We did the January Whole30.. with our toddler

Woohoo!! I finished another round of the Whole30 along with my husband and 3 year old daughter. Yes, you read that right, our toddler finished the Whole30!

You’re probably wondering why I needed to do the Whole30 when I finished the Whole100 just a few months ago? Well, as you know, I finished my Whole100 and, soon after, hopped on a plane to the Middle East. My time there was amazing and I enjoyed all kinds of delicious, mostly, non-Paleo food. I was exercising during the first part of my trip and then got lazy and busy. My dad spent a month in the hospital and while he and my mom were away, I cooked and took care of the house. I tried to make healthy meals everyday, but ended up indulging in dessert too often!

A few days after arriving to the States, I had my annual wellness exam. I stepped on the scale at the doctor’s office and was shocked! I had gained 26 pounds since my last wellness exam, and later found out that my LDL cholesterol was higher than normal. My body had gone through a lot that year but it still bothered me to see those numbers go up. I didn’t like how I was feeling and my clothes were starting to feel a bit tighter. I had already decided to do the January Whole30 and that appointment confirmed that it was time to reset my body.

When my husband told me that he wanted to do the Whole30 to cleanse his body from all the junk he was eating while I was gone, I was surprised. He had never done one with me before, so this was a big deal. Since we were both doing the January Whole30, it made sense for our daughter to do it, too.

You might be thinking that it’s crazy for a 3 year old to do the Whole30 but it’s not. We are a mostly Paleo family and things like gluten, dairy and sugar irritate her sensitive skin and causes her eczema to flare up. I try to control her diet at home but being out of the country for 12 weeks was more difficult. Gluten, dairy and sugar is what every kid loves to eat, she’s no different.

Days 3 and 4 were the hardest for her. She was lethargic, angry, whiny and was having some serious sugar withdrawals. Towards the end of day 5, she was back to being her bubbly, happy self. She embraced the fact that she was doing this to cleanse her body from all the bad food she had been eating. She would point out certain foods at the grocery store that had non-compliant ingredients and was proudly telling everyone that she was on the Whole30.

For me, the first day is always the hardest. I crave all sorts of random food and I’m not in the best mood. My husband, on the other hand, is strongest the first couple days. He gets weaker towards the end while I get stronger. You can put my favorite food in front me of and I wouldn’t care. Meanwhile, my husband is dreaming of pizza, nachos and donuts every day! We were never weak together so we kept each other accountable and motivated throughout the 30 days.

One thing that made our lives easier, was giving my husband leftover dinner to eat at work the next day. He didn’t have to worry about trying to find a compliant lunch and I didn’t have to worry about making him another special meal. Most days for lunch, I ate a loaded tuna salad that I would scoop up with veggies, compliant plantain chips or apples. My daughter randomly decided to try tuna, one day, and loved it. She had never tried it before so I would just eat it by myself. Since this has become her new obsession, I’ve been making a weekly batch for the both of us.

While my husband and daughter felt the need to snack during the day (fruit, nuts, veggies), I didn’t. I was satisfied with the 3 big meals that I ate daily. I never understood what it was like to have a “food emergency” until I had one. I was out of town for a couple of days and didn’t have anything to eat so I resorted to RXBARs– total lifesavers btw.

Finally, the part everyone’s been waiting for! How much weight did we lose and how are we feeling? We are feeling great. No, scratch that! We feel amazing! Baby girl is so much happier, more obedient, less emotional and her skin is baby soft. She lost 1.5 pounds and is so proud of herself for finishing the Whole30 and I’m extremely proud of my little champ!

Besides losing 13 pounds, my husband looks leaner and feels light, sharp and clean. He is already thinking twice before eating and is making better food choices while traveling. He also says that his big beard is extra thick and luscious– bonus points for him!

My clothes are fitting better, I have less joint pain, I’m sleeping better at night, I no longer have any food cravings, and I finally got to slay my Sugar Dragon. Added bonus, I lost 6 pounds and I feel extra wonderful.

As far as reintroduction goes, I personally will not be doing one because I already know what foods bothers me. However, I will be doing a full reintroduction for my daughter. We have already reintroduced non-gluten grains and dairy; next week we move onto legumes and gluten. I’m looking forward to being able to pinpoint exactly what foods bother her but I have a feeling I already know.

We are proud to have done this together as a family. We are looking at food differently and making better health choices. We ate delicious, wholesome meals and never felt hungry once.  Losing the extra weight is just a part of the amazing results that the Whole30 gives you. We are so excited for this new year and are so happy we started it off right!

We are Whole30!