As part of my Whole30 experience, I’m documenting my meals and notes about how I feel along the journey. Below, you can view the list of the foods that I ate during Week Three of my Whole30 elimination diet. You can also view recipes for everything in the meal plan below. The links for tasty recipes go to my personal recipe collection at stphne.com/recipes. For recipes I would not cook again, the links go to the original recipe.
I like to cook on the weekends and eat a lot of leftovers during the week. To really enjoy your leftovers, you can use a microwave and a toaster oven. Use the toaster oven for items that you want to be crispy. This can also dry out food, so add extra moisture or microwave things that don’t need crisping in the oven. You can also use your oven to reheat items, but it takes longer and makes your house hot in the summer.
FOOD
(To see recipes cooked in the previous week and listed as leftovers here, see Whole30: Week Two.)
| Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Snack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15.Sun | Leftover frittata, leftover potatoes, 4 cherries | Leftover spaghetti squash, 8 cherries | Brussels sprout salad with warm bacon vinaigrette, watermelon | 1/2 frozen banana slices, watermelon |
| 16.Mon | Leftover frittata, leftover potatoes, 4 cherries | Leftover spaghetti squash | Leftover chicken zucchini fritter with a touch of paleo Worcestershire sauce (because the fritters are pretty bad alone), watermelon | Leftover brussels sprouts, 1/2 apple |
| 17.Tue | Leftover frittata, leftover potatoes, 4 cherries | (Lunch out) Spinach salad with shredded carrots, mushrooms, boiled egg, chicken, balsamic vinegar and oil, side of banana | Paleo zucchini spaghetti and meatballs, 4 cherries | Leftover chicken zucchini fritter with Worcestershire sauce, leftover brussels sprouts, watermelon |
| 18.Wed | Leftover frittata, leftover potatoes, watermelon | Leftover zucchini spaghetti and meatballs, 1/2 apple | Leftover spaghetti squash, 1/2 peach | 2 pieces of bacon, 2 fried eggs, 1/2 peach |
| 19.Thu | Leftover frittata, leftover potatoes, 4 cherries | Leftover chicken, leftover brussels sprouts, 1/2 apple | Leftover zucchini spaghetti and meatballs, 1/2 peach | 2 pieces of bacon, 1 fried egg, banana |
| 20.Fri | Leftover frittata, leftover potatoes, 4 cherries | Leftover spaghetti squash, 1/2 apple | Leftover chicken, leftover brussels sprouts, Epic beef apple bacon bar, 1/2 apple | 1 1/2 slices of bacon, 1 fried egg |
| 21.Sat | Leftover frittata, Roasted potatoes with spicy caramelized onions, 8 cherries | Leftover zucchini spaghetti and meatballs, dried apples and pears | Pan seared Chilean sea bass, leftover potatoes, Spinach salad with warm bacon dressing, melon | Leftover chicken, leftover brussels sprouts, dried apples and pears |
NOTES
Below are my notes about how I felt or any symptoms that I saw because of the diet change.
- Day 15 – Still puffy, less muscle spasms. My intestines felt painful and bloated. I had 3 soft BMs throughout the day. Cold, tired, grumpy, poor concentration again. Napped 11:30am-1:30pm.
- Day 16 – Migraine and decreased energy. No additional changes.
- Day 17 – No noticeable change
- Day 18 – Woke puffy and with a migraine. When I stood, I got really dizzy and had to sit. Still dizzy after my shower. Dizzy again later in the afternoon. Slight tummyache late morning.
- Day 19 – I had lots of neck, shoulder, and back aches, though they could have been caused by laying in bed or on the sofa in the dark for the previous two days. My energy level was a little better, but it’s worth mentioning that I slept for 10 hours the previous night.
- Day 20 -Soft stool and tummyache. Low energy. Still a little dizzy when I stand.
- Day 21 – Continued to have 3 soft BMs per day. That has been the pattern for 2 weeks now. Energy felt better today. Best day so far, but that’s not saying much.
TMI NOTES
In the too much information (TMI) category, below are some additional notes specific to female issues.
- Day 15 -Now on day 12 of my period. Still not lapsing on my birth control pills.
- Day 16 – Hormonal issues got worse. I had bad cramps, a bad headache, felt like crying for no reason, and couldn’t concentrat. I had to leave work. I did some research, and antecdotally, most women have better periods during and after the Whole30. There’s a smaller number of women that have worse periods. There are a few other women that had their periods and PMS symptoms while on the pill. So I went to the doctor. She drew blood work and suggested that my body might be adjusting to balance my hormones naturally, even enough to overcome my low-dose birth control.
- Day 17 – Woke with a migraine, puffy fingers and eyes, cramps. Still light flow period. Too light-sensitive. No computer, phone, or TV screens. Listened to Audible with the curtains drawn. No energy. Didn’t even care that I was missing work. That crap needs to stop ASAP.
- Day 18 – Woke bloated and with a migraine. Light-flow period and cramps continued. The doctor reviewed my blood work from Monday and called in a prescription for a new birth control pill with a higher dosage of hormones. I took it at bedtime.
- Day 19 – I woke with no migraine! I was still on my period (day15!), but the cramps were lighter.
- Day 20 – No more period! The increased dose of birth control stopped the migraines and the period. Bloating is reduced.
- Day 21 -Very light period spotting. No other hormonal issues.
