Recently, I was peer pressured into starting the Whole 30 program. Since moving to California, Adam and I have dived head first into the foodie culture in all its glory. In addition to that, I stopped crossfitting when I left Virginia and couldn't afford to start back up on the West Coast. Why is everything so EXPENSIVE out here?
Of course, it's not always the best for your health (or your wallet) to indulge in rich, delicious food on a regular basis so I figured I needed to hit the reset button. It helps that there are 3-4 other girl friends of mine across the country who are doing this with me, which provides an awesome outlet for support, accountability, and recipe sharing! So here it is; day one, and I feel completely over-my-head-terrified and excited all at the same time.
What is Whole30?
In a nutshell, you only eat what grows naturally or what you can kill and cook. For 30 days. No exceptions. As with most diets, there seems to be a never-ending list of DON'TS...
No:
- added sugars (honey is included! Whaaa?!)
- alcohol or tobacco
- grains (corn, rice, quinoa, bread, etc)
- legumes (hummus, soy and peanut products, too)
- dairy
- carageenan/msg/sulfates (these are in more food than I realized)
- weighing or measuring yourself
You CAN use fruit juice as sweeteners. The Diet also allows salt, green beans/sugar snap peas/snow peas, vinegar, and clarified butter or ghee.
Most people know this as Paleo but to me it sounded like hell. So why do it?
Like I said, I needed to punch the reset button. Turning 30 and not being in great shape with just okay health wasn't how I wanted to kick off 2017. For me, I needed to commit and just DO it instead of thinking about it for weeks and scaring myself out of it.
I've only eaten breakfast, so far. It consisted of approved bacon and 2 hard boiled eggs.because I didn't want to eat the stuff I had for breakfast for 30 days straight, I went and bought the Whole 30 cookbook and I'll be grocery shopping later this afternoon! I'll share meals once I have them planned out.
Wish me luck.
