Whole30

Hello Everybody & Welcome to my very first blog post!

This blog has seriously been a long time coming! I figured for my first post I would write about something that has taken up such a large part of my life recently, and something that a lot of people have asked me about!

Back in November I began to see a lot of people posting about the Whole30 Challenge, and it immediately interested me, mainly because it seemed impossible. I knew that with Thanksgiving & Christmas coming up I would have to wait until after the Holidays to start. For two months before I began the challenge I did a lot of research on what you could, and couldn't, eat. To me this made the process of beginning Whole30 a lot less intimidating!

For those of you who do not know what the Whole30 diet it is, I will break it down for you. It is NO: grains, legumes (beans, corn, etc.), dairy, sugar, & (the worst) no alcohol. Now, if you are anything like me, and bagels are your favorite food, mimosas are your favorite drink, and you have a hard time turning down an opportunity to eat, this diet will seem extremely difficult. BUT if I can do it, I have faith that anybody can.

Throughout the process I have thought a lot about whether or not I would recommend this diet to anybody, especially people my age. The reason I say that is because it will affect your social life, and most people don't want to give that up, even for 30 days. Going out to brunch is difficult. Going out and seeing all your friends drink while you can't is difficult. Explaining to people why you aren't drinking is difficult. Meal prepping constantly is difficult. (Are you seeing a trend?)

Over the 30 days I went through a ton of ups and downs. One day I was feeling amazing, and the next day I wanted to quit and just eat a regular meal because I was tired, and hungry, and nothing sounded better than getting a taco dinner from the Mexican restaurant downstairs. At the end of the day though, the feeling of being healthy ALWAYS outweighed the feeling that comfort food had ever given me. That feeling alone was what helped me get through the 30 days without giving into temptations. Over time turning down food became a habit that I no longer had to think about, and when I had my first beer it really did not even taste that good *gasp*. This diet truly changes the way that you think, and feel, and the foods that you are putting in your body!

Some of my favorite foods that I discovered while on the Whole30 challenge:

Apple Pie Lara Bars: My go to breakfast, or emergency snack

Spaghetti Squash: By far the most different thing I have made. I added baked chicken + sugar free marinara & let me tell you this was GOOD.

Egg Bakes: Like I mentioned, bagels are my favorite food. So replacing breakfast was tough, but egg bakes are so yummy, and you can make such a wide variety of them.

Smoothies: I ate these for dinner due to convenience, but these are a great meal replacement, or snack.

After 30 days my body has gotten used to, and really enjoyed, the food I was able to eat. This "diet" has now become a part of my lifestyle, and I'm really glad that I decided to do it. As far as health benefits go: my skin is clearer, my weight is down, my exercise has improved, I no longer feel reliable on caffeine, and my body rarely feels tired throughout the day. As I mentioned before I still am hesitant to fully recommending this diet to anybody, because it is a major commitment, and it can also be a little costly to get all organic/natural foods. If you are thinking about doing it, I would recommend you start by cutting out a few things such as dairy & sugar to see if you feel any better. Or cutting back on alcohol consumption & grains. I don't think you have to jump in head first like I did to reap all the benefits! Health is extremely important for people of all ages, and I believe even the smallest changes can help you feel good about your body! I read this quote and it said "It's hard to feel bad about a body you're taking care of", and this diet has taught me just that.

I hope you guys enjoyed my first blog post, and have a better understanding of the Whole30 challenge!

XO

-Kayla