My Whole 30 Story

My Whole 30 Story: a Journey to a Healthier Me

I love food. While that’s not always a bad thing, I realized that I was developing a dependence on unhealthy food. So, when my roommate asked if I wanted to do the Whole 30 with her, I agreed.For those that have never heard of the Whole 30, it is a thirty-day cleanse of grains, added sugars, foods with chemicals, and dairy. It’s very similar to the Paleo Diet, in that it focuses on consuming a lot of protein and produce. Since it sounded like a good way to focus my eating habits on healthier choices, I decided it was worth a try.The Struggles-Although I’m glad I did the Whole 30, it didn’t come without its share of difficulties:1. Learning to Cook: First of all, the Whole 30 is not as convenient as following my former “eat whatever” diet. I actually had to cook my meals in order to make sure they did not have added chemicals that many processed foods have. This required time, planning, and acquiring more cooking skills (let’s just say that it took a few burnt recipes to acclimate to the whole cooking thing). However, once I started getting the hang of how to cook different foods, it actually became enjoyable. It became a game of how I could make a recipe in a healthier way, and of whether or not I could actually plan and create everything I ate.2. Reading Labels: By being forced to read the labels of everything that I put into my body, I quickly learned that a lot of foods I had always considered to be “healthy,” were actually full of chemicals and added sugars. Talk about a letdown! Reading labels, and having to put “unapproved” foods back on the shelf, was difficult, but eye-opening. Before this challenge, I never would have guessed what was actually inside a lot of foods that I ate without a second thought.3. Saying No: As a college student, I attend a lot of student-oriented events with free food. Before the Whole 30, I would freely eat whatever was offered; it was one less meal to plan, and more importantly, one less thing to pay for. It also happens that a lot of people love to give candy and cookies to college students. I will admit that the first week of saying no to all this free food was hard. Okay, it was really hard. Let's be honest: it’s not fun being the only person eating carrot sticks at an event where everyone else is having delicious-smelling pizza. In spite of the difficulty, it did get better. By about a week and a half into the challenge, I found saying no easier. My body was happy being filled with natural, nutritional ingredients, and the junk food I once craved no longer seemed appealing.4. Paying More: A major concern that I had going into the Whole 30 was the fact that healthier food is more expensive. Meat costs more than Ramen noodles. While this is true, I learned how to be more cost-efficient in my healthy eating. For example, I could make millet and mix in fruits or vegetables, and have a few meals out of less than a dollar’s worth of millet, and about a dollar’s worth of produce.Modifications:1. Quinoa and Millet: These are technically seeds, as opposed to grains (which are a Whole 30 “no-no”), and although they are frowned upon in this challenge, I decided to incorporate these two things into my new diet because they are both full of protein and relatively cheap; plus, they just add variety to a simple diet.2. Plain Greek Yogurt: Again, while dairy is not part of the Whole 30, I decided to eat some plain Greek yogurt. It is a good source of protein, and sometimes my digestive system needed a break from all the fibers and proteins, so the yogurt served a sort of buffer to keep my stomach calm.Cheats:I will confess that I broke the Whole 30 a few times: once, when I went to visit a friend and she had made me food that wasn’t “Whole 30- approved;” the other couple times happened when I was offered samples at Trader Joe’s for various pumpkin snacks. I can’t turn down pumpkin, and I forgave myself for these small indiscretions because they were just that: small.Noticeable Differences:I am pleased to say that after this month of healthy eating, I have noticed a few positive differences in my overall health.1. Better Blood Sugar: I have always dealt with low blood sugar— if I don’t eat something every few hours, I get shaky and nauseated and feel like I am going to pass out. By not filling my body with fake sugars and empty calories, and by eating more protein, I suffered from these “low blood sugar attacks” less frequently, and even when they did happen, they were less severe.2. More Muscle Tone: Part of the Whole 30 idea is that while you are on the challenge, you cannot weigh yourself or take any sort of measurements, because the focus of the plan is to be healthier, versus to lose weight. However, although I have not weighed or measured myself, I have noticed an increase in muscle tone. I feel (and I’d like to think I look) stronger and more toned. (This is also partially due to exercising at least five days a week while on the Whole 30).3. Overall Improved Health: I have always been the person to get sick, tired, and rundown easily. Now that I’ve been on the Whole 30 however, I have more energy, need less sleep, and feel healthier in general. I know that my immune system has been stronger, because I have spent hours in classrooms with sick students, and I have not gotten sick. Put simply, I feel better by eating more nutritious foods.Looking to the Future:Now that I have adopted healthy eating as part of my lifestyle, I plan on continuing with a very similar diet, though I don’t plan on being as strict with what I will and won’t eat. The Whole 30 has opened my eyes to the world of nutritional eating, and I hope to continue to apply what I have learned. **To learn more about the Whole 30 challenge, visit this site: http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/