In October of 2015 I decided to go Gluten Free and eliminated Wheat from my diet. For Lent our family decided to implement the Whole30 program for the next 40 days. I’m halfway through the Whole30 journey and I thought I’d share some observations about this program.
What is Whole30?
The concept behind Melissa and Dallas Hartwig’s Whole30 program is that it takes 30 days to reset your health and change your relationship with food. That by eating non-processed whole foods and eliminating grains, dairy, sugar, legumes, and alcohol from you system, you will:
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reduce inflammation in your system
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clear up your skin
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revitalize your energy
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improve your gut flora
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correct hormonal imbalances
Here’s what you don’t eat: dairy, soy, legumes, sugar, all grains, artificial sweeteners and alcohol.
Here’s what you do eat: lots of fresh vegetables, eggs, seafood, fruit, healthy fats, and meat. Potatoes are allowed as well as squash and root veggies. Ghee or clarified butter is allowed since it’s lactose-free.
Who Is Participating in the Whole30 Program?
At the end of January my daughter Sarah and son-in-law Patrick approached my wife Sherry and I about participating in the Whole30 program. They were going to include their two children and wanted to know if we’d like to participate. We had never heard of the Whole30 lifestyle but decided to join them in this eating adventure if they would take the lead in meal preparations.
5 Initial Observations About the Whole 30 Program
Observation #1 – Preparation is key to your success on this program. If it were not for Sarah and Patrick doing the meal planning and most of the preparation work Sherry and I would have had a very hard time staying on this eating plan.
Observation #2 – We’ve had some amazing meals. Sarah and Patrick have done an excellent job in meal selection. In a future post I’ll share some of them with you. These are meals that we plan to continue even after we’re officially done with the Whole30 cycle.
Observation #3 – Children easily adapt and become advocates for eating healthy. Owen is 4 and in preschool. He easily understood the food changes and even helps educate his preschool teacher on what are good Whole30 food choices. Ada Jane is 1 1/2 and she eats anything put in front of her.
Observation #4 – Healthy fats are a lifesaver in keeping you from being hungry. One of the issues I had on this program was hunger. When I eliminated my main source of carbohydrates I started getting hungry at 11:30 am where as before I didn’t get hungry until 1 pm. Because peanuts are legumes this means that peanut butter is out as a food choice. My children turned me on to Sunflower butter as an alternative. It tastes almost the same as Peanut Butter but without any potential allergens. I started adding this to my morning shake and it helped a lot in controlling my hunger.
Observation #5 – Don’t get hung up on being perfect. Melissa and Dallas Hartwig are stringent about any cheating on the program. If you cheat or eat something you’re not suppose to, then you have to reset the 30 day program. I flew to Tampa Bay for business and I was starving during the early morning flight. When the Southwest attendant offered me “illegal peanuts” I ate them so that I could control my hunger until I could eat a real meal that was Whole30 compliant. My wife hasn’t been 100% compliant on this program but she has already lost inches, pounds, and is feeling a whole lot better.
Future Whole30 Posts
After the 30 days (in our case 40 days for Lent) you slowly reintroduce foods that were off the plan. Similar to an elimination diet to help you detect food sensitivities, you’ll get a fairly accurate picture of what foods your body likes and doesn’t like as you reintroduce foods that you haven’t been eating.
I’ll also share with you the key observations and results that my wife Sherry, my son-in-law Patrick, and my daughter Sarah experienced. I’ll even interview Owen and let you know what a 4 year old thinks of the Whole30 program.
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