Whole 30?

wandajune6

My sister and I are talking about starting the Whole 30 program. We turn 36 tomorrow and it seems like a good time for a clean start (after birthday dinners out and cake, of course). I find the idea of it pretty intimidating, particularly since it makes eating out next to impossible.

Has anyone here tried it? Any tips?

katiekessler123

Ive never participated in Whole30 specifically, but I can tell you that my husband and I more or less eat a whole foods diet, and I really would advocate for it!  We very rarely get sick (and I'm a teacher so I'm around sick kids all the time), we have a ton of energy, and never have problems with weight gain.  I like knowing what I put in my body and feel that it's really important.

chloe97

I've done paleo for 20 days- which is really close I believe. I loved how I felt on it, but it simply was too hard to keep up! Also, I figured because I was eating clean, I could eat as much as I wanted- this was bad choice with the nuts and cashews because those calories add up fast. I woudl say I eat 75 % clean these days and I can definitely tell when I have had a bad couple days after eating clean for awhile. My stomach bloats up and I have all kinds of digestive issues. I think after 30 days, you will  find yourself incorporating in to your life even when the 30 days are up. 

KatieinBkln

I haven't done it--I am a huge grain-eater so for me even a paleo diet is too intimidating, but I have friends who have done them and LOVED it.

It seems like it requires a lot of preparation and cooking your own meals, so if you have the time/inclination to do that, it'll probably be a lot easier. I'm one to get myself into CODE RED HUNGER DANGER situations that require buying food immediately, so I would suck at it.

lyndausvi

I'm not familiar with that programs.    I'm actually not a fan of any restrictive diets.  They are just totally unrealistic for my lifestyle.   I live with a professional chef.   Cutting out entire food groups or whatever just would never work.

That said,  I try and eat healthier when I'm cooking for myself.   I don't eat a lot of processed or convenience foods.   Breakfast is normally a piece of whole fruit.  Snacks are 1/4 cup of nuts.   Lunches include salads, fruits, veggies, soups.  But I throw in a tuna fish, cheese or BLT sandwich in there once or twice a week.  

Dinners are pretty basic. Protein, lots of veggies and a starch of some sort.     I eat that way about 4-5 times a week.   Then the other nights it's a free for all depending on what DH wants.   Big ole bowl of mac-n-cheese with a big pile of BBQ pulled pork at the local BBQ restaurant?  Yes, please.

I do not have any weight issues, rarely sick.  Most importantly I never feel deprived of anything.  I eat want I want, just in moderation.

knottie9c5ed33df4bbd226

I have a few friends doing this and Paleo right now. They are seeing results but are really sticking to it. You have to get rid of EVERYTHING pretty much.

SmileDamnit

A coworker has done it twice and really liked it (as well as had great results). She really liked the community-like support the "official" challenge provided, along with the accountability.

tcnoble

I did the Whole 30 - it is challenging but certainly do-able!! To be successful you really have to be ready to meal prep weekly and have those foods ready when you're hungry. There are sooo many good recipes on Pinterest. 

lovegood90

I have a ton of paleo-gluten-free-crossfit type friends and they're TOTALLY obnoxious-I'm-superior about it. Like shut up already.

That being said it sounds like a good idea, but I'd prefer to eat what I want as long as it's healthy and splurge once in a while in moderation.

cupcait927

tcnoble said:

I did the Whole 30 - it is challenging but certainly do-able!! To be successful you really have to be ready to meal prep weekly and have those foods ready when you're hungry. There are sooo many good recipes on Pinterest. 

^^ This. I haven't done it myself but H has, twice now. We share responsibility for cooking and like to make the same meal for both of us so while he was doing the Whole30, I familiarized myself with what he could and couldn't eat so we could try and still have some variety. He would've been perfectly content to eat the same three foods the whole month but I needed more than that. It was a lot of work for him but by the end, he felt awesome and had dropped about 10-12 pounds. Definitely requires a lot of meal planning and prep but if you're already in the habit of doing that, it's not so bad.

 

FIL did it as well a year ago and it made permanent changes in his eating habits. He didn't continue to restrict his diet so severely after the 30 days was up but my in-laws did go Paleo after that (and remain mostly paleo) because he felt so much better after cutting out a lot of the crap.

plainjane0415

I wish I could actually stick with a whole food "clean" type diet... But I just can't... I have tried too many times, and I love cheese puffs too much.. **sigh**

I'm here to stalk the tips, cause I definitely need some.

wandajune6

I'm good about meal-planning during the week. The hardest part will be weekends. That's why a 30 day period makes this workable-- I can handle 4 weekends but not forever. My hope is that it might help me break deep love of all carbs. Cutting back on diet soda is probably good for me too.

I think the idea of a community and rules will help me. I'm pretty good about only cooking whole foods at home, though we're too grain-heavy. I'm in a new office now with fewer healthy snacks and lots of junk food so my thought is that creating a new pattern from the start. I've never been good with moderation so following rules about what I can eat rather than how much I can eat seems like it's more likely to be successful.

For those of you who have done this or paleo, do you have any favorite recipes to share? I've found lots online but don't know how great they all sound.

tcnoble

wandajune6 said:

I'm good about meal-planning during the week. The hardest part will be weekends. That's why a 30 day period makes this workable-- I can handle 4 weekends but not forever. My hope is that it might help me break deep love of all carbs. Cutting back on diet soda is probably good for me too.

I think the idea of a community and rules will help me. I'm pretty good about only cooking whole foods at home, though we're too grain-heavy. I'm in a new office now with fewer healthy snacks and lots of junk food so my thought is that creating a new pattern from the start. I've never been good with moderation so following rules about what I can eat rather than how much I can eat seems like it's more likely to be successful.

For those of you who have done this or paleo, do you have any favorite recipes to share? I've found lots online but don't know how great they all sound.

This was horrible for me. I'm a teacher, and the caffeine withdrawal had me apologizing to my students for how awful my mood and demeanor were. That was for sure the absolute hardest part for me. The other cravings go away after a few days.

It just wasn't something I could/wanted to continue forever - I'm all about eating clean/healthy but still being able to splurge in moderation. Just have to find what works for you! The Whole 30 is a good way to kick start healthy eating and get your body feeling good.

I made a Bison Bacon Chili that was phenomenal!! We substituted ground turkey for the bison and it was still delicious. Even my non-paleo family loved it.

Spaghetti squash and a homemade tomato sauce.

Learn to love sweet potatoes - they are paleo approved.

Bacon wrapped chicken with mashed sweet potatoes was an easy and delicious option. Basically anything with bacon I was a fan of.

I made a Paleo Breakfast Cookie that was great.

The hard part is realizing that just because you are eating "paleo"... calories are still calories. So 3000 calories of bacon, just because it's paleo approved, is still too many calories. They encourage you to just eat when you are hungry and NOT count calories, which works for some people... but for me it took a few days of figuring that out so I wasn't just eating because it told me I could. 

wandajune6

Good points, @tcnoble!

I'm not a huge carnivore but my boys are so it will be a balance. I make a pot of chili practically every week. When I do it, it's pretty low fat - lean meat, lots of beans, etc. No beans will be an adjustment.

I got a spiralizer not that long ago that I think will help- there are so many things that I can turn into "pasta" that I think will help.

I love the idea of paleo breakfast cookies. That should be a great alternative to my standard breakfast Belvita biscuits.

DH gets me a huge diet Coke on our work every day. I think I'll just make my morning caffeine into a treat-- there's a Dunkin Donuts in my building so an unsweetened iced tea can be a nice treat in my day.

Also, DH just agreed to do it with me! So excited!

chloe97

wandajune6 said:

I'm good about meal-planning during the week. The hardest part will be weekends. That's why a 30 day period makes this workable-- I can handle 4 weekends but not forever. My hope is that it might help me break deep love of all carbs. Cutting back on diet soda is probably good for me too.

I think the idea of a community and rules will help me. I'm pretty good about only cooking whole foods at home, though we're too grain-heavy. I'm in a new office now with fewer healthy snacks and lots of junk food so my thought is that creating a new pattern from the start. I've never been good with moderation so following rules about what I can eat rather than how much I can eat seems like it's more likely to be successful.

For those of you who have done this or paleo, do you have any favorite recipes to share? I've found lots online but don't know how great they all sound.

I was a diet coke addict. I am talking 4-5 diet cokes a day minimum for 20 years. I used to tell people that quitting smoking was easier for me than quitting diet coke.  A friend of mine who gave up diet for pregnancy suggested substituting LaCroix or other sparkling water. I started with it and I have been AMAZED at how easy it was to cut out the diet coke. Fizzy water is fizzy water. I get my caffeine allowance from my morning coffee and my fizzy water fix from sparkling water. Now that I am not 100% paleo, I do enjoy a diet coke from time to time when I am out, but I really only drinking water. So happy to get these good habits formed before TTC.  

KatieinBkln

wandajune6 said:

Good points, @tcnoble!

I'm not a huge carnivore but my boys are so it will be a balance. I make a pot of chili practically every week. When I do it, it's pretty low fat - lean meat, lots of beans, etc. No beans will be an adjustment.

I got a spiralizer not that long ago that I think will help- there are so many things that I can turn into "pasta" that I think will help.

I love the idea of paleo breakfast cookies. That should be a great alternative to my standard breakfast Belvita biscuits.

DH gets me a huge diet Coke on our work every day. I think I'll just make my morning caffeine into a treat-- there's a Dunkin Donuts in my building so an unsweetened iced tea can be a nice treat in my day.

Also, DH just agreed to do it with me! So excited!

Let us know how you do!

tcnoble

wandajune6 said:

Good points, @tcnoble!

I'm not a huge carnivore but my boys are so it will be a balance. I make a pot of chili practically every week. When I do it, it's pretty low fat - lean meat, lots of beans, etc. No beans will be an adjustment.

I got a spiralizer not that long ago that I think will help- there are so many things that I can turn into "pasta" that I think will help.

I love the idea of paleo breakfast cookies. That should be a great alternative to my standard breakfast Belvita biscuits.

DH gets me a huge diet Coke on our work every day. I think I'll just make my morning caffeine into a treat-- there's a Dunkin Donuts in my building so an unsweetened iced tea can be a nice treat in my day.

Also, DH just agreed to do it with me! So excited!

Having a partner to do it with will help a lot!! I was the only one in my household of 5 so it was really hard with all the temptations.

The breakfast cookies were awesome - I added chocolate chips and raisins and stuff. They felt super indulgent but weren't bad for you.

I also enjoyed making pancakes - eggs, almond butter, and bananas. Super delicious.

It made grocery shopping a more lengthy thing as you have to REALLY read labels and see what you are getting.

I'm a big meat eater too so it wasn't a huge jump, but cutting carbs was tough.

Keep us posted!!

kiwikiss56

I did whole 30 about a year ago with my husband.  The hardest part for me was the hidden sugar and soy in everything!  Even things you wouldn't expect like bacon, sausage, red sauce etc.

I meal planned for the week ahead and did grocery deliveries - pea pod, fresh direct etc. which was really helpful!  

some of my favorite recipes:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/147985537731540465/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/147985537729763211/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/147985537729762775/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/147985537729751287/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/147985537729607749/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/147985537729607545/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/147985537729552525/

good luck

theartistformerlyknownas

I tried it. Made it 2.5 days before diving face first into the cheese drawer.

wandajune6

I hope it works! DH and I have decided to shame each other into keeping up. We shall see.

I'm excited though!

adettma32

I just started a "modified" Whole 30. I'm unwilling to turn down every beer or glass of wine or square of dark chocolate for 30 days but wanted something different and to kickstart a change with eating and hopefully eventually gain more energy each day. 

I agree with the PP that there is added sugar in SO many things. If anyone wants some more motivation to try to kick some sugar from your diet, watch the documentary FED UP. Very interesting. 

I have never done any sort  of restrictive diet and really have never been a fan of the idea of them before, so it will definitely be difficult. Someone offered me a piece of gummy candy yesterday at work and I had one not even thinking about the Whole 30 because of how opposite this diet is to my life the past 26 years. I'm not going to consider the month doomed already because of that though.

 

charlottesmom0626

Okay i googled after reading this thread:

I saw no sugars and no grains and I was like "okay fine"

No alcohol and I'm out.

wandajune6

It's funny- the alcohol isn't an issue. I love wine. I love the occasional cocktail or beer. But I can go a month without a drink.

I used to drink regularly but when I met DH, that slowed. He's a diabetic who really only likes the sickly sweet (wine coolers, frozen dacqueries, etc.) that he can't possibly have. And I'm not excited about alcohol to drink alone. Well, most of the time!

lyndausvi

A St Patrick's day without beer is not a St Patrick's Day.

No way this girl of Irish decent would do this in the month of March.

ETA

theartistformerlyknownas

No beans was a bigger issue for me than no alcohol. I do meatless pretty frequently with lots of black beans, so that was a really big shift to try and get used to. My mind always went to things like "black bean salad! no. ground turkey chili with beans and sweet potatoes! no. beans, rice and avocado! no."

wandajune6

lolo883 said:

No beans was a bigger issue for me than no alcohol. I do meatless pretty frequently with lots of black beans, so that was a really big shift to try and get used to. My mind always went to things like "black bean salad! no. ground turkey chili with beans and sweet potatoes! no. beans, rice and avocado! no."

That's going to be a problem for us too. We eat a lot of beans. It will be an adjustment.

In all honesty, I'll feel successful if we make it 2 weeks. We need to change our habits and if we can do this 90% of the time, I'll be happy.

tcnoble

wandajune6 said:

No beans was a bigger issue for me than no alcohol. I do meatless pretty frequently with lots of black beans, so that was a really big shift to try and get used to. My mind always went to things like "black bean salad! no. ground turkey chili with beans and sweet potatoes! no. beans, rice and avocado! no."

That's going to be a problem for us too. We eat a lot of beans. It will be an adjustment.

In all honesty, I'll feel successful if we make it 2 weeks. We need to change our habits and if we can do this 90% of the time, I'll be happy.


That's totally what it's about - but completing Whole30 will make you feel SOOOO accomplished. It is definitely not easy, but can be done. If you do the 30 days, you can take what you like about it and modify it. Even Paleo people recommend an 80/20 diet. Eat Paleo 80% of the time - and 20% of the time eat what you can still tolerate (meaning you probably can't dive headfirst in to pizza on your cheat day without feeling a little gross after). 

Side note? I hate beans. Ha.

wandajune6

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't see 30 days as that big of a deal. Given that our lives are crazy right now (crazy work/school hours, birthday season in our families, terminally ill family, etc.), I'm trying to set realistic expectations. I've been playing with the idea for a while and realized that there's never going to be an ideal time to do this so we should just dive in.

I like the 80/20 idea. It reminds me of when I first started dating DH-- I'd eat very healthy at home alone but not worry when we were all together. That balance just died when I started living with the boys.

charlottesmom0626

wandajune6 said:

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't see 30 days as that big of a deal. Given that our lives are crazy right now (crazy work/school hours, birthday season in our families, terminally ill family, etc.), I'm trying to set realistic expectations. I've been playing with the idea for a while and realized that there's never going to be an ideal time to do this so we should just dive in.

I like the 80/20 idea. It reminds me of when I first started dating DH-- I'd eat very healthy at home alone but not worry when we were all together. That balance just died when I started living with the boys.

ugh I couldn't agree more. I eat SO HEALTHY when I'm alone or going to lunch with girl friends. Then FI's like "let's order pizza and then get chinese and then drinks and then fries" and I cave. 

wandajune6

charlottesmom0626 said:

wandajune6 said:

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't see 30 days as that big of a deal. Given that our lives are crazy right now (crazy work/school hours, birthday season in our families, terminally ill family, etc.), I'm trying to set realistic expectations. I've been playing with the idea for a while and realized that there's never going to be an ideal time to do this so we should just dive in.

I like the 80/20 idea. It reminds me of when I first started dating DH-- I'd eat very healthy at home alone but not worry when we were all together. That balance just died when I started living with the boys.

ugh I couldn't agree more. I eat SO HEALTHY when I'm alone or going to lunch with girl friends. Then FI's like "let's order pizza and then get chinese and then drinks and then fries" and I cave. 

Exactly! And that's how I gained 25 lbs since meeting him. It's awful. It's how I always pack on the pounds when in a relationship.

penguin44

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't see 30 days as that big of a deal. Given that our lives are crazy right now (crazy work/school hours, birthday season in our families, terminally ill family, etc.), I'm trying to set realistic expectations. I've been playing with the idea for a while and realized that there's never going to be an ideal time to do this so we should just dive in.

I like the 80/20 idea. It reminds me of when I first started dating DH-- I'd eat very healthy at home alone but not worry when we were all together. That balance just died when I started living with the boys.

ugh I couldn't agree more. I eat SO HEALTHY when I'm alone or going to lunch with girl friends. Then FI's like "let's order pizza and then get chinese and then drinks and then fries" and I cave. 

 

This is my issue too. I didn't even used to like most fast foods until I started dating H! He ruined my diet.