WHOLE30: Why I Did It (Part 1)
No sugar for 30 days??? And no dairy???
Impossible.
This past November, I decided, on a whim, to do my first WHOLE30. If you aren't familiar with the program, it's a 30-day food reset where you only eat real, whole foods.
From the WHOLE30 website:
It will change the way you think about food, it will change your tastes, it will change your habits and your cravings. It could, quite possibly, change the emotional relationship you have with food, and with your body.
Specifically, you cut out sugar, dairy, grains legumes, and alcohol. This, of course, means you basically can't have anything that's processed or comes in a box.
There are countless studies that point to things like dairy, sugar, and grains/gluten as being harmful to our bodies.
After reading some of the research and the stories of people who had gone through 1 or more Whole30's, I decided to give it a try. Honestly, I didn't think I was eating that poorly at the time (I didn't eat fast food and I hadn't had soda for years), but when I started having to buy foods and cook meals within the Whole30 boundaries, I realized just how unhealthy I was.
Basically, I was putting "flavor enhancers" on everything. From spoonfuls of sugar in my spaghetti sauce to loads of cheese on my vegetables, I had convinced myself that these things were necessary to have tasty foods.
Y'all, I put so much cheese in my "healthy" omelettes that I promise you there was literally more cheese than egg.
When I decided to try this food reset, I was SURE I wouldn't be able to give up dairy. I thought I had to drink a glass of milk every day in order to survive! And a salad without cheese??? No way.
However, I am a girl of willpower (stubbornness), and when I determine to do something, I don't quit.
So, to the store I went, armed with lists of compliant foods and marching orders to read labels...
Read more in my next post, Whole30: Shopping and Meal Prep.
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