My Whole30 Experience

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My Whole30 experience…

If you’re reading this you’ve probably heard of Whole30 or maybe you are interested in trying it out and would like some opinions on it.  Well here’s mine..

I personally, really enjoyed it.  To say that it was EASY, I would be lying.  BUT it did get easier.

First, let’s chat about what Whole30 is and why some may try it out.   So Whole30 is basically 30 days of clean eating- NO sugar, dairy, gluten, legumes (which to be honest I’m still not quite sure what those even include).  The program is to help people improve their health, habits, and relationship with food.  To make your transition super easy, Whole30.com has a ton of free resources to get you started.

The top resources I referred to often, if not daily was the Shopping list and the Sneaky Sugars guide.  I also found an awesome meal planner and grocery list print out to help me plan out my meals from stayfitmom.com.  She also has some great resources for whole30 related things!

So back to my experience…

Why I chose to try this out

Trying whole30 was mostly about trying to pin point a potential food allergy that could have been causing persistent cheek acne (or rosacia, or whatever the heck is on my face).  I was pretty terrible with my diet, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to improve in that area as well.

The Struggles

The first week was the hardest.  I’m the type who has always eaten whatever I wanted, not restricted anything.  I was used to eating a certain way and really didn’t even realize how often I was used to eating the same things (ahem, Jimmy Johns aka my second boyfriend).  When I realized I was having to be at home cooking ALOT more than ever, and I literally felt I was living at Publix for the first week or two, I struggled a bit.

I had never realized how much time cooking at home could take up.  At first, it was difficult.  But then I began to see it really wasn’t much more time to cook at home than it was to drive somewhere, wait in line, and drive back home.  Plus I also realized while most things were baking or cooking I could get some cleaning done around the house.  So hey, at least I was able to knock out two things at once.

It was really only the first week that I craved the things I was missing, like bread and cheese, and really questioned wtf I was doing.  I like sweets, but wasn’t really missing out on anything particular in that category.

CLEANING THE KITCHEN! Seriously, I hand washed and cleaned the kitchen more than I have in my entire life.  But I guess that comes with cooking, eh.  But again, it also got me used to doing that more often and I dreaded it less the more I became accustomed to it.

When It Became Easier

I’d have to say the second week I started to really get in the swing of things.  On Sunday or Saturday,  I’d sit down with my print out from StayFitMom and start to plan my meals out for the week. Having the grocery list on the same sheet, made it easier for me not to forget things.  Definitely saved me from having to go back to Publix. Planning a week at a time was the easiest, especially with fresh fruit and veggies that don’t last much longer than that anyways.

It also started to become somewhat fun.  Finding foods that were acceptable or I could have in place of something else was a fun challenge.  The pure joy that came about when I realized I could still have bacon and found a mayo alternative was ridiculous.

I found *recipes* that were easy to make (and enjoyable) that I could just repeat if I ever felt lazy or not wanting to cook for long.  I pretty much always feel like that haha so I did repeat several recipes to make the 30 days a bit easier for me.

Once you get a week or two in, you realize you’ve already made it that far you can probably make it another 2 weeks.

What I learned

Well, I learned that whatever is causing my cheeks to break out consistently in the same exact spots… is likely not related to any of the things I was cutting out.  There was no change in that area of my skin.  Kinda pissed me off a bit having done all that for 30 days haha.

But, I also created some habits that I will be sticking to.

-I don’t mind cooking at home as much, considering I just cooked NINETY MEALS AT HOME.
-I realized I can go without 3 cokes a day, haha.  A nice replacement is the La Croix Pineapple Strawberry.?
-I will read ingredients in my food and try to choose healthier options
-Healthy alternatives are out there, you’ve just go to read, google and pinterest the shit out of everything.

Overall,  It was a great experience and I’m super proud of myself for sticking with it.  Now excuse me while I go get Jimmy Johns hahah.  But seriously, if you are considering trying it out check out Whole30.com and Pinterest.  There are tons of resources to help you out.

It’s only 30 days, why not give it a shot if you’re curious!