I never really wanted to do the Whole30 Program. I generally eat a relatively healthy diet, have great energy, and enjoy the food I eat. I also do not suffer from stomach problems, headaches, or other symptoms that could potentially be related to the food I eat. In addition, I have a very healthy weight and BMI, so losing weight is not something that would be needed or beneficial for me. So why did I bother to try the Whole30 program? Two reasons. First, I love trying anything that has the potential to make me feel better and live better. Second, I did it for my wife. My wife has been excited about trying the Whole30 program out for quite some time, and she thought it would be fun for us to do it together.
Am I Eating All Wrong?
I didn't think so, but I was open to find out. There is much debate and contrasting evidence regarding the merits of different types of diets. We're told a conflicting assortment of dietary advice ranging from eating lots of meat to eating no meat, from avoiding grains and dairy to having a balanced Mediterranean Diet. Some people are starting to advocate and swear by caloric restriction and regular fasting as the key to unlocking optimal health benefits.
In a nutshell, there is no general consensus of what an optimal diet looks like for humans. To further complicate matters, human dietary needs and the optimal diet may vary significantly by person depending on age, genetic factors, diseases, and other factors.
Before starting the Whole30 Program, my diet consisted of mostly unprocessed foods, including some of my favorite foods (bolded items are forbidden in the Whole30) like quinoa, brown rice, oats, black beans, chickpeas, salsa, bananas, chia seeds, milk, almonds, walnuts, blueberries, blackberries, apples, carrots, avocados, and tomatoes. I typically dine out once or twice a week, and my favorite indulgence is popcorn at night. I was wary to stray from my trusty and habitual dietary routines, by I decided to experiment on myself. Maybe the Whole30 would make me feel even better, or perhaps give me higher levels of energy.
My Whole30 Experience
The fact that my wife and I were doing the Whole30 program together made the meal planning much easier. The fridge was stocked with large amounts of fruits, vegetables, and meats. Our cupboard had pounds of our favorite nuts such as almonds, cashews, walnuts, and pecans. My wife had planned some delicious Whole30 meals for dinner. We were ready to get this started.
I started off my first Whole30 day eating a banana, almonds, walnuts, and 2 hard boiled eggs for breakfast. I ate a chicken salad and carrots for lunch, and then went to a friend's BBQ where I ate too much watermelon and Tri-tip. I also had a few snacks of fruits, vegetables, and nuts throughout the day. I felt decent during the day, although I noted that it was more difficult to satisfy my hunger, and I felt like something was missing.
My second day was horrible. I continued with a similar diet of eggs, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and chicken. My day in the office was alright, but I noticed that I felt more fatigued. When I returned home, I crashed and I felt ethargic and a bit nauseous, which is unusual for me. It's possible that my lack of energy and nausea stemmed from something other than my new diet, but I had a hunch that it might be associated with the Whole30. I did some research, and found that some other people experienced similar symptoms at various points of their Whole30 experience. The next few days were not as bad as my second day, but I continued to feel less energy and I had a difficult time satisfying my body's dietary needs. Even though I ate a balanced diet of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and meats, I felt like there were other foods and nutrients that my body was asking for.
Towards the end of the week, I was sorely missing my legumes, oats, quinoa, and brown rice, among other foods. I was also mentally tired of the effort required to satisfy my hunger and nutritional needs on such a limited selection of food choices. My wife gave me the nod to end my challenge without being relegated to sleeping on the couch. I asked her if she was sure about this. I would continue if it was important to her. She assured me that she supported my decision, and in fact, it would probably be easier for her to continue the Whole30 program without me. I decided immediately to end my one week flirtation with the Whole30.
After a day of returning to my normal diet, I felt much better. I am glad that I did the Whole30 for a week, although I wouldn't recommend it to others unless they were having noticeable side effects and health problems (migraines, digestive issues, fatigue, etc) while eating a balanced and healthy diet. I assume that some people who do the Whole30 and lose weight, feel great, and absolutely love it, might be coming from an unhealthy diet of processed sugar, eating out, coffee, highly processed foods, and sugary drinks. Eliminating the obviously unhealthy foods for 30 days will definitely have an impact on anyone. I believe most people can experience the same benefits without eliminating healthy grains, legumes, and dairy.
Recommendation: Eat A Balanced Diet of Real Foods
If someone is interested in improving their diet, I would suggest a diet that includes a variety of real unprocessed foods. The diet would essentially be a Whole30 program plus legumes, dairy, and unprocessed whole grains. Such a modification to the Whole30 would allow a person to eat less meat, which many health experts advocate, and still avoid the most likely culprits to health problems (sugar and processed foods).
In summary, my perfect sustainable diet goes something like this:
- Eat a balanced diet
- Don't restrict any food group
- Buy and eat whole foods
- Cook mostly from home
- Avoid processed foods
- Allow for an occasional (2x/week) cheat meal, cheat snack, or cheat day
With the guidelines above, there can still be a lot of experimentation to see what combinations of real foods make us feel and look optimal. If a certain food doesn't make you feel good, toss it.
The key to any nutritional plan or diet is to make it sustainable and part of a lifestyle change. It has to be doable in the long run to have real benefits.
I'm curious to see how my wife's experience with the Whole30 will turn out. I'm impressed with her dedication and commitment to the Whole30, especially as we sit together watching Netflix with a bowl of popcorn that only I can eat.
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