Whole30: Why We Did It & How We Survived

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The Whole30 Program has been on my radar here and there over the past few years, as I’ve seen several friends and family members go through it. Honestly, I’ve always thought that was great for them, but just knew that was something I could never commit to myself, because I didn’t think I would last one week. I am a really “selective” eater, and although I try to eat healthy, it doesn’t come easy for me. I had all the excuses in the world to not do Whole30 and felt like they were really valid reasons: 1) I don’t like fruit unless it’s blended up in my Vitamix. 2) I only like some vegetables, most of which are not allowed during Whole30. 3) I wouldn’t be able to last a month without any sweets at all. 4) It would take way to much time, effort, planning, and money to do it 100%. 5) I refused to halfway do something like that because I knew the results would be halved as well. And so on with the excuses…

 

COMMIT ALREADY!

Well, a few months ago my mom did the program. And she did it by herself, which is so hard. She bought the Whole30 book and cookbook, and one day when me and Stevie were back home visiting family, out of 50% boredom and 50% curiosity, I picked up her Whole30 book and started reading it. It talked about the benefits of doing the program and how it all works. I realized how beneficial it is and how many resources they give you to really succeed with it. Pretty much all the health things I deal with were in the list of conditions that Whole30 can help with – endometriosis, allergies, asthma, hives. This is when I started thinking seriously about how maybe this would be a good program to go through, and about how amazing it would be to know for sure which foods were making things worse for me.

It also talked about the brain needing 30 days to stop the habits of craving, and this was something me and Stevie had gotten really lazy with. Anytime we had a craving for a snack like ice cream or Cheetos, we felt like we could not resist it. I was tired of feeling that way, like I had no control over my sweet tooth or need to snack. We were working out often, but not seeing the results we wanted to, and of course a huge part of that is because we weren’t dealing with the nutritional aspect. I read my mom’s book out loud to us on our drive back to Nashville, and after a quick conversation we agreed that this program was going to be a good thing for us to commit to.

 

PREPARING FOR DOOMSDAY

Once we decided to do it, it took us about a week of preparing until we started Whole30, Day 1. I 100% believe if we jumped into it on a whim, thinking we’d wing it day by day, that we would have failed fast and miserably. We read all about how to prepare from the book and outlined the steps we needed to take before doing anything. We thought the best way to tackle it initially would be to plan out our meals so we made a grocery list for 7 days and each meal for those days. We did a lot of repeat meals which made it easier. Leftovers were our BFF. We found recipes from The Whole30 Cookbook as well as Pinterest and made a list of all the ingredients needed, as well as those that were off-limits. We had ALL the lists of ALL the things. I’m a list queen, so this was stress relieving for me, but also a lot of work.

Once we had our meals planned, we went grocery shopping on a Saturday. This was overwhelming and took almost all day, but it allowed us to start the program off really well. We hit up Aldi, Kroger, and Trader Joe’s. I highly do not recommend Trader Joe’s on a Saturday, but we survived somehow.

We also cleaned our fridge and pantry out. Things that would expire before the month was up we tossed. Things that were like “wow, why do we even have this?” we tossed. We didn’t want to be super wasteful though, so for most items we put them on the very top shelf of the pantry (like I can’t even see what’s up there) and for the fridge items, we stuffed them in one drawer and covered it up with aluminum foil so we couldn’t see what was in there. #seenoevil. All the non-compliant food was now in prison. That Saturday night we had our last bad supper – Mexican food from our go-to place (it wouldn’t have felt right to not give queso a proper goodbye).

On Sunday (Day 0), we weighed ourselves, took pictures, and took measurements. One thing Whole30 makes very clear is that it’s not a weight loss program or a diet in the traditional sense. The point of it isn’t to lose weight, but to reset your body so you can see how different foods truly affect you and break unhealthy habits. Of course, most people DO lose weight on it because of all the junk you cut out. So on Day 0, you take your measurements and weight, and then you hide your scale and tape measurer from yourself for those 30 days. It keeps you from focusing on your weight, and therefore thinking more about how you feel. We love a good before and after, so we were excited about this part.

 

IN THE TRENCHES

For 30 days, we did it. We actually cut out sugar of any kind, dairy, gluten, grains, and legumes. We learned how to read labels. We were controlling our food choices again. We hit up the Whole30 forum every day with questions about really fancy words for sugar and what ingredients were compliant. We used the word “compliant” a lot. We planned meals together, we figured things out together, and a lot of that was pretty fun. Having a partner made it so much better too. I’m a quality time person, and this truly was something we had to spend a lot of time together on so that made it enjoyable to me. Stevie is an acts of service person, so I became a pro at showing him love through cooking healthy dinners and basically spending half my day in the kitchen. #wifeingsohard

One key for us was never letting ourselves get hangry, AKA never letting the fridge and cabinets get empty. I tried really hard to always have some leftovers ready to eat, or something quick to whip up. There were a total of 2 times where we just got really busy with work or travel that when we got home we looked in the fridge and said “crap, we have nothing to eat.” And so we got our booties back in the car and went to Kroger at 10 PM. That was not pleasant, but when you’re weeks into the program, committed to doing it the right way, you are just that more motivated to stay the course. You want your results to be accurate, and you want to succeed. So two nights of hangry-ness wasn’t going to ruin it for us.

Next to staying out ahead of our stomachs, juggling social outings was difficult. I try to have a lunch outing with a friend at least once a week, since I work from home and that can get lonely. While on Whole30, I basically had to cut that out. However since I still wanted a little shred of social life, we would do things like take a walk or get coffee instead. Luckily I have laid-back, health-conscious friends who understood and were totally supportive.

Stevie works in an office, where they always have snacks, parties, etc. that are there for him to easily partake it. So he was always having to turn down free food or delicious desserts. He did it though! (except one time he fell for the “sugar-free” gum, it was Day 1 though so it’s okay) He said his coworkers kept telling him he was eating like a king and were always so curious to see what he would bring in for lunch every day. I think once people know what you’re doing and why, it’s easy for them to encourage you and want you to succeed. Surrounding yourself with nice people helps!

Dining out at restaurants on Whole30 was honestly so unrealistic, for us anyways. There are a lot of healthy options here in Nashville, but I eat so plainly that ironically that just makes it more complicated. We went out twice on Whole30 because we already had those outings planned. One time we thought they would have something Whole30 compliant, but they didn’t. So we just sat there and drank water (one of those hangry times). The second time we were totally *those people* and had to ask our waiter 20 questions, but they were accommodating enough and we were fed. We both started to realize how much our social life revolves around food, and I think it was good for us to have to get creative with doing other things with friends and family. But those few times of having to resist food AND watch others around us enjoy it was torture. But we didn’t die!

Another realization we had to face was emotional eating. In the book, they talk about how unhealthy it can be to use food emotionally – as a reward or as punishment for something you’ve done. I didn’t even know I did that until I was forced to stop doing that… It’s so easy to say “I worked hard today, I need to treat myself to this snack” or “it’s that time of the month, and this dessert will make me feel better.” I’m not saying I should/will totally avoid snacks and desserts now, but basing it off an achievement or an emotion is scary territory. It’s like making an excuse for how poorly I’m about to eat. When you control the food, and not the other way around, there’s no guilt afterwards about what you just inhaled and you can feel good and have no regrets about your food choices. Acknowledging that emotions do play a part in food was a big eye-opener for me and is still something I’m figuring out (especially after reintroducing).

 

• • •

 

There’s why we decided to do The Whole30, and how we lived to tell about it! I hope this is helpful and you can have a better, clearer understanding of how to possibly get through the program. I was very scared and hesitant to do Whole30, and even more fearful of failing at it, but preparing well for it, having a partner and getting in that can-do mentality made all the difference.

If you’re considering doing the program, take a look at our Favorite Whole30 Foods PDF! You can download it below. It’s filled with our top kitchen items and what we always had on hand to eat, as well as some of my favorite recipes. And if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments! I’ll be doing another post shortly that will answer all of the questions y’all have asked me thus far, and I’ll also be sharing our results soon too.

XOXO,

Sara-Lane

 

 

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© saralane & stevie 2020

Sara-Lane & Stevie Boudreaux are Tennessee and Destination Wedding Photographers based out of Nashville, TN with a focus on capturing connections artfully and honestly.