Anyone doing the Whole 30 and want some company?

[FinallyLearntToBudget]

I've been munching on carbs, sugar and anything else not nailed down for about ten months my whole life now, and I need to shake myself out of my carb coma.

According to my research on the internets, the Whole 30 is a month where you eat whole, unprocessed foods found in nature (meat, fish, eggs, veg, nuts, fruit - I think that's pretty much it). It promises to help me find my health again (any weight loss is a bonus) so it sounds good to me.

The premise is that you 'Cut out all the unhealthy, hormone-unbalancing, gut-disrupting, inflammatory food groups for a full 30 days. Let your body heal and recover from whatever effects those foods may be causing. Push the “reset” button with your metabolism, systemic inflammation, and the downstream effects of the food choices you’ve been making. Learn once and for all how the foods you’ve been eating are actually affecting your day to day life, and your long term health.'

Sounds good to me, but it does look tough and I'd love to hear some inspirational stories or some company / hand holding.

Today I had smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, some blackberries, cashew nuts, sea bass and veg for dinner. Feeling good already!

[FinallyLearntToBudget]

Anyone?

(Maybe it's not that popular?!)

[swlondonnanny]

Hello,
I have done it a few times - kind of follow it since January.
Find it easy once I get used to it. Trying to do a sort of lower carb version of Whole30 as want to lose weight as well.
At the moment eating loads of salads with fish or meat generally + some fruit. Eggs as well. Most of it is not processed but am not sure if I really do grass fed/free range meat or wild salmon etc as that can be quite pricey.
Happy to hand hold and swap ideas

[FinallyLearntToBudget]

Thanks sw. Thought I'd picked the most unusual healthy eating plan ever for a minute there!

It seems to be a big thing in America but maybe not so well known over here.

I tried to do Paleo for a bit last year but the Whole 30 seems like a good way to get health etc back on track after some serious over-indulging head in the biscuit tin.

So encouraging to hear you've managed to keep it up for so long and haven't found it too difficult!

[swlondonnanny]

I did it once around 2 years ago and then I just went completely off track and eat loads of rubish and put on loads of weight... Finally in January I decided to do something for my health and also lose weight as got to the point that I was a size of a small elephant!!!!
So far I lost nearly 5 stone and still have another 3 to go to be in a normal BMI range....
I do have autoimmune thyroid problem ( Hashimoto's) and it actually improved it quite a bit but as I had it for 30 years it will not heal it.... but my endocrinologist was well and truly shocked how much it changed...
Was a bit worried as I do high fat low carb version / pick right food from Whole30 list(so don't eat sweet potato etc) and wasn't sure what my cholesterol was like so had it checked and all fine.
Of course occasionally if I really fancy something what is not on the list I do have it as you can't do this long term thinking 'oh I can't this and that' as then all you think about is foods you shouldn't be having...
I just try to pick healthier version - like if I fancy icecream I buy Coyo one which is made from coconut milk and actually doesn't have much sugar in it. And as it costs quite a bit I don't buy it that often.
I generally don't drink alcohol (as TTC) but if I feel like having a drink I have one and that's it. Probably had alcohol 2x since January so really not often.
I also don't let other people to pressure me into eating something I don't want to eat (sometimes difficult to avoid if eating at other people houses/parties etc).
I really hope you'll do it for a month as it does make a difference.
Oh and don't step on scales for the whole 30 days as to start with it is about re balancing your metabolism etc so you don't want to panic if you don't lose any weight for a week or 2 or even put some on. You need to eat based on your hunger and kind of learn to listen to your body and feed it with what it needs.

[FinallyLearntToBudget]

Thanks SW. That's so interesting. Congrats on your fantastic progress, and that's brilliant that your Hashimotos has improved! Did you tell your endocrinologist about the Whole 30?

I had acupuncture a few times this year and two practitioners asked me if I had a thyroid problem, then my optician asked me as she thought I might too. I went and had tests and the results came back 'normal' so I didn't know what to think. But it's at the back of mind, so if Whole 30 can help with any borderline thyroid issues that would be great.

I'm also TTC so that's another big reason to do it!

I'm now on day 3 of the Whole 30 so fingers crossed my willpower doesn't let me down. I discovered Coyo when I was doing Paleo and had forgotten about it. Thanks for reminding me....it's delicious. Gonna go get some!

[helenahandbag]

I've read It Starts With Food and it really is an interesting read. I'm currently low carbing Atkins-style but a lot of the things said in the book have stuck with me since I read it last summer.

I especially like the part where the authors say not to eat something run-of-the-mill just because it's there, save your treats for something really worth it. This helps me to ignore boxes of Greggs doughnuts and packets of chocolate biscuits in favour of my colleagues AMAZING home baked American style cookies or chocolate chip banana bread. If I can buy it any day of the week, it's not special enough to go crazy for.

[FinallyLearntToBudget]

Helena that's a brilliant way of thinking about treats. Had never thought of it that way. Thanks for the tip!

I may read It Starts With Food too. I've just bought the new Whole 30 book which just came out this month (I think) and I'm still making my way through it (it's quite a weighty tome).

[swlondonnanny]

Finally how are you getting on with Whole30?
I told the endocrinologist but she didn't have any opinion on the diet other that it clearly did me loads of good.
Do you know what your 'normal' results were like? Could you ask your surgery for actual print out? As some levels are fine generally but not when TTC...

[Milllii]

OP there are some older Whole 30 threads on MN. Might be worth a look. Interesting to hear about this natural way of eating helping your thyroid. I try to eat naturally and I feel better for it. Food is your medicine after all and everything you eat is creating new cells,tissue blood etc. I agree on not eating anything unless it tastes amazing. Not forgetting also to only eat when your body is actually hungry for food.

[OneDayWhenIGrowUp]

Just found this thread- am pretty rubbish at noticing PMs sorry finally!

I've just finished my first whole 30 today, coming from an overall healthy eating, gluten free/low dairy lots of cooking from scratch, but too many sweet treats/probably too much alcohol place before.

My results- which I'm pretty happy with:

12lbs weight loss
BMI down 2 points
Lost 1.5 inches from hips
Lost 7 inches from waist!!
Bra size 32G to 30GG
Great energy levels
Drastic improvement in IBS symptoms

Also, it was NOT HARD. I ate big, tasty meals. There was no need to be hungry. I did (do) miss certain foods, and I've eaten a lot more meat than usual which im not particularly happy to continue with long term from a personal ethical standpoint. But overall it's been a good experience, I feel a lot healthier, and now know it's not that hard to kick the sugar habit.

I now have a weekend planned with a friend when I will indulge a little with alcohol, and not worry about "added" sugar in dressings/sauces etc, but otherwise stick to plan, and then next week start re-introduction days one food/food-type at a time. Whole 30 recommend 4 re-intro days- non-gluten grains, legumes, dairy and gluten grains, with a few days W30 compliant between each to evaluate their effects. I've decided to split things down a bit finer as I really want to nail down particular triggers:
Corn
Rice
Oats
(other non gluten grains)
Peanuts
Soy
(other legumes)
Cheese/butter (ie, low lactose dairy)
Yoghurt/cream/milk (ie, high lactose dairy)
Wheat/gluten

So it'll take me about a month to re-intro!