Parks Go Paleo | Whole 30 Week 4

AHHH, we survived and made it all the way to WEEK 4!!!  

Since January 21 (and restarting a few times since because of slip ups, booooo), we in the Park family have gone, not just Paleo, but Whole30.  For 4 straight weeks, we’ve avoided all:

• Sugar of any kind (honey, stevia, agave nectars included)
• Alcohol (not even for cooking)
• Grains (including corn)
• Legumes
• Dairy
• Potatoes
• Carrageenan, MSG or sulfites

More info on Whole30 here.

week 4 cons

• Honestly, none – this past week was wonderful!
• Okay, sometimes, certain foods made the family gassy but can’t figure out exactly what that is but it’s a few days a week.  But other than that, everything’s great!

week 4 pros

• Our body is actually loving the healthy | Rather than facing withdrawals, stomach issues, and harsh cravings like the weeks before, our body’s made the switch and it’s feeling better than ever.
• Exercise highs without needs for carbs or stuffing ourselves | Carb withdrawals gone, David is amazed to find he doesn’t need to carbload before his long runs – he’s lasting longer, with higher energy, and greater feeling than ever before.  He ran 14 miles two days ago and didn’t crash.  He didn’t have to stuff himself the night before or right before the run.  Replenishing his energy from the natural fats he’s eating rather than relying on carbs, his body feels better than ever for his marathon training.  I’ve found my exercises are also improving – longer lasting, happy attitude, great energy – it’s truly wonderful.
• Hives are gone | Since I was little, I’ve had an allergy to water – no joke.  Showers, swimming, I’d come out with annoying hives.  For the first time ever for the past few weeks, the hives are gone.
• Cooking and cleaning are getting faster | It’s quite a time commitment for someone like me that’s honestly NEVER cooked before. I microwaved.  I thought I was pretty good at it (sometimes).  So to go from that to cooking 3-4 meals/day and cleaning was quite exhausting – but this past week, I’m getting a system down.  Thank God.  It’s getting much easier.
• BEST of Week 4 Dishes (worth trying, whether you’re into paleo or not!) that the whole family loved

Paleo Plantain Beef Pie from Stupid Easy Paleo

Ground Beef Stroganoff with Spaghetti Squash from the Paleo Mama

Orange Sriracha Chicken – Whole30 style! – from Nom Nom Paleo

Creamy Leek Salmon Soup from Meatified

Knightly’s new love for breakfast…

Paleo Oatmeal from easypaleo

what’s next?

The next period is what I was most excited about with the Whole30 program – REINTRODUCTION

So for the next 10 days, we’re going to reintroduce foods we were staying away from, waiting a few days after eating them (sticking to Whole30 the rest of the time), and then see what our bodies may react to:

• Day 1 | Legumes (tofu, soy, edamame, beans)
• Day 4 | Non-gluten grains (oats, quinoa, barley, etc)
• Day 7 | Dairy (hello ice cream – it’ll be good to see you again)
• Day 10 | Gluten grains (the big one, we’ll be sticking with whole wheat options here)

We’ll keep you posted on how Reintroduction goes and then general thoughts on Whole30 once the 10 days are up!!!

We’ll share before/after photos, weight loss, measurements, results.  But here’s a teaser, David + I have both never weighed this since high school.

Stay tuned <3

want more?

More details behind The Whole30 here.  Check out our past weeks:

Follow our Whole30 journey via instagram with #parksgopaleo here.

With all our love,

The Parks (and baby Knightly)