This past Spring, my best friend Lindsey did her first Whole30! I remember when she called me to tell me she was starting and how I was initially very skeptical of what I thought her new "diet" was. I remember thinking that there was NO way I could do it. After all how was I going to drink coffee without the 80% creamer that I put in it. And you mean I can't have cheese? NO WAY. Well, one of the main tenants behind Whole30 is letting the program change your life... and rest assured friends, it does. It definitely does.
So, this past May I decided to give it a try! To anyone who has been considering trying it I would definitely recommend the program IF (1) you like eggs/meat/aren't a vegan (2) you can get creative with meal-prepping (3) you're okay with the occasional struggle when you're out to dinner. If you think you can do all of those then I would highly recommend Whole30.
The basic rules (and you can find all of them here) include: Eating real food. Yep! All real. Things that you'll avoid for 30 days (I know the fun part) are added sugar (real/artificial -- honey included), alcohol, grains, legumes (not the precious peanut butter), dairy, carrageenan/MSG/sulfites, & baked goods/junk foods.
It is recommended that you stay of the scale while doing Whole30; but rather focus on the way you feel and the non-scale victories. (side note: if your whole30 is anything like mine you will lose weight -- you just have to trust the process).
Now doing Whole30 while working on a college campus (and having a meal plan) was a little difficult. My work pays for my meal plan (it is encouraged that I eat with my students, which is wonderful -- but also difficult when you can't eat most of the stuff in the dining hall). Meal prepping was a HUGE success factor in my Whole30. Now before you give me the whole "I don't have time to meal prep" -- yes you do! If you are efficient with your time and are able to get groceries - meal prepping will change your life!
I meal prep twice a week (the whole Sunday all day meal- prepping thing would be nice -- but that's just a little too much for me at this point!) I usually meal prep Sunday/Monday evenings and Wednesdays for about 1.5-2 hours! I can make almost 6-8 meals in that time frame and that really comes in handy throughout the week.
Although the dining hall is full of temptations, I have been able to use the dining hall to my advantage (as seen above). For lunch all I had to make was the Whole30 compliant egg salad (egg + avocado) and then grab veggies from the dining hall. I had a small side of roasted sweet potatoes to eat; if I needed something a little sweeter and starchier. I also usually pack some sparkling water to go with one meal a day!
My fridge is often times filled with Tupperware and Whole30 complaint things (but don't worry I keep some cheese around for Josh). My favorite Whole30 drink essentials include: Libby's Pineapple Juice (no sugar added), Silk's Unsweetened Almond & Coconut Milk, Coconut Water, La Croix/ Spindrift. I also usually have a ton of fresh fruit, meat, veggies, eggs, and nuts. One indicator of Whole30 success is whether you are prepared or not -- so go to the grocery store and stalk up!
Now this is an introductory post for a reason because there is no way I could cover all 30 days of Whole30 wellness and my current Whole20 reset before the academic year begins -- no worries I'll save those for later posts... but I will briefly share that I found Whole30 to be really helpful for me. To start it allowed me to focus on nutrition. All throughout the program I knew that I was only putting real and healthy foods into my body! It also helped me defeat my sugar dragon! Before Whole30 I was the type of person who had to have dessert before I went to bed every night. After Whole30 no dessert and I'm cool!
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| I started Whole30 at 137 and I ended Whole30 at 130 (went from a size 4/6 to 2- I think! Still need to get new clothes) |
Now I did lose weight and inches while doing Whole30! I don't prefer to focus on those solely because weight is just one scale of measurement. The benefit I loved the most about Whole30 was the boundless energy (known as Tiger Blood) that I experienced! I used to be obsessed with the snooze button and when I was doing Whole30 I was waking up on average 2 hours before my alarm even went off (NATURALLY). The energy alone was one of my favorite parts of doing Whole30 and if you feel like you are dragging throughout the workday then I would HIGHLY recommend the program!
Have you done Whole30? Have you considered doing Whole30? Comment below.
