Over the past year or two, a new diet fad has hit the world of food. Hard. And everyone who’s tried it raves about it. But is Whole30 really, reeeeeally all that people have cracked it up to be? I figured I’d give it a try and see what happens; I’m not super big on commitments, so I compromised halfway and made it a Whole15 instead.
So for those of you who haven’t heard about it, here’s the gist:
– Eat whole foods for 30 days
– Those “whole foods” DON’T include: wheat, legumes (peanuts, chickpeas, etc.; green beans and peas are the only exception), soy, anything dairy, sugar (cane sugar, brown sugar, sweeteners, etc.), alcohol, and preservatives
– Basically, you’re restricted to fruits, veggies, meat, and nuts
– With the foods you can eat, however, you can’t make pancakes, pizza, or anything that reminds you of the processed treats that we all know and love (apparently it’s a psychological thing; it helps quit the cravings)
Right from the get-go, I knew it was gonna be a tough one; I love waffles and pizza a little more than the average college kid, but, I’m a nutrition major, so why not challenge myself a little bit? I did it right before the semester began just to try it out and see if it was worth keeping up once classes started. I went to the grocery store the day that I started and got the essentials: chicken, almonds, spinach, frozen fruits, and a few other things I could make meals with. The first couple of days were TOUGH. I couldn’t just whip up a bowl of cereal for breakfast or make a sandwich when I was low on time, and, although I really love cooking, I had to do it for almost every meal. So, I started cooking meals in bulk to eat over the course of a few days, and I would do the same process after the meal was gone. I got into the swing of things, and here’s what I got out of it after the 15 days:
1. I felt energetic, I never had a food baby, I didn’t feel the need to brush my teeth all the time from eating sugary foods.
2. Sugar was INCREDIBLY difficult to eat; I celebrated with Coldstone and had a severe headache from all of the sugar that I hadn’t consumed for over 2 weeks.
3. It was too inconvenient for me to try and keep up with for the semester. Whole30-approved foods are hard to eat when you’re an on-the-fly college kid
So, although Whole30 is a great idea to stop eating so much junk food, it’s not realistic for anybody who can’t spend a lot of the time in the kitchen. If you wanna try it out, go for it! Here’s some recipes you can check out.
(Sidenote, the picture at the top is my personal favorite Whole30 dinner: sautéed brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, chicken, and zucchini!)
Bon Appétit!