I was sitting by the pool at our beach vacation house at 2:00 on a Tuesday afternoon drinking a Water-Melon-Rita and popping Pringles like they were going out of style.
Meanwhile, I was idly scrolling Instagram posts tagged #30DayChallenge and Googling “weight loss.” Just to confirm my hunch, I texted my sister:
Reading and thinking about exercising are essentially the same as exercising… right?
The body wasn’t willing and the spirit was weak. Well, actually: the body was in disrepair and I knew it. There was little doubt in my mind that I had put off taking action for far too long, and I knew that the moment I returned from vacation, I had to face the music. No more of this:
I’ve been fairly lucky on weight issues most of my life – I’m taller than many women and inherited my Dad’s lanky frame, aggressive metabolism and (scarily low) blood pressure. Aside from the occasional vacation treat, our household isn’t fueled by soda and junk food, I cook at home regularly, we don’t eat fast food and I’ve been a vegetarian (ova facto pescetarian) for nearly 25 years. I’m active, not prone to watching TV or generally being lethargic and naturally high energy. I was trained to be self-confident and have always had a pretty positive body image and happy-go-lucky outlook.
So, for the past 20 or so years I’ve been telling myself I don’t have anything to worry about in the weight department. That may have been true until about five years ago… but it wasn’t true in May as I languished poolside.
My weight had soared to the highest in my life, I felt like I was constantly fighting what I assumed was mild adult acne and I was continuing to have occasional back discomfort that made me feel far older than 39. None of that is to say that I was an unhealthy train wreck, but I was clearly on a path of increasingly poor habits in addition to steady weight gain.
My parents are in their early 70s, and I’ve always admired their conscientious choices to lead happy, active lifestyles.
I knew that I had gotten lazy and it was time to change my ways.
So when my sister replied to my text and mentioned that she was starting a Whole 30 in a few weeks, it got my attention.
However, I asked her a couple of questions, heard something about ghee, skimmed the website and thought: hard nope.
× Not for me.
× Too involved.
× Too weird.
× Too difficult.
× There’s got to be an easier path.
× I’m not doing trendy paleo stuff.
But as I nursed a mid afternoon buzz and considered my current health state, I knew I had to stop making excuses.
I decided to read the book, because she told me that reading it and doing some careful research really convinced her that she needed to address an unhealthy relationship with food and alcohol. I knew that neither of us were food addicts, binge eaters or out of control, but her comment was pretty accurate. I have some pretty unhealthy habits despite convincing myself that I make superior life choices.
Within 24 hours of devouring the ebook and reviewing the Whole 30 Rules and various free downloads, I was in.
(P.S. it was super refreshing to find all of this available and accessible on the Whole 30 website versus shrouded behind a pay wall and giving the impression you’re joining a cult. I willingly paid for several resources based on this alone.)
What Convinced Me To Do Whole 30
As I’ve mentioned ad nauseum over on my marketing blog, I’m an enthusiastic early adopter of apps and tech tools… some people may think blindly so. But in fact, I am very quick to discard things that don’t work and have very clear expectations of every tool: it has to fit into my life intuitively and with ease, it has to enhance my life rather than feel like “one more thing,” and I’m actually of the belief that less is more.
The same thought process affected my consideration of Whole 30. Here’s what pushed me over the edge:
✓ Program length.
I was looking for a 30 day challenge – something tough, but manageable and not insurmountable.
✓ A clear plan.
I need a clear path to follow: suggested recipes along with specific rules and boundaries. Tell me exactly what to do.
✓ Ample resources.
The self-serve nature of the book, a website with plenty of tools and a vibrant Instagram feed with posts & recipes are right up my alley.
✓ No fluff.
I don’t want to buy shakes, supplies, equipment or dietary supplements. I want a common sense approach that aligns with my lifestyle.
✓ Good, whole food.
I know what’s healthy, I just fell off the bandwagon. No weird foods (except the ghee thing, which I elected to skip in favor of olive oil), just protein, fruits and vegetables. No brainer.
✓ It starts with food.
I was curious about the change I could affect just by changing my eating habits, without necessarily also adopting a hardcore workout routine right off the bat (more on this later).
✓ No excuses.
I respond well to people who don’t cut me any slack. The straight talk, blunt and no B.S. tone of the Whole 30 content was exactly what I needed.
So, I committed. I did the prep, followed the instructions and stocked up on seafood, fruit and vegetables. I figured they were fibbing with all the “this isn’t hard” stuff, and I told myself that I would follow the rules but have just one cheat: two glasses of wine on our anniversary, which fell on Day 19.
I planned all sorts of rewards and incentives for making it through Day 7, Day 10 and Day 15. I prepped breakfasts and lunches, did the {terrifying} first weigh-in, photos and measurements. I was in, but I was wary – and if we’re honest, not entirely convinced.
The Whole 30 Experience
The Whole 30 website is actually incredibly helpful. It’s like these people actually want you to get healthy! I read (and saved to Evernote) everysingledocument in the Whole 30 downloads section. Those guides – to everything from grocery shopping and pantry stocking to travel and meal planning – were basically my toolkit for success. I also downloaded the Whole 30 Book for Kindle, which may not be for everyone but was incredibly helpful for me since it allowed me to reference recipes on the go and in the kitchen.
I made sure to broadcast my intentions to my coworkers, and even provided them with the Whole 30 Timeline of “what to expect” (i.e. days 4 – 5: kill all the things). This helped me because they gave me plenty of good-natured ribbing, helpfully avoided scheduling meetings on my days of rage and even offered encouragement.
I can honestly say that several things are true:
✓ It isn’t hard. But it IS challenging.
✓ Read everything you can: the more you know, the more you’ll thrive.
✓ Don’t cheat. Seriously, don’t even think about it.
I’m so glad I stuck with the program consistently – I even went so far as to order the Nutpods creamer for my coffee on Amazon.
The results were 100% worth it. While I know I’m supposed to celebrate non-scale victories (and I did), the payoff was evident: I lost 14 pounds, 8 inches and 12% body fat in 30 days.
And I gained infinite happiness, pride, clearer skin, less mental fogginess and a sense of control.
If you’re thinking about taking on a Whole 30 challenge, my advice is to a) read as much as possible b) prep, prep, prep and c) follow the rules precisely – it’s only 30 days! You can do this.
Not so sure Whole 30 is for you? Check out my #NineForTheNewYear post with plenty of other suggestions on life improving 20 – 30 day challenges for 2017!
I love this. My sister does Whole30 every few months and is insanely dedicated to all things healthy! You know, I always bragged about my metabolism, my spring in my step, my happy go lucky ‘tude, my low blood pressure… but then I hit my 40s and it’s true… something changed! Now as I get closer to 50, I am seeing a change again. It’s so interesting to observe. Out of curiosity, have you heard about #Cook90?
It’s a funny thing, isn’t it?!
Ohhh…. no! But it sounds like exactly what I need. I’ve been very much in a funk and am looking for something new to try starting Feb. 1 (or as I refer to it… my new new year). If it’s anything like it sounds from hashtag alone, could be perfect! Will research immediately and would love to hear more!