My Experience with Whole30

This should really say, I did the Whole30. My last day was yesterday and I'm a little sad that it's over. Here are my thoughts on the Whole30 program and book.

I LOVED IT!!!! Serious. I thought I was a healthy eater until I read the Whole30 book, It Starts with Food. I've been doing some soul searching and trying to be a better mother/wife/person and for me it really does start with food. I have been sleeping better, more patient with my kids, enjoying everyday, stressing less, and loving life! I love how the book outlines how what we eat affects us not only physically but psychologically too.

Here's the run down. For 30 days I did not eat dairy, sugar, processed food, vegetable oil, legumes, grains, MSG, sulfites, and no white potatoes. (For all the rules go here).

I did eat vegetables, meat, fruit, nuts, and olive oil. You might think boring, or how did you do that. Well there's hundreds of different vegetables, meats, fruit, nuts that you can eat. Which made it very easy for me. And really, 30 days is a piece of cake! (but you can't have cake).

So you eat this way for 30 days, not counting calories, and then after the 30 days slowly start adding back in dairy, wheat, sugar, etc. and then see how your body responds to everything. I'm in that process right now.

I have lost 6 pounds by just changing the way I eat and not exercising. Not saying that you shouldn't exercise, I just haven't been able to the past week or so because I had a small surgery on my toe. But! Once that heals up I plan on becoming a runner. Or at least a long distance walker ;)

I have learned A LOT about food. I'm a big believer in local, fresh, non-processed food. Not only is it healthiest for you, but it tastes SO GOOD!

Being completely honest, the first week was hell. I blame it mostly on the jet lag from our trip. But I was super cranky, yelled all day, and was exhausted and had no energy. That's normal. To not give into my cravings I made sure there was a lot of my favorite healthy food around in the kitchen. Like avocados, apples, chicken, nuts, sweet potatoes, coconut milk and bananas. I relied heavily on fruit and nuts the first week and ate a lot but still lost weight. Then after the first week I started eating a lot more vegetables and felt amazing.

I am hypoglycemic and get lots of headaches, including migraines about 4-5 times a year. THE WORST. I haven't had any headaches or very bad food cravings the past couple of weeks. It's amazing. I don't want to eat junk food anymore. I'm kind of scared to eat it now. For me I think the biggest thing that affects me is sugar. It's in everything and from cutting it out of my diet I've noticed a big difference in my mood swings.

I've also been reading a book called Salt, Sugar, Fat and how companies just add those three ingredients to their food to get your addicted so they'll make more money. Don't even get me started on that! I'm furious with those companies right now, which is good because that's almost my number 1 motivator in cutting processed food out of my life.

Here are some healthy tips that I've done to help me enjoy my food more and not overeat or indulge:
-Read labels! The fewer the ingredients the better, and if you can't read it you shouldn't eat it.
-Don't eat in front of the TV/computer/phone. I've always had a strong "only eat in the kitchen" policy in my home. You'll enjoy your food more and won't overeat or associate watching TV with eating.
-Eat before you're starving. Anticipate when you'll be hungry and listen to your body. Don't wait to eat until you're starving and just grab the nearest thing within arms reach.
-Meal plan. This takes a lot of work, but only at first.
-Don't buy junk food! If it's not in your house, you can't/won't be tempted to eat it.
-Always be thinking of what you're going to eat when you get hungry. If I don't plan and think about it I won't choose something healthy.
-Don't reward yourself with food! Just because it's a holiday does not mean you should sugar. I survived doing Whole30 through Easter, my birthday, our anniversary, and Kenzie's birthday. Instead of treats I bought myself clothes. Or healthier, more expensive food that I wouldn't normally buy like nuts and olives.

Phew! Okay, all that being said, I'm not perfect. I let my kids have the occasional treat. If they're at a friends/church/grandma's, sure, have something that's not healthy for you. But as for my house, we don't keep it around. I give them lots of different healthy options and they get to choose one. Like Kenzie loves green beans and broccoli. So those are the vegetables she eats. I have a "tough love" policy when Kenzie tells me she's hungry but doesn't want a healthy snack. I want my kids to learn how to tell if they are hungry or craving something.

I have really loved this journey I'm on to learn about food and eat healthy. It starts with me, as a mother and a wife, to make healthy choices and feed my family the best I can. How can I expect them to make good choices when I'm baking treats and eating junk food in front of them? I certainly do not want to control what my family eats, but as I teach them about food and we try new healthy foods and recipes, I hope that they will grow up with a good understanding of eating healthy and feeling good and then be able to make good, healthy choices.

And lastly, after preaching so much about healthy food, I do think it's okay to indulge and have the occasional treat. I think food is here not only to make us healthy, but also for us to enjoy. Right now, I just don't know what "occasional" means for me. I'm not planning on eating treats until I can figure out what it means to me.

I think food is a very personal thing and you don't have to agree with what I'm saying (in fact you might just think I'm crazy), but for me this program has helped me be motivated to finally start thinking about food and finally eating whole, healthy food.