Starting a Whole 30

On Sunday I officially started my first Whole 30. I was planning to start a Whole 30 on Monday and then realised that there was no reason I couldn’t start on Sunday – what was I waiting for?

What is the Whole 30?

The Whole 30 is a short-term nutritional reset, designed to help you restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, calm systemic inflammation and put an end to unhealthy cravings, habits, and relationships with food. You follow the plan for 30 days without any cheats. 

Certain food groups (like sugar, grains, dairy and legumes) could be having a negative impact on your health and fitness without you even realising it.

 Are your energy levels inconsistent or non-existent? Do you have aches and pains that can’t be explained by over-use or injury? Are you having a hard time losing weight no matter how hard you try? 

The Whole 30 cuts out all the inflammatory, gut-disrupting, calorie-dense but nutritionally sparse food groups for a full 30 days. 

Why am I starting the Whole 30?

I have been interested in the impacts of what you put in your mouth for a while now. Last year I read It Starts With Food, which really resonated with me.  It took me a while to get around to doing a Whole 30 as it is quite strict and eliminates a lot of food groups and you need to make sure you read the labels of any packaged food you plan to eat to make sure there are no nasty additives. 

While for the majority of meals I don’t think I will have too many issues as we have been eating  largely paleo for quite a while now, I will need to ditch the paleo treats such as the Clean Bounty Bars which I have been having. 

While the Whole 30 and Paleo are very similar there is one large difference and that is that you are not allowed to make paleo treats even if they use whole ingredients! 

The point of this ‘rule’ is to break the emotional ties we have with food and to cut out psychologically unhealthy foods, allowing us to push the “Reset” button on our metabolism. This is the major reason I wanted to start a whole 30 – to drop my habits with sweet foods and snacking. 

What am I nervous about?

I think it’s natural to be a bit nervous about starting a Whole 30 as it is quite strict. I am nervous about trying to minimize my snacks as my tummy growls at me if I don’t eat every couple of hours and has always been like this AND I only eat when I’m hungry! 

I am nervous about comfort eating (which is one of the reasons I am doing the Whole 30) as occasionally I stress at work and find myself getting a sweet treat (hey we’re all human!). 

I am nervous about finding something to eat when out at a restaurant  or having to say no to social occasions, which is largely silly however looking at some of the menu’s for places I may be going too this week I have VERY limited options and even then need to ask for things to be taken off my meals!  

What am I going to eat during the Whole 30?

I have had a good look on pinterest and written down a few recipes which tickled my fancy including;

• Pina Colada Chicken (say what!)
• Crispy Coconut Chicken
• Bunless Burgers (we have had these already, they were good!).

 My goals for my first Whole 30:

• Stabilise my energy levels – eliminate the 3.30itis. 
• Change my habits and cravings surrounding sweet foods. 
• Have clearer skin (I’m not sure that I can be saved with this as I believe my Jadelle Implant affects this!)

I will keep you up to date with what I am eating and how I am feeling as I work my way through my first Whole 30.  

I’m looking for inspiration – What are your favourite lunch and dinner meals??