So, recently Adam and I have been doing a Whole30. I’ve written a few update posts on it and also have talked in length about the challenge on my Instagram Stories (in case you missed it, here are the weekly recaps: one, two and three). To quickly summarize, week one was pretty difficult for me. I felt cranky and tired pretty much all the time. I ate a lot of snacks. Week two, those feelings subsided and I started feeling incredibly good! I slept harder, I felt more focused, my all day snack-fest calmed down quite a bit. I wasn’t very hungry in between meals anymore. Things were looking up. Week three, I felt very bored. I couldn’t even with all.the.meat anymore and don’t even talk to me about eggs. The final week, I did a lot of thinking and came to these conclusions:
Doing the Whole30 made me even more sure of my deep love for cheese, wine, bread and chocolate. Basically, all of the good things in life. These things make me complete. They cannot be ignored. I love these things like they are my children.
Doing the Whole30 made me really miss baking bread…and eating bread. Bread is more than just a carb choice for me, it’s become part of a lifestyle that I deeply love. I feel sad when I’m not baking bread. The whole ritual of it makes me incredibly happy.
Doing the Whole30 made me FOR THE MOST PART feel rather unbalanced. It’s too much meat for me. We usually eat at least one vegetarian meal a week and I missed that a lot. Yes, I felt really good the second week but then that “feeling” sort of faded and I started feeling, well, rather heavy. I got really tired of all the red meat and think we probably ate too much of it, instead focusing on seafood. Guys, I really love meat. A grilled steak sings a song to my soul and roast chicken is my love language. HOWEVER, the Whole30 made me feel like I was leaving too heavy of a footprint.
Doing the Whole30 made me realize that I don’t NEED something sweet after every.single.meal. I don’t need to sweeten my afternoon tea with a spoonful of sugar for it to taste good and I don’t need to always dig into my stash of Ikea gummies I keep in my desk. ?
Doing the Whole30 made me really focus on filling my plate with vegetables and that was, in my opinion, the best part! We ate so many more veggies than we usually do. There were some days when I didn’t even miss the bread on my dinner plate when it was piled high with roast eggplant, sweet potatoes, carrots and garlickly kale. I need to keep that going and be more mindful in the future.
…I think that’s pretty much about it. People have asked me about weight loss and I will be honest and say I don’t know. I never actually weighed myself. Judging from how I felt, though, I think I probably lost a few pounds the first week and then got back to normal at the end of the second week. I ate a TON of almond butter and banana, guys. ? I wasn’t doing this to lose weight and feel totally fine where I’m at.
I never had any supply issues with breastfeeding. Again: almond butter and banana. Luke only nurses about twice a day right now so it wasn’t like I was nursing an infant around the clock. I felt fine and he seemed fine!
Would I do this again?
Probably not. I wouldn’t say it was a bad experience, but it made me realize it’s really not for me. I don’t have any issue with gluten, dairy or sugar, as long as it’s consumed in moderation. However, I will say that I am totally addicted to making homemade cashew milk now and plan to continue! It’s so yummy and I prefer it in my cappuccinos over whole milk.
Do I recommend trying a Whole30?
Maybe? Maybe not? I think it could make some people feel like these restricted foods are “bad” foods, though, which could lead to silly guilt. That’s dumb. I don’t believe in bad food and don’t think you should feel guilty having a glass of wine and some pizza if you want it. Life is too short! That being said, I think a lot of people go into the Whole30 with the intention of figuring out food sensitivities. That makes sense to me. I just would hate for someone to do this program and then get it into their mind that broccoli is “good” and homemade bread is “bad”. I mean, really. Eat a plate of pasta and get over it.
I trust you guys know that I am coming at this with my own opinion entirely and I am definitely not a medical professional. This is just my personal experience with the program. Also, I feel like it needs to be said that I DIDN’T ACTUALLY FINISH THE PROGRAM. Nope. I “quit” or whatever around Day 26. My starter just looked way too good not to bake bread with. ? I know the Whole30 police are going to get on me for basically everything I have just written, including the fact that I didn’t even finish the program, but what can I say? I listened to my body and in the end, bread won.
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