In October of last year, Lars and I did the Whole30 for the first time.
The Whole30 is a 30-day elimination diet, where you cut out all grains, sugars (yes, that includes alcohol), dairy, and legumes. This basically leaves you with meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and eggs. It may sound difficult, but it is totally worth it.
If you want to do the Whole30, read It Starts With Food. It will tell you all the guidelines for the 30 days and give you all the reasons why they chose the foods they did (and believe me, it isn’t the illogical paleo answer of sticking to what our ancestors ate…). I always am skeptical on food science because there is so much conflicting evidence out there… but a diet that gets rid of processed foods and has you cooking at home is ok by me.
Part of why we did the Whole30 was that I wanted to address my very serious sugar addiction. I ended up doing the Whole30 for 45 days and then cut out all added sugars for 100 days total.
Now that I am not cutting anything out anymore, my sugar addiction is sneaking its way back in. So we figured it’s time to do the Whole30 again! If you’re starting the Whole30 and want some help planning, check out these great free printable Whole30 planners.
The Whole30, although very similar to a paleo diet, does not allow “replacement” foods or any type of dessert. So you can’t make those tortillas with only paleo ingredients or paleo chocolate mousse. You aren’t even supposed to have fruit after a meal, because it reminds your body of dessert. And we are trying to get rid of that nonsense.
It has a really easy to follow meal guideline. You make sure you have enough servings of protein, fill the rest of the plate with veggies, and make sure to include enough fats. Fruits can be eaten as part of the meal, but you shouldn’t exceed 2 servings of fruit a day.
So sorry for those of you who aren’t interested, but the next few weeks will be Whole30 oriented. I’ll be sharing some free printables, recipes, and whatnot.
My impressions from our first Whole30:
- Holy cow I’m spending WHAT on groceries?
- Actually, it’s less than we usually spend on eating out and takeout…
- Cooking and trying new recipes is fun
- Doing dishes sucks
- I miss goat cheese
- I miss dessert
- We need a bigger kitchen
- It’s ridiculously absurd how quickly Lars loses weight when he stops drinking beer
- I actually like salad dressing when I make it myself
- Healthy food is delicious
- Ok but I’m kind of sick of eggs
- I am sleeping better
- Is that my skin? Because my skin has never looked this good
- My crock pot is my best friend
- I rarely need snacks during the day
- I don’t feel bloated
- I feel GOOD about what I’m eating
- I actually know when I’m hungry
- I’m so glad that I did this
Keep your eyes open for a bunch of free printables that we use to keep ourselves organized during the Whole30!
Leslie says
Maybe I should try this. I’m going to start using a ton of veggies and fruits in my diet.
Susie says
I find the meal plan guidelines make it so much easier than just trying to cut out processed foods and focus on fruits and veggies.