The Whole30

Saturday I took the evening off from studying and meal planned. Then I went into the city to shop for said planned meals at Whole Foods and Trader Joes. No, I am not dropping out of medical school to become a chef, though sometimes that is tempting. Folks, I am doing the Whole30!

I first heard about the Whole30 program when my awesome, super smart, and very pretty friend Shannon told me about it in a conversation that went a lot like this...

S: "We're doing the Whole30!"
Me: "Neat! What is that?"
S: "It's a diet that's kind of like Paleo, only more restrictuve."
Me: "Sounds great!"
After the phone conversation
Me: Yeah. Nooooope.

That was pretty much my first encounter with Whole30. I didn't ever think I'd be doing this. I love all things sweet, chocolate is my spirit animal, and I adore baking. But after hearing about Shannon's experience (read about her first Whole30 experience here, and she just finished her second, the stinker), I felt it would be good for me. Like most people, my relationship with food is not great. I could fill in the "I'm a ______ eater" with bored, stressed, happy, sad, tired, thirsty, etc. Which means that most of the time, when I do eat, it's not because I'm hungry. Which is supposed to be the point!

Whole30 attracted me because it is all about making good food choices with the intent of being good to your body. It's 30 days of clean eating. No sugar. No dairy. No grains. No legumes. And you're not allowed to step on the scale. It isn't some diet fad that tries to trick your body into losing weight by shoving over-processed and "fake" food into your face. I hate this type of dieting because besides eating garbage, it also pits you against your body. Which doesn't make any sense at all since most people "diet" to "get healthier."

Our bodies are AWESOME (I should know, I spend 92.7% of my time studying them!) and they're made to run best on good, nutritious food. So, I'm excited to see what mine feels like when I eat real food, the main rule of the Whole30 program. I have already done things I never thought I would do. For example, there is a jar of ghee in my pantry and I'm sipping on coffee with almond milk as I write this. (Also, I am in love with cashew butter. I think it could be serious.) Yesterday I was a little nervous/panicked worrying about whether I will actually be able to keep this up for 30 days. But mostly I'm looking forward to eating tasty food (I made Spicy Cashew Zoodles with Chicken last night and it was a-MAZING), resetting my "food attitude," and seeing how different I feel when I'm eating clean. While I was cooking yesteday (and reminding myself NOT to touch my roommate's emergency chocolate supply) I kept thinking of this quote:

So, here's to doing things we've never done and adventures of all kinds. Especially this one! If you want to learn more about the Whole30 Program click here!

Happy Monday!