A Little Adventure - Whole30

I am going on a little adventure, as I like to call it. Today I am starting the Whole30 program – ever heard of it? I stumbled across it on a blog and have been reading about it and looking up recipes for about a week. At first glance, my reaction was “no way am I doing that for 30 days” BUT I am at the point where I am genuinely excited. Also, genuinely skeered!

The purpose of this little adventure is to help heal my body of all of the icky stuff I have been force feeding it for so many years. After the end of 30 days I should have more energy, better sleep, less aches, good digestion and clearer skin – and be MUCH healthier! Here’s a little glimpse into our weekend – can you see why cleansing my body might be a good idea?

For 30 days I am going to eat completely whole – that is, no dairy, grains, added sugars of any kind, white potatoes, legumes (which includes peanuts – who knew?!), or preservatives (specifically MSG, Carrageenan or sulfites). So what can I eat? Basically meats, veggies, fruits, and good fat from things like fruit, oils and nuts.

I looked up lots of recipes, made a grocery list, and Matt and I set out to conquer the grocery store, Whole30 style. We probably spent a good 2 hours grocery shopping, picking up and analyzing every product before sticking it in our basket. Our thoughts? Why is there crap in EVERYTHING? No wonder there is such a struggle with obesity and we die at the age of 65. Even things that are naturally sweet had added sweetener – and yes, even unrefined organic cane sugar is an added sweetener. We even had to take a trip to Whole Foods to pick up a few things that just didn’t cut it at Publix.

Here is what we ended up with:

We are about to get creative in the kitchen. I have a recipe to use spaghetti squash as pasta and to use kale to make “potato” chips. Matt is going to partially do the program with me – all the meals we have together, we will both be Whole30. BUT if I am not around, he can eat whatever his heart desires. That will help encourage me to stay on track and allow him to have his cereal and icecream. Classic!

So far, today is going well – but hey, I am only a few hours in. I am sure it will be challenging but I think the discipline (and EXPENSIVE grocery bill) will be worth it! I am really excited to see how my body changes by June 5. Wish me luck!

http://whole9life.com/2012/01/whole-30-v2012/