On October 17 through November 16th I completed the Whole30. I will briefly explain what the Whole 30 is for those of you that are unfamiliar with it. It is essentially 30 days of eating REAL food. You know, that stuff our ancestors ate. Meat, veggies, some fruit, good fats. It is NOT grains, dairy, alcohol, added sugars, or processed fattening carbohydrates.
Before embarking on this personal challenge I think it is important to point out that I was already eating this way about 85% of the time. In other words, there are certainly times when alcohol, grains and dairy make their way into my diet. Usually this is by way of my nightly glass of red wine, some corn tortillas here and there and goat cheese. Oh, and I cannot forget my love for good dark chocolate. Sure there were other "off the rails" items, but really for the most part I eat a fairly clean diet and am able to comply to clean eating the majority of the time.
So, when I decided to finally commit to 30 days of a 100% compliant Paleo diet, I knew I just needed to reign in a handful of items and that it would not be such a drastic change to my regular eating habits. Don't misunderstand me. Just because it wasn't a huge leap from my regular eating habits does not mean it was not hard! It taught me things about myself that I never knew. I realized I am MUCH stronger than I thought when it comes to choosing a healthy body over instant gratification from sugar. After the first week I truly felt empowered. I have never slept better than I did during those 30 days and the aches and pains I would complain of after a Crossfit WOD were nearly nonexistent.
My reason for embarking on this journey was mainly for vanity...I am bound and determined to uncover this six pack that I know lies under a layer of belly fat. I can see parts of it...It is there, and I want to see all of it!
I highly recommend you visit www.whole9life.com and sift through it for loads of invaluable information. Seriously before you read on you really should take a peek at Dallas and Melissa's site and get an idea of what this is all about. Especially if you give a crap at all about what it is you put into your body.
Hopefully you have visited the site and now have a basic understanding of what the Whole 30 is. I would like to give you my thoughts on what the Whole 30 is NOT. Mainly because I think it is important to implement it and commit to maintaining the integrity of the program. Simply put, if you follow it the way it was written, it works. If you don't, it doesn't. Simple as that.
The Whole 30 is NOT a diet. It is also NOT a 22 day program with 8 cheat days built in. ( AKA"The weekends") It is NOT 30 days of torture only to be followed by 335 days of gluttony.
Here is what the Whole 30 IS. It IS life changing. It IS the path to healing your insides. It IS about eating real food and learning that what you put into your body actually matters. It IS a test of the level of respect you have for this one body you were given. The Whole 30 is what you make of it. I did not know all this first hand until I actually decided to give it a shot. My only regret is that I waited so long to do it;)
So, for 30 days I did not consume a drop of alcohol, nor any grains, dairy or added sugars. I say added sugars because I have had a handful of grapes, a handful of raisins and approximately half an apple during the 30 days. Fruit is not off limits but I wanted maximum results so I chose to really limit my intake of it. You may be wondering what I HAVE eaten during this time! Well, here is a short list of some of the meals I have prepared under these guidelines. (Most of these can be found in the cookbooks I have listed on the left side of my blog)
Shrimp and Sausage Casserole
Sawmill Gravy and Biscuits
Pumpkin Souffle
Eggs and Chicken Sausage
Homemade Chicken Salad
Sweet Potatoes (Only post workout)
Frittatas
Garden Meatballs
Grass fed beef Burgers with Portabellos
Better Butter Chicken
Morning Glory Muffins (just 1!)
Columbus Deli Meat (usually as snack)
Steak and Shrimp Tacos
Puerto Rican Beef
This list goes on and on...I will note that I took every opportunity I could to eat vegetables with each of these meals. Even if vegetables were in the recipe I still made sure to get some more on my plate:) I drank water whenever I could and had coffee too. Thank goodness coffee is Whole 30 approved or things would have gotten ugly.
I started feeling better and noticing slight changes in my body after about 1 week. This really helped keep me motivated as I realized what could happen with 30 days of this! I stopped thinking about what I was missing out on and started focusing on the good that I was doing for not only my body composition but my performance in the gym as well. The things I ask of my body each day cannot be attained if I am putting crap into it. Period.
While I fortunately have the ability to prepare almost all of my meals myself, I was met with a dinner or two out. I was very apprehensive about these times but knew that I could make the best of it. Those that know me know that my first line of business was to figure out how I was going to sit in a social setting and not order a cocktail! Sad but true! After my first night out where the rest of the party was drinking I realized it was not the alcohol I craved but just the social aspect of having a drink in my hand and sipping on it. It felt awkward to me to go up to the bar and order a water (again sad but true) so I ordered a club soda with a lime and that is all it took to keep me on track:) I am sure this is making me sound like a borderline alcoholic but I am more trying to make the point that I finally realized that its not the drink I want but the social aspect.
So when my 30 days ended I immediately decided I was going to keep this ball rolling. Mainly because while I lost 10 pounds according to my scale and do see some major improvement in my abdominal area I do still have some fat to lose on my midsection. This was not a difficult decision to make. I have not reached my goal yet so why in the world would I stop what I am doing? So after about a week and a half of some "not Whole30 approved" items I am once again being very mindful about what goes into my body. I guess I'll call it my second Whole30 with a few liberties. In other words, Monday through Friday is strict...no exceptions. IF I find myself out on the weekend I may indulge in a glass of red wine or a NorCal Margarita...I will enjoy it and move on:)
I also would like to point out that just this morning while flipping through my workout journal to record a new PR on my Split Jerk I realized that this was my 3rd PR while on the Whole30:) My Back squat and front squat 1RM also increased during those 30 days. It's amazing what clean eating will do for you;)
I did take before and after pictures but I decided to wait to post those until I reach my goal...I will include my before, my midway point and my final one:) Thanks for reading about my journey and I would be glad to answer any questions anyone has for me:)
