At the start of June, I made a pact with a friend from CrossFit. We both decided we were eating unhealthy foods and too much of it. So we decided we would do the Whole 30 challenge together. I have done Whole 30 before. It is hard, but it is doable. After we committed to each other and the diet, I realized my family was going to Disney World in the month of June. Uh oh…..
So for anyone who does not know what the Whole 30 diet is, let me elaborate. It is one month of pure hell. Okay, it really isn’t that bad. However, it is one month of no carbs (breads, rice, pasta), dairy, sweets (artificial or real), or beans. You can eat as much meat and veggies as you want and little fruit.
I am always up for a challenge so I thought “How bad can this be”? Wow-was I in for a surprise. I just thought I would bring protein shakes, bars and nuts and I would be good.
First stop- San Diego. Breakfast was a breeze. Our hotel had a kitchen so our first night there, we ran to the store. I grabbed some eggs, sausage, and fruit. Whole 30- check. Lunch was not so easy. We were on the beach and swimming in the ocean for 5 hours and decided to grab a bite in town. Driving around, we pass a Mexican restaurant. I am a sucker for good Mexican food and margaritas. ( We have neither of those here in good ol’ Utah). The chips were thick and homemade. The picture of the margarita was calling to me. Yeah so much for the Whole 30. It just didn’t happen.
Next day was SeaWorld San Diego. This was easier to handle than Mexican food. SeaWorld has a few good restaurants with healthy options. Savannah is gluten-free so it makes it easier for me to stay on track with my eating. The one place that offered to help with her gluten-free choices ended up being a flop. The chef said he has a gluten-free pizza that he would be glad to make her, but it would take 15 minutes to bake. No biggie-or so we thought. It came out cold as ice (after being in the oven). Her and I decided it would be a cheat day. Back into the restaurant we go for hamburgers. I did take the bun off and got fruit. Dinner was at a barbecue joint in the park. I am sure the barbecue sauce had brown sugar in it, but hey when you are not cooking you can’t control everything. Dinner of beef brisket, ribs and a salad was Whole 30 approved (kind of).
Now on to Disney. Let’s just say it is impossible. Or at least for me, it was impossible. I found that I could stick to eating Paleo pretty well at Disney. There are a ton of places that are Paleo friendly. Burgers minus the buns and fries. Half a chicken with green beans and salads. You can even have hot dogs minus the buns almost anywhere in the park. I brought in our own snacks consisting of mixed nuts, protein bars and dried fruit.
I think it is all about how happy you want to be and how happy you want your family to be. I could have driven my husband crazy and only eaten at places that are Paleo friendly and Whole 30 approved. That would have subjected him to more walking the around the park scouting out these places. I chose to eat on the healthier side, but not restrict myself. It made me less grouchy by not being so hungry all the time. It satisfied my husband because I wasn’t spending a ton of money on food and not eating the majority of it. In my opinion, it was only 10 days out of 365 days that I am eating “bad”.
So now that we are back home and I can be in control of my food, I am attempting the Whole 30 again. This time, I made sure I have no vacation plans. As for Savannah and eating gluten-free, well ,it ended up being a whole cheat week. It is hard to deprive a 7 year old of chicken nuggets, fries and ice cream cones when all the kids around them are eating them. A little runny nose and sunken eyes are a small price to pay when you see your child so happy.
the Wolf Pack 