I don’t want to delve too much into all the Whole30 details (if you really want to know all the in’s and out’s of Whole30, check out the website), but here is a quick breakdown:
For 30 days you give up:
- Grains
- Dairy
- Legumes
- Sugar
- Alcohol
It has quite a bit in common with Paleo (if you read It Starts With Food, you’ll see it even started from a similar mindset), but another big proponent of Whole30 is not turning Whole30 compliant food into the things you are trying not to eat. That means no Paleo pancakes (yes, even if they are only eggs and bananas), Paleo muffins, or cauliflower pizzas. These are called SWYPO foods and are excluded to help break us out of those nasty food habits.
Even though I knew Whole30 was a great option for me and I did some quick research into the program, I didn’t follow through. Honestly, I was lazy. I thought I could just eat better and work out more and be fine. But I was wrong. Not that I wasn’t eating better or working out, but I wasn’t FEELING better.
For longer than I probably even realize, I have been struggling with feeling tired a lot. I can get 6 hours of sleep or 10 and at a certain point in my day, I just feel exhausted. Some days I’ve been working my butt off and it seems justified, and other days I’ve sat at a computer and blame NOT moving. Feeling so tired even drove me to start drinking coffee, something I didn’t do at all. Not even through college. Now, here I was at 25 feeling like I needed a crutch to get me through the day. And I knew I needed to make a change.
Shortly after turning 26 in March and thinking about my fatigue plus other meh feelings about how I was eating and just feeling, I came across Whole30 again and knew it was time to dive in. I borrowed It Starts With Food and The Whole30 from my local library (because my BFs sister that has It Starts With Food had already loaned out her copy) and set a date. April 1st was going to mark my first foray into Whole30.
And then I hit a wall. Not because I was scared or nervous of starting the plan (though, let’s be honest, it is intimidating as hell to give up some of this stuff. I mean cheese, really? 30 days without cheese?!), but because I had not one, but TWO trips coming up in April. The first was a work trip (last week) and the second a personal vacation of winery tours (this weekend). Yup. WINERIES. And what can’t you have on Whole30? ALCOHOL.
So, no, I was not about to start my first Whole30 when I was going to be out of town for 7 days in April and 2 in May (during reintroduction). Especially when I had been planning this winery weekend for well over 6 months. And I knew I wasn’t going to follow through during my work trip. I’m lucky if I get lunch some days, let alone one that is healthy.
Instead, I decided I would start as soon as I got back from my winery trip. Which means on May 3rd, I will begin my first ever Whole30. And I could not be more excited. Or nervous.
At first, I was going to go it alone, but after talking about it for close to a month, my boyfriend has decided to take the plunge with me. I’m really excited that he decided to join for his own health reasons and not just because I’m doing it. Plus it will make it so much easier to not eat sweets when he isn’t munching on cookies across the couch.
Now the big question, have you ever done a Whole30? Loved it? Didn’t make it?
Maybe you’re like me and have heard about it but not tried it. What’s holding you back?
Or, have you not heard about Whole30 until this very post? What do you think??
I’d love any and all feedback!!
That’s all for now. Catch me in a few days with a vacation post and the beginning of my Whole30 adventure!
Until next time,
Claire
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