Day 22 of Whole 30

For those of you who have never heard of it, the Whole 30 program is a 30 day elimination diet (more like detox), and I am currently on Day 22 of the program. Whole 30 is a lifestyle makeover, which has you reexamining everything you eat, drink and put into your body. The rules are simple: Eat real food, and for 30 days avoid, sugar (in any form), alcohol, grains, legumes, dairy, MSG or sulfites (or anything you cannot pronounce), and baked goods/treats.

I decided to do the Whole 30 program after having stomach issues for almost a year, and no diagnosis as to why. The only thing left the doctors could think to try was completely changing my diet to figure out if it could be certain foods or an unknown allergy causing me so many issues.

Most of my family and a handful of friends have succeeded in completing all 30 days and have loved the results. My mom, even, is still relatively following the program ten months later. I’ve been reading and looking into it for close to a year now, and finally decided it was the right time to give it a shot. The biggest deciding factor was that I live on my own now with a full kitchen and plenty of room to cook and store food, unlike when I was living on campus or traveling. I had put the diet off for many months because I just didn’t have the space, time, or money that it really takes to be successful.

What I liked most when reading about the program is that its not a normal diet. You don’t count calories, carbs, or portions. There are no points and no special or delivered meals. It’s simple: no sugar, no alcohol, and nothing you can’t pronounce. Stick to meat, fruit, veggies, tea and water for 30 days. The part I felt I needed the most though, due to my stomach issues, was what happens after the 30 days. During this time you are resetting your body, getting rid of inflammation and all the bad decisions built up in your body and resetting yourself. After the 30 days you slowly reintroduce food groups to see how they affect you, i.e. I would be able to figure out what specific foods are causing me so many issues.

I decided that by being about three quarters of the way through the diet that I have been nearly successful, and I wanted to put my thoughts down about this experience before I hit the finish line. Here are the biggest things about the diet I felt needed to be shared.

1. It’s very expensive. As someone who didn’t have a fully stocked kitchen before this experience, I had to purchase foods, spices, and basic kitchen items such as cutting boards and a spatula. I’m not shopping at William’s-Sonoma either, I’ve purchased as much as possible from the Dollar Store and Walmart that I could. Unfortunately healthy foods like fresh fruits and veggies, and even quality meats can really add up. I can’t thank my mom enough for helping me out by sending me so much money so I can buy groceries, and letting me raid her fridge and pantry when I’ve come home. I literally could not have done this otherwise.
2. I wish I liked to cook. I have always been terrible in the kitchen, and never thoroughly enjoyed it. Now I feel as if I spend every free moment in the kitchen. No matter how much time I spend prepping, something needs to be made, reheated, or put together for every meal. There’s no longer such a thing as grabbing fast food on the way home or a Publix sub all made and ready to go for me. I’m doing all the work, and it’s been pretty exhausting. I just want one meal made for me by someone else and plopped down in front of me.
3. If I’m not cooking I’m cleaning. I think I’ve had to run the dishwasher every single day for the past 22 days. I’m a little worried to get our electricity bill this month!
4. Sweet potatoes are everything. This is my new addiction! I know we were supposed to get rid of sweets or treats, but I think I accidentally replaced my nightly ice cream with nightly mashed sweet potatoes, but hey at least it’s healthy, right?
5. I don’t know how I got so lucky to find a diet that still lets me eat bacon, but I am really living my best life here. I’ve found a sugar-free, no nitrates bacon at Sprout’s, that even has a Whole 30 endorsed label! This is great for breakfast, adding a little into chicken salad, or a BLT on lettuce wraps.
6. The food is so good! Before starting the program I purchased the rule book, which has some recipes, as well as the entire cookbook. For someone who has always been a terrible cook, not only does it have great recipes, but it teaches the newbies like me how to really perfect the basics. I never knew that I should be putting burgers or bacon in the oven, but here I am doing it and loving it!
7. I really miss alcohol, but being “clean” now, I don’t miss the nights we really over did it in college. Not only do I feel better about the food decisions I am making, but without the alcohol I am also not making bad decisions in other areas of my life.
8. That being said, I realize how much of my social life revolves around food, and especially alcohol. I know I shouldn’t but I miss this the most, and I don’t think it will be something I can give up right now. Yes, I have been able to go to restaurants and make healthy decisions, but I can’t walk into a bar and not go in on a pitcher with the rest of my friends, or crack open a cold one in front of a campfire. This is just part of my social life, my niche right now, and I am feeling like a big part of me is missing as I am not able to go out with my friends and socialize and be who I really am. I do feel comfortable being able to go into these situations though and make smarter, healthier choices once my 30 days is up.
9. I have the best support group!! I could not have done this without the support of my parents, roommate, boyfriend, and friends. Everyone sees how positive of an impact this is having on my life, and not a single person in my circle has doubted or tempted me, and I am so thankful for every one of you for supporting me and wanting to see me become the best version of myself.
10. I also gave up coffee. Technically coffee is “legal” on the program, but this was a decision I made on my own that I felt I really needed to do. I have always been very cautious about coffee, seeing the way it affects the rest of my family. I enjoy coffee very much and was always drinking it in college to study or even socially. Before starting the program however I was seeing how addicted I was becoming, needing a cup in the morning full of sugar and cream, and I always had known this was the last thing I needed or wanted. Now, I’m sticking to herbal teas and natural sugars for my caffeine. Yes, there are still days at work I feel like I really need it, but until I can kick the craving I am going cold turkey!
11. I feel like Whole 30 is all I talk about. Sometimes it’s because I got caught heating up a venison burger before the bake-off at work, and sometimes it’s because people are concerned about how much mashed sweet potatoes I’m eating. Most of the time it’s me complaining about cooking, but then going on about how much I’m actually really loving it.
12. I’m really proud of myself. This is the first time I’ve set a goal like this and stuck through with it. I’ve never been the best when it comes to diet and exercise, but this program has been what I really needed to get myself on track (and I’m a little scared for the 30 days to end!)
13. Self-care is becoming more important to me now. I feel so much better because I’m eating better, drinking more water, and not overdoing it on alcohol. In turn, this is making me want to take care of myself in other areas, like treating my skin better and I finally quit biting my nails, something I have struggled with for as long as I can remember. I even went and got a library card and have been going on walks!
14. It’s insane how much sugar we put into our bodies every single day. I never realized how bad it was until I began considering the program and really reading labels on everything. It’s in my lip scrub, banana chips, even my sleeping pills. There are so many things I didn’t even think I would have to worry about, but I find myself checking labels on everything, including all of my friends food when we’re eating together, just because I’m curious. Just taking a step back and looking at this one factor alone has really opened my eyes and on or off the program will forever be taking this into consideration before every bite.

Overall, I have loved being on the Whole 30 program. I’ve been fortunate to not have any of the major side effects like sugar withdrawals, headaches, moodiness, or major sleep issues. It’s been a little bit here and there, but nothing too substantial to make me change my mind about any of it. All in all, I’m very happy with everything and the way I am feeling now. Right now I’m feeling a little bit like I’ve been away from home for a long time- ready for the 30 days to end and go back to “normal” (actually I just really want my ice cream back), but also don’t want to leave and want to do this forever!