Whole30 - DAY 30!! VICTORY The Pros and Cons of Whole30

We are on the other side of this thing!!

Today is day 30 of the Whole30 program and it's been a good overall experience.  I would do this program again and my plan is to pretty much continue to base most of my meals on this way of eating but also reincorporate some gluten free grains like oatmeal, brown rice and quinoa as well as beans and the occasional glass of wine or martini.

The pros:

• getting back in touch with clean eating
• cleaning up sloppy habits like eating junk food, drinking too much alcohol, and grabbing stuff on the go
• getting back to making foods from scratch with simple ingredients
• getting more creative in the kitchen 
• making meals and food a priority
• enjoying what I eat and never feeling hungry
• having more energy
• sleeping better
• enjoying a healthy lifestyle and the peace of mind that comes with knowing you're doing your body good
• some weight loss* (I lost just a little but came to realize that weight isn't the most important thing here)
• That feeling of pride you get from setting a goal, sticking with it and accomplishing it

couldn't resist! :) 

The cons:

• Being challenged when on the road a bit - planning is a must
• Extra trips to the supermarket (but this could probably be fixed with some better planning)
• Trips to "special" supermarkets (like Whole Foods or Trader Joes) for stuff like ghee, coconut aminos, organic meats and raw cashews.
• No wine time!
• Eating out can be tricky and no matter how careful you are you risk "f'ing" up the whole program by one sneaky ingredient and that can make you crazy.
• If you aren't food creative (like my husband) you can get easily bored of the food and fall into the trap of eating the same thing everyday for lack of time/creativity/cooking skills. 
• Having to figure out (or even cancel/postpone) outings with friends because of fear of temptation
• For some, the discomfort of withdrawal from some of the stuff like sugar, diet soda, or gluten. I didn't really experience the foggy/early withdrawal symptoms that some do so it wasn't an issue for me.
• Expense (though, truthfully, I cut out booze, eating out, ordering in and buying processed foods and snacks so I would think that the expense wasn't as great as I think with all things considered.) 

Now the cons are just my thoughts on what could be tricky for some or might have been tricky for me. None of the cons were a big enough issue or obstacle to make me throw it away, nor would they be a deterrent for a second round.  Most of them are fixable.

I also will say that it may have been a wee bit easier for me because I gave up gluten (most dairy), all artificial sweeteners, and diet coke a long time ago. I have been eating relatively clean for the most part and my processed foods were things like Amy organics, Udi's gluten free bread, brown rice pasta, some Lays potato chips and that sort of thing. 

With one more day to go I have to say I feel almost a little out of sorts. On a very small scale, maybe like the guy who's about to get out of jail but has gotten so comfortable with his routine that the outside world seems scary. I think I learned that I like rules and guidelines and having structure helps me feel 'in control' - now what? Will I go nuts and face fall into chips again? Will I drink the whole bottle of wine? Will I spin out of control?

Very unlikely. 

More likely and what I plan is to do what the program is programmed to do. I will strive to eat whole, clean foods most of the time, treat myself with other stuff occasionally and jump back on for a few days if I stray too far off.

XO

Jen