The Whole 30 (v. 5.12) Difference


We did it! Yes, that's right, we.

For my third adventure with eating The Whole 30 way, my husband (willingly) and our daughter (kicking and screaming) joined me! What a thrill (or pain-in-the-ass depending on who it is I'm dealing with) it was to have them both on board with the only eating plan designed to jump start good eating habits for life by eliminating processed sugar, grains, vegetable oils, and dairy (my husband's only hold-over from the last time I did it). 

Results - we survived! 

Not only that, we made some very important discoveries along the way.  Here are mine:
  • My daughter's stamina for complaining knows no bounds. 
  • Eating well will not cause an underweight person to lose weight.
  • Well Fed has inspired me to move from mere eater to cook! (No small feat.)
  • Our kitchen is too small.
  • We will never buy mayonnaise again! (We make our own a la Well Fed.)
  • Corn, sugar, and soy derivatives are in almost everything! 
  • You can go to a party, mix the drinks, and have fun without drinking.
  • Ingesting fat does not beget fat people. (Avocado overdose anyone?)
  • I missed chocolate, but not wine, and not dairy as much as I thought. 
  • My love for cinnamon, my favorite versatile food accessory, has only grown deeper. 
  • Scotch Eggs win hands-down: best new meatball-like convenience food.
  • Everybody loves sweet potatoes!
  • There is a quiet satisfaction in knowing your food is just that: food, not filler. 
  • My husband is wonderful (I knew that, but he keeps getting better!)
  • I enjoy working on my own recipes for fun and tasty food. 
  • Life without cookies is dark and cold. I don't plan to live that way.
  • I am working on a crunchy cookie recipe. (Will share if/when perfected.)
  • If given enough opportunity, my sugar/carb-craving daughter will make good food choices.
  • Good food is expensive. 

And I lost about 5 pounds, am sleeping better than when I started, and have improved energy levels throughout the day. 

So with all this good stuff going on, why would I ever go back to eating grains, dairy, vegetable oils, and processed sugar? Because it takes constant vigilance to avoid them and I want to live well in all respects. The very best part of this Whole 30 is that it didn't seem so much like restricting my eating as redirecting it toward the foods that will actually fuel my body over the long haul - and that, with the help of an awesome cook book, has made all the difference. 




Comments

Stephen Bourque said…
It was a lot of fun doing the Whole 30 with you--including working with you in the kitchen, a domain that I normally possess exclusively with a tyranny befitting a jealous king.

I would call the enterprise a great success. Nothing about it was particularly dramatic because we've been pretty much doing the paleo thing anyway for quite a while. But it was good to know that I could do fine with literally zero grains and dairy. I even went without coffee for a about a week and a half, just to see if I could. I feel great.
January 31, 2012 at 1:01 PM
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