My Whole30 Experience

If you've been following me this past month or so you already know that I'm a newly crowned Whole30 alumni. Woo hoo! *Throws glitter everywhere*

And so I figured I'd update you all a little bit about my Whole30 experience and give you some insight to what the past two months (just about) have been like for me. I hope you'll stick around and let me know your thoughts.

Back in April I introduced myself to the Whole30 program by buying a copy of It Starts With Food. I read bits and pieces of the book and decided that the program sounded like something I absolutely wanted to try.

But I waited.

And waited.

And then I ordered a copy of the new Whole30 cookbook ... but it's not actually called a cookbook. It's The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide To Total Health and Food Freedom. But it's really an awesome cookbook. Ehem.

However, you can actually just buy that book and not need the first one. But I needed both because I really wanted to have a full feel and understanding of the program. Like why I needed it, what I could benefit from and how it could change my life.

And it has.

I know. I know. That sounds crazy cheesy. But it has.

First, I started working out a few weeks before I started the Whole30. On my way to finding fitness. 

And I kept at it. I've been working out pretty regularly and keeping my eating in check.

I'm tracking fairly well with MyFitnessPal and connecting with friends on RunKeeper.

And I'm doing it.

On September 1st I started Whole30.

I gave up things like grains and dairy. Alcohol and added sugars. Legumes. Legumes sound like nothing, right? But they're hummus and peas. Peanuts and peanut butter. Peanut butter, people. Did you catch that? And cheese. I gave up all the cheese. And cream for my coffee. And sugar. But CREAM.

And corn. A number of oils. Added stuff that comes in loads of processed food products.

I gave it ALL UP.

DONE.

GONE.

And I did that for 30 days. And then decided, you know what?

I need FIFTEEN MORE.

So I did a Whole45.

And I'm finished with that now. And I still haven't really *broken* the eating pattern. I'm doing what's called a bit of a slow roll, where I'm waiting for the THING I have to have before I eat any of those things.

However, I am slowly permitting added sugars back in through mostly compliant products.

For example, my coconut creamer has some added cane sugar. And my chicken sausage has a little bit of honey. So I'm allowing those things because I'm aware of them. And if I'm aware of them I know it's going to be okay.

I can keep track on how they make me feel and how they impact my health, skin, digestion, cravings, etc. and watch how I interact - for lack of a better word - with certain foods or ingredients. And then I'll know what my body needs or doesn't when it comes to these eliminated things.

And I have a lot more to say on this but I'd like to at least get one post published this week that touches on my healthy habits - so I'll end here.

Stay tuned. I'm going to come back and share some of my favorite packaged products that are healthy because they're all natural and not tainted with the not-so-good stuff AND my favorite recipes, whether they're ones I've created or used from a number of resources.

So definitely come back and see what I have to say ... and let me know what your favorite healthy recipe is in the comments. Whether it's veggie focused or protein based, I'm interested!

* There are a few affiliate links in this post. If you buy these books through me I'll make a few pennies towards my next Amazon purchase. Thank you! *

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