I’ve made it through the first two weeks of the
Whole30, and I thought I’d share my results.
First, though, a little background.
I decided to try this for a few reasons, but the biggest reasons were to
see if this eating plan could increase my energy levels and improve my mental
clarity. I’m planning on starting my
fifth novel in November, after all my October haunting Halloween-related events
are over, and since November is also what’s known to writers as “Nanowrimo”, or
National Novel Writing Month, that will serve as extra incentive. But the idea is to complete a certain amount
of words each day toward the manuscript, and in addition to a good idea, which
I have, that takes—yep, you guessed it—energy and mental focus.
I can say with certainty that I feel better at this
point. The beginning can be hard, I won’t
lie. I tried this once before, with a
bunch of women at the gym where I teach fitness classes, and I barely made it
through the 7 days of our goal. Really,
you have to push past that initial shock to your body (sometimes referred to as
“carb flu”) in order to reap the benefits of clean eating. The book, It Starts With Food, explains it very well, and I
highly recommend reading it first if you’re going to try Whole30. Not only does it clearly explain WHY you need
to leave certain foods out, it does so with humor and just enough science to
drive the point home.
So far, the hardest thing for me to give up has been
diet soda. Why not wine, you ask? Well, because, I have to admit I’ve had a
glass here and there. I know, I know…that’s
cheating. But I also know myself—in
fact, I’ve lived with myself for 47 years.
And I knew if I said absolutely no wine for 30 days I might just not try
eating clean at all. So I’ve stayed away
from it for the most part, but when I indulged, I did so making sure I did not
fall into one of the main reasons it’s banned: alcohol can impair your
willpower, thus opening the door for bad food choices. I have not let that happen. And I decided allowing myself one glass was
better than setting out a glass of 100% grape juice and waiting for it to
accidentally ferment, which may have been my back-up plan.
So, what have been my “must-haves” during these two
weeks? Sweet potatoes with ghee
(clarified butter) is almost like a dessert for someone like me, who usually
avoids carbs like the plague. Certain
flavors of Larabars are allowed, so if I DO feel like I need something sweet,
it’s either fruit or one of those. A
spoonful of almond butter is a filling treat.
And I love dipping veggies into homemade guacamole.
This plan has also made me more cognizant of what’s in
our food, and I’ve enjoyed expanding my repertoire of recipes to make healthy
dinners that even my two teenage boys like.
Providing I make it through another week, I’ll post some of my favorite
new recipes. I might even try to make
homemade mayonnaise, which my neighbor assures me is easy. I should probably video this for the comedic value
alone. And I would love some more
support for this journey, so if you’re currently doing the Whole30, or you’ve
done it in the past, or you’re considering it, or you’re interested to see if I
cut off any fingers while making homemade condiments, comment below and share
your thoughts!
