What was your motivating factor to do a Whole30?

[citymom]

Sometimes the hardest part is getting started.

Now that I'm gearing up to do another Whole30 again, and hopefully commit for the long term to change my way of eating, I want to know how others have made their choice.

What I mean is this, what was the final choice you made (or reason) to get off your butt, quit making excuses and commit to start Day 1 of your Whole30?

What was the last straw? Or motivating factor that just helped you that last little bit to do it?

Thanks!!

[Johnny M]

Hey citymom - click through to my profile and read my story. I had a few false starts but I finally got on board when I was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFL) and my health issues became real and measurable. I hate that it took getting to such a drastic state but all that matters is you take the first step then don't look back!

[citymom]

Hey citymom - click through to my profile and read my story. I had a few false starts but I finally got on board when I was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFL) and my health issues became real and measurable. I hate that it took getting to such a drastic state but all that matters is you take the first step then don't look back!

Thanks Johnny! Will do. I know the answer is so different for everyone. I'll go read your story.

[Melany Anderson]

I get stomach aches everytime I eat. I've been to the dr. with no real answers. This past Saturday I was so sick I finally decided it was time to start whole30. Since hearing about it months ago I thought it sounded so scary but so far it hasn't been all that bad. (day 4)

[CarmenS]

I decided that I needed the discipline and structure of a Whole 30 because I had been "playing at Paleo" for more than a year, but not reaping any of the benefits. I found excuses to eat "safe" grains like rice and corn, I continued to eat dairy (but "only" Greek yogurt and raw milk cheese), and I was addicted to sugar of all kinds.

Whole 30 offered me the structure I needed. And once I made up my mind to do it, I appreciated the structure the program offered.

[Shaunna]

For me, I was fed up with my constant chronic migraines and cystic acne. And of course, my weight. I had had enough! Today is day 10. Good luck to you!

[JimS]

I started my paleo journey with Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint. I really like his approach because it's accessible, sustainable and offers most of the benefits of a strict paleo implementation without as many restrictions. It also preaches a holistic approach to health encompassing nutrition, sleep, stress management and exercise. I saw great results with the Primal Blueprint but I found that I was starting to rationalize poor snacking and mindless eating, telling myself I was eating 'primal' foods... dark chocolate, copious nuts, nut butters, higher GI fruits, etc. Basically, I got cocky and wasn't being mindful of my food decisions. I trusted my cruise control before I actually passed my drivers test.

I chose to shift gears and do a Whole30 because I wanted to really dial in the mental aspect of my nutrition. I liked how well the Whole30 was documented, both on the Whole9Life website and in the Success Guide eBook. It's been a great thing for me and my goals... especially now having a forum dedicated to the Whole30.

Good luck!!

[Emily]

I've never been comfortable with my weight and would go through really hard emotional periods where I would beat myself up about how I looked and felt. The Whole30 first really appealed to my desire to eat whole, real, organic, quality food... but I feel so much better now! I had no idea how bloated I was all the time-losing that feeling has been huge (along with the weight that has fallen off!).

[Summer]

My motivating factor to start a Whole30 was mostly to feel better about what I was putting in my body, and break the addiction. Unequivocally I am addicted to food, and I needed to break the cycle. When I was first introduced to the Whole30 program, I didn't even consider it because I just KNEW I couldn't do it. I remember being out to eat at a Mexican restaurant with a friend who was eating a taco salad out of a big crunchy fried corn shell. She was trying the paleo life and at that time I was still not even considering it. I would reach over and grab chunks of that shell, no problem. Food has been such a social thing for me, my friends, and my family. I blame the Italian blood. We don't just eat, WE EAT! There literally is enough food at big (and small) gatherings to feed an army. We laugh and eat, and eat and laugh until we just can't eat (or move) anymore. Thankfully I have always been super active and full of energy in general, and have exercised my entire life or my weight would be horrific. I remember saying, “I run so I can eat.†That was my little motto, and it worked for the most part. I ate what I wanted and maintained a decent weight (but never was happy with it), and felt what I “thought†was fine. I had no idea how good I could actually feel by eating 100% clean.

It has been challenging, and it is really difficult when I have friends that say to me, “I want my old friend back.†Whew – that's hard. I was the person who knew about food, and many of my conversations were about food. Food is a bonding time for me and my dad, so as pathetic as it may sound, it was really stressful to tell him what I was doing. He even had plans to break this little “diet†of mine. I had to tell him I will not budge during my first 30 days. Talk about emotional difficulty - - it was like I let him down……..

Thanks to Dallas and Melissa for making the Nutrition Guide something easy to read, easy to understand, and just down-right comprehendible. That sealed the deal for me. Plus, the reasoning behind what we need to be putting in our bodies and why just made sense to my little pea brain.

[Jeanye Mercer]

Five words from Melissa did it for me! - This.will.change.your.life.

[DonnaC]

I was introduced to the paleo diet back in October. I followed it for 1 month and couldn't believe how much inflammation was eliminated in my body. I think I only lost about 5 pounds, but most people asked how much I had lost because it looked more like 20! I have been trying to get back to the paleo way of eating since January and have had a hard time. I recently found the whole30 online and decided it was the way to get me back...I am now 5 days in, already see and feel difference. I am on a quest to get my metobolic syndrome under control.I think this is the way to do it.

[Matt Muller]

Great topic!

I have become unacceptably cranky iritable and blue the past few months and I really felt like my diet was a huge factor in making me this way.

I have been quasi paleo for over a year, and have kept my weight pretty stable. However, I do love the off-road treats. I work in a restaurant, so there is constant temptation. I will eat 3 clean meals in a day, but then have a cookie in the afternoon, some fresh bread at work, and when the kitchen messes up an order some fried fish or a desert. There is soda on the gun which I will have sips of etc.

What happens is I think that I am eating clean, but I'm not! Then I wonder why I am feeling so gross. I have been in the 'denial' stage of this for a long time. I just re-read http://whole9life.com/2012/01/the-five-stages-of-food-grief/ and was totally struck by how spot on this was.

Then for an unknown amount of time the past few months or so I have been foggy headed, irritable and tired all the time. This really manifested itself in my marriage and my wife getting angry at me for always being so crabby. It was hard to admit it but I really needed a reset.

So here I am 5 days in to another whole 30 and already seeing the clouds part at times with other times of tiredness and intense cravings for comfort food. I feel like I am a pilot wrestling with an old plane in a wind storm and am looking forward to when the weather clears up.

Cheers!

[CaseyD]

I was going back and forth with paleo and SAD eating - so much so that I was probably doing a 50/50 approach. I read something, and I wish I could find the quote, that made me think of stuff I already knew. I read that it's a particularly bad idea to mix a high fat and a high carb diet - you're either in or your out. That this can be a recipe for a heart attack - more or less. My goal was always to eat healthy, and I've spent many years experimenting to define what that means. I decided at that point that I either need to be all on board (high fat/low carb paleo) or not (low fat/high carb typical American "healthy" diet). This in between stuff had to stop.

This came at a time when I was starting to slip back into an old problem - taking something every night to sleep. Years ago, I had a long, bitter battle with insomnia that doctors could never solve. That led to me taking Ambien every night for 3 years (which is a bad, bad idea). Eventually, the insurance company cut me off and I gradually started sleeping better on my own, but that problem seemed to be coming back this year, out of the blue. And, it scares me to death to ever start up a pill addiction to sleep again.

I know now that the cleaner I eat, the easier and deeper sleep comes. So, that was also a big motivation for me to get it together and just do what I knew was the right thing.

I've actually lost count on where I'm at on the Whole30. I think I'm just doing this for life at this point. It's easier for me to be 100% committed to eating clean than to allow treats that always throw me back into bad eating. For me, just deciding that this is the way I eat - period - has put food in it's place. I no longer wrestle in my mind about food, and that's far better to me than allowing the occasional "cheat."

[Ecolimonsters]

Hey citymom - click through to my profile and read my story. I had a few false starts but I finally got on board when I was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFL) and my health issues became real and measurable. I hate that it took getting to such a drastic state but all that matters is you take the first step then don't look back!

 

 

I realize this post is older, but it's very relevant to me right now. I am currently on day 18 and doing ok. Not feeling fantastic, but not willing to give it up either. I'm in it till the end. But this comment is not about me....

Yesterday, I learned that my mother-in-law has just been diagnosed with a fatty liver. She does not drink so this is a non-alcoholic syndrome. My husband and I were talking to them and decided to share some coconut butter with them since that is a new product we discovered since starting this journey. (By the way, I do not over consume it, I just bought it to see what it was all about and it is FANTASTIC!).

She took a taste and made a comment about how yummy it tasted but then looked at the nutritional information and said, "oh I better stay away from this because I have to limit my fat intake since I now have a fatty liver."

I got to thinking about this comment after they left and mentioned to my husband how the Whole30 might benefit her (and my father-in-law who has Barrit's esophagus), but wondered if I was correct or if this diet would make it worse. i know you cannot give medical advice but I would appreciate any insights or feedback that you can offer and especially any resources out there on the web that I can point them to. I don't want to preach to her and my father-in-law but it's hard to see their health deteriorating and to know that food is either part of or the answer.

[wendelina]

I actually heard about the Whole30 from my personal trainer.

 

Since OTC allergy meds don't offer me any relief, I started looking into other treatment paths, which led me to acupuncture. My acupuncturist wanted me to do a cleanse/detox before allergy season started, but I didn't want pre-made food and smoothies (even organic) out of pouches.  My trainer at the gym mentioned Whole30 as an alternative.  I started reading, and thought this would give me a good chance at actually enjoying spring.

 

So, for me, that has been my only goal.  Allergy season is just starting up here in Massachusetts, but so far so good.  I can be outside for walks and eat a meal outside and I'm not feeling awful and congested and headachy by the end.  This is huge progress for me!!  Everything else that has come along for the ride (moderate weight loss, improved workouts, blood sugar regulation, feeling better and more even-keeled in general) is really a side benefit for me, though they are definitely side benefits I find worth the effort of continuing to eat paleo.

 

We've done a little more off-roading than I'd like since finishing the Whole30 (too many social obligations piled up while we were doing our Whole30), but my intention is to keep as clean as I can during allergy season, see how this goes, and then figure out my level of comfort with how to maintain for the years ahead.

[NoelleD]

For me it was when my podiatrist said I needed to lose 25 lbs before I could continue walking for exercise.  I knew I needed a quick jump start on weight loss so I went looking for diets.  I eventually came across this plan and it looked like it would help me feel better in general and wasn't just a crash diet.  It also looked like I would be eating some yummy food which I am.  I figured I can do anything for 30 days.  30 days isn't that long.  I'm on day 18 and have seen changes in my health and have lost the craving for many of the bad foods I use to eat.

[Peg541]

I'm a weight watcher. Employee too. Trying to keep off 133 lbs. gained 15 over the past 5 years. This cannot be.

I scared myself with two boxes of peeps. This has to stop. I want to get back to my goal weight and eat clean. Dairy and wheat bother me anyway so it's easy to give them up and see what really feeling good is all about.

This is day 4 for me. I read every word of ISWF and love the science. I'm also a nurse. Science appeals to me. I feeling kind of crappy today and assume this is an carb flu or just my 64 year old gut rebelling against raw veggies. I'm roasting carrots as we speak and making a pot of chicken soup. That will help.

Glad to be here and meet you all.

[Bet]

I went through a lot of digestive issues and I have Hashimoto's. I was always a good weight until I hit peri-menopuase about 8 years ago. Since then my health has declined. After a breif hospital stay, I decided it was time to get serious. I had already had some success with going gluten free, so then found the SCD diet. I did that for awhile and I felt like I was healed enough to try something different. I was doing sort of paleo, but I had no real guidance. Then, on an IBS help board, I found out about W30. I read up on it. A few of the things that attracted me to it were the resetting of the leptin (I had hypoglycemic issues) and also because Dallas said that it helped with his tendinitis (I have that as well). I decided since I was already grain/legume free to do the AIP, since I do have AI issues.  I loved the book and I think I needed the strictness of the program. It was hard the first two weeks, but now I can do it with my eyes closed. Unlike some others I will never go back to eating grains or some of the other foods.  I feel really great now, I have so much more energy, I sleep better, have better concentration. I don't get dissuaded from difficult tasks and I feel I'm a better partner to my husband. It's been great for me.

[Peg541]

I feel like I'll never go back to grains or sugar either. Dairy too.

[Tayleo]

My health, wedding, weight and fertility. Also to stay consistent with an eating life style instead of yo-yo dieting.

I swear I've dieted myself to this weight.

Tomorrow I'll have eaten Paleo for a month!

[Peg541]

I have to add to my previous post. My husband is out of town for the weekend. For weeks I've been wondering what I can eat while he's gone? Fantasizing. Pizza? Chinese? Horrible things. That scared me enough to open the box from amazon.com and read ISWF!

[peahen65]

I was eating semi-paleo for a while, until the holidays hit... then I gained 6 pounds from Thanksgiving to New Year's by eating whatever.  I lost 3 of those extra pounds but found my cravings had reawaken after my holiday binge and I wasn't eating as well as I once did.  I first heard of the Whole30 on Instagram, I think, as I follow a lot of ketogenic and paleo people there.  Lent was coming up so I decided that a Lenten Whole30 (W46 actually) would be a good idea to help me get a hold of the cravings and also re-learn to be more mindful about eating.  Today is Day 38 for me.  It's been worth it.  I feel I am beginning to understand how different foods affect me and realizing what I can do without. Also my tastes have changed for the better. 

[megalinity!]

I was diagnosed with clinical depression and decided that a lot of it was related to my diet. I had also been diagnosed with a gluten intolerance, but kept eating gluten! Poor choices! I had never been sure whether it was dairy or gluten that made me sick, so rather than being disciplined and doing an elimination diet, I just ate both. Since I always felt the way I did (not great, but meh), I figured I was fine. After my depression diagnosis, I got serious. A friend of mine had done the Whole30 and it worked very well for her. She lost 15 pounds and now eats an 80/20 paleo diet. At first I didn't think I could do it, but the more I thought about it, the more I hated the idea of being chained to foods. My weight had ballooned after I shattered both my ankles (at the same time) because I couldn't work out. I was just really unhappy. So, I bought ISWF, devoured it, and started immediately.

 

And now, 42 days later, I will never eat the crappy way again. I learned that I can't handle either dairy OR gluten. I learned how icky and tired I feel after eating sugar. I also used to order out dinner at least 4 times a week because I hated cooking. Now, I cook almost every meal. Even when I don't feel like cooking and so look for shortcuts, my shortcut tends to be sautéing a quick meat or seafood and making a spinach salad with veggies and homemade mayo for dressing. I can do this in about 10 minutes- or the same amount of time it would have taken me to decide on take out! And I don't have to wait for delivery! 

 

I lost 12 lbs and 6" from my body during those 30 days. My depression vanished. My anxiety has decreased substantially. I almost never get bloated or gassy (unless I eat raw broccoli), and I have so much more energy. I'm so glad I did this now, rather than going with the status quo for another couple decades. I've even gotten my parents and parents-in-law interested!

[Dargirl]

turning 50 next year and looking to re boot- pretty clean eater but always needing some improvement- was always feeling too full, bloated, exhausted, not sleeping properly and I felt that I ate pretty well.. what was wrong.. I also have allergies which takes over sometimes.. 

this is a whole new way of thinking about food and really checking on what you are eating. Only on Day # 6 but excited about my progress so far!

Good luck everyone!

[Karyna]

I was also a Weight Watchers Gold/Lifetime member. And employee. I started going about 80% Paleo over a year ago.

I found that I would eat well during the week (and when I say 'well' I mean within my WW points and not necessarily the healthiest choices) then have mega junk-food eating sessions on the weekend to the point I felt ill.

I began to lose sight of eating things just as a treat and to not gorge on them completely.

I came upon the whole30 in September last year and did my first then. I read ISWF and loved how the science was put into such easy and accessible terms of reading. It made me see that my way of restricting and binging was not doing me very good so I decided to start the whole30 to try and get to the healthiest I could possibly be.

I am on my third whole30 - I learn something new each time and find the whole30 something I can come back to when I have fallen off the wagon.