After making some bad choices over the holiday season, I decided to make a drastic change and clean up my diet. When a friend and fellow coach asked if I wanted to work through the Whole 30 meal plan, I decided that this was the change I needed.
I began my journey by ordering all the books ahead of time. I even pre-ordered the cookbook so that I would have plenty of recipes available. Then, I read the books and learned why this change was needed. "It Starts with Food" discussed the science behind why this plan works. Since I am a nurse, learning the why behind the plan helped me understand how this would improve my health.
Next, I began to meal prep. As I am a pen and paper kind of girl, I created a table in my spiral notebook and wrote out my meal plan for the week. I put the page numbers for the recipes on the table and then wrote out a list of all the ingredients for those recipes. I made sure to have plenty of fruit and vegetables. I also purchased Larabars as a wonderful snack. They became my favorite go to snack while at work. Now I was ready to begin.
On day 1, I woke up ready to go and realized that I had some mixed feelings. I was excited to clean up my nutrition, but I was feeling a big desire for those foods that I knew I could not have. It all goes back to the idea that you want what you cannot have. I questioned myself and whether I could succeed and found myself wondering what I had gotten myself into. I took a big sigh, refocused on the positives and knew I could succeed.
My first week was rough. I exhibited all the signs that are stated in the book. I showed the irritability and frustration on day 4 & 5, and my husband took the brunt of that frustration (thank you sweetheart - you were amazing!) I was very tired and went through the sugar detox, but I followed the meal plan to the letter. I was so happy to have that first week done and my husband was so happy that I stopped acting frustrated and irritable.
I started week 2 and was feeling much better. I had a handle on my emotions. I was tired, but I was starting to feel the positive effects of eating well. We visited family at the end of week 2 and I did my best to eat according to plan. It was not perfect, but I felt good with my choices.
Week 3 and 4 were much better. I never felt that "tiger blood" that the book talks about, but I was sleeping better and felt rested throughout the day. As I completed my 30 days, I knew that while it was not an easy plan, it did have some beneficial qualities. Part of the program is to avoid weighing yourself till you complete the program. I found that I lost 8 pounds, my stomach was flatter and my skin and hair were healthier. I also felt I had a good handle on my nutrition.
As I started to introduce foods back into my diet, I found some very interesting results. Dairy products created a negative reaction. Based on my reaction and knowing the symptoms, I believe that I am now lactose intolerant. So moving forward, I try to avoid products with dairy or know that I will experience a reaction. The remaining foods that I introduced did not cause a reaction, but I do try to limit them. After reading the reactions that the other foods cause in my body, I know that limiting them will help me feel better.
This program is definitely not an easy one to follow. You have to read the book and meal prep. It does require some real planning to avoid any missteps. If you are someone who can plan ahead and stick to a strict plan, then I would encourage you to try it. If you need to rein in your nutrition, this plan will do that. Working through this program gave me some great insight into my nutrition and how it affects me, but I would not do another 30 days. I would, however, complete a modified version of this program to help clean up my nutrition if needed.
If you are interested in this meal plan, you can view more information at Whole30.com. I purchased my books on Amazon, but they can be found in most book stores.
