Our Whole 30 Journey: The Beginning

I’ve had quite a few people ask what a Whole 30 is and why we are doing it.  I very briefly described it in this Facebook post but I thought I’d go into more detail here.

What is a Whole 30?

In the very basic concept a Whole 30 is a 30 day diet challenge in which all processed food and certain food groups are eliminated.  There are certain foods that may cause inflammation and discomfort to our bodies without us even realizing it until we try life without these foods.  But more so than just a very restrictive diet, the Whole 30 allows us to strip our bodies back to the basics and realize just how good we can feel.  It also allows for a downstream psychological trickle effect in which we can gain freedom from bad habits and food addictions.

This diet is more than a diet for losing weight. In fact that isn’t even one of the points of the diet, although that can be a side effect. 

The creator, Melissa Hartwig has this to say about it,

“I cannot possibly put enough emphasis on this simple fact—the next 30 days will change your life. It will change the way you think about food. It will change your tastes. It will change your habits and your cravings. It will restore a healthy emotional relationship with food, and with your body. It has the potential to change the way you eat for the rest of your life. I know this because I did it, and millions people have done it since, and it changed my life (and their lives) in a dramatic and permanent fashion.” – From the official Whole 30 website.

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What Foods CAN You Eat?

The foods that can be eaten are very basic;

• meat (including eggs and seafood)
• vegetables
• healthy fats (nuts, avocado, coconut oil, ghee)
• small amounts of fruit

So what’s off limits?

• no dairy
• no grains
• sweeteners
• legumes
• and definitely no processed food

It’s a pretty radical adjustment for most people. I get that.

But the benefits SO outweigh the discomfort of the change.

So Why Are You Doing It?

I’m so glad you asked 😉

I am doing it for 3 basic reasons.

1. To feel AMAZING. Because I know I can feel better than I do coming off the holiday slump.
2. To break my sugar habit. It grew and grew and grew over the last couple months….
3. To simplify. I like how simple the foods list is. To just get back to the basics is what I crave most.

What I think The Biggest Challenge Will Be:

Not baking. I loooooovve baking. But if I bake it, I eat it.  I am just not that strong. So I won’t be baking anything for at least the first two weeks of the 30 days.

If you want to learn more…

I would encourage you to get and read the book The Whole 30 by Melissa Hartwig (you can find it here!). You can also check out The Whole 30 Website where there is loads of information.

And last but not least, you can follow my journey here on the blog or head over to Instagram and follow me where I post way more day to day stuff, oooorr you can follow on Facebook as well!! I’ll be posting weekly updates here and more of the day to day stuff on my social media. I hope you’ll follow along 🙂

Have you completed a Whole 30?? Do you have any tips for a first timer? If you’ve never done one would you consider it now? I’d love to hear from you! Drop a comment below!