I’m sharing something a little different on the blog today and taking a step out of my fashion comfort zone.  I have a strong passion for living a healthy lifestyle, and I really wanted to share this exciting new journey I am starting today!  PLUS if you make it to the end there is a giveaway to Nordstrom!

About a month ago, I made a decision that I wanted to try the Whole30 program.  I have heard about Whole30 for years, but I always wrote it off because I am not a big diets person.  Early last year, I started on a journey to eat more of a plant based and less processed diet.  I added more veggies to my plate, ate a little less meat and dairy, and found a new love for vegan recipes.  At the beginning of this year, I really wanted to learn more about nutrition and how what we eat affects our health.

The Whole30 program was recommended to me by a very passionate nutrition and fitness person.  I decided to look into the program. I checked out the It Starts with Food book from my local library and read reviews from a few bloggers.  I realized I had blown off this program without really giving it a good look.  I mean I had good reason.  I have spent years trying many fad diets that never lasted.  This time was a little different though because I wasn’t trying to lose weight just live a healthier life.  I started reading the book, and the more I learned the more I wanted to try the program out.

WHAT IS WHOLE30?

When I started telling people I was going to do a Whole30, I received the same response from almost everyone.  “But your don’t need to lose weight” or “Oh you should try this diet instead”.  My response was typically the same that I wasn’t trying to lose weight, and I didn’t feel that Whole30 is about losing weight but more like doing a detox of your system.  Resetting how your body responds and uses the food your provide it, making it work more efficiently and be healthier.

And yes many people report losing a few pounds, and I will say while weight loss is not my goal, I am not going to complain about losing those pesky last 5 pounds that never goes away.

WHY I WANT TO DO WHOLE30?

Sugar, Sugar, Sugar!  Yes I will admit I have a sugar addiction.  I have spent the past 6ish months trying to reduce my sugar intake, but it’s a beast!  This program cuts out ALL ADDED SUGARS for 30 days.  Slaying my “sugar dragon” is a big reason I want to try out this program.

While reading the book, they talk about how your body functions on the food you eat and effects your energy levels and cravings through out the day.  I am guilty of low energy days where I feel tired most of the time, so I would like to see if I can improve my energy with this program.  I’m also curious to see if those 3pm “if I don’t eat this snack right now I might die” cravings really do go away.

WHAT I’M NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO ABOUT DOING WHOLE30?

I have read the first week is the worst as your body readjusts to no sugar and heals the damage caused by unhealthy foods.  I’m nervous about getting headaches, because truth I have found a sweet treat helps get rid of many of my headaches which probably says a lot about my sugar addiction.

I currently don’t eat meat very often maybe a few times a week.  On this program, they recommend animal protein with every meal to stay satisfied throughout the day.  I have a feeling I’m going to be really tired of meat by the end of these 30 days.  I’m planning on mostly eating fish, eggs, and chicken.

Also, no wine for 30 long days.  That’s right no alcohol is allowed during the program.  I love my end of work glass of wine and social settings will be different.  On this program, the recommendation is 3 main meals a day with little to no grazing, and well I’m a grazer.   I’m not a big breakfast person, usually a piece of fruit and coffee and I’m good.  The change to eating bigger meals will be a small adjustment for me.

WHAT I THINK I WILL LIKE ABOUT WHOLE30?

I already meal prep my lunch for the week, so I don’t really see this being a big issue for me.  I know many talked about all the dishes and extra work of meal prepping and cooking everything from scratch, but I feel like I already do some of this, so no biggie for me.  I love eating my veggies and fruit, so this part of the program I am ready for!   Another area I read about people struggling with is drinking black coffee, I started doing this years ago and now prefer black coffee in the morning to a sugary sweet coffee concoction.

I decided a few weeks ago to do this program, and started to incorporate a few small changes early on, so I hope that will help me out a little bit in the beginning.  I chose today as my start date, because my March calendar was pretty empty.  It’s rodeo season in Houston, so everyone is at the rodeo instead of dinners and happy hours.  I did decide to skip rodeo this year to avoid all the temptation of wine, fried, and sweet foods.  Also, it’s lent, so when you tell someone you are not eating sugar or drinking I won’t receive crazy looks or millions of questions.

I loved reading about others experiences with program, and I decided it would be fun to share my experience too.  Plus, nothing holds you more accountable to sticking it through than writing a blog post for all to see.  I’m going to share a midway post and a final recap post about my experience, so stay tuned to learn about my Whole30 experience and what changes I noticed in everything from energy, sleep, cravings, and yes I’ll share any weight loss details with you too.  If you want to hear about anything specific, leave me a comment and I will try to include it one of the posts.

 I know this post was super long, but Bonus for making it to the end – A GIVEAWAY!  Check back in 2 weeks for my halfway Whole30 update!