I am always giving mad props to those who want to make positive changes in their lives, especially when it comes to diet and fitness. I’ve been at this for a while now, so cutting out everything bad and going super strict a la Whole9 is no problem for me. And I understand when noobs who are just now starting to explore healthy eating and the paleo life style don’t necessarily follow all of the rules in the beginning; if you are just starting out, cutting out all sugar, dairy and gluten at once is a very hard, cold-turkey approach that I don’t recommend.
No, this blog post is aimed at those veterans who say, “I’m doing a strict challenge for 30 days!” And when I ask them, “Cool! So you are doing like, super strict? Whole30?”…in which some people reply, “No, well, I’m doing strict paleo. Except I’m allowed dairy. And protein shakes. And splenda in my coffee. And this. And that. (insert other NON paleo/strict items here)”.
To which, I reply with a silent shake of head. That’s not “strict” people. That’s not even a form of lenient paleo. But, who am I to judge?
Except, of course, judging myself. I did a Whole20 stint back in December before the holidays and then took two weeks off. Most of my meals were paleo but there were cookies (damn neighbors!) and there was chocolate (LOTS) and there was wine (oh, how it flowed!). So after those two weeks, of course I’m jumping on the Whole30 bandwagon starting on January 1st. Even if I was the only soul out there doing it, I was going to do it either way. But of course, it helps when I have friends to do it too :)
Anyways, so of course I’m smack in the middle of my reoccurring challenge of Whole30 during business travel. Le sigh. I’ll be in Dallas for pretty much the whole month of January. Usually what I’ve been doing is hitting up a Whole Foods/Sprouts, buying a bunch of already cooked meat and veggies and nuts, and basically making my own lunch and dinner every day. But really how Whole9 am I being? Even if I am eating whole meats and veggies, I don’t know if the “quality” of my meals is exactly up to Whole9 standards. (I’ll have to discuss with Mel and Dallas!)
This week, I’m re-exploring the
“My Fit Meals” option. My Fit Meals is a great little company that sells already prepared meals for a rather inexpensive price. When a coworker told me about this, at first I was skeptical that I would find anything on my specific diet. However, they have a rather large “low carb” section with many options that qualify as paleo. Plus, you can buy stuff in bulk, like a pound of cooked chicken breast and a pound of cooked asparagus, etc. I tried this place back in July and I was pretty pleased. Some things I like about them:
1) Again, inexpensive. Meals range from $7-9 each. When you are on work travel and have a per diem or get to expense your meals like I do, you’ll find that this is pretty cheap
2) You can order online and then pick it up the next day or you can just go in and hope they have what you want already prepared
3) The labels are awesome. They tell you nutritional info like calories/carbs/fats/proteins, they tell you exactly what is in each container, and they have “best by” dates.
My lunch today is their low carb Salmon and Veggies meal. As you can see from the picture, all of the ingredients are listed out and are all pretty much Whole30; Salmon, Squash, Zucchini, Red Onions and Bell Peppers, Carrots, Mushrooms, Lemon Juice, Roasted Garlic, Macadamia Nut Oil, and Spices. Generally I like to go with the “best” meats in the good/better/best range for Whole30; I’m pretty sure this Salmon isn’t wild caught. But, I make do, and as I’ve said before, this is MY diet and MY way of eating, and I can just do the best I can and make it work for me. I think being Whole9 on travel is an amazing feat in its own, if I say so myself (pats my own back!).
So anyways, clean it up people! If you are not a newbie to a healthy eating life style, I don’t want to hear any more excuses. Be strict. It’s only 30 days. And if you are saying you are ‘strict’, well by golly, be effin strict. Strict means no exceptions. Trust me, you’ll thank me after 30 days :)
