Whole30 - Yes or No?

It's basically an elimination diet and effectively becomes a low carb diet by design. It's for people that have possible food aversions or allergies, skin problems, joint problems, digestive problems, that kind of thing and once the 30 days is up you add food back in to see how you react to them, and you go from there and if you don't have any of these concerns and saw or felt no difference then you could just add all the foods you ate previously back in, right?

Saying that, whether it's low carb, low fat, vegan or a med diet, they all deliver similar weight loss when you account for the calories that you consume, so unless it's a diet that you happen to like and can follow indefinitely without too much modification it's probably not a diet a person should be on. Again, this is an elimination diet that dictates a time restriction of 30 days and that should tell you something, so it's a temporary intervention anyway. Short answer. I'm low carb and have been for over a decade but eat every food they restrict to some degree. Cheers.

klepregnancy wrote: »

I feel like I could be a bit sensitive to gluten. I already can’t eat dairy because I’m lactose intolerant.
But eating gluten hasn’t caused any severe issues so not sure if it’s worth continuing Whole30 just to see if it is a problem or not.

you could cut out just foods with gluten and see if there's any difference. these days, there are lots of gluten-free breads, flours, cereals and other options.

klepregnancy wrote: »

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

Just implement a normal, balanced diet that you can stick with throughout the weightloss phase and beyond. Overly restrictive diets are not sustainable.

I just keep seeing how a Whole30 diet is better for hormones and your gut and inflammation and so that’s why I felt like I should try it and have considered sticking to it.

Keep in mind that in real life, this is not a binary choice between Whole 30 and Not Whole 30 (especially if you define Not Whole 30 as eating in exactly the way you normally eat pre-Whole 30).

If you feel like you want to move to a more health-promoting, inflammation-reducing, gut-microbiome-encouraging way of eating, or work around some food sensitivities, you can do that without going all the way to the quite restrictive rules of Whole 30. You can also lose weight by managing calorie intake, and different people succeed at weight loss by calorie management while still eating in all kinds of ways. (If you're significantly overweight, getting to a healthy weight all by itself will almost certainly reduce systemic inflammation, and improve hormone profile, possibly more.)

If you log your eating, you can gradually work at getting to proper calories, tuning in your macronutrients, getting enough fiber, getting adequate micronutrients from your food, shifting fat mix toward a healthier profile, etc. You can also add probiotic/prebiotic foods (which will promote a diverse gut microbiome). You can gradually eat more so-called whole foods, less of whatever you think isn't as good/filling for you. You can take a month and simply eliminate gluten, see if that makes you feel better.

In one sense, it's easier to make a decision like "Do Whole 30" and have all the rules laid out for you. Whole 30 probably will have some of the effects you hope for, too. (But it's not the only thing that can do that.)

But if you can't stick to Whole 30, you're not going to get the benefits, right? So maybe consider doing something more gradual, less radical, less restrictive.

You can make your own plan, but just for an example route:

Start logging your food, just what you eat now. Notice foods you can reduce/eliminate to get calories in line, without major pain, and do that. Then, notice whether you're persistently low on protein or healthy fats, and if you are, gradually adjust your habits using foods you like to get those averaging out about where you want them. (It doesn't have to be exact.)

If you don't eat at least 5 servings of veggies/fruits daily, maybe work on that next. (Many sources are suggesting that 10+ daily servings is even better, but that's a big change for most people. If you're not getting many veggies/fruits, maybe even go for 3 daily, get that happening with routine habits, then move toward 5, and so forth.) Getting enough varied, colorful veggies/fruits will tend to get your micronutrient and fiber intake where you want them to be, and that in itself will likely help reduce systemic inflammation and improve gut health, too. (Don't increase fiber intake massively all at once, BTW. That's almost guaranteed to cause digestive distress. Safer to increase gradually.)

Do a little investigating about probiotic foods: Live culture yogurt or kefir (as noted above, goat milk might work even if cow milk doesn't). Kombucha. Live culture fermented things like raw sauerkraut, kim chi, fermented pickles (not pasteurized). Miso. Raw vinegar in your salad dressings or on veggies. And so forth. Those can help with gut microbiome diversity.

Etc.

This doesn't all have to happen instantly, or even quickly. It can happen over a period of weeks, or even months. You'd be aiming to change your routine habits and preferences in relatively pleasant, manageable, practical ways, in progressive steps, not "do a diet".

A routine you can stick with long term (ideally almost on autopilot after you get it going) is going to have 100% more benefits than something that you do for a week or two here or there, then "go back to normal".

There are different ways to approach the problem. Figuring out which one(s) will be successful for us as individuals is important, because we all have different preference, strengths, challenges, etc.

Just a thought.

Whole30 has been a lifesaver for me. I eat better, I sleep better, I have made better life choices as a result and I have lost 18 pounds. I highly recommend it for a life journey reset.