I am excited about sharing this Whole 30 experience with you! Why? Because eliminating foods that can cause health issues is educating and exciting! Additionally, it is only 30 days! You, we, can do anything for 30 days. While it may seem hard, in the beginning, it will get easier. Like the book says, Whole 30 is not hard, beating cancer is hard, birthing a baby is hard, losing a parent is hard, drinking your coffee black is NOT hard!
I want you guys to think of this as an elimination diet, not a weight loss diet. I want you to enjoy this together, join the Facebook 737 Whole 30 page, ask questions, post your recipes, ask for support and give support. We are great at motivating each other in the gym, let’s motivate each other in the kitchen!
Simple Rule: EAT. REAL. FOOD: Eat moderate portions of meat, seafood, and eggs; lots of vegetables; some fruit; plenty of natural fats; and herbs, spices, and seasonings. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re whole and unprocessed.
I am sharing a few links below to the Whole 30 plan and will list the do’s and don’ts during these 30 days! What will do after the 30 days? Don’t worry this is your time to introduce your “food love” back into your diet. Start thinking about this during your 30 days. Notice the difference in your gut feeling, inflammation in your body, energy levels. While we don’t want to add sugar back in, it can be added back in the form of raw honey, coconut palm sugar, maple syrup, etc.. these forms of natural sugar are much better for you.
My dairy story! I’ve never been a milk drinker, nor will I ever. Something about drinking milk just doesn’t settle with me. However, I have always been a fan of 2 tablespoons of heavy cream in my coffee and cheese! Eliminating these will be hard! I found that eliminating the dairy made me less bloated and removed my stomach pains. While I can eat cheese on occasion, it does not upset me as much as heavy cream in my coffee. When you see me drinking coffee, it is black and through a straw! I chose to add dairy back in only in the form of cheese and on occasion and my gut is thankful for that!
You will find your vice and you will find what works for you during this 30 days of elimination. Let’s get started with what we want to eliminate.
Sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, dairy, baked goods, junk food, and treats! Be aware that sugar is in EVERYTHING. You will learn how to read labels. Sugar is in bacon, packaged deli meats, meats prepared at the butcher counter such as breakfast sausage! You will need to read labels! Learn the “secret’ sugar words, dextrose, maltodextrin, glucose, fructose, galactose, you get the picture…. it’s on the label!
I eliminated sugar from my diet about 5 years ago and have not turned back. That does not mean I don’t bake or eat an occasional treat. I just choose wisely, read labels and ask questions. I even, for a year, switched my drink to vodka, Topo Chico, and lime and quit drinking wine! This, of course, was my post Whole 30 challenge which we try to do at the beginning of every year! We recently went to a smoothie shop post work out in Alabama! Yes, fruit has sugar in it, but it is natural and we can all use a little fruit in our life! Just use it in moderation! Anyhow, during the ordering process, I asked if the smoothie had any extra sugar in it, she said: “yes we add sugar to all of our smoothies”. Was she serious? Why? Why in the world would you add sugar to a smoothie consisting of mainly fruit (conversation in my head of course) so I politely said, please no added sugar in any of our smoothies. The smoothie was great and sweet enough on its own. You will find out later that when you eliminate sugar and try to add it back in, you may not like the taste!
Why is sugar bad for you?
- Empty calories, no nutritional value and bad for your teeth!
- High in fructose that can overload your liver – Glucose is found in every living cell on the planet. If we don’t get it from the diet, our bodies produce it. Fructose is different. Our bodies do not produce it in any significant amount and there is no physiological need for it.
- Overloading the liver with fructose can cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- Sugar can cause insulin resistance, a stepping stone towards metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
- Sugar is cancerous – elevated insulin levels can contribute to cancer
- Negative effect on hormones and can lead to fat-promoting effects
- Sugar is highly addictive
- Sugar is the leading contributor to obesity in children and adults
- Sugar raises your cholesterol levels. Studies show that it is sugar that leads to high cholesterol not fat!
The list can go on! Here is a great article to read about sugar
We welcome our vegetarians to Whole 30, and while it is not technically Whole 30 they have created some great guidelines for our vegan friends. Check out the LINK here!
Upon completion of Whole 30, we have Working Against Gravity coming to the gym to educate us more on nutrition and how we can fuel our bodies to perform better in the gym, lose weight if necessary, bulk up, prepare for the open and make better choices for energy and clarity! The seminar will be in February and is only $20! You can see real results HERE and check out the new journaling of CrossFit Games Competitor Brook Wells.
Let’s get healthy together in 2018! You already kill it in the gym, now let’s kill it in our nutrition!
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