Whole 30 FAQ

Have you lost weight?

We are not allowed to weigh ourselves during the W30. But no, I do not feel like I have lost weight. Though I have had a couple of people ask if I've been losing weight. Go figure. Also, just for the record, the W30 is not a diet. It's more of a food challenge meant to give you more energy and better health. They say straight up on their site that they don't care if you lose weight when doing the program, that is not the purpose. However, they said that something like 98% of participants report weight loss during the 30 days. Which like, duh. You don't eat sugar or processed food for a month, what other option is there?

Update: Jennie and I both lost 10 lbs.

What can you eat?

Meat, veggies, fruit, nuts, and berries. You get creative with lettuce-wrapped burgers and cornstarch-free beef and broccoli. Tonight is my dinner night and I cooked chicken in coconut oil with lime juice and chicken broth. Then I threw in some asparagus, sweet baby peppers, and tomatoes. And salt. And pepper.  I eat eggs for breakfast literally every day. It hasn't gotten old yet. I either add tomatoes and onions, or, if I'm feeling lazy, I just add salsa. I also eat carrots. I usually bring an apple and grilled chicken or something to school and awkwardly eat my chicken in class. And I drink a ton of water. 

Does it cost more? How is grocery shopping?

Yes, and horrible. The cost is ridiculous. Or maybe it's just because I'm in college. We are basically at the store every day restocking on veggies, bananas, eggs, and raisins. And grocery shopping? It's the worst. Next time you're at the store try finding food with less than five ingredients, and nothing that you can't pronounce. No sucrose, no corn syrup, no sugar, no sulfites. Did you know that Morton's salt has dextrose in it? Yeah. Neither did we until we saw the "all natural sea salt" stocked next to it. It's basically really frustrating to finally find what you need, and then have to spend another ten minutes reading labels. I hate grocery shopping anyway, but nowadays its enough to drive me to insanity. Or to tears. 

Do you feel any different?

Yes. Waking up is easier. If you've read my blog for more than two months, you may remember a time when basically every other post mentioned my hatred for the morning. That is no longer the case. I really do have more energy in the morning. It's been gradual though, so it's not until I read something about how much I use to hate morning that I remember how far I've come. I'm also fairly certain my gym performance is getting better. I've been able to pass weights that I have been stuck at for months. Sweet. And things like walking up freshman hill or a ton of stairs isn't killer anymore. It's like, really easy. 

Are you doing this for lent?

No.

Why are you doing this?

I ask myself the same thing some days. But only when we are low on food and I just want some ice cream. But then I eat an avocado and peace is restored. To answer your question, I am doing this out of curiosity. Like I said in my first W30 post, I have been hearing about this since I started at my gym two years ago, and I have thought about doing it on numerous occasions. I actually did it this time because I A) don't depend on the freshman cafeteria for my food anymore and B) because I finally convinced someone to do it with me. I really don't think I could have done it alone. 

You mean you really don't eat any sugar?

Yes, I really do not eat any sugar. It's 30 days, I can manage. I have had numerous people tell me that eating some dark chocolate in the morning would help. ...Would help what? I kindly tell them that chocolate is not approved, and that we are discouraged to eat any form of sugar (fruit) in the morning.

I could never do that.

Not a question, But yes, you could. You can do anything you want. No one is forcing you to eat unapproved foods, and you have the self-control to make the decision. If you are following the meal guides and eating enough you won't even be hungry. Like I said, this isn't a diet. The point is not to starve. I promise you won't die. 

When is the last day?

Friday.

Are you gonna go crazy with food at the end?

The answer to this question depends on the moment you ask if. If you catch me mid-sugar craving, then the answer is yes, and I will go on to give you a detailed list of all the foods I will cram into my face the second Saturday happens. However, if you catch me any other time, the answer is no. Why would I want to waste 30 days of work on one binge-fest? 

Would you recommend doing this?

Yeah. But like, don't do it unless you are really going to do it. I keep telling myself that, if nothing else, I have gained a better sense of self-control. And I have learned more about food in the past 27 days than I have in my entire life. I am learning the things that give me real energy, and the things that are just empty calories. Today in class someone was talking about the importance of teaching your children how to make good food decisions, and I actually got excited. I feel like I now know what real good food choices are, and while I don't plan on raising my kids on a W30 diet that would be beyond crazy, I know what kinds of things will sustain them and what will have them back in 30 minutes feeling hungry again. 

So basically I am not their new spokes person or anything, but if you tell me you're considering it I'll support your decision. 

I'll let you know how my opinion changes once the 30 days are up.

TGIF

Before we started The Whole 30, we guessed that week two would be the hardest. We were correct. The first few days we were doing fine, but eventually the lack of sugar/complex carbs started getting to us.

And by "getting to us," I mean we started acting like animals. Completely irrational, always hungry, rarely civilized, and forgetting social norms. After sharing a few stories with a friend, he stated that we are basically living The Lord of the Flies in our apartment. He wasn't far off.

I asked one of the trainers at my gym why we're feeling worse than before we started, and she basically told us to be patient. We just went cold turkey off of habits that are two decades deep, and it is going to take our bodies a while to adjust. Once they do, however, the magic will start to happen.

Please, I pray, let the magic start to happen!

But, while we wait for that, let's review the week:

-I started it off by missing my alarm and forcing Jennie out of bed to drive me. 

-Bronwyn and I got in a legit fight over the thermostat. It was an ugly, bitter exchange of words that went down in front of our guests/friends. 

-This.

-Jennie and I were away from home and desperate for food so we stopped by a subway. After staring down the menu for a minute, I asked if I could get the meat and veggies from a sandwich, just without the bread. The worker responded, "So, that would be like, a salad?" ... yes. Yes it would. I felt like an idiot. 

-I very accusatorially called one of my friends a "gay hater." I basically yelled it in his face.

-I forgot my roommate's birthday. I'm sorry Emily, but facebook had to remind me.  

-I basically threw a tantrum when my roommate asked me to answer the door. I made bitter faces, exaggerated all of my movements, and even slammed a door. Hello, two-year-old Sadie, welcome back into existence. 

-I sat down and cried in the middle of the JFSB over a completely harmless comment.

-Half-way through a study group a girl pulled out some fruit snacks. I was full-on coveting them, throwing all caution of the tenth commandment to the wind. I basically sold my soul for a pack of Great Value smiley face fruit snacks. 

-And, in a nice grand gesture to wrap up the week, I set my kitchen on fire.

I know what you're thinking, "How is she not married yet??"

The Whole 30: Day 5

Cue Fast Sunday.

It was hard, and taking the sacrament bread felt like a sin. I'm not allowed to eat bread! 

I have been unsubscribing from all food boards on pinterest, as seeing things like this was a little distracting:

Curse you, delicious looking food. 

But no, in all honesty this is a whole lot easier than I thought it would be, and if nothing else it is teaching me to cook, which is never a bad thing.

And it's teaching a form of self-control. The Whole 30 site talks about sugar tantrums, and how we feed our brians. It's just like giving into a screaming two-year old, the only thing they learn is that screaming gets them what they want. When your brain and body scream for sugar and you give in, guess what is going to happen next time?

Also, Jennie and I went to a get together the other night and shared a plate of macadamia nuts. Livin' the life.

Whole 30: Day 1

Before we get started, we need a disclaimer: I am not saying that I am going to blog about this thing every day.

Right. Not gonna lie, today was easy. Sure, it took a bit of conscious effort not to grab for the candy at work, and getting home from the grocery store last night to find pizza in the fridge was nothing short of depressing, but I'm definitely in a stage of initial excitement. I have apologized in advance to my roommates/the people who deal with me daily for when I hit the "irrational and miserable to be around" phase, cause let's be honest, it's bound to happen.

I spent a good chunk of time today looking for every bit of information on this thing, and when I got onto my gym's site today the first blog post was about Paleo! How perfect. It was awesome, and you should read it. 

This is what our grocery cart looked like last night.
Let me be the one to tell you that herbal tea sans honey is just not the same.  

The Whole 30

I started my gym two years ago.

Considering how pathetically weak I still am, I cringe to admit that. But, in my defense, I have undergone two major surgeries and spent four months abroad since then which has resulted in a lot of time off. 

But still, I have been looking for a way to up my performance, and the other day it came to me: The Whole 30. 

In short it is a way of eating that promotes energy and overall well being. It's pretty extreme. Here is a list of things to stay away from:

• Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels (and your Success Guide FAQ), because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.

• Do not consume alcohol, in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)

• Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. Yes, we said corn… for the purposes of this program, corn is a grain! This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.

• Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).

• Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)

• Do not eat white potatoes. This is somewhat arbitrary, but if we are trying to change your habits and improve the hormonal impact of your food choices, it’s best to leave white, red, purple, Yukon gold and fingerling potatoes off your plate. (Refer to your Success Guide FAQ for details).

I have been hearing about this since I started at the gym, but I haven't ever taken it seriously. I thought about doing it freshman year, but can you imagine trying to do that thing at a college cafeteria? Yeah. No. 

But tonight I decided to do it. I asked a trainer at my gym for more information a few days ago and tonight I thoroughly stalked the blog and decided it was time. 

The best part is that my roommates, Bronwyn and Jennie, are completely on board and are going to do it with me, which will make it more do-able. 

We just cleaned our cupboards of all the "don't" foods and we're on our way to get the "do's."

This is our motivational desktop background

This is our "chain for success" with motivational thoughts for each of the 30 days

This is the food we're getting rid of.