Whole 30

Have you heard the Whole30 challenge. I hadn't until last month during our stitch group. Pam had told me about how she and her husband have been doing this Whole30 challenge.

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It's based on a book written by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig, called It Starts With Food and then an additional book that they written  called The Whole30

Being that my major in college ( 20 years ago) was Nutritional Science, anything that have to do with food and nutrition just perks my ears right up.

I had not heard of this challenge before and of course my curiosity got the best of me. Pam was speaking of the positive benefits she had been experiencing while doing this eating plan.

While researching this I realize that it really wasn't a far-fetched, way out there type of diet. I do not believe that diets like that are beneficial or a long term healthy lifestyle. My first thought was Atkins, Paleo or South Beach 

It's what I would call a elimination diet, a clean food eating plan that is a temporary 30 day deal. 

Now that's just my short summary on it. I advise you to do your own research go to their website Whole30.com . Or check Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook for recipes

 At their website Whole30.com you get a better understanding of what their idea is behind this program.

Again I'll summarize and say that it's a vegetable, fruit and animal meat base eating plan. And vegetable being the main portion of your daily foods but adding protein with each meal. It's not as strict as far as how much of your diet daily percentage comes from an animal source as Dr. Fuhrman eating lifestyle is.

But it does go further than Dr Fuhrman is that Whole30 program you eliminate sugars of all forms, dairy products of all forms, legumes, processed foods for the most part, alcohol and all grains.

 The purpose behind it to give your body a 30 day adjustment of going without these foods. Then after the 30 days you start by introducing one of the category slowly and seeing how your body reacts to that food. 

I talked with my doctor about this and what my goals were. She had suggested reading Eat to Live last year and knew that she knows my history.

I can tell you after being on this way of eating for 26 days now, I have not had to take my stomach pills for the past two weeks. So apparently something I've been eating is giving me issues and I will  now be able to try to pinpoint the culprit and then eliminate it from my diet

As stated in their book it's not to get you to go the rest of your life totally without these foods. But to become aware of how certain foods you eat do affect your body.

And I can tell you from personal experience that from going without these foods I feel more energetic,  no pain in my joints or muscles. I'm not bloated in the stomach. I'm thinking clearer and I have less menopausal symptoms. Plus I've noticed my blood pressure has lowered some. All Good

I'm not hungry all the time but I will say though I do miss my cream and sugar in my morning coffee. Otherwise my sweet tooth, which I have a very bad sweet tooth, is well under control right now. That's not to say I don't still crave sweets. I do, but I can look at a piece a cake or a candy bar and for some reason do not find myself wanting it.

I have realized though I am sensitive to eating eggs. Seeing how that is a common breakfast food and is one of the foods allowed on the Whole30 program. I was eating them two to three times that first week. Then I went quite a few days without having any eggs in the morning and had eggs again one morning and realized that my stomach was acting up. Went away quickly and I did not eat another egg for another three or four days.

In that time my stomach was fine but the day I ate the eggs again I had nausea and indigestion that afternoon. I tried it again few days later and sure enough it happened again

So apparently I'm sensitive to eggs and I did not know it.

Now I don't know if that will hold true to eggs being in a dish as an ingredient and not just fried and eaten alone on my plate

One of the goals of the whole 30 it's to drastically reduce, if not eliminate sugar and grains from your diet. I can tell you there are no benefit to sugar.

Because we all know sugar have no nutritional value whatsoever and I believe limited with refined flours also.

That will be my goal is to keep those types of foods as a special treat and have on special occasions and not a daily event like I was having. I knew this before but it is so easy to fall back into old habits. I'm human and not perfect but my desire to eat nutritionally dense food all the time is a good base to have.
You do not need to cook special, exotic, hard to find ingredients. In fact I've been cooking a lot of the same dishes, with occasions having substitute an ingredient or two. I wasn't a big fan of coconut milk before taking on this challenge but I've gotten use to it, even in my coffee as a creamer. It's still not the same as half and half plus the sweetener is missing. That will be the first thing I will put back when my 30 days are completed. Hopefully I can tolerate that, so enjoy my morning cup of joe.
I am making a list of foods I feel I would like to continue if tolerable and foods I figure I can go without most of the time cause I don't miss it. Example is soda, wasn't a big soda drinker and now see no point to add it back.
Anyway I can ramble on when it comes to foods.
I just thought I would share this with you and if you too have heard or even done the 30 days, I would love to hear about your experience. 

P.S.  By all means I am not promoting this book or the authors. Just telling my story. What we read can be comprehended by what we believe, understand, knowledge and experience. Personally I'm a skeptic and believe that there are two sides to everything. Whether it's politics, relationships and even science for example. Our knowledge of things are ever changing as we learn more. And we should be learning something new everyday. So I hope you don't misunderstand that just relating my experience for that is all I can do.  I can not speak for others.