Basically, for 30 days you don't eat processed food, grains, dairy, legumes (beans, peanuts), sugar (or its fake cousins), alcohol, and oddly (if the rest didn't weird you out) white potatoes. The diet is the part of the Whole30 I am focusing on telling you about, but there's more to the story. People who have done it say they feel amazing, energetic, the healthiest they've ever felt, etc. Go to the Whole30 website, you know you want to!
In 2010, I dabbled with a no-grains & no-legumes diet. Starting in March I cut out breads, pasta, beans and peanut butter. In its place I added more natural fats to my diet, like coconut oil, coconut flakes, avocados. Initially, it didn't take much willpower. I was experimenting based on things I'd read online. You can search for "paleo diet" or "Primal Blueprint" if you want to know more. By summer, I felt so much more in control of my emotional state and had a better outlook on life. I was still underemployed and spending the summer in my parents' backyard, but it was a sunny backyard, if you will.
Come fall, I began working closer to full-time. I took great care to get up early enough to make eggs in the morning, instead of grabbing granola bars. Everyday I would get quizzical looks from other teachers as I pulled out bacon, coconut, and cauliflower salads. By December I was down 25 pounds and felt really good.
Over the holidays, I went to Mexico AND Hawaii. It was fabulous. Both places have great food options for someone following a paleo diet, but I chose to enjoy waffles for breakfast every morning, among all sorts of other goodies. When I returned to work in January I continued to bring a paleo lunch, but after school pita breads and peanut butter returned to my diet. By March I was experiencing regular heartburn, feeling super stressed, and much of the lost weight had been found.
Since then I've been achieving small victories, like no bread since May, no pasta since June, more healthy fats in July. I feel ready to challenge myself. Today kicked it off.
While I'd love to start cold-turkey into Whole30, I know I could feel more confident about going completely without dairy and processed food if I have a little more success behind me. I also really want to get blood testing done to see how these efforts are affecting cholesterol and other metrics. I know that for other people, cholesterol is lowered on a paleo diet, people's blood numbers are in general "better".
Until August 31 I will not be eating foods that contain grains, gluten, legumes, or dairy. I've been somewhat mindful in the past with grains and legumes, but have found gluten to be hidden in many foods I considered "paleo", like grocery store beef jerky. Also, while I gave up drinking milk over a year ago, I am still fairly dependent on cheese to make meals. Not stinky cheeses, that have been aged but required little processing; I mean cheese slices that look like yellow plastic, shredded cheese that melts into goo, and perfectly round wheels of cheese in red wax. That cheese is off limits this month.
If it all goes well, I'll be feeling great in 30 days and perhaps feeling badass enough to do a Whole30. Let's see!
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