Alright. So I decided I was going to follow the Whole30 program, and I read the book – It Starts with Food(see yesterday’s blog post for more details). I understood most of the chemical, hormonal, body-processing-functions, and knew I wanted to get my body back functioning how it was meant to function – without chemical, processed crap.
But actually coming up with a plan?
It was really hard to wrap my mind around the food plan – meat, veggies, some fruit, healthy fats. How in the world would I buy groceries and plan meals around this program? Thankfully, the book had a lot of “meal starter” ideas – and the “base” for each meal was meat and veggies. Meat and veggies – I can do that. Add healthy fat and seasoning to make it taste differently…. I can do that.
So, I made a list. I thought about foods I liked to eat – and foods I knew Jay would eat. I thought about how complex recipes were, and what would keep in the fridge for a few days.
I made a list.
Next, Jay and I cleaned out the fridge. We THREW AWAY EVERYTHING we weren’t going to eat in the next 30 days.

Goodbye, processed food.
I was still feeling pretty excited about the Whole30 program. That is, until I stepped foot into the grocery store. Despite having my list and my meals planned, I WAS GRIPPED WITH HORROR. Almost every single thing being sold on the shelves was processed, chemical “food”.
(I say food with ” ‘s because, let’s face it, Cheeze-Its are not “real food”.)
I felt like I was being eaten alive in that grocery store. One wrong mis-step, and I could be shoveling bags of chips and packages of cookies into my cart, running wild through the aisles. I knew I needed to pay attention and ONLY buy what I planned to buy. But it was terrifying – changing my entire food plan, my entire shopping experience, and the actual food I bought was so incredibly different.

Fish = Grocery Store. Eating me alive.
I’m so thankful that Jay and I are going through this together. Having him by my side, excited about making positive changes…. it really made a big difference. We stuck to our list, and made it home with everything we needed: produce, meat, dairy, tea, seasonings, and some “extra” fun non-food items…

Fruit & Veggies

Veggies & Fruit

Meat

Coconut Milk, Butter and Eggs

Tea

Seasoning, Oil & Vinegar, Olives

Thumb-Bowls, Egg Container, Tea Box, Plates & Bowls, New Lunch Bag
Looking back, I don’t know why I was so gripped with fear at the grocery store. Maybe it was knowing the changes ahead – not simply changing my food, but changing my habits, my emotions, and my reactions to situations. Maybe I knew this project had the potential to be SO MUCH BIGGER and SO MUCH BETTER than I imagined.
After I got home from the grocery store, I realized that instead of feeling like a barbie being eaten by a fish, I felt more like a barbie being healthy, claiming her life back instead.

hay gurrrll, hay.
Up next? I’ll talk about what specifically I made…. and what I’m eating!