Whole 30? page

[iniQuity]

All familiar with it? here's a link: http://whole9life.com/2009/07/the-w30/

I did a search for "whole 30" and got nothing back, so maybe it has not been discussed yet. It seems like what we do, only more Paleo than Primal and the focus is on being strict for a solid month. No 80/20, but 100% compliance. It reminds me of my first month of PB, and I'm thinking about doing it again because the last three weeks I haven't even been to the kitchen (OR HAD BACON) or any leafy green, I feel I'm straying away a little, though surprisingly I'm still losing a bit of weight and still feel moderately strong and am able to work out. I credit this to making smart-er choices when buying foods, and to daily IFs by way of no breakfast and lunch around 1pm most days. However, I was really into taking care of myself and cooking so I want to get back to that. So this is what's suggested:

1. Eat real food – meat*, eggs, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit, oils (like EVOO or coconut). Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re fresh and natural.
2. Do not eat dairy. This includes butter, cheese (hard and soft), yogurt (even Greek) and milk (including cream in your coffee**).
3. Do not eat grains. This includes bread, rice, pasta, corn (I count corn as a grain), oatmeal, and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains. That’s not real food, right?
4. Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds, lentils, and peanuts. (No peanut butter, kids.)
5. Do not eat sugars*** of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Truvia, Stevia, etc.
6. Do not eat processed foods. This includes protein shakes, processed bars (like Zone bars), dairy-free creamers, etc.
7. Do not drink alcohol, in any form.
8. If you have serious inflammation issues like arthritis, you may want to consider avoiding nightshades for 30 days as well.


I'm okay to do all of these, avoiding dairy will be tough but I started today with plain black coffee, no sugar, no cream, and honestly, not bad at all. I don't knwo if it's psychological but I don't feel it tastes bitter almost as if I added some sugar to it. The only one I won't adhere too is the nightshades, I barely eat them right now but I do like to cook with onions sometimes.

I'm interested in doing this because it seems like a nice detox from what I've been doing which has involved a lot of fried foods and a lot of restaurant and work eating. I also still carry the same fat around my midsection and want to see if this will do something about that. My only concern though is, on July 27th I'm going back to the homeland, Peru, for two weeks (very excited!) and I'm going to HAVE to eat non-primally for a couple of meals a week, traditional foods that I would feel bad turning down, but already have a few selections in mind that are perfectly primal. Do you think I'll react badly to these when re-introduced? I'm also going to be drinking with buddies I grew up with but coming off a no-alcohol month my tolerance will seriously suffer. This doesn't really bother me as much, I'm really not a drinker.

I'm sure there's plenty here that live whole 30 most of the time, myself included, but I've never gone no-dairy before so that will be interesting. Any thoughts?

[hannahc]

No worries on the onions iniQuity, they aren't nightshades. Tomatoes/peppers (included dry pepper spices)/eggplant/potatoes (not sweet potatoes though) are all nightshades.

That plan absolutely sounds like a primal person started it, or possibly paleo, though it doesn't make restrictions on fruits which paleo leans towards. No "modernly palatable" foods. I hope you get through and enjoy your 30 days!

[inforg]

I've seen them speak, and they are definitely more paleo than primal, but very good to listen to. They really concentrate on acid balancing, insulin, inflammation. They are devotees of the Robb Wolf school and were early participants and Crossfit affiliates.

They aren't much for 80/20

[Big Dave]

Cool website with lots of good info, thanks.

[Funkadelic Flash]

They aren't much for 80/20

Hear, hear!

[alexa85]

thanks for posting this! i wanna start this on 7/5 i know i will have a few beers on the fourth so i'm going to allow for it! giving up dairy will be difficult for me!

[Mike Alzen]

I'm a huge fan of the whole30, and Melissa and Dallas in general. I think it's important to eat 100% compliant for at least 30 days to give your body the best chance to completely heal before reintroducing the "20%" items that may be doing more harm than you realize. They also have excellent workout programming.

[ColoradoSteve]

All in all, I think their message is good. I believe they go a little overboard with not letting anything (ANYTHING - did I say anything?) not on the 'approved' list slip in that first month. My opinion is that it really limits the food options and can get pretty darn boring.

Check out the website and take a look.

[iniQuity]

I'm not into people that are militant but I understand the importance of being strict for a number of reasons, psychologically above all understanding you don't NEED to eat certain things is crucial. The dairy thing is a doozy, today I had coffee black with no sugar for the first time I think ever and I didn't mind the taste at all. I'm not sure what the consensus on caffeine is around here, but I only have one cup in the mornings and maybe one in the afternoon sometimes after eating so I'm not trying to really stop that until I see definitive evidence pointing to one side or the other.

I'm going to miss cooking with butter because I love the flavor but I'm up for the challenge. I'm not trying to be 100% but there isn't anything on this "do not eat" list that I'll seriously miss so I think 100% compliance is doable even though it's probably not all that necessary for myself.

[fragileknees]

@alexa85 - I would love to do a strict month starting 7/5!!! I need to get the final 5 lbs off for my upcoming wedding and have been stalled out for a month. I could really use some accoutnability because I love dairy and alcohol.... Let's start a thread after the holiday and encourage oneanother!?!?!