I went on the Whole30 Diet and here is what I have learned:
I recently graduated from college and have moved home to work full-time while applying to Graduate School. Because of the change in living and everyday life, I have decided to do something a little bit different with my eating habits now that I am on more of a “regular” schedule. In college I ate what was cheap and convenient, meaning eating out quite a bit, late night snacking, and lots and lots of chips and ramen noodles. Because of my poor eating habits I felt sluggish, tired, bloated, and irritable quite often. Although I exercised when I could, it didn’t make up for poor food choices. Since moving home, I have decided to make a lifestyle change. My coworker Shaunna had asked me to complete the Whole30 with her starting on September 1st.. To be honest, I had never heard of the Whole30, and had no idea what I was truly getting myself into, but with a determined mind to start feeling better, I of course said YES!
So here we are, 17 days in as I write to you all today. I have completed a little over 2 weeks of the Whole30 and I wanted to fill everyone in on how it is going so far. As you all know, Shaunna gave us all some great tips to consider before starting the Whole30 this past week, and I couldn’t agree more with them! If you haven’t already had a chance to look at them, I highly recommend you do! Now it is my turn to tell you guys about my experience thus far, so here we go!
Why the Whole30?
Whole30 is a restrictive dietary program that promises to “change your life” in 30 days by making some nutritional changes, including: no dairy, no added sugar, no grains, no alcohol, and no legumes. Why these types of foods? Because they are common irritants. My motive behind completing the Whole30 was not to lose weight. Some people think that this is a weight-loss program, but that is not at all the purpose of this plan, although plenty of people do lose weight- myself included. The purpose of this program is to feel better than ever and that is why I chose the Whole30!
September 1st- the start of our Whole30 journey!
I started the program with determination in my heart. Thankfully, this program is very popular so having resources such as friends and family who have done it, all of the online resources readily available, and of course my awesome partner-in-crime, Shaunna, has made my experience that much better. Whether it is having your co-worker to hold you back when you smell gustos pizza in the air, or your aunt passing you an Rx Bar while everyone else is eating homemade ice cream (even though there is no such thing as something better than homemade ice cream) , the support is truly amazing and I couldn’t of made it this far without all the ongoing support. I have been going grocery shopping every Sunday and only buying enough food to last me a week. Some of the common foods I buy include: chicken breasts, ground beef and ground turkey, eggs, all sorts of vegetables, fruits, and different kinds of nuts.
Once I started cooking meals, things got a whole lot easier- and it was actually really fun 🙂
In my opinion, you can either eat the same foods every day on the Whole30, or you could take the 30 days as an opportunity to learn and grow in your healthy eating recipes (this is option I chose!) While I hadn’t cooked much before since I didn’t have all of the necessary ingredients while in college, I felt inspired by my limitations! For breakfast I have 2 hard boiled eggs and whatever vegetable I am in the mood for. Lunch consists of some form of protein (chicken, ground beef, or eggs) combined with vegetables. My mid-afternoon snack consists of some kind of nuts or an Rx Bar. I finish off my day with whatever protein, fruit, and/or vegetable that sounds good to me!
