The Whole 30 Challenge, Coming to a Messy Kitchen Near You

As some of you may have heard me mention, today I start the Whole30 Program, along with a number of friends who are crazy enough to agree to join me.

“What’s that?” you ask?

It’s basically a paleo diet, but a bit stricter.  The founders describe it as “a short-term nutritional reset, designed to help you put an end to unhealthy cravings and habits, restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, and balance your immune system.” Essentially, for the next 30 days (February 3rd – March 4th, to be precise), there are going to be some strict guidelines around what I can eat (and drink!):

• No added sugar of any kind, real or artificial.  This includes natural sugars such as honey, agave and maple syrup, as well as checking labels on all condiments and packaged meats for added sugar.
• No grains.  This includes wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, bulgur, quinoa… the list goes on.
• No legumes.  This includes all beans as well as any form of peanuts or soy.
• No dairy. From any source, with the exception of clarified butter or ghee.
• No white potatoes. Okay, so what’s the big deal?
• No carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. Check your labels, you will find many forms of sulfites used as preservatives.
  
• No paleo-ifying junk food. Meaning that you can’t used approved ingredients to make desserts or junk foods.  This is what they call Sex With Your Pants On (SWYPO).
• No alcohol in any form. Goodbye, social life?
• No stepping on the scale or measuring yourself in anyway.  This is about more than weight loss.  *I am adding one more rule on top of this: no counting calories!  This is about mindful eating and putting good, healthy foods in my body, not about restricting my caloric intake.  In fact, I would guess that the meal plans I’ve been creating have more calories than I currently consume during the week, so if I do see weight loss I’ll know it’s the beer and weekend binge-fests to blame!

Sounds simple enough, right?  No, not really.  What you can and can’t have actually takes a great deal of research.

“But why, Jo?” you ask. “You love food too much to put such restrictions on yourself!”  Yes, I love food.  Maybe a bit too much.  I’m hoping that this will improve my relationship with food by helping me develop consistency and mindful eating habits.  I also see the Whole30 as a science experiment of sorts.  After thirty days, your body has been cleansed of many of the most common allergens.  This means that that you have a controlled environment to introduce them back in one at a time, and in doing so really identify what foods work for you, and what foods are taking a toll on your physically and mentally.

“But you look great!” numerous folks have told me when I’ve talked about starting an elimination diet.  Thanks!  I appreciate that.  But this is about more than looking great, it’s about feeling great.  I’m interested in seeing how my body can perform athletically when I’m not filling it with junk, especially junk of the liquid sort.  I know for a fact that I get sick more often and have less energy because I don’t properly fuel my body with healthy, whole foods.  It’s time to reset my dietary habits, and this is a great way to start.

And okay, let’s be honest.  I kind of want 2014 to be the year I get in the best shape of my life.  I exercise 6-7 days a week, but I drink too much and eat too much junk food to ever see the benefits.  I want to know what I can achieve if I fuel my body properly!

(One more added bonus?  These 30 days are going to be awesome for our bank account!  It’s nearly impossible to eat out on the Whole30 program, or at least it’s not much fun.  Combine that and the money not spent on alcohol and you’ve got yourself some serious savings!)

So for the next 30 days, this blog will be a journal of my Whole30 journey complete with a food log and recipes.  And if you think the recipes are going to suffer, think again!

Johanna