Whole30 Round 3: My Real Reasons for Doing it and How It's Going

Happy Happy Happy New Year!

I'm not gonna lie: I'm a sucker for new years. I really do love the tradition of fresh starts, reflection and making plans to better yourself. I know people get down on resolutions and the "do or die" attitude that comes with them but I think there's something special about a time of the year when everyone feels a little spark of optimism and motivation. But that's just me.

Over December I was feeling like c-r-a-p. 2017 was the first year in a long time when I feel like I'd lost my motivation for living a healthy lifestyle. I did a running group in the summer and told myself it was going to make get back into running (I used to love to run and would run 5k 2-3 times week) but it actually just burnt me out on running completely. Most important of all: I lost my motivation for healthy eating. I felt like I was finding it harder and harder to practice good habits throughout last year. This led to a year of constantly feeling like I was struggling with eating and exercise.

By Christmas I had decided that I wanted to do a Whole30 this year and not just any Whole30: The January Whole30. Twice a year Whole30 hosts a group Whole30 where they invite anyone to join and follow along on their social media. Every day there are posts and videos sharing how you should be feeling, different recipes, and motivation. I've wanted to do a Whole30 with "the group" for a long time so I figured January Whole30 was as good a time as any. So my first new years resolution was born.

If you don't remember: I did two Whole30s in 2016. My first Whole30 was amazing. I updated this blog every other day with how I was feeling and what I was eating. It was a lot of fun. Tough but fun. My second Whole30 was a lot harder, a lot less fun and midway through I was exhausted but I trucked through. 2017 saw no Whole30s but also a lot less passion for healthy recipes, swaps and experimentation. By then end of 2017 I realized I was ready to do another Whole30 again.

A lot of people call Whole30 a diet and it's not. It's 30 days of eating exclusively whole foods and of cutting wheat, dairy, alcohol, sugar, legumes and sulfites (these are foods that commonly inflame your gut but you can read more about it here). It means I have to spend more time cooking, thinking about my food choices, and making healthy decisions. My main motivation is not just "to stop eating chocolate" as I tell most people. That's my simplified answer. It's really to take time to stop and reevaluate my relationship with food. Being on the Whole30 creates a mindfulness that I often lose when it comes to food. I find a lot of pleasure in food and when I'm on the Whole30 I just don't a lot of the time (to be honest). It's a really great way for me to stop associating food with such pleasure and to focus on the true meaning of food: nourishment. I begin to place less value on the taste of food and more on it's utility: will it keep me full for a long time? I do find ways to get creative though and still make things tasty, just not delicious. When I am not eating for pure pleasure it's also a lot easier for me to recognize when I'm truly full or truly hungery. Whole30 for me is a reset but it's not about clearing my body of toxins and sugars (even though it does). I'm clearing myself of bad habits around food. Oh and I feel ah-maze-ing by the end. Seriously amazing.

Sorry if this is all TMI. I honestly feel a bit weird sharing this with people. I don't usually talk a lot about food or some of my issues with it because its a very touchy a personal subject for me but if someone can relate then I think it's worth my discomfort here.

Okay so: how's it going?

Well I began on January 1, 2018 at midnight. I know.

Getting ready for new years I was pretty stoked to end the year and start a brand shiny new one:

I drank up until 11:59 because I'm a stickler like that. I have to say: I would not recommend starting the Whole30 with a hangover:

<< This is a face covered by fear, regret, and last nights bad decisions >>

It's turned out to be better than my day one self expected. I was more mentally prepared than I knew and I had stocked up on some things I hadn't had my last Whole30 (like compliant BACON). 

My meals have looked a lot like this so far:

There's always some sort of potato on the plate, along with either chicken, bacon or eggs, and I try to get a vegetable in there too.

I also found some complaint guac (YUM) and made the best rosemary roasted almonds:

Tonight I'm making chicken meatballs and spaghetti squash with compliant jarred pasta sauce *praise hands*

I'll keep updating you folks with this Whole30 journey. It's feeling really great so far. I feel like I'm starting 2018 off right and surprisingly I haven't used up all my willpower yet because I almost bought four different things online and stopped myself today so I guess I'm basically perfect now.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown

Resolution Maker