My Low-Carb & Whole 30ish Meal Diary, Week 1

As you must all know by now, I had a baby in July! Yay! Gained some weight, most of it AFTER he was born, not yay!

I am 5’9 and my body feels best around 150-160 pounds, though I haven’t been that in about 2 years. I started this Tuesday (12/15) at 192 pounds and am ending the week (12/20) at 188, so I guess my goal is to lose 30ish pounds, but since I’m still exclusively breastfeeding and don’t want to hurt my milk supply, ain’t going crazy with calorie restriction, just cutting out the foods that always lead to weight gain for me.

I have done this basic plan in the past with great results. Truthfully, if I could eat like this all the time (plus some starchy veggies), I would feel like a million bucks! I have so much energy and mental clarity and already feel lighter and healthier after just 6 days.

I will try to update this with pics and a bit more description on the dishes, but I’m not measuring things, so there won’t be formal recipes. Just thought you may like to see what I’m eating and maybe be inspired to do it yourself!

My “rules”: 

-No grains, starches or sugar, not even natural ones. 

-Very little fruit, mostly in form of berries and green apples. 

-Little bit of nuts, seeds, almond butter, but those can keep me from losing weight if I eat too many.

-Little dairy like butter and cheese to keep things interesting, but not overdoing it. 

-Copious amounts of low-starch veggies, healthy fat, good quality meat. 

-Eat when I’m hungry, stop when I’m not. No calorie counting. 

-Always have a variety of delicious foods in the house.

-Focus on what I can eat, not on what I can’t.

-Remember everyday why I’m choosing to do this: for my health and happiness 🙂

-Dont be uber critical of some kitchen helpers not being totally paleo (convenient sauces made with less-than-perfect oils, for example) because I HAVE A BABY FOR CRYING OUT LOUD AND THIS CANT TAKE OVER MY LIFE AND IT MUST TASTE GOOD!

Here’s what I ate/prepped day to day so far:

TUESDAY

We got home from Mexico Monday night, shopped on Tuesday, and after baby went to sleep, did some batch cooking (took about 3 hours with cleaning):

Beef & Veggie Spaghetti Sauce: Beef, garlic, onions, roasted mushrooms, kale/spinach/chard blend, zucchini, can chopped tomatoes, premade low-sugar spaghetti sauce. 

Green Chili Beef: Beef, onion, garlic, cumin, cilantro, large can chopped green chilis, zucchini, kale/spinach/chard blend.

Omelet Muffins: Roasted asparagus, bell pepper, garlic and zucchini, canadian bacon, store-bought pesto and eggs

Keto Bars: Coconut oil, almond butter, sun warrior protein powder, cacao nibs, dried shredded coconut, chia seeds, dried blueberries.

After the meat dishes chilled, I froze them in individual serving large silicone baking cups on a sheet tray. Once frozen, they’re really easy to pop out of cup and store in gallon size ziplock bags. I did this the first night so I’ll always have something to eat in the house even I’m out of fresh food or to add to fresh veggies.

I also cooked a couple packages of bacon, a dozen eggs some quick guacamole, a big green salad and got a premade tapenade, green olives stuffed with garlic and jalapeños, artichoke hearts, fresh salsa and pesto at Costco to spruce up veggies and meat quick, quick. 

WEDNESDAY

Lunch: bowl of Chunky Veggie Spaghetti Sauce, dollop of pesto and green salad.

Dinner: Mexican salad made with freezer green chili beef, guacamole, salsa, green olives, pomegranate seeds over raw kale/spinach/chard blend tossed with lime juice and olive oil.

THURSDAY

Breakfast/lunch: Kitchen sink salad w/ lettuce, hard boiled eggs, bacon, pomegranate seeds, avocado, hardboiled eggs, tapenade and mustard dressing.

Dinner: Mexican salad.

FRIDAY

Breakfast/lunch: 3 hardboiled eggs, bacon, avocado and raw greens tossed with vinaigrette.

Dinner: Cant remember…think I picked at things in the fridge 🙂

SATURDAY 

Lunch: Kitchen sink salad.

Dinner: Pan seared chicken breasts with store bought thai peanut sauce, green beans tossed with red curry paste, pine nuts, ghee, green onions and lemon juice. Green salad. 

Made a bunch of extra chicken, salad and steamed green beans for later.

SUNDAY

Breakfast: Couple pieces of bacon dipped in guacamole, leftover 1/2 chicken breast, green beans and peanut sauce, green salad.

Dinner: Sausage sampling (great deal on organic sausages at Whole Foods, so I bought every flavor) and a creamy broccoli mash with cashews and roasted garlic. Keto bar and an herbal tea latte for dessert.