True Life Stories & True Life Issues
Over January I went on the Whole30, a dietary program that seems to be part elimination diet and all nutritious diet. It was designed by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig. And now, I’m going on it again!
What is the Whole30®?
Certain food groups (like sugar, grains, dairy and legumes) could be having a negative impact on your health and fitness without you even realizing it. Are your energy levels inconsistent or non-existent? Do you have aches and pains that can’t be explained by over-use or injury? Are you having a hard time losing weight no matter how hard you try? Do you have some sort of condition (like skin issues, digestive ailments, seasonal allergies or fertility issues) that medication hasn’t helped? These symptoms may be directly related to the foods you eat – even the “healthy” stuff. So how do you know if (and how) these foods are affecting you?
Strip them from your diet completely. Cut out all the psychologically unhealthy, hormone-unbalancing, gut-disrupting, inflammatory food groups for a full 30 days. Let your body heal and recover from whatever effects those foods may be causing. Push the “reset” button with your metabolism, systemic inflammation, and the downstream effects of the food choices you’ve been making. Learn once and for all how the foods you’ve been eating are actually affecting your day to day life, and your long term health. The most important reason to keep reading?
This will change your life.
It is a program that gets you eating good, real food and excluding all processed and refined food, grains, dairy, legumes, potato, alcohol and sugar (even ‘natural’ sugars) and it is going to get you feeling pretty good, pretty soon! In a way, I like the constraints of this 30 day program as you I didn’t really have to think much what to cook/eat. And remember it is just for 30 days.
Click here to read the outline of the Whole30 program.
I’m not going to lie, however- the Whole30 is pretty strict. And if you haven’t spent much time cooking your own real food (generally speaking) (read here about the benefits of cooking your own food) this could be a bit of a jump for you. But it doesn’t take long to get into the swing of things.
I think the stand out for me in this program, is that it aims to help you let go of the idea of certain junk foods.
For me, if there is one thing to remember while following the Whole30, it is that to not ‘re-create’ foods that make seem like ‘paleo’ versions of a junk food. And to avoid having dessert, which is hard I know. But remember it is only for 30 days!
How to prepare:
Meal ideas (these could be used for any meal):
Nb: Many of these ideas I had on my own whole30, others I’ve added as you may like to try them out. Many of these I need to write up recipes for – so stay tuned!
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