Whole 30??

acia90

Hey everyone!

I'm considering doing Whole 30...heard that it works really well for eliminating sugars etc from your diet. That and all the extras like better sleep, more energy, more...regular etc, all things I battle with on a regular basis.

I haven't purchased the book yet or anything, so I'm just looking for some insight and some tips/tricks for going about it. My main issue is sugary treats and pasta - I'm really not much of a bread or baked goods eater in general. From what I've seen I may have an issue with giving up dairy with it but who knows!

Feel free to give me any advice you may have on it! And if you're thinking of trying it too... I'm looking at starting August 1.

bio79

I started it 3 weeks ago, not for weight loss but because I was starting to suspect there are foods I don't react well to. It is not a weight loss diet but it can be a good way to see if you have any sensitivities. While you may very well lose weight on it, it may not be sustainable so if you are wanting to do it for the weight loss there are probably better ways to go about it.

I'm on day 22 and for me it has been strangely easy, I am not hungry and not really missing much. I have noticed that I am no longer mildly congested at the end of every day, my acid reflux is WAY less than before, I no longer feel "yucky" after eating, and indigestion and gas are now non-existent.

I will be starting to reintroduce in 1.5 weeks but I am planning to do a very slow reintroduction by testing individual foods rather than whole food groups in case I may be sensitive to certain foods in a group but not others.

All that being said, I have lost almost 15 lbs in 3 weeks and previously even religiously counting calories, weighing foods, over-estimating calories slightly just in case and working out 5x a week all for 3 months straight, the best I could do was lose 4-5 lbs then maintain weight - very frustrating.

I'm not actually trying to lose weight right now on whole 30 (yes I need to lose weight but that isn't the point or goal of this whole30), I am not hungry or deprived and for some reason I am dropping weight like crazy with no active attempt to do so. From my reactions I think I do have sensitivities and I am glad I did it, I am thinking I may continue eating like this (with some moderate flexibility once I figure out what I am sensitive to.

I know that generally speaking, unless you have some other issue a calorie is a calorie for most people but I am starting to believe I do have some underlying issue making that not true for me lol.

Mileage may vary though, so I would again state that if you are wanting to do it strictly for weight loss I would forgo it and simply count calories and exercise. If you think you may have some sensitivities and want to test for that then by all means try the whole30.

I actually also cut out nightshades because the doctor thinks I may have leaky gut due to many years of taking NSAIDs for back pain.

acia90

Thanks for the insight. Im really not looking for weight loss through doing whole 30 (that would really just be a bonus but likely not sustainable as foods are reintroduced).

Definitely in it for the other benefits - for one not feeling like crap after eating would be great. I've also been having some other issues that the doctor thinks may be linked to what I eat. I really do want to clean up my diet to see if its food thats causing my issues. From what Ive read a lot of people just feel better in general from doing it, and much of the specifics overlap some trouble areas for me (sleep, energy, regularity, hormonal troubles, moods, belly troubles).

bio79

I did have headaches that would come and go for the first 4 days but other than that no adverse effects. I do find I am fully satisfied and am loving the program for the most part. No cravings either. the hardest time so far was on friday, I went out for lunch with a friend up the gondola and they had pretty much nothing compliant so I had to order a salad (which was just greens because for some reason any other cut up veggies were unavailable or had been made into greek salad with feta and non-compliant dressing. and I added a grilled chicken breast which I guessed (almost too correctly) had no seasoning that I couldn't have - sadly correct as it was not seasoned at all. very bland lunch and they charged me 18.00 just to add insult to injury

but I like my meals most days, I make a lot of chicken souvlaki (all ingredients are compliant yay!).

It takes a lot of actual cooking and planning for things. Sometimes I forget to plan for lunch the next day and I end up eating a pretty uninspired lunch of something like a couple hard boiled eggs and some cucumber but that can be avoided by planning better. but even with those meals I end up satisfied with no cravings so it's not so bad even at those times.

Becca_250

I did a Whole30 last year in a bid to curb my overeating of junk food. I had headaches the first couple of days but no real other adverse affects. Mentally, I struggled with not eating sugary treats but found it helpful to know that I was completely eliminating all these foods (rather than "moderation" which didn't work for me at the time) and that it was just for a month. I did lose some weight but not loads. It definitely did help switch my brain's thinking of junk food and I quickly realised how much I didn't need foods that I would've normally had just for the sake of it. Some habits I continued after, I still haven't had any pasta since the start of Whole30 (just because that was a food I never crave so I would prefer to have something else. You may find the same with bread/baked goods).

I'm not sure if I would do it again unless I thought I was severely going off the rails. At the moment, I understand my body better and know there are certain foods I just don't want to have or don't need but there's also some I like to fit into my calorie goals (chocolate!)

Also I didn't buy the book, I just used the whole 30 website http://whole30.com/downloads/official-whole30-program-rules.pdf and other web sources. A good recipe site that has a section dedicated to whole30 recipes is http://stalkerville.net/diet/whole30/

Edit - I meant to add also I didn't notice a change in my sleep/hormonal activity but I did feel brighter during the day. Prior to Whole30 I would have something quite sugary in the morning and then majorly crash at about 11am, ended up eating my lunch and then being starving for the afternoon. Whole30 gave me a better breakfast which allowed me to last until 1pm, sometimes longer!

I also agree with Bio that it does a lot of prep and sometimes you run out of time/ingredients and just eat cucumbers and egg, I sometimes still do this!

812sara

I did the Whole30 in June.... I highly recommend it. Before the whole30 I was in a drive through DAILY..... and now I eat SO MUCH BETTER. I lost a little weight, but I learned that I need to stay away from pasta and bread....

Also I really felt accomplished having finished it. I am a serial dieter who really has never stuck to much, but I was able to stick to this and I can honestly say it made a big difference.