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Whole 30

May 5th, 2016 at 11:16 pm

I am trying a new way of eating this month. It's a Paleo variation on a vegan diet called the Whole 30, and it's basically a whole foods diet that eliminates, for 30 days, added sugar, dairy, grains, legumes, and processed foods. I already eat very little dairy, so that's not a problem, and I'm not too much of a sweets eater (other than fruit, which IS allowed on this) so that's pretty manageable too.

The big changes are eliminating grains and legumes, as well as processed foods. It's only for a month; then one adds the eliminated food categories back one at a time to see if one has reactions to them--and ideally one breaks any "addiction" to sugar during this time, so that will be lower aftwards too.

So far the biggest challenge is breakfast, since I've long been a cereal eater. For now, I'm doing a couple of eggs most mornings, along with some veggies and fruit, and the occasional smoothie or chia pudding. (Chia pudding is also something I am keeping on hand for desserts too--it's chia seeds and almond milk and I sweeten it with chopped up dates and some other fruit.) Then for lunch and dinner I have some kind of meat (a turkey burger, piece of chicken, or some fish) and a couple of vegetables--usually at least one sweet potato or piece of winter squash each day to help with satiety. And a couple of times I've had a package of almonds for a snack (along with an apple).

Hopefully this will be good for the budget too--my food spending always nicks upwards during tax season as I end up eating out a lot, so reining it back in will be good for the pocketbook as well as the waistline. The main intent is to get me to eat more healthy, home-cooked meals. Not that I eat all that badly, but I've been indulging in commercial thousand island dressing on the salads I buy for lunch at the deli across the street and other, or getting a taco salad at the Mexican restaurant and eating part of the fried shell...foods that have an excess amount of unhealthy fat.

There's another bit of incentive: in a month, I will be seeing my college boyfriend for the first time in 28 years. He will be out east on a business trip and we will get together. He's happily married, so this is not a romantic prospect, just me wanting to look better than I currently do in front of a man I've known since I was 18 (with long hair and 60 fewer pounds on my frame).

4 Responses to “Whole 30”

  1. LuckyRobin Says:
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    Whole 30 is hard the first week, so prepare yourself. The cravings really have to be fought against, but after that it gets easier and you will feel amazing. They have some great cook books that make it easier and very delicious. It didn't feel sustainable over the long haul, though, but for a month it was good to do. Good luck.

  2. creditcardfree Says:
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    I've just recently heard of Whole30...sounds like a good restart. I hope you lose the weight you want to.

  3. Dido Says:
    1462547948

    Thanks for the comments. I spent the past month preparing myself mentally and also in terms of beginning to change my diet in the desired direction, so actually so far it hasn't been too bad. The big key so far was that I stayed home last Sunday because it was rainy and I cooked, so I have had easily accesible meals. I just need to make sure I do that every weekend this month. The challenge will come when I go away overnight one night--but that should be ok. I've been to the place I will be staying before and there is a restaurant down the street where I can get seafood for dinner, there are eggs available for breakfast, and a burger joint also within walking distance, plus there is a small guest refrigerator in case I want to bring a little something (it's one small fridge for all the guests to share, so I can't bring too much, but something).

  4. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1462594561

    Staying away from sugar would be the hard part of the program for me.

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