So you’ve heard about the Whole30.
30 full days of eating no
foods that have been deemed “bad” by whomever created the program. These foods
include:
-Sugar, including artificial sweeteners (xylitol, stevia, etc.)
-Grains (Wheat, of course, but also oats, quinoa, farro, spelt, etc.)
-Dairy (Yes, Greek yogurt and whey protein count as a no-no. Eggs, however, are a-okay)
-Legumes (Beans, chickpeas, peanuts, soy, including edamame)
-Generally anything processed
and everyone’s least favorite,
-Alcohol
and everyone’s least favorite,
-Alcohol
Basically, you don’t get to eat any “fun” things, and you
can’t even drink your troubles away.
What’s the point?
There are multiple reasons someone would want to do a Whole30 (or many Whole30s).Reason number one, it ramps up your discipline.
You are allowed NO, ZERO, NADA CHEATS. That’s right. If you cheat one time, if you sneak a Dorito from the office kitchen, if you “accidentally” swap your almond butter with peanut butter one time, you have to start over again.
Yes, you read that right. Doesn’t matter if you’re on day 4 or day 29. You have to start all over from day 1.
This isn’t to punish you. It’s because of...
Reason
number two: To see what you’re sensitive to.
A lot of people, due to genetic processes, are sensitive to dairy. (Basically,
if your ancestors are from an area of the world where dairy was not a staple in
their diet for thousands of years, they lost the enzymatic ability to break
down lactose. And so did you.) Artificial sweeteners are a big issue now, too.
And though it is very much up for debate, wheat and gluten can cause some
problems for some people.
What kind of problems? Well, bloating. General stomach
discomfort. Brain fog. Not exactly the recipe for a successful day. And the
thing is, you might not even realize how much these foods are affecting you
until you cut them out completely.
For example, I learned on my Whole30 that artificial sweeteners, present in the gum I was always chewing, made me bloat like a balloon. Oats do, too, and they make my stomach feel weird.
For example, I learned on my Whole30 that artificial sweeteners, present in the gum I was always chewing, made me bloat like a balloon. Oats do, too, and they make my stomach feel weird.
Does this mean that I never eat oatmeal or chew gum anymore?
Of course not. Squatz and Oatz fo lyf, yo. But I sure as hell ain’t gonna chew
on some Double Bubble next time I need to fit into a tight dress.
Reason number three
to complete a Whole30: To expand your food horizons.
Guys, I ate the same foods
every day.
Breakfast (which I consume at 12 PM. Post on that to come!): Greek yogurt, PB,
oats
Lunch: Giant salad with cheese and berries
Snack: Quest bar
Dinner: Rice. Chicken. Veggie
Dessert: Slow-Churned ice cream
Repeat that every day for a year and it gets rather
boring. When you’re on the Whole30, you
have to get creative. Mashed sweet potatoes. Sauteed dandelion greens.
Cauliflower rice. Hard-boiled egg salad. Heck, you might even roast a whole
chicken. It’s tough at first, but then it gets to be so much fun cooking unique
dishes.
Reason number four,
for me at least, was to see if I could do it.
It seems intimidating, doesn’t
it? Hearing people say, “Oh, I’m in the middle of my 3rd Whole30”
and you’re sitting there eating your weekly cheat meal of Chinese takeout like
“Damn. I’m so fat.”
It’s a challenge, and we all know we love a good challenge,
especially one that comes with such a sense of accomplishment, and usually
weight loss.
Which brings us to reason
number five, the most popular reason: to lose weight.
Personally, I lost 6
pounds on the Whole30. But I don’t believe my results are typical; I did the
Whole30 the month before my wedding, so my added stress was a big contributing
factor. But I did feel a lot better. And honestly, it put me into the best
shape of my life.
 |
| Only 6 days into the Whole30 |
 |
| After I completed the Whole30 |
Lifting + Eating well + Patience = Satisfying
results.
Now, these results didn’t stay for long once I got off the
Whole30. But then again, I had somewhat of a unique situation: 4 days after I
finished, I went on my honeymoon. To Italy. And ate everything. So if you want
to keep your results, my advice is to not do that.
Meat (Chicken breast/thigh, steak, turkey breast, roast beef, eggs)
What CAN you eat?
Vegetables (Cauliflower, zucchini, sweet potato, tomato, romaine lettuce, kale, peppers)Meat (Chicken breast/thigh, steak, turkey breast, roast beef, eggs)
Seafood (Shrimp, tilapia, salmon)
Fruit (Berries, stone fruit, dried dates as a sugar substitute)
Nuts/Seeds (Almond butter, pecans, sunflower seeds, cashews, pumpkin seeds)
Fats (Avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, olives, unsweetened coconut flakes, unsweetened cacao nibs)
My typical day on the Whole30 looked like this:
Breakfast: Two hard-boiled eggs and two tomatoes
Lunch: Giant salad with a variety of vegetables, well-measured nuts, balsamic vinegar and berries
Snack: Nuts, or a scoop of almond butter
Dinner: Chicken breast, cooked with coconut oil, roasted vegetables
You have so many options, and everything is amazingly delicious once you get the hang of cooking them correctly.
Fruit (Berries, stone fruit, dried dates as a sugar substitute)
Nuts/Seeds (Almond butter, pecans, sunflower seeds, cashews, pumpkin seeds)
Fats (Avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, olives, unsweetened coconut flakes, unsweetened cacao nibs)
My typical day on the Whole30 looked like this:
Breakfast: Two hard-boiled eggs and two tomatoes
Lunch: Giant salad with a variety of vegetables, well-measured nuts, balsamic vinegar and berries
Snack: Nuts, or a scoop of almond butter
Dinner: Chicken breast, cooked with coconut oil, roasted vegetables
You have so many options, and everything is amazingly delicious once you get the hang of cooking them correctly.
Some meals I made!
 |
| Hard-boiled eggs and tomatoes |
 |
| Proof you can eat out: Salmon and broccoli at Olive Garden |
 |
| Get creative! Chicken gizzards and zucchini |
 |
| Chicken breast, brussels sprouts, sauerkraut, and hot sauce |
So what was the Whole30 like?
Was it hard? Did people laugh
at you? Did you want to eat all the cake ever afterwards?
The answer to these questions is the same: No.
It’s strange, but having clear-cut guidelines is freeing. You know EXACTLY what you can and can’t eat, and so you eat without worry. The hardest part might be learning how to cook for yourself, but that's an important and useful skill to have anyway.
No one laughed at me. On the contrary, a lot of people wanted to know more about it.
And did I want to eat all the cake? Not really, no. In fact, any cravings disappeared around Day 21. It seems strange now to eat anything other than Whole30-approved foods, though I do partake in Quest bars, peanut butter, and Greek Yogurt still. Those are habits I doubt I’ll ever really break.
The answer to these questions is the same: No.
It’s strange, but having clear-cut guidelines is freeing. You know EXACTLY what you can and can’t eat, and so you eat without worry. The hardest part might be learning how to cook for yourself, but that's an important and useful skill to have anyway.
No one laughed at me. On the contrary, a lot of people wanted to know more about it.
And did I want to eat all the cake? Not really, no. In fact, any cravings disappeared around Day 21. It seems strange now to eat anything other than Whole30-approved foods, though I do partake in Quest bars, peanut butter, and Greek Yogurt still. Those are habits I doubt I’ll ever really break.
My advice: Try a Whole30. But if you slip up, don’t go back
to Day 1. That’s disheartening, in my opinion. But try your darndest NOT to
slip up. It really is for your own good.
Check out the official Whole30 site: Whole30.com.
Check out the official Whole30 site: Whole30.com.
Questions? Comments? Leave a comment below, or e-mail me at katy.widmer3@gmail.com.
Lift. Eat. Love. Repeat.
Lift. Eat. Love. Repeat.
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