In the beginning of February my husband and I started a "diet" called the Whole30. I wouldn't really call it a diet though because we could eat as much as we wanted of the right things. We didn't do it to lose weight but that ended up happening anyways. We did it to be healthier and to help our guts heal because we both have had gut problems for years. I ended up losing 10 lbs. Which is great because I still had a bit of pregnancy weight to lose. Those are the most stubborn pounds to lose.
So, Exactly, What is the Whole30?
The Whole30 states that certain food groups such as, sugar, grains, dairy and legumes, may have a negative impact on our health. The idea is that if you are able to strip yourself of these foods for 30 days that you can "reset" your metabolism and heal systematic inflammation. Thirty days will give your body enough time to heal from the unhealthy lifestyle you once lived. The purpose is to practice eating real food, no added sugars, no artificial sweeteners and nothing processed. When I first read about this diet I thought to myself "no way, that's not even possible to do." I brought the idea up to my husband and surprisingly he was all for it, so we took the plunge.
No-No Foods
- Added sugar and artificial sweeteners, including Stevia and Agave
- Alcohol
- Grains
- Legumes
- Dairy, including yogurt
- MSG, Sulfites
- Recreated junk foods
This diet was extremely difficult to follow. We went from having three large meals a day to 4-6 meals because we weren't eating very filling foods like carbohydrates and starch. For breakfast every morning I made a protein shake with unsweetened almond milk and a little bit of fruit. Thank goodness fruit was okay! For snacks I would eat cashews or almonds. For lunches I started making collard wraps with meat, tomatoes, spinach and avocado topped with gluten-free balsamic dressing. For dinner I usually made some sort of meat, vegetables or sweet potatoes. The first two weeks we did the best. We stuck to our meal plans, but as time went on it proved to be more difficult to adhere to. Sometimes we needed to be on the road and buy food out. Almost every time the restaurants would mess up my order. There were times when I accidentally had dairy. Sulfites are extremely difficult to avoid since they are in packaged meats and lunch meats. When we would "mess up" we just continued on with the diet.
On Valentine's Day we did make a Red Wine exception since it has less than a gram of sugar per serving. My tolerance became very low from not drinking so two glasses proved to be too much and I felt pretty bad the next day. Haven't drank since. This diet is very hard to stick with. We ended up doing it for only 27 days. My husband had been feeling really horrible for a few weeks. Looks like either a sickness was building up or, my theory is, that he was detoxing from sugars and energy drinks. This was the longest amount of time he has gone without soda and energy drinks since before I met him. With him feeling ill and the stress of maintaining a diet, we decided 27 days was enough. I would like to do the Whole30 again since I know what to expect. I think I would be more successful if I started over in a month or so. I really like this "diet". I love that I was able to lose some stubborn baby weight. I usually feel bloated a lot, but my stomach felt great with my new eating habits. Every time I would accidentally have dairy my stomach would bloat back up and the pain would come back. I also liked that I never felt too full. I felt really good about my health and my body.
As a conclusion, I will still remain gluten-free because of my thyroid disorder. I am also avoiding dairy because it causes stomach upset for me. I also would like to continue my meal plans because I actually like them now. This morning was the first day I added coconut sugar back into my coffee and it tasted wonderful! I think the important thing with nutrition is to find balance in all things. Sugar is good for releasing endorphins. That's why we like it, but it really should be kept at a minimum because the more sugar you have, the more your body craves it. By distancing yourself from added sugar you can "reset" your taste buds. For example, the things I used to love, now taste too sweet.
The Whole30 is great for anyone who wants to regain their health, flush their body of toxins, improve their nutrition, and lose weight. My weight fell off. I would imagine it would work for anyone else as well.
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