Whole 30

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Hey everyone, I've recently come across this "diet fad" - so to speak called whole 30. And what I can gather from their website is it's about retraining your body so to speak for 30 days to eat real unprocessed foods.

Just curious to see if anyone has done this particular 30 day challenge. If so what were some of the challenges you faced while doing so and what were your results.
Also curious to know what other challenges or fads that you have or a friend has tried....

Replies

  • lbpears
    lbpears Posts: 40 Member
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    I have done Whole 30. It takes a lot of planning and prep work, and you pretty much have to cook every single meal you eat because you just don't know exactly how something in a restaurant was prepared. Overall, it was too restrictive for me, so after I was finished with the 30 days, I binged like crazy. I personally am better off trying to eat within a calorie goal and not restricting entire food groups.

    I also didn't really like their general attitude towards food and eating. We all know that we eat to fuel our bodies, but realistically there are a whole host of other reasons that people eat, including because it is pleasurable. They seem to restrict and try to deny themselves of anything they enjoy too much.

    To each his or her own, and I'm sure it works for some. But it's not for me.
  • pamola10
    pamola10 Posts: 1
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    The Whole30 was good for me, because I was already doing the Primal Blueprint but also because it helped me to reset my eating schedule. part of the program is to eat three meals and make them REAL MEALS. I found out that I could manage just fine on three meals without snacking if I actually put some real food on my plate and didn't eat like a china doll. I also lost my taste for sweet stuff, at least temporarily!

    It is not a "way of life" but it helps if you are moving toward eating whole, unprocessed foods as your new expected "way of life." Getting dairy, gluten and seed oils out of the diet can be really helpful. I had already mostly done that as a result of food sensitivities so I didn't have too much trouble adjusting. Anyway, how long can thirty days be?
  • fullersun35
    fullersun35 Posts: 162 Member
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    I haven't done it myself. I'm not a believer in cutting out whole food groups without a medical reason. But I do follow someone's blog who has done it recently. You can read about her experiences at mywisemom.com
  • bingo_jenn
    bingo_jenn Posts: 63 Member
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    I did it last October and I agree that it took a lot of prepping and planning. My biggest problem is I do enjoy eating out and I don't like being a picky eater.

    I ended it right before the holidays, so it didn't take me long to add the weight I lost back on... :embarassed: I only recently started to drink Diet Coke again, but that's because I really truly missed it. I literally would tear up thinking about drinking diet coke and that was after 6 months of not drinking it.

    I thought about doing it again because I did feel good on it, but I didn't want to be that strict with myself, so I looked back on my lessons learned and am trying to incorporate them into my current eating habits. I learned that I like 3 large meals as opposed to several smaller meals. I try to avoid snacking unless I have a workout planned. I have cut out a lot of alcohol in the last few weeks and I am sleeping better and staying within my calorie ranges better. I have also noticed that all eating plans emphasize lots of vegetables, so I'm working harder on keeping those as the focus of my meals.
  • swertyqwerty
    swertyqwerty Posts: 81 Member
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    I was thinking of doing it for a while but the no soy sauce bit really turned me off. I'm not a huge soy consumer (ie. no tofu or soymilk) but I do use soy sauce a lot in cooking.
  • Heidiheyho
    Heidiheyho Posts: 3 Member
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    Im on day 25 I really like this "diet". Within 9 days, (you can do a whole 9 and test it out) I felt really clean and had a lot of energy. Im really happy. The food prepping isnt too bad if you want to be lazy some days I microwave a sweet potato and use a canned chicken or tuna with no soy added to it...make a salad. The best way to start out is make a condiment run and make yourself the basics so youre never bored; ketchup, salsa, mayo, ghee, coconut oil, coconut aminos, red boat fish sauce and spices. Make sure you have a crockpot. Get a 10 dollar mandolin slicer from walmart. I am the laziest person in the world and still manage to feed myself and not get bored. Zoodles are surprisingly good and easier to make than spaghettie noodles, who knew! :P I havent weighed myself yet but I feel it in my clothes. I plan to do it off and on as a lifestyle change; for example I plan to eat ice cream on the 4th of july and indulge in some wine but im so stinking happy on this diet I think Ill be on it for awhile to come!
  • Heidiheyho
    Heidiheyho Posts: 3 Member
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    What nobody mentions too much in posts that you taste things differently by week 3 when youre on it 100%. I am single so I have been feeding myself grass fed beef and what not. I use to think that louisiana hot sauce and crystal hot sauce tasted the same but louisiana hot sauce uses way more citric acid in it. You really taste in great detail and depth. And the sugar cravings really die down after the second week if you truly follow it and avoid processed foods, sugars entirely.