Whole30 diet -thoughts?
Kimbot88
Posts: 109 Member
I recently heard of the whole 30 diet. It's basically 30 days in which you eat no sugar, no processed foods, and other things such as beans, legumes, corn, and all kinds of wheat are out. Please look it up for more information because that's just the cliff notes and I could be wrong about something. I have no doubt that this diet would make someone lose weight. My question is, essentially, is it worth it? I could not go the rest of my life without oatmeal, lentils, or corn. Wouldn't someone just gain all the weight back after they start eating "normal" again? And isn't it possible to eat healthy and clean but in a way that is sustainable long term, and not just 30 days that you have to practically force yourself through? Also can someone explain what the hell is so bad about legumes?? Or even corn? Or oatmeal? I thought these were good things.
Give me your thoughts, whatever they are. I'm not endorsing this diet and probably won't even try it. Just wondering what everyone else thinks. Extra points if you ever tried it.
Give me your thoughts, whatever they are. I'm not endorsing this diet and probably won't even try it. Just wondering what everyone else thinks. Extra points if you ever tried it.
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Replies
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What's the point?
Losing weight comes from a caloric deficit... doesn't matter what you eat.
If you can't sustain it, don't try to. Just eat in a deficit and enjoy what you love, hit your micros and your macros.
Clean eating is an arbitrary term and means nothing.
There is nothing bad about legumes, corn or oatmeal... no food is bad or good.
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IsaackGMOON wrote: »What's the point?
Losing weight comes from a caloric deficit... doesn't matter what you eat.
If you can't sustain it, don't try to. Just eat in a deficit and enjoy what you love, hit your micros and your macros.
Clean eating is an arbitrary term and means nothing.
There is nothing bad about legumes, corn or oatmeal... no food is bad or good.
That is basically where I'm at with it!0 -
IsaackGMOON wrote: »What's the point?
Losing weight comes from a caloric deficit... doesn't matter what you eat.
If you can't sustain it, don't try to. Just eat in a deficit and enjoy what you love, hit your micros and your macros.
Clean eating is an arbitrary term and means nothing.
There is nothing bad about legumes, corn or oatmeal... no food is bad or good.
That is basically where I'm at with it!
Then we can agree that there is no point in trying it?
Just eat in a caloric deficit to lose weight... hit your micronutrient and macronutrient goals and enjoy treats that you like.
Easy enough, right?
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Tried it. Too restrictive. I have RA and I still have RA. So it did not help me at all. Left me hungry and grumpy.
You know you can eat all the foods you love but eat less of it. Calories in calories out.0 -
IsaackGMOON wrote: »IsaackGMOON wrote: »What's the point?
Losing weight comes from a caloric deficit... doesn't matter what you eat.
If you can't sustain it, don't try to. Just eat in a deficit and enjoy what you love, hit your micros and your macros.
Clean eating is an arbitrary term and means nothing.
There is nothing bad about legumes, corn or oatmeal... no food is bad or good.
That is basically where I'm at with it!
Then we can agree that there is no point in trying it?
Just eat in a caloric deficit to lose weight... hit your micronutrient and macronutrient goals and enjoy treats that you like.
Easy enough, right?
I do agree. Why make myself suffer for a month when it's not a sustainable "diet"? Also I'm middle eastern. I cannot NOT have lentils or chickpeas.0 -
IsaackGMOON wrote: »IsaackGMOON wrote: »What's the point?
Losing weight comes from a caloric deficit... doesn't matter what you eat.
If you can't sustain it, don't try to. Just eat in a deficit and enjoy what you love, hit your micros and your macros.
Clean eating is an arbitrary term and means nothing.
There is nothing bad about legumes, corn or oatmeal... no food is bad or good.
That is basically where I'm at with it!
Then we can agree that there is no point in trying it?
Just eat in a caloric deficit to lose weight... hit your micronutrient and macronutrient goals and enjoy treats that you like.
Easy enough, right?
I do agree. Why make myself suffer for a month when it's not a sustainable "diet"? Also I'm middle eastern. I cannot NOT have lentils or chickpeas.
Well there you go
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queenliz99 wrote: »Tried it. Too restrictive. I have RA and I still have RA. So it did not help me at all. Left me hungry and grumpy.
You know you can eat all the foods you love but eat less of it. Calories in calories out.
That's how I feel about it. It seems too restrictive. I didn't read the whole website but there is something about it being "healing." And if you cheat or mess up you must begin the"healing" process again.
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queenliz99 wrote: »Tried it. Too restrictive. I have RA and I still have RA. So it did not help me at all. Left me hungry and grumpy.
You know you can eat all the foods you love but eat less of it. Calories in calories out.
That's how I feel about it. It seems too restrictive. I didn't read the whole website but there is something about it being "healing." And if you cheat or mess up you must begin the"healing" process again.
If I tried the Whole30 diet... I think I'd need healing for life.
I can't be restrictive with my foods lol.
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IsaackGMOON wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »Tried it. Too restrictive. I have RA and I still have RA. So it did not help me at all. Left me hungry and grumpy.
You know you can eat all the foods you love but eat less of it. Calories in calories out.
That's how I feel about it. It seems too restrictive. I didn't read the whole website but there is something about it being "healing." And if you cheat or mess up you must begin the"healing" process again.
If I tried the Whole30 diet... I think I'd need healing for life.
I can't be restrictive with my foods lol.
Seriously. I would be starting over constantly. I mean maybe not. I'm sure I could do it. But i feel like I'd be more likely to binge after.0 -
IsaackGMOON wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »Tried it. Too restrictive. I have RA and I still have RA. So it did not help me at all. Left me hungry and grumpy.
You know you can eat all the foods you love but eat less of it. Calories in calories out.
That's how I feel about it. It seems too restrictive. I didn't read the whole website but there is something about it being "healing." And if you cheat or mess up you must begin the"healing" process again.
If I tried the Whole30 diet... I think I'd need healing for life.
I can't be restrictive with my foods lol.
Seriously. I would be starting over constantly. I mean maybe not. I'm sure I could do it. But i feel like I'd be more likely to binge after.
Yep. You start missing the foods you love. You count down each day, try and hold out. It was to difficult for me. I just don't have that kind of will power. But eating the foods you love is so much easier. You will be successful. Really.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p10 -
I think it's supposed to be en elimination diet for food allergies - but it has become a fad for weight loss; and I'd think there would be faster, easier and more effective ways to find out about allergies.0
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kommodevaran wrote: »I think it's supposed to be en elimination diet for food allergies - but it has become a fad for weight loss; and I'd think there would be faster, easier and more effective ways to find out about allergies.
That would sense if it did start out that way. And yeah an allergy test would be faster.0 -
I think it's a fad diet at this point.0
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I tried it because my husband wanted to. He has followed all my stupid ideas in the past so it was my turn.
I actually liked it. I wasn't hungry even though I tend to do better on more frequent meals (Whole 30 encourages 3 meals a day with a snack after workout and no other snacking). I did drop weight. I loved all the food, I still make a lot of the same dishes and load my plates similar way (protein, fat, and lots of veggies).
But...
It was really hard to do because it's hard to find meals that are easy to prepare ahead of time. Last minute meals were difficult. And I wasn't prepared to give up things like wheat forever.
If you aren't an Italian at heart and can't live without pasta like me or, in your case, Middle Eastern with a love lentils and chickpeas, it might work. But for me, I could never have done it forever.
I don't think there is anything special about the diet unless you have an issue with some of the foods it eliminates. I do think that even though it excludes foods, it is a pretty healthy diet. A lot of people tend to be low carb on it but that is not out of necessity. I made an effort to keep my carb intake up even without things like pasta (the book does encourage that).0 -
This is one of the things that drive me nuts. Reading their first book, you get it's not a weightloss diet, the science behind it makes total sense to me. Then something happens, and these very well intended people see the possibility of making even more money, so they write another book, same info just less of it cause it's the basics not the science, and now people think it's a new diet to lose weight, well because they are now marketing as that, though they still claim it's not for weight loss. You aren't even suppose to step on the scale for the whole 30 days. I did it for half a month, felt my best ever since all my food issues and other health issues started. I really love whole 30, and what it really is. I loved that people have been able to find healing in more than just diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure. But I agree, it is VERY restrictive. For me, if I could do it and stick too it, it would be a life time thing. No point in me restricting for 30 days and then going back to any of it. It's all a problem for me but so is trying to stay away from all of it. When I was doing it, I also followed the Autoimmune, low histamine and FoDMAPs protocal... Talk about OVERWHELMING! That's when I lost it all, and started gaining back after I had hit goal.
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3dogsrunning wrote: »I tried it because my husband wanted to. He has followed all my stupid ideas in the past so it was my turn.
I actually liked it. I wasn't hungry even though I tend to do better on more frequent meals (Whole 30 encourages 3 meals a day with a snack after workout and no other snacking). I did drop weight. I loved all the food, I still make a lot of the same dishes and load my plates similar way (protein, fat, and lots of veggies).
But...
It was really hard to do because it's hard to find meals that are easy to prepare ahead of time. Last minute meals were difficult. And I wasn't prepared to give up things like wheat forever.
If you aren't an Italian at heart and can't live without pasta like me or, in your case, Middle Eastern with a love lentils and chickpeas, it might work. But for me, I could never have done it forever.
I don't think there is anything special about the diet unless you have an issue with some of the foods it eliminates. I do think that even though it excludes foods, it is a pretty healthy diet. A lot of people tend to be low carb on it but that is not out of necessity. I made an effort to keep my carb intake up even without things like pasta (the book does encourage that).
I am actually Italian as well. Italian, Greek, and Middle Eastern. Waaaayy too many good foods to give up forever!0 -
BeckyAnn71 wrote: »This is one of the things that drive me nuts. Reading their first book, you get it's not a weightloss diet, the science behind it makes total sense to me. Then something happens, and these very well intended people see the possibility of making even more money, so they write another book, same info just less of it cause it's the basics not the science, and now people think it's a new diet to lose weight, well because they are now marketing as that, though they still claim it's not for weight loss. You aren't even suppose to step on the scale for the whole 30 days. I did it for half a month, felt my best ever since all my food issues and other health issues started. I really love whole 30, and what it really is. I loved that people have been able to find healing in more than just diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure. But I agree, it is VERY restrictive. For me, if I could do it and stick too it, it would be a life time thing. No point in me restricting for 30 days and then going back to any of it. It's all a problem for me but so is trying to stay away from all of it. When I was doing it, I also followed the Autoimmune, low histamine and FoDMAPs protocal... Talk about OVERWHELMING! That's when I lost it all, and started gaining back after I had hit goal.
Interesting. This is how I felt about being vegan. I absolutely believe that eating vegan is the best thing for your body because of the science that backs it. People thought I was doing it to lose weight though. (I am no longer vegan but would probably feel better if I was.) anyway thank you for the insight. I was curious about the whole 30 because a friend mentioned she was doing it for weight loss. I would of course do more actual research before trying it.
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Hi there. I'm finishing up Week 1 of Whole 30. When I first heard about it and saw what one of my old co-workers was posting on her wall (pics of meals, etc.), I thought "there is no way on earth I could do that." I've lost weight before just with caloric deficit alone or caloric deficit plus exercise. Caloric deficit works, for sure.
I'm doing Whole 30 for health reasons as well as losing weight. I'm eliminating all of the other foods according to the Whole 30 program to see if it actually does make a difference. I do love my sugar and grains, so I thought that was going to be hard to give up. So I eased myself into it, using the weeks up to day 1 of Whole 30 to limit my grain and sugar intake and transition to a more paleo/whole 30 array of food. I'm actually really satisfied with the food and learned to like like things like sweet potatoes - which I previously thought I hated. But I eat them baked and plain and they're surprisingly tasty!
So it's been an experiment and an adventure. I've been tracking for about 25 days now, 7 of them on Whole 30. Lost a tad over 6 pounds so far. In this first week of Whole 30, I've lost 2.2 pounds. That was interesting. I had never dropped that much before.
The only thing I'm not following about the program is that I do weigh myself once a week and I still track my calories because it's not that big of a deal for me when I'm serious about losing weight. Hope that helps!0 -
Hi there. I'm finishing up Week 1 of Whole 30. When I first heard about it and saw what one of my old co-workers was posting on her wall (pics of meals, etc.), I thought "there is no way on earth I could do that." I've lost weight before just with caloric deficit alone or caloric deficit plus exercise. Caloric deficit works, for sure.
I'm doing Whole 30 for health reasons as well as losing weight. I'm eliminating all of the other foods according to the Whole 30 program to see if it actually does make a difference. I do love my sugar and grains, so I thought that was going to be hard to give up. So I eased myself into it, using the weeks up to day 1 of Whole 30 to limit my grain and sugar intake and transition to a more paleo/whole 30 array of food. I'm actually really satisfied with the food and learned to like like things like sweet potatoes - which I previously thought I hated. But I eat them baked and plain and they're surprisingly tasty!
So it's been an experiment and an adventure. I've been tracking for about 25 days now, 7 of them on Whole 30. Lost a tad over 6 pounds so far. In this first week of Whole 30, I've lost 2.2 pounds. That was interesting. I had never dropped that much before.
The only thing I'm not following about the program is that I do weigh myself once a week and I still track my calories because it's not that big of a deal for me when I'm serious about losing weight. Hope that helps!
Thank you for an informative response! I would probably continue weighing myself as well. Do you notice that your cravings for sweets or carbs have diminished?0 -
I don't know the Whole 30, but I am probably on a similar if not more restrictove diet - ketogenic diet. When I first began I felt like sugar, processed foods, and flours were too har to give up, but once I had been doing it for while I found my cravings for sweets were gone and my appetite diminished by a lot. I discovered that I can live without those foods quite happily and I feel healthier for doing it.
Did it help me lose weight? Maybe. My appetite is definitely down, and I seem to be losing more than I should at my calorie deficit so who knows.
Do I fee healthier by eliminating sugars, processed foods, corn and legumes. Yes! By a large margin. Because of this I can see doing this diet long term. The benefits are too great for me to give up.
You could always give it a trial. If it doesn't do anything for you, then you've learned that you apear to do fine with those foods. If it improves your health, then you can decide if you want to continue with all or some of the whole 30 guidelines.
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I haven't experience the Whole 30 diet but my sister-in-law did it. (She didn't do it for weight loss purposes.) She found out she was lactose intolerant and that certain foods react with her body in a bad way. Like if she eats certain processed foods she goes numb around her body. So I have thought about trying it just to see if I have foods that I should avoid but I wouldn't do it for weight loss purposes. She did lose weight and has kept it off but she didn't care too much about that.0
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Thank you for an informative response! I would probably continue weighing myself as well. Do you notice that your cravings for sweets or carbs have diminished?
If I find myself craving something sweet, lately I find that having a sweet potato or organic apple sauce is enough sweetness for me to be satisfied. The thing I've been craving the most today though? Cheese. LOL.
Here's what I've noticed too, I had a massive headache on day 3. I was a little worried about it, but then I found an FAQ on Whole 30 that mentions that many people do experience headaches around that time. Perhaps it's a sign of withdrawal from what your body is used to having.
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Whole30 is not about weight loss. It's about uncovering food issues, physical and mental. I knew before I ever did whole30 that dairy is a problem for me, but I didn't realize the extent. Now I know if I have a cream sauce, cheese, or ice cream I can expect breakouts and a poor nights sleep. I also know that too many eggs = hives for me, so I've backed way off my egg consumption. And I knew it before, but whole30 helped me see exactly how bad my sugar addiction is and that there is sugar in absolutely everything processed!
If you don't like the way you're feeling -- bloated, tired, skin breaking out -- whole30 is worth a shot, and really, it's only 30 days. But please don't bother with it if you're just looking for a quick way to lose weight.0 -
I personally think it is nuts. To be that restrictive is pretty much setting yourself up for failure. Think about when your friends or parents ask you go to our to dinner- you wouldn't be able to because of the crazy rules to follow!
Although some concepts are things to keep in mind (knocking out some processed foods and sugary treats), it isn't a lifestyle I would ever recommend to my patients or follow myself.0 -
I've thought about doing it to help with my sugar addiction, not for weight loss. I am very close to my goal weight, which I have achieved through calorie counting and exercise. However, I still consume way too much sugar and it is extremely difficult for me to just "cut back". I've read the book and I think completing a round of Whole 30 might help, but I'm not sure I would be able to withstand the restriction.0
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JillStepanik wrote: »I personally think it is nuts. To be that restrictive is pretty much setting yourself up for failure. Think about when your friends or parents ask you go to our to dinner- you wouldn't be able to because of the crazy rules to follow!
Although some concepts are things to keep in mind (knocking out some processed foods and sugary treats), it isn't a lifestyle I would ever recommend to my patients or follow myself.
You're right about eating out. Eating out a restaurant would be hard, although I believe they offer some kind of guidelines for ordering. Still, you couldn't just order anything off the menu, as-is.
I don't think it's intended to be a "lifestyle." Following those rules for LIFE would be very hard. Are you a doctor? It's very interesting to see the perspective of someone IN the medical field. Thanks for your response. I am amazingly still considering this. 0 -
PennyHartz wrote: »I've thought about doing it to help with my sugar addiction, not for weight loss. I am very close to my goal weight, which I have achieved through calorie counting and exercise. However, I still consume way too much sugar and it is extremely difficult for me to just "cut back". I've read the book and I think completing a round of Whole 30 might help, but I'm not sure I would be able to withstand the restriction.
Seems like you're like me. I have a tremendous sugar addiction and generally don't feel good a lot of the time. If it could really make my crVings go away and hit the "reset" button, I think it would be worth it. But I don't know if I could do it because i really do have a bad addiction. I am thinking about buying the book though.
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Whole30 is not about weight loss. It's about uncovering food issues, physical and mental. I knew before I ever did whole30 that dairy is a problem for me, but I didn't realize the extent. Now I know if I have a cream sauce, cheese, or ice cream I can expect breakouts and a poor nights sleep. I also know that too many eggs = hives for me, so I've backed way off my egg consumption. And I knew it before, but whole30 helped me see exactly how bad my sugar addiction is and that there is sugar in absolutely everything processed!
If you don't like the way you're feeling -- bloated, tired, skin breaking out -- whole30 is worth a shot, and really, it's only 30 days. But please don't bother with it if you're just looking for a quick way to lose weight.
I don't like the way I feel. I am tired and bloated all the time. I have autoimmune disorders. I have asthma and stomach issues. I am addicted to sugar. I know that if I eat wheat my stomach will hurt. But only certain types of wheat and I am not celiac (I was tested). I know dairy affects me to a point. I would love to be able to do the whole30 but I don't know if I could. But I really am considering it. I think I'm going to buy the book so I can read more about the science behind it.0 -
Kimbot, I really think you should give it a shot. A friend told me about the Whole30 and i refused to listen. She asked me to read It Starts With Food, and halfway through the book I knew I had to try it. I have Hashimoto's, lupus, anxiety, severe seasonal allergies, and lots of stomach issues. I ALWAYS felt sick, every single day. Well I am on Day 17 and I have never felt so great!!! My thyroid is making me feel miserable and tired anymore, my joints don't ache from the lupus, and I haven't had an anxiety attack all this time! I can finally breath too, no allergies! I am still taking my meds for everything, but before even with meds nothing seemed to help. I have stomach issues now when I eat certain things on the Whole30 so I am learning more about what foods to avoid.
With all my health problems losing weight has ALWAYS been difficult, but I did the Whole30 strictly for health reasons. However, I haven't weighed and I am going to wait till the end, but I know I've lost quit a bit of weight I can't wait to weigh (I've never said that before)!
You should really give it a try especially if you're sick of feeling lousy. I think once my 30 days are over I may eat some ice cream and a cheeseburger and some rice for a week then start back again!0 -
Kimbot, I really think you should give it a shot. A friend told me about the Whole30 and i refused to listen. She asked me to read It Starts With Food, and halfway through the book I knew I had to try it. I have Hashimoto's, lupus, anxiety, severe seasonal allergies, and lots of stomach issues. I ALWAYS felt sick, every single day. Well I am on Day 17 and I have never felt so great!!! My thyroid is making me feel miserable and tired anymore, my joints don't ache from the lupus, and I haven't had an anxiety attack all this time! I can finally breath too, no allergies! I am still taking my meds for everything, but before even with meds nothing seemed to help. I have stomach issues now when I eat certain things on the Whole30 so I am learning more about what foods to avoid.
With all my health problems losing weight has ALWAYS been difficult, but I did the Whole30 strictly for health reasons. However, I haven't weighed and I am going to wait till the end, but I know I've lost quit a bit of weight I can't wait to weigh (I've never said that before)!
You should really give it a try especially if you're sick of feeling lousy. I think once my 30 days are over I may eat some ice cream and a cheeseburger and some rice for a week then start back again!
I think I really am going to try it. You sound a lot like me with all the medical issues. I would love to feel better. Thank you for your response!!
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