Whole 30 Anyone?

Have you heard of this and what do you know about it? I'm doing the diet, starting today...
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Replies

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,941 Member
    Do you have specific issues you're trying to identify a trigger for?
  • LarryRacesBikes
    LarryRacesBikes Posts: 17 Member
    It’s the newest fad and so many people are trying it. It may work for you, it may not. To lose weight and keep it off is a lifestyle change and will not happen with a fad diet in the long run. Instead of Whole30 call it what it is, a plant based diet (though it allows eggs) and find yourself some plant based recipes that you enjoy!
  • fatguy_fitness
    fatguy_fitness Posts: 195 Member
    Did it last year, felt great, ate great, lost 25lbs. When I re-introduced foods I realized that I have no food issues besides the one I already knew about. (avocado)
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I know it's an elimination diet that was designed to determine food allergies. Some people lose weight on it and some people dont. I've never tried it, never had any reason to.

    This^

    It's not a weight loss plan, but I guess there's money to be made by selling it that way.

    If you have un-diagnosed allergies/food sensitivities then this is helpful. Because of all the restrictions initially, you may actually lose weight.
  • katiebythebay
    katiebythebay Posts: 611 Member
    Do you have specific issues you're trying to identify a trigger for?

    Thanks for the responses. I don't have any known food allergies but there's a few people at work that have done the diet and swear by it. They said it was like a body-reset and were glad they did it but also glad it only lasted 30 days. I am starting RA, too, so that's cool to see there's others on MFP also on it.

    I've got to lose a little weight but I'm not pressed or too stressed about it. I'm just trying something new, to recharge my body, so hopefully it will do that. I don't like where I'm heading and know that if I don't start doing something different soon, it will only be that much harder later on. Would love to get details on anyone's experience with W30 or RA.

    One take-away - I never realized just how tricky these labels could be.
  • elphie54
    elphie54 Posts: 3 Member
    Have you heard of this and what do you know about it? I'm doing the diet, starting today...

    It’s not really designed to cause weigh loss. It is designed to figure out food allergies/intolerances.
  • MaggieGirl135
    MaggieGirl135 Posts: 972 Member
    Meat is allowed on this elimination diet. It was very helpful for my husband to become aware of food sensitivities; he has two autoimmune diseases. I followed it along with him, to show support. As I expected, I have no food sensitivities. One huge take away from not eating foods with added sugar was that naturally sweet foods became amazingly sweet-tasting, such as, butternut squash and roasted vegetables. It is not promoted as a weight loss diet, although many people find they lose weight, as both my husband and I did.
  • MidModJenn
    MidModJenn Posts: 216 Member
    There are so many threads on these boards about W30, do a quickie search and hopefully the different conversations can help point you in the right direction with your specific questions. I did one (not for weight loss) and loved it, you'll have more info that you could ever dream of in those threads.
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
    Do you have specific issues you're trying to identify a trigger for?

    Thanks for the responses. I don't have any known food allergies but there's a few people at work that have done the diet and swear by it. They said it was like a body-reset and were glad they did it but also glad it only lasted 30 days. I am starting RA, too, so that's cool to see there's others on MFP also on it.

    I've got to lose a little weight but I'm not pressed or too stressed about it. I'm just trying something new, to recharge my body, so hopefully it will do that. I don't like where I'm heading and know that if I don't start doing something different soon, it will only be that much harder later on. Would love to get details on anyone's experience with W30 or RA.

    One take-away - I never realized just how tricky these labels could be.

    the question is what happens after the 30 days are over? The problem with "resets" is that you can lose weight, but don't learn how to eat long term to remain the weight you want to be. So you have to keep resetting.
  • jesguinn
    jesguinn Posts: 94 Member
    I did Whole30 in January for the third time and this was my best experience yet. There were a few reasons that I did it. During the fall and into the holidays my consumption of junk and alcohol had really gotten out of hand. I felt like I was beyond the point of saying I needed to enjoy those things in moderation, and that I actually was at a point that I needed to take some things, especially added sugar, diet coke, artificial sweeteners, and alcohol, out of my diet entirely for a while. The other factor for me is being hypothyroid, and I was hopeful that removing foods that cause inflammation from my diet would help with some of those symptoms, but I wasn't ready to go full-on AIP. I mentioned that this was my best experience with Whole30 yet, and I attribute that to the fact that I was really ready to get started after all of my holiday debauchery and I really committed for the full thirty days. Also, my husband did it with me and having his support helped. Also, having him on board encouraged me to seek out new recipes instead of just eating some sort of meat and some roasted/steamed/raw veggies at every meal. This kept us from getting bored, making it much easier to stay committed. After 30 days, I can definitely say I'm feeling better and sleeping better than I have in years. I did lose some weight, which wasn't a huge deal for me, but certainly a perk. Best of all, my cravings for Diet Coke (my former lifeline) and sweets have really gone away. I've decided that for me the best thing at this point is to continue sticking with a Paleo diet (but being mindful of portion sizes and calories in/out), limiting my treats and alcohol to just an occasional treat on the weekend. One more thing I'll add, in the past when I did Whole30 I restricted my carbs too much. I am very active, running long distances and working out 5-6 days per week, so this was problematic as my legs would feel dead even on a short (5-6 mile) run. This time I made sure to incorporate more compliant complex carbohydrates, particularly on days prior to a longer/harder workout. Whole30, like anything else, isn't for everyone and probably won't be very effective if you don't go into it with clear expectations and fully committed to success (it didn't for me in the past anyway), but if you decide to move forward I wish you the best! Also, I found Nom Nom Paleo to be a great resource for easy and delicious Whole30 recipes!
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    Doing it now, adhering mostly to the spirit of the program rather than the letter of the law. I don't think that I have food allergies but I do think that I had let my portion sizes creep a lot over the holiday season. It's much harder to deal with the munchies when you have to get up and roast some veg or eat some carrots than if you were reaching for some chips or cookies.

    Just using this time to become more mindful of what I'm eating. I'm not going to "restart" if I "slip up" and I have a feeling that the coconut cream in my morning coffee isn't going to cut it.
  • theknitpicker
    theknitpicker Posts: 63 Member
    edited February 2018
    I did it, and loved it. But its not a "diet". That's a bit part of the programme!

    For me, I used it a kickoff for a lifestyle transformation (that continues today!). I don't think I lost any weight while doing Whole30, but I totally reframed my relationship with food. I knew I'd slipped into healthy habits over time, but I couldn't figure out how to fix those. I kept failing. But by focussing on foods that made my body feel good, and the spirit of whole foods that the programme hails, it kicked me into gear to make better choices moving forwards.

    I didn't track on MFP during, but started up immediately after. So for me, Whole30 was a learning programme, which set me up on the right path to successfully diet to lose weight now. I learned what food satiated what feelings, so when I'm working with a limited calorie budget, I get what my body needs. Honestly, I couldn't advocate it enough.

    That being said, I think you need to be in the right mindset for it. I wouldn't do it if weight loss is your primary immediate focus. If you want to learn about how food affects you, it's perfect. Since the end of my Whole30, I have gone on to lose weight, and get into some great exercise habits... the knowledge it gave is really power!
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    Lasted 4 days. I missed pasta.
  • BigRed2525
    BigRed2525 Posts: 45 Member
    I did "Whole 20" January 2017. I had intended to do the whole program--made it to Inauguration Day. I HATED it. I've known lots of people who have tried it, loved it, do it on the regular for a "reset". It just did not work for me. I probably take too much pleasure in food and eating (hence the 50-ish pounds I'm trying to drop), but it left me dreading weekends and hating life. I lost 15 pounds in 20 days because I wasn't eating enough (put those bad boys right back on, of course), because I'd lost all interest in food.

    That being said, I've known plenty of folks who have done well on it, have enjoyed it, etc. I've kept some of the lessons I did learn on the program. It helped me identify which foods I eat because I enjoy and which I eat out of habit. For instance, other than an occasional piece of toast, I really don't care if I ever eat another piece of traditional sandwich bread again. I also learned I don't like certain artificial sweeteners, and in fact tend to eat sugar more out of habit than desire. I'm not saying it's a bad program, and I certainly don't say it to discourage you. It just WAS NOT for me.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I think it's weird that W30 is put up as this transformative thing when the ways in which it is unique is the NO legumes, grains, or dairy. You could easily focus on cooking from whole foods only (and cut out packaged food or eat super healthy) without cutting out those foods, and I am always mystified about why cutting out legumes in particular (which usually are a very healthy addition to a diet) is suppose to change my relationship with food.

    IF someone thinks they may have food sensitivities, then of course an elimination diet might be a good idea, but the foods W30 fixates on are NOT the only possible food sensitivities. If you tend to overeat bread or sweets, then learning you don't need them might be good, sure. But you can do a whole foods based diet that is just as healthful or more so with grains and legumes and even some milk/butter/greek yogurt, so the idea that it's so beneficial or transformative to cut those out always puzzles me. (I am not lactose intolerant or celiac, but I also don't think W30 is the best way to discover I am, and I discovered long ago that the bread added with most sandwiches is wasted calories for me, so that has never been a staple of my diet.)

    For the most part I think it's trendy and people feel like they've accomplished something specific in doing it, so it tends to be a way in which people who don't do a lot of whole foods cooking or eat an especially healthy diet start (with the exception of the minority who maybe do discover an issue with gluten or lactose or some such). Anyway, if it works as a motivation for that, great, but there's no need to do W30 to start eating a whole foods based diet and I am sad at the idea that people feel good because they eat a better diet and often lose some weight and assume it's because grains and legumes are bad for them.
  • mikehull14
    mikehull14 Posts: 8 Member
    I've done a lot of research and experimenting with Whole30 in the past - here are some of my thoughts on this program.

    ISSUES WITH WHOLE30 SCIENCE
    I've done a Whole30 in the past (actually did a Whole60!) and soon after became curious about the scientific research provided in their book, It Starts With Food. As a side project, I decided to review the scientific citations the authors provide for each chapter and see if the science matched up with the claims being made. (Side Note - I have my BS and almost finished my master's degree in nutritional science, which is part of the reason I was curious about their claims)

    Unfortunately, I found that a majority of the cited claims were very misleading or false. This book can substantially misinform people about what a proper healthy diet looks like due to this inaccurate information. You can read some of my chapter reviews of the book here:
    http://nutritionasiknowit.com/whole30/

    WHOLE30 AS AN ELIMINATION DIET
    The Whole30 approach to elimination and reintroduction of foods is also not appropriately designed in a way that would allow accurate and reliable identification of food sensitivities. For example, they state that their program can help identify food allergies and sensitivities. However, 4 of the 8 most common allergens are never eliminated from the diet (eggs, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish). It's not a very logically consistent elimination diet.

    For a more evidence-based approach to an elimination diet, you might want to try the one set out by Precision Nutrition found here:
    http://www.precisionnutrition.com/elimination-diet-infographic

    WHOLE30 FOR WEIGHT LOSS
    I know the authors of this program have repeatedly said the Whole30 is not a weight loss program. But to be fair, they are talking out of both sides of their mouth when they claim the Whole30 is "not about weight loss". They mention weight loss as an advantage of their program 28 times in the book, It Starts With Food (I searched my e-copy of the book). Here's one example:
    “In a recent survey of more than 1,600 Whole30 participants, 96 percent reported having lost weight and/or improved their body composition. The majority lost between six and fifteen pounds in just thirty days. So there you go—proof that weight loss is built right into the program, without your having to think about it.”
    Additionally, they also post before and after pictures on their social media platforms of people who have dropped weight on the Whole30, which is not something you would do unless you were promoting the weight loss benefits of your diet.

    CONCLUSION
    Overall, my concern is that, while some may improve their health on this diet in the short-term, they will ultimately walk away from this experience with a fundamental misunderstanding of nutrition.
  • mandieroussel
    mandieroussel Posts: 3 Member
    Looking for a whole 30 support group/ forum. This came up In my search results. Anyone know if any on here? Link?