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Dirty Thirty "Roundup and Ride"!

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MeadowLily Advanced Member

MeadowLily

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By Katrina Plyler

June 29, 2015 | 7:00 a.m. EDT+ More
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By now, anybody who has heard anything about the Whole30 Diet has probably read or heard these unforgettable words by Melissa Hartwig and Dallas Hartwig from their book "It Starts With Food." "It is not hard. Don't you dare tell us this is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard."

With that brief slap of perspective, many people since 2009 have taken the 30-day food challenge and found themselves in new clothes, new physical changes and new paths toward health. However, many started a 30-day round of the Whole30 Diet and never completed it. Why?

 

Dallas and Melissa have some news for us.

It IS HARD.

 

From their 2015 instant New York Times Bestseller, "The Whole30®: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom," the Hartwigs give some further insight on just how hard this can be. They readily stand by their statement that completing the Whole30 program is not as physically or emotionally challenging as terminal illness, addiction or personal loss. When you compare such things, nobody is saying that drinking black coffee and choking down zucchini noodles and meatballs is harder than many things we face in life. What they are saying is changing your emotional addiction to food is a very powerful journey and IT IS HARD.

 

Thinking about the next 30 days, we can most likely count up many "events" that are centered around food. Friday Pizza day at the college cafeteria, church potluck, all the July weddings and baby showers, anniversaries, Taco Tuesday, backyard BBQ. The list goes on and on. Thinking about going to these events with your pre-planned bowl of vegetables and beef and ignoring the desserts and cocktails is extremely daunting. Any plan designed to change your life is going to be difficult.

 

That is the purpose of the the Whole30 Diet. It's not a detox-then-back-to-junk plan. It's not even technically a weight-loss program, although a vast majority of people experience fat loss. It's a 30-day journey of getting real with the foods we eat. While there is plenty of science and research in their first book, "It Starts With Food," this book is all about getting down to the brass tacks. It is a no-holds-barred, no holding back, stop with excuses, take control of your life, 30 days of introspection. You can't follow this program without asking the important questions about sustainability, quality of life, eating seasonally, the relationship between food addictions and health, the undeniable value of sleep, thefamily dinner table and the validity of hormonal balance. To put it simply, change is hard.

 

What's in the book? This book is laid out in plain and simple terms. The authors leave a lot of the science studies in their first book and approach this one as a user's manual. The beginning outlines the basic rules, brief explanations for the rules, a famed timeline (hint: "kill all the things" is a must-read) and reintroduction.

 

The second part of the book is what I call the "Can I?" and "What If?" section. It outlines the reasons why the plan does not include all the Paleo pancakes, muffins, donuts, ice cream, waffles and bread. This part helps with dining out and traveling. It also gives special instructions for special situations such as pregnancy, breast-feeding, endurance athletes (emphasis on endurance), kids and vegetarians.

 

Now that you're mentally ready to take this journey, part three is your tool belt. In order to be successful, you have to use the kitchen. There are no pre-packaged Whole30 meals. Taking time to cook a meal, making dinner time a habit and spending time with your family are all crucial parts of the plan. The chapter on kitchen basics outline the minimums, the "nice-to-haves" and the fundamentals of a Whole30 kitchen.

 

If you're hesitant about the whole thing because you just aren't sure what you'll eat, part four is for you. The doubters and skeptics can turn to the recipe section and see exactly what you'll be eating for the next 30 days. Meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruit and natural fats are on the list. Focus on that list. You won't be eating sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes or dairy for the next 30 days.

 

The last few pages of the "Now What?" section are extremely refreshing. This program was never designed to be a Whole365. Real life is meant to be savored and enjoyed with health and vitality. Throughout the book, personal stories, success stories, social media resources, special situations and tips for success and truths about derailment add to the density of Whole30 information. 

 

What are some praises? "The next 30 days will initiate a healthy chain reaction throughout your entire life, imparting a sense of control, freedom, stability and confidence that will inspire you to take on other personal development goals, big and small." Take a look at #whole30 on Instagram, and see the praises. Read the personal stories splashed across blogs and Facebook comments. Take a peek into the community of the Whole30, and see what people are talking about. It starts with food, but many claim it continues with physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health.

 

For more information, the Hartwigs are active on the Whole30 Facebook page and their Instagram account.

 
 

 

  • Katrina Plyler is a full-time teacher and part-time runner, blogger and amateur photographer. She is a regular contributor to the Cooking Light Blogger's Connection and has been featured in Fitness magazine. Her food photography is regularly accepted in Tastespotting.com and Foodgawker.com galleries. For more information on the daily adventures of teaching, running and cooking, check out her blog, Katrina Runs for Food.

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MeadowLily Advanced Member

MeadowLily

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Whole30 Food Challenge: How Tough is it?

Jun 29, 2015 08:30 AM EDT | By Kathleen Nava

A lot of people have taken on the Whole30 program, a month-long clean-eating challenge that promises a pack of health and emotional benefits.

 

The program, which aims to reset your metabolism and reshape your relationship with food was developed by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig, a husband-and-wife team with backgrounds in sports nutrition, anatomy, and physical therapy.

“People have concerns about their health, their mood, their energy, their body weight, their self-confidence, and so many of those things are seriously impacted by our food choices,” says Melissa.

The popular Whole30 diet looks a lot like the Paleo diet which involves consuming low carbohydrates and high protein food items. It requires you to eat 90 meals consisting only of meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruit and nuts and nothing else. There are no cheat days or indulging for one month.

The diet completely strips away "hormone-unbalancing, gut-disrupting, inflammatory food groups," considered to be sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, and dairy.

For Whole30 participants, it's not about stretching the rules of the diet to their furthest limits. It's about learning to enjoy whole, clean, simple food that fuel the body.

The program promises a list of benefits, such as higher energy levels, better quality of sleep, lightened mood and lesser food cravings, especially when it comes to sugar and carbs.

Some people who took the Whole30 challenge credited the program with everything from healing diabetes to treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The Whole30 program could be a good option for individuals looking to give themselves a healthy reset or discover what food sensitivities they might have.

Although health nutritionist Tanja Guigon-Rech of Nutrition Nation agrees with the benefits that a person can get from the program, but she does not agree with its restrictive nature. "It essentially teaches not to eat processed foods and eat more whole foods, and everyone can do that," she said.

 

"There is no single diet for everyone; everybody is different, has different nutritional needs and processes food differently," she added.

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MeadowLily Advanced Member

MeadowLily

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"It essentially teaches not to eat processed foods and eat more whole foods, and everyone can do that," she said."

 

Huh.   If it was soooo easy that even a caveman can do it...then everyone at my doctor's office would not be stuffing themselves with candy, cookies, popcorn and peanuts on a regular basis.  I'm so sorry to report that they are the unhealthiest group in my inner circle.  Ooo, how I wish they would care about their health.  Stress has taken over where calmer heads should prevail.  I care about those people, yes....I do.   

 

It saddened me that after a year, they were still using their breaktimes to load up on the worst of the worst. Highly engineered to be craved multi-crap.  They were stuck in the Twilight Zone, Zombie Binge Zone. That's a soul sucking cycle. There's an enormous disconnect between pulling others out of the muck and Physician, Heal Thyself. 

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MeadowLily Advanced Member

MeadowLily

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I was happy to find these articles today.   Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door.   

 

I had a momentary blip on my radar.  Ahhh, but I'm back in the saddle once again.  My ship was reeling and rolling.  I was being tossed back and forth across the deck like a barrel of booch.  I was hanging by my teeth. Then....I SNAPPED OUT OF IT!   Thank you, Cher. 

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MeadowLily Advanced Member

MeadowLily

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I thought about Miranda...one my heroes.  Sassy.  Loaded up on Sassafras Tea.   For awhile, I had to throw everything from my Whole 30 Toolkit up against the wall to see what would stick.   I was pitching to myself and catching fast spinning hardballs.   I'm no longer using food to numb or dumb anything down.  

 

I made a kale/broccoli/bacon/egg skillet for Brekkie.   Fixin' a huge salad, roasted vegetables and pulled pork for lunch.   When your back is up against the wall....stick with your solid strategy and positive food management plan after your Whole 30 days are over.   Stress eating is comforting for like 3 minutes and then it adds to your stress.   Use your support system.

 

Everyone ready to face the challenges that a holiday brings?   I pledge to pass on all sugary foods and snacks and eat just like a regular ole day.   No need to be frantic or filled with panic.   You can recover quickly when others are eating for pure entertainment or stress or misery or shoving more emotions down or just wanting to go on a Thrill Eating Spree. 

 

Prep your food, roast your vege, enjoy your good dietary fats and enjoy every bite of your proteins. 

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MeGA"gardener" Advanced Member

MeGA"gardener"

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Oh yes you are good no blips gonzo

Meadow the doobies and the piña colada song where we going we know the grass isn't EVER greener on the other side We are focused we are strong Thank you Cher she gets it pulls it together and keeps moving on

Your ship came in we are all following suit

Good brekkie good lunch me too

The holidays aren't phasing me it's the prep

That day each one is just that one day I handle it well it's the leading up to that throws me But I've got you all now Nothing like it

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