Has anyone done Whole30?

rlallain

Hi everyone! We have a small gym at work and occasionally have group challenges to help motivate people. There's a group that's starting up a Whole30 challenge (Google it if you don't know what I'm talking about). Has anyone done Whole30 before? What did you think of it? Testimony of a few co-workers that have tried it said that they noticed a definite difference in energy level (it went up by the end of the 30 days) and once they started re-introducing certain foods, they figured out that some of the food categories truly made them feel yucky (dairy being the most common culprit). These particular co-workers are already active, fit, working moms so they caught my attention. Before I agree to the challenge, I wanted to see if anyone in this group has done it and what your feedback is. My grown-up, post-pregnancy body is pretty solidly stuck at 150 lbs. I have gotten down to 140 lbs. a few times over the past several years but I never stay there. I'm intrigued to see if I could bust through that wall with something like this....

CaitlinW19

I have not heard of Whole 30 before, but I googled it. I have done something very similar, though not quite as restrictive called the Clean program or Clean Cleanse. It was 21 days with a list of no-nos that almost matches the Whole 30, though stevia, most legums and some grains were allowed. I had a lot of success with it, though for me personally, I didn't consider it something I would do long term. Some people choose to change their lifestyle to fit into the Clean program and love it...personally I just know I want to be able to have alcohol more than just once in a very long while and eat some processed foods regularly. So I liked it, but I'm back to just plain calorie counting because I can have everything in moderation. I'm a big believer that whatever you do to loose weight has to teach you lessons you carry into your daily life after loss. I did learn things, just not thinks I wanted to continue to incorporate into my life so for me it fell more into the fad category. This is not everyone's experience, I know.

I didn't suspect or discover any food allergies in the process, though I know many people do. I did, however, feel that my digestive system got a bit of a boost in addition to my weight loss.

rlallain

That's great feedback, thanks! I decided not to do the Whole30 challenge at work for many of the reasons you brought up. It's not something you're supposed to be able to sustain long-term -> it's just for 30 days and then you start incorporating the "no-no" foods back into your diet slowly, to see how they make you feel. I have 2 kids, ages 4 & 7, so as I started to think through my menu planning for the week and create a grocery list, I instantly knew that I was just setting myself up for failure. There's simply no way I can eliminate ALL of these foods, even just for 30 days. It would be torture and my family would kick me out of the house because I'd be in such a bad mood all month!! But that said, I'm trying to take away some of the big points. For the past 2 nights, our dinners have consisted of veggies with some protein thrown in there. No grains to be found! I'm also trying to reduce my sugar intake and reach for veggies more often than fruits, and cutting back on dairy, too. I add lots of cheese to things, which is unnecessary and just extra calories that I don't really need. So we'll see how this goes.... My husband whole-heartedly supports the thought so that's a huge step in getting our household in a great course!