Whole30: The Challenge to Rule them All

No sugar. No alcohol. No grains. No legumes. No peanuts?

I know that Whole30 doesn’t want me to look at their challenge this way, but it’s hard not to. Not that I’m not used to restrictions; I live with a restriction to dairy every day. The real reason why this challenge seems so hard before it’s even started is that my boyfriend is doing it with me.

I’ve done DietBets, I’ve done detoxes, I’ve gone gluten-free or vegan or abstained from alcohol for month stretches before. To me, going paleo (plus a little more) doesn’t seem like a big deal. I love avocado and sweet potatoes and coconuts, and on this diet I can eat as much as I want! My boyfriend, on the other hand, has only watched me in these challenges and never fully joined me.

Obviously, when I make food, he eats it,  but sometimes I’d even make two dinners for him or he’d have something extra with whatever I ate. This time we’ll be eating the same thing all day, every day, and we’ll be on each others’ cases to make sure we don’t screw up.

So, what is the Whole30, you might be asking?

Think of it as paleo. For 30 days, all we’ll be eating is meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and healthy sources of fat. I don’t eat a lot of meat, as evidenced by all of my vegan recipes and my preference towards a vegan diet, but I’m interested to see the effects this type of diet has on my body. We also have to abstain from foods that tend to have potential downsides for people, including grains, legumes, added sugars (yes, even Stevia), and dairy, although that one won’t be hard at all for me. I’m most worried about going without grains. I’m most worried about my boyfriend going without sugar. He tends to sneak candy.

Whole30 promises to do things like reduce cravings to sugary foods, help improve the quality of sleep and energy level, alleviate or cure a whole host of digestive and hormonal issues (some of which I have but I won’t get into which ones), and just make you feel better in general. I’m the kind of person that tends to start to feel run down or just mentally fogged up from time to time and I find going on diets like this helps to hit my “reset” button.

Think the Whole30 challenge might be for you? Watch us do it first. I’ll be chronicling the foods I eat, how I feel each day, and have a round-up of total changes at the end of the challenge. During the month, I’ll post a few updates along with other non-Whole30 blog posts but wait for the end for the results to post. I’m not allowed to weigh or measure myself along the way, which I think will also be challenging for me.

I’m off to a wedding today. This weekend will be my final hurrah. Wish me luck and I’ll see you all on the other side!