I have totally been MIA over the holidays, but I’m back and ready to go!
If you haven’t heard of the Whole30 and use social media, I really don’t know what you are looking at online. Maybe I don’t want to know… I’ll summarize: The Whole30 is a total body reset. You may have heard of elimination diets, which is essentially what The Whole30 is…but also so much more. I have not always had a healthy relationship with food, and truly am still working on it.
I tried a Whole30 in 2015 and it was the worst week of my life. I had absolutely no support, and on top of that, I had a very discouraging partner. I gave up pretty quickly. It is also hard to admit that I give up really easily. I was always the kid that quit sports and instruments and have a nightstand full of unfinished self-help books. I can finish novels and Netflix series…but nothing that is hard. It is not easy to admit that to people, but the entire purpose of this blog is for someone who needs to know they are not alone in whatever feeling or experience they are unsure about or really struggling with. I am not perfect and I refuse to scold you or make you feel badly about anything. If you are doing this Whole30 thing with me, then great! If you are deciding whether or not to do it, then follow along and see.
This time, I am not going to fail. One of the Whole30 creators, Melissa Hartwig, who is the most entertaining person to follow on Instagram, I might add. Seriously, follow her. Her stories are hilarious. Her story is pretty amazing and once I heard that, I was sold. There was a line in one of her books that said “Quitting heroin is hard. Drinking your coffee black is not hard.” I didn’t think much of it then, but her interview with The Fix somehow ended up on my Instagram feed. You can read that article here. but that really resonated with me. There are people who can smoke a cigarette at a party now and then and never crave one on a random Tuesday, and people who can’t even be near the smell of smoke because they are still battling the cravings.
I bought the book Whole30 Day by Day by Melissa Hartwig and also It Starts with Food. You absolutely do not have to spend a ton of money on books to have a successful Whole30. There are so many resources out there now for Whole30 support. When you peruse the aisles at Whole Foods next time, look for the Whole30 Approved logo on certain products.
I am going to go through my Whole30 journey to show the highs and lows. I have tried dozens of times to go completely gluten free and have failed so miserably. I know that I will get through this if I try hard enough and plan better. Maybe I can be an inspiration to you, or you can laugh at my miserable failures. I am so far beyond addicted to sugar, I can’t even put it into words. I do not separate from my vices easily.
What is step 1? Well, I plan to start my real Whole30 on January 20 because my husband and I are taking a vacation mid-January. Don’t set yourself up for failure and plan your Whole30 when you know something big like a vacation or wedding is coming up. Don’t use any excuse you can to keep pushing it off, but try to use good judgment. For the next 3ish weeks, I want to start preparing. Some people “go hard” for the days leading up to their Whole30, but I don’t think that will work for me. If it is a gradual change, it will be a lot easier than a huge life change on a random Tuesday. I have 3ish weeks to get together tons of meal plans, products I need, articles, any anything else I may need to be successful. Trying things out now. Test runs. Etc. The Whole30 Day by Day book/journal starts at day 0 for a reason. Planning.
Let’s do this!