Food For Thought From The Whole30

Disclaimer: This post is not a sales pitch for the Whole30, although I wholeheartedly endorse it. To learn more check out the link above.

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It’s the last day of the Whole30, a program that for me serves as an annual nutritional reset.

The nuts and bolts of it are as follows: For 30 days you fill your plate with protein, vegetables. a bit of healthy fat, and occasionally some fruit. During that time consume no dairy, sugar, grains, legumes, or alcohol. There are some additives to avoid, and it is recommended not to recreate favorite snack or dessert foods even if using program compliant ingredients.

Coffee is allowed or all bets would be off.

I spend most of the day beforehand getting ready for the program by roasting lots of veggies and garlic, baking chicken thighs and breakfast sausages, making mayonnaise, hard boiling eggs, and cutting up fresh veggies. And, I start watching Downton Abbey, again.

It’s a great plan for me, and I always feel better, stronger, more clear-headed and energetic. I sleep better and my body feels more like my body. (Well, maybe this is a tiny bit of a sales pitch after all.)

While it starts with food (check out the book of the same name) the Whole30 offers so much more food for thought. Here’s what I’ve been chewing on as these third days come to an end:

• It is a reminder that while food is meant to be enjoyed, it is first and foremost the fuel to power my one and only body to live my one and only life.

• Eating this way for 30 days, I am very aware that I don’t live in a food desert with limited access to affordable, healthy food, and that I can in fact, afford to eat fresh, whole food any time I want. So can my adult children and the rest of my extended family. None of my grandchildren live with food insecurity, in stark contrast to the 1 in 6 children in America who do. Recognizing this makes me hunger to be part of the solution to change that statistic. There’s more than enough food to feed everyone on the planet. Come on people. We can do this!

• The Whole30 reminds me that I don’t have to give in to cravings (hello truffle salt potato chips, way too much cheese, or a(another) glass of wine). It is a chance to take a look at what is underneath those cravings and why I turn to them in the first place. Or as someone wise I know puts it, “What am I feeling that I want food to fix?”

• Some days are harder than others when eating my way through these 30 days. On those days I am reminded that being “hangry” is a choice, and that just because something is hard, doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s just hard.

• Some days are more uncomfortable than others. We humans tend to be creatures of comfort, and yet in reality the only way we grow stronger, more resilient, and more wholehearted is to plunge headfirst into things are uncomfortable.

• Finally, following the rules in any arena is not my strong suit, and letting someone else be in charge is not my jam. The Whole30 is an opportunity for me to let go of control and surrender to a process that has proven itself worthy of my trust time and again. And that, as it turns out, is pretty tasty jam.

Written with gratitude for my niece Lizzy who introduced our family to this program, and in celebration for achieving her CrossFit Level 2 Certification.

Breakfast: Whole30 style

The Whole Thirty-One

There is something called the Whole30. An eating program designed to reprogram the way we eat, and the ways in which we think about food. I’m a fan. It has worked for me in the past, and when I am in need of a reset, I will return to it again.

Loosely, it goes something like this. For thirty days, cut out all dairy, added sugars, legumes, grains, and alcohol, choosing instead to consume real food including good protein, plenty of vegetables, fruits, and ample amounts of natural fats. By the grace of God, you can still have coffee.

There were days when this it felt like an impossible assignment. I did it anyway.

There were days, when I felt like a total fraud. I did it anyway.

There were days when I wanted to give in and give up. I did it anyway.

Every time I have completed the Whole30 (and occasionally, the Whole60 or 90) I have felt better. Lots better. More energy, better sleep, increased clarity, and a more positive outlook (after the initial crankiness wears off).

I’m not jumping back on the Whole30 bandwagon just yet, but the program has me thinking about how these same principles—cutting out things that can have a detrimental impact on our health and wellbeing, and consuming instead what will nourish and fuel our lives more effectively—might transfer to other areas of our lives.

Welcome to the Whole Thirty-One: Soul Food Style

Loosely, it goes something like this. For the next 31 days, cut out all negative self-talk, fear-based language, and scarcity thinking, choosing instead to begin each day with a positive mindset, language seasoned with gratitude and grace, and the faith that what is needed will be provided. By the grace of God, you can still have coffee.

There will be days when this will feel like an impossible assignment. I will do it anyway.

There will be days, when I will feel like a total fraud. I will do it anyway.

There will be days when I will want to give in and give up. I will do it anyway.

This sounds like good food for thought to me. Maybe it does to you too.

Welcome to Day 1

Hitting The Reset Button

“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”

~ George Elliot

After a year of slow recovery and rehabbing from an injury, and taking my eye off the nutrition ball a little too much, it is time to reclaim the good habits that I’ve come to know support the kind of health, wellness, energy, and body I need for the life I want to live.

Today I hit the reset button.

Today I started the Whole30.

According to the founders, it is a “short-term nutrition reset, designed to help you put an end to unhealthy cravings and habits, restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, and balance your immune system.”

In a nutshell, it means eliminating sugar of any kind, alcohol, grains, legumes, dairy, and all additives. I can, however, have coffee, which is the only thing that makes it possible. It may not work for everyone, and I’m not advocating it for anyone else, but it works for me.

Hitting the reset button is always an option, and not just for our health, but for our finances, marriages, friendships, family, education, work, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, not to mention our closets and garages.

If we’re honest with ourselves, we know when we’ve gotten off track, become immobilized, or have lost our way, and the sooner we hit the reset button, the sooner we can get on with living the life we want. The one we are called to live. The one that is authentic and wholehearted. The one that connects how we live with who we are at our core.

It’s never too late to hit the reset button.