Whole 30: In Review

Source: http://digboston.com/boston-food-drinks/2012/02/the-paleo-diet-caveman-grubbin/

Without a doubt, Whole 30 has been a success. It's been absolutely life changing and this is coming from one of the most skeptical people on the planet (according to my wife). I was a skeptic going in, and I stayed a skeptic until about the last week of the program.

I might be a total convert now.

For those of you that aren't familiar with Whole 30, it's a strict version of the Paleo diet. The Paleo diet consists mainly of meats, vegetables, fruits, fungi, and nuts. It excludes grains, legumes, dairy, refined sugars, and vegetables oils. It's already strict enough, right? Whole 30 is even more exclusive. It's impossible to explain everything about the program in a short post but I hope by the end of it, I can convince a few of you to look into it on your own

A week into the program, I wrote a post with some pros and cons. Can I go back now and delete the cons? Am I allowed to delete something I wrote if I don't agree with it now? I'll grant you that some of the cons still apply, but they're so far outweighed by the pros, it's not even funny.

Allow me to resubmit what I feel is a more accurate...

Pros

I feel accomplished. Like really accomplished. It's not often that we inflict self-discipline on ourselves, and this took a helluva lot of it. Now that it's finished and we were successful, I'm in a better place mentally to start the year.

Perfect Digestion. I've had my share of digestion issues. I tried the Activia yogurt route, I tried probiotics, but nothing's worked as well as this diet. It's nice to know that if I ever have a flare up of digestion problems, I can jump back into the Whole 30 program to take care of them. To be honest, I'm ticked the gastroenterologist didn't suggest a diet change when I went to see him.

Flat Stomach. I'm a skinny guy to start with, but that didn't mean I didn't have a gut (I'm convinced there's nothing less attractive than a skinny guy with a gut).I ran, I thought I was eating pretty well, I lifted, I tried supplements. I couldn't get my stomach flat. It took ONE WEEK to see abs on this diet. You cut down on the bloat, you'll be surprised what you find underneath.

Better Body Image. I swear my skin looks better. The dark circles under my eyes have lessened. My stomach is flat. I've lost weight. I'm not tired after I eat. I sleep better, I'm more alert during the day. Even if this is all in my head, which I seriously doubt, it would mean the diet's one badass placebo.

The Food. Our meals taste delicious because the food we're buying is so much tastier to begin with. You're eating more natural food and it's not loaded with chemicals and other crap. I've also become a better cook and my nutrition knowledge has practically doubled. The best part about the diet? You can eat as much as you want. This is not intended to be just a weight loss diet (although you will lose weight depending on your current diet) so you don't have to feel guilty about how much or how often you eat.

Better Marriage. I would never have tried to do this diet on my own, and I would certainly never have succeeded without the help of my wife. What could have been a miserable failure was instead an exciting challenge that I got to share with a remarkable woman. I feel blessed that we spent so much time together over the last month.

Cons:

Time Hog. With the exception on one meal, we prepared all of our own food. We're busy people too. Between work and grad school, we seemed to dedicate all of our spare time to the kitchen. Fortunately, there was certainly a learning curve as we didn't seem to be so strapped for time towards the end of the month, but there wasn't much time for anything else. Socially, we missed a lot of gatherings with our friends. Next time we do Whole 30, I'll be convincing some of those friends to try it out too.

Food takes Center Stage: I feel like I was either daydreaming about food I couldn't have, mentally preparing a list for the store, cooking, eating, or talking about the diet. Funny thing is, before and during the program, I would think "I can't give up cheese, or beer, or bread, or Oreos forever!". Then, when I could finally eat those things again, I didn't. I expected that I'd want to run to the store and buy some things that I "deserved". But now I feel so much better and I don't miss that type of food. If I deserve anything, it's to feel good about what I eat.

Expensive. Just read this.

If you haven't gotten the hint yet, I highly encourage people to try this diet!