.
Lunch: Leftovers or salad with spinach, lots of veggies, chicken, and oil and vinegar
Snacks: Bananas, Blood Oranges, Nuts
And….. dinner:
- Salt and Vinegar Chicken (with thighs instead of wings) with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Broccoli
- Crock Pot Chicken with roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots
- Chicken and Vegetable Soup (homemade broth, leftover chicken, onions, snap peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, anything else I can find to throw in…)
- Slow Cooker Chili Verde
- Italian Seasoned Pork, Potatoes, and Green Beans (with Ghee instead of butter and homemade Italian Dressing Mix without sugar)
- Asian Meatballs (I’m subbing the fish sauce with coconut aminos because I didn’t want to buy a big bottle of approved fish sauce for one recipe) with Green Beans
- Hamburger Soup
If you’re looking for more menu planning goodness, The Vampire Diet is your gal… although her plan isn’t Whole 30 friendly.
What I need from you guys is periodic check ins. Ask me how it’s going, if I’m sticking to may plan, what I ate that day, how a recipe turned out, stuff like that. If I feel like no one cares, I might just cheat. I’m going to try not to, though.
Also, if you notice something on my list that isn’t necessarily Whole 30 approved, please tell me! I’m a n00b, so I might miss something in an ingredient list. I actually bought nuts for snacks without realizing they were cooked in soybean and peanut oil. So, yeah. Thankfully I noticed before I started the program. That could’ve ruined things!
So….. what have I missed in the past 6 months? What’s new in your lives? I’m pretty active on Instagram and Twitter; add me!
Pa-BLAM! 
Why have I never made the salt and vinegar wings as chicken instead?! Genius! Hope the W30 helps with your PCOS
I would love to make it with wings, but the husband insists it’s too much work for too little meat. So thighs it is! They were delicious, by the way 😉
Thanks! Keeping my fingers crossed.
Woohoo! Welcome back! The Whole 30 diet sounds challenging. I think I could do no alcohol, dairy, wheat, added sweeteners, carrageenan*, MSG, sulfites, or overly processed foods for 30 days without too much of a problem but I would definitely miss those legumes!! I’m pretty sure I’m addicted to white beans.
I’ll be interested to see what meals you come up with. Maybe some stews (sans beans!) or hearty squash soups would be yummy? It’s a great time of year for slow-cooked meats – the chili verde you have planned for this week looks delicious!
(*I had to look this one up.. pretty sure I don’t have carrageenan in my diet now so this would be easy to skip!!)
Thanks! I’m definitely going to miss beans and cheese, but it’s only a month. I can do this if I have an end in sight. I don’t know how people live like this forever.
I have some squash soups pinned on my Whole 30 board. I’m pretty excited for a lot of stuff that I’ve found!
Carrageenan is actually in a ton of stuff: yogurts, soy/almond/coconut milk, buttermilk, chocolate milk, ice cream, deli meats, and lots of other random stuff. It’s used as a thickener. I had never heard of it either.
Salt and Vinegar chicken? I’m dying to find out what that is – and what are “things instead of wings”? Going to be checking out all the recipes! Good luck and you know I will check up on you!
That was totally supposed to read “THIGHS instead of wings”. Oops. It’s fixed now. I got bored halfway through proofing 😉 Thanks!! The salt and vinegar chicken was delicious.
Welxime back!!!!
Thanks!!! Now to get caught up with everyone 😉
😀😀😀
I’m so glad to see you back and to see pictures of that beautiful baby. I nursed four babies for a full year each, so I can empathize. (My “kids” now range in age from 45-60 – time flies).
Good luck with your diet and I hope you find a way of coping with your physical problems.
Thank you! Nursing is very hard, but so worth it.
Yay, welcome back!!! Baby G is absolutely, 100% adorable… I shall forgive him for stealing you away for the past 6 months. 😉 So… dairy, legumes, and almond milk make up about 75% of my diet (the rest is coffee), so I’m pretty darn impressed by your Whole 30 plan. Are you getting into the swing of it? I hope it helps!
Yeah… the whole30 is not vegetarian friendly. I was talking to another vegetarian friend about this before because she has PCOS as well. If it works out for me, she’s thinking about trying it with legumes allowed.
I just realized I have an event this Saturday that I’ve been looking forward to for two years. It’s a chili, chocolate, and homebrew competition at my friend’s church. I learned about it two years ago, couldn’t partake last year due to the baby and a snow storm… so I’m going to break my diet to enjoy some homemade beer, wine, and chocolate… then I’ll start over the next day. I should have planned this better, haha. Thanks!
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