Whole30 is a game changer

Thinking of starting a diet? I highly recommend doing a round of whole30.

I’m 22 years old and I’ve been overweight my whole life. I’ve tried countless diets and fasting methods and nothing seemed to work. I did weight watchers for a while but I didn’t want to spend any more money on a diet. Whole30 was recommended to me by several people as “the best lifestyle change they’ve ever made.” I figured I had nothing to lose to see what it was all about.

If you don’t know what whole30 is, it’s a 30 day program that is designed to teach you which foods negativity impact your body and develop a healthy lifestyle. Within these 30 days you will eliminate dairy, soy, wheat, legumes, sugar, alcohol, and basically anything else processed. So essentially you eat fruits, veggies, meat, fish, nuts (excluding peanuts), and seeds. Everything you put into your body is whole and natural. Be sure to read ALL ingredients on everything you will put in your body. There are hidden sugars in so many ingredients it’s actually quite scary. After the 30 days, you will do a reintroduction period to determine which foods your body can tolerate and which foods should be avoided.

I’m not going to lie, the first week was awful. I missed sugar and fast food and I felt like I would do anything to be able to sink my teeth into a candy bar. This is considered to be the sugar withdrawal period. As with any withdrawal (cigarettes, drugs, etc.), there are consequences. I had a constant headache, I had mood swings, and I was extremely lethargic. The intensity of these symptoms depends on how much sugar is in your current diet. A tip for surviving this week is to add a potato to one meal a day to keep you feeling full longer. Also, add a piece of fruit once a day to give your body the sugar it’s craving but in a natural, healthy way.

After the first week it seemed to get a little easier. The withdrawal symptoms eased and I was able to focus on starting to feel good. At this point the cravings were still there however I noticed I also started craving my healthy foods I was allowed to eat. Weeks three and four were much easier and I felt so good. I felt alert, confident, my joints and back didn’t hurt, and I truly enjoyed eating clean. I got used to knowing meals I liked and what worked with my schedule which made cooking much easier.

Once you complete the 30 days you enter the reintroduction phase. Every third day you introduce a different food group that was not allowed during your round. For example, if you were to reintroduce dairy, you can have a yogurt in the morning, a glass of milk at lunch, and cheese with dinner. The goal of this phase is to test to see if any of these foods trigger a negative response within your body. When testing look for symptoms such as joint pain, stomach pain, headaches, changes in energy levels, changes in bathroom routines, acne, etc. If you notice any negative symptoms, you know your body does not process that food item well and it should be avoided.

There are certain rules you must follow on whole30. If any of the rules are broken, it is considered to need a restart meaning start from the beginning again and do another 30 days to complete the round. Some reasons to restart are eating something that is not 100% whole30 compliant or weighing yourself before the round is over.

Personally, I dropped 19 pounds in one round of whole30. The dry, red patches on my face vanished, my back and joints felt significantly better, and I was alert. I had energy and didn’t feel like I needed to nap every day as I did before. The goal of whole30 is to rid your body of the harmful toxins in processed food, learn healthy eating habits, and become in tune with your body about what is good or bad for it. Whole30 truly changed my relationship with food and my relationship with myself.

Visit whole30.com for more information on how to become in tune with your body and truly take back your life.

If I can do it, so can you. You got this!