Whole30 Results with Lisamarie G.

Lindsay’s Note: This a Whole30 interview with my friend, Lisamarie. She blogs over at Whiskey and Tutus and we met back in 2005 when we worked for the same snowboard magazine. I was fresh out of college and working my dream job of writing about snowboarding for a living (yes, I have journalism roots!). We’ve stayed in touch ever since and were even neighbors for a couple years here in the South Bay. I was super excited when Lisamarie told me she was going to do the Whole30 because I knew how amazing she would feel and how much she would love the Whole30 program. The principles you learn really stick with you. And without further ado, here is my post whole30 interview with the wonderful Lisamarie!

1. What made you decide to do the Whole30? What were some of the goals you set for yourself when you first started the challenge?
I wanted to do something I had never done before and was looking to reset my body and get as healthy as I possibly could. My eating habits weren’t that great as I have the biggest sweet tooth, eat a ton of pasta and love to have wine nearly every night. After seeing your month-long posts on IG, which lead me to look up the Whole30 hashtag I was convinced this was something I could do. I saw so many great recipes and such inspiring stories so I decided to download the book and made June 1st my start date.

2. What was your favorite part of doing the challenge?
I had two: Learning to cook clean and sharing what I made each day with my IG followers/community. I started a whole30 IG account so I would be accountable for my daily meals. I quickly become immersed in the Whole30 community and we would all borrow recipes and cheer each other on each meal. It was such a great support system and I couldn’t wait to share what awesome meal I made next.

3. What was the hardest part about doing the challenge? 
Eating out. We found ourselves eating nearly all of our meals at home.

4. Can you share with us your top 3 recipes during the challenge and your top 3 go-to items during the challenge?

Here are my favorites:

1. Prosciutto-Wrapped Mini Fritata Muffins. (nomnompaleo)
2. Buffalo chicken sliders on sweet potato fritters with homemade paleo ranch. (planksloveandguacamole)
3. Slow-cooker carnitas in butter lettuce cups with avocado and Frank’s Hot Sauce (my version with homemade compliant chicken broth as the base)
4. I’m going to add one more! I made this like 4 times: Asian Cauliflower fried rice (nomnompaleo)

Go-to items: hard-boiled eggs//avocado//sweet potatoes//coconut milk. Oils: coconut and avocado.

5. What were your Whole30 results? Some people report weight loss, an increase in energy, and more. What did you notice about your body during this challenge?
I lost 10 lbs and inches all over. A definite increase in energy, and I would say that I was getting the best, most sound sleeps I had in a long while. My stomach wasn’t get upset after any of the meals I prepared.

6. What tips do you have for anyone who is about to begin their Whole30 journey?
Map out your week. I made my meal plan, did all my shopping and prepped as much as I could on Sundays. It made all the difference in the world.

7. So what’s next? Do you think you will keep up this lifestyle from here on out? How do you plan to incorporate what you’ve learned from Whole30 into your daily life?
I will definitely live a more Paleo lifestyle. I tried to do some food introduction and quickly found out that things like dairy do not really agree with me. Instead of giving myself “cheat” days, I would rather just let a few non-paleo things slip in here and there so I don’t feel I am depriving myself of things I love, like pasta and deserts. Reading labels has made me so much more aware of the crap I was putting in my body so I definitely don’t see myself running out and buying a bag of Doritos anytime soon.

What about you? Have you done a Whole30? What were your Whole30 Results? Have any questions for Lisamarie? Post in the comments and let us know!