Location: Stanford University Campus, Palo Alto, CA
DAY 1
Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
By now, most people are familiar with what Whole30 is but if not, it’s basically an eating plan that eliminates certain foods for 30 days in order to figure out how your body responds to certain types of foods, such as sugar, or dairy. There are certain foods that could be having a negative effect on your body and overall health and this diet helps you to figure out what those are.
The intent is to let your body heal and recover from all the unhealthy crap you’ve been eating your whole life, essentially resetting your metabolism.
Here is what I CANNOT have:
NO sugar of any kind, real or artificial (not even honey in my tea)
NO alcohol of any kind. Not even for cooking. (Help!)
NO grains (not even quinoa)
No legumes
No dairy
No carrageenan, MSG of sulfites
And obviously no junk food, treats, baked goods, etc…
When I first looked at this list, I was like, “what else is left?!” Well, a lot apparently, I’ve just been so used to eating all this other stuff that I forgot that there is so much REAL food out there.
Here is what I CAN have:
Meat
Seafood
Eggs
Vegetables
Some fruit
Nuts
Anything unprocessed and have very little ingredients or no ingredients at all
30 days is all it takes! I can do this, right? I mean, its ONLY 30 days!! Ugh 30 days. But this cannot be that hard. I checked out some of the recipes online and a lot of it looks very appealing. It’s all about being creative in the kitchen and playing around with different ingredients.
I birthed two kids for Gods sakes, I can eliminate sugar for 30 days. It’s not that big a deal! Right?! I seriously might need a support group at day 12.
People say that this diet has changed their life! They feel more energetic, have gotten rid of illnesses and diseases and have lost weight.
The most important thing for me is for my husband and I to be at our healthiest. I want us to be around for a very, very long time and see our kids have kids. So we need to do something about it now, while we are young(ish).
To go with this newfound healthy lifestyle kick I’m on, I will be incorporating a “Wellness Wednesday” to the blog where, you guessed it, I will be talking about health and wellness. For the next few weeks, I’ll give you guys an update on how I’m doing on Whole30. The good, the bad and the ugly. I may even share some recipes with you that I’ve tried and really enjoyed.
So here I go. Wish me luck! This is going to be a rough 30 days but I can do this!!!!
Right?
I never did the whole 30 since I dont eat meat and I just didnt feel like I have time for all the food prep needed to make it work. However, I did cut out all added sugars after reading sugar crush and it made a huge difference in the way I felt. I have stuck with my low sugar lifestyle & love it! Good luck with the Whole 30!!
Hi Lauren! I know what you mean, I’ve actually cut back on dairy for some time now and have felt a huge difference with just that one small change to my diet. I’m hoping Whole30 will help recharge my energy levels because lately I’ve been feeling so tired and burnt out.
After reading your post I’m going to consider it. I think anything thing is possible for a short period of time. Good luck! I will be staying tuned!
Hi Mary! Yes, you should try it! And you’re right, it’s only for a short period of time so its totally doable. 🙂
I am actually nearing the end of my whole30 experience! I have one week left. Woo hoo! I have found an huge increase in energy, no longer deal with being bloated and that my acne has completely disappeared. Amazing program and I’ll definitely be keeping it up!
Liz
http://Www.lizzieinlace.com
That’s awesome to hear, Liz! Gives me hope in this journey of mine. It’s really hard but I know it’ll be worth it. Its made me realize how much I used to rely on processed foods.
I have been hearing a lot about the Whole30 diet but I didn’t know what it was, thank you for explaining! I have been working really hard at cutting out sugars and focusing on eating whole fresh foods. Cooking meals at home helps to reduce the amount of processed foods we eat 🙂
Gennifer Rose | http://www.GenniferRose.com
I’m only on week 1 of whole30 but already I’m seeing my skin looks better and I have more energy. Cutting out processed foods is harder than I thought! It’s surprising how much I relied on it before.