Call Me Crazy…

I’ve decided to do another Whole30 in April!  I’m going to do all 30 days and Dave is doing it with me!  And so is Sarah!  I’m slipping back into bad eating habits (which makes my stomach hate me), I want clean eating to become a habit, and I want to see if I can obtain even better results.  My skin has always been less than amazing and although it improved during my Whole21, I think it could still improve with more time.  I’d also like to see if I can continue to lean out and find my abs for the summer!

What is The Whole30 Program?  This link will give you all the details, but here are the basics:

• Eat real food:
• Meat
• Seafood
• Eggs
• Tons of vegetables
• Some fruit
• Plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds
• Avoid:
• Sugar of any kind, real or artificial
• Alcohol or tobacco products
• Grains
• Legumes
• Dairy
• Carrageenan, MSG, or sulfates
• White potatoes

So, I know what you’re thinking… why the heck would anyone do this?  From the website:

Certain food groups (like sugar, grains, dairy and legumes) could be having a negative impact on your health and fitness without you even realizing 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? Do you have some sort of condition (like skin issues, digestive ailments, seasonal allergies or fertility issues) that medication hasn’t helped? These symptoms may be directly related to the foods you eat – even the “healthy” stuff. So how do you know if (and how) these foods are affecting you?

Strip them from your diet completely. Cut out all the psychologically unhealthy, hormone-unbalancing, gut-disrupting, inflammatory food groups for a full 30 days. Let your body heal and recover from whatever effects those foods may be causing. Push the “reset” button with your metabolism, systemic inflammation, and the downstream effects of the food choices you’ve been making. Learn once and for all how the foods you’ve been eating are actually affecting your day to day life, and your long term health. The most important reason to keep reading?

This will change your life.

My thoughts about it:

Do you suffer from a food coma after a big feast?  Maybe after lunch, you just want to take a nap?  Do you get headaches or feel starved if you miss a meal?  Do you get hangry?  Does your tummy feel bloated?  Does it make weird noses?  Are you gassy?  Do you realize that the food you eat impacts everything in your body?  If you’re getting a majority of your fuel from processed food you may be surviving, but are you thriving?

The Whole30 is not for everyone, maybe baby steps are more your style.  It’s intense and it involves a lot of cooking, planning, and willpower.  But it’s only 30 days… you can live without bread for 30 days (I promise!), it will be there when you’re done!  As the website says:  “It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You won’t get any coddling, and you won’t get any sympathy for your “struggles”. YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE not to complete the program as written. It’s only thirty days, and it’s for the most important health cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime.”

If you like immediate results, this is for you!  You will see changes within days.  You might sleep better, you might lose weight, you may even rethink everything conventional wisdom has told you.  Or you may finish 30 days and realize Paleo just isn’t for you… but what do you have to lose?

Are you thinking about joining us for the April Whole30?  A few people have already told me they’re in!  It’s much easier to do with a support group and I will be posting lots of helpful links before April!  Let me know if you’re interested!