Have you always wanted to see how different foods are secretly affecting your body in a negative way? Well, consider this your sign to embark on a Whole30 journey. I recently completed mine, and let me just say, it was one of the best things I have ever done for myself. Not only did it show me what foods made me bloat or gave me a stomachache, but it also bettered my relationship with food and reset my ideal portion sizes.
Now you’re probably wondering, what even is the Whole30? The Whole30 is a cleanse that lasts 30 days where you eliminate specific food groups with the end goal of seeing how those foods affect your body and how you feel. The food groups you must eliminate are dairy, soy, most legumes, added sugar, grains, or alcohol of any form (including while cooking). It is also against the rules to weigh yourself at any point once the 30 days have begun. I know this might sound like your entire diet, but once you find a few different options you really enjoy, you stick with them.
While it may sound like it, this cleanse does not wipe out every food except lettuce. You can eat anything that does not contain the avoided ingredients. Some of my go-to foods were fruits, vegetables, salads, potatoes, chicken, and turkey burgers, without the bun, of course. I would munch on fruit and raw vegetables throughout the day. I would typically have a big salad for lunch with lemon juice or balsamic vinegar and oil as a dressing. When nighttime rolled around, I would either have a turkey burger with some homemade French fries or chicken with cooked vegetables.
This cleanse requires research. Just to be safe, I would look up the ingredients of everything I put in my mouth to be sure it was Whole30 compliant. If you break the cleanse, you are to start over in order to give your body the proper reset to identify what foods affect you negatively. Extensive research also gives you the opportunity to experiment with different meals. For example, I found an imitate In-N-Out Animal Burger recipe that was all Whole30 compliant, and let me tell you, it was so delicious.
Once the thirty days are up, you are supposed to slowly introduce foods back into your diet to see if they give you any negative effects. No seriously, I mean like barely one new food per day. You’re supposed to pick one food group and only eat different items from that group for about a week, noting any upset stomachs you may get in the process. Then after about a week, you can move on to the next food group. The introduction process is different for everyone. This is what worked for me, but you might find that something else works better for your body. This is another place where research will be a big help for you.
I am not going to sit here and tell you that these 30 days were a breeze; there were definitely days where I wanted to throw that bun on my burger or divulge myself in ice cream. However, I did not succumb to those cravings, and I am prouder now for it. Just like anything else, it is much easier to stick to it if you have someone else on the journey with you who can hold you accountable. So, grab a friend or family member and begin this journey that will change your life for the better.