I am officially at the halfway point of my Whole30 Challenge.
What? You've never heard of it? It's basically a 30 day gut cleanse where you don't eat foods that have the potential to cause inflammation in your body. That means: no dairy, no grains, no beans, no processed or 'natural' sugars, and no alcohol.
I (being the eternal optimist) prefer to focus on what I CAN eat: fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts, seeds, and several other 'whole' foods or whole food products - like almond butter.
After the 30 days you slowly begin reintroducing the items that were restricted back into your diet to see how your body reacts to them. Pretty cool, huh? (I know, I'm a masochist.)
I heard about this program two years ago and was intrigued. I didn't think I'd be able to do it though- it seemed really hard. (No wine?! No chocolate?!) About a year ago, I bought the books: It Starts With Food and Whole 30 because I wanted to learn more. I became even more intrigued...so much so that I decided to do my OWN version of Whole30...you know, I cut out dairy, I ate more fruits and vegetables, tried to cut back on sweets and still allowed myself a glass of wine or two in the evenings. I don't have to tell you how that one turned out...
Fast forward to fifteen days ago when I decided to take the plunge and just do it already. I was tired of feeling tired. My brain was foggy, my stomach hurt, I was having skin issues, and my body was just plain achy. After working with a chiropractic neurologist - we discussed the possibility of my issues being food related. I was really committed to feeling better so I dug out my books and polished up on a few concepts. I spent the next day cleaning out my pantry and restocking it with Whole30 compliant food. And then, voila! I started.
I can't say that it's been rainbows and butterflies since starting this challenge (my sugar cravings have been out of this world!), but I CAN tell you I think there's a lot of truth to food being medicine.
Fifteen days down...fifteen more to go. I cheers you with my kombucha (which is Whole30 approved by the way:)) and considering I survive this, I'll post more on my experience.
