My Whole30 Experience

I can’t recall when I first heard about the Whole30 program. It had been at least a few years that I was aware of what it was before diving in to have my own Whole30 experience. I was already aware of the paleo and primal diets, and Whole30 isn’t a huge leap from either of those.

My First Whole30 Experience

I did my first Whole30 in January of 2019. We had had an especially decadent holiday season with multiple Thanksgivings and Christmases, and had taken an amazing trip to India and Dubai, which was also filled with amazingly rich food. I had finally made the decision to do the January Whole30 as a sort-of reset from all that rich food.

While I can’t say it was easy, I can’t exactly say that it was especially hard. Most of the meals my then-boyfriend (now husband) and I were cooking at home were Whole30 compliant, and if they weren’t, it was very easy to modify them to fit the guidelines. It was a lot harder for my husband, as he is an airline pilot and travels all the time. This meant that we were planning out restaurants that he could eat at on the road, and calling them ahead of time to see if the menu items we thought could possibly be compliant were actually compliant. I can tell you this much: most restaurants do not expect you to call them and ask if their eggs are cooked in oil or butter. I had it a lot easier – I wasn’t traveling for work, didn’t have any trips planned in general, and had a lot of good options in the Bay Area for lunch places that would be compliant.

What I Found Out

By far, the thing I missed the most was dairy. I love cheese, and I couldn’t wait to introduce it back into my diet. I had distinctly vivid dreams about macaroni and cheese.

While I am lucky enough to say I didn’t have any huge adverse reactions to anything, I can say that my sleep was much, much better while doing the Whole30. I wouldn’t say that I was having poor sleep before (well, maybe I was, but it was all I knew), but I was actually waking up feeling refreshed. It made getting up at 5:45am to beat Bay Area traffic a lot better.

Biggest Takeaways

Meal planning is one of the best things I could do to save time, money, and overall sanity. My husband and I both love to cook, so we settled on a system where we would each take one week to plan and cook, and then we switch. I set up a shared Google Calendar, where we post what the plan is for each night that week, and if we aren’t home to cook, we also post the recipe so that the other can cook dinner. I would say this was the most important thing that we both took away from the Whole30 experience, by far. We still use this system.

Nuts aren’t an everyday snack for me. Because nuts are such an easy work snack, I definitely overdid them. And I was super gassy as a result (just being honest, guys!) 

Processed food has sugar everywhere. I mean, I already knew this, but when you’re really paying attention, you notice it everywhere. It’s in salsa, marinara sauce, sausage, chicken stock… the list goes on!

Second Whole30 Experience

My husband and I just did our second Whole30 experience this past year. We had intended to do one in January, but our schedule was in so much flux at that point, that we wound up postponing until mid-March to April. This time, it was a lot easier, as we were able to look at our calendar of meals for the past two years or so and fill out our Whole30 calendar pretty easily. Plus, since my husband is on a leave of absence, he was home a lot more, so it was a lot easier for him this time. 

We didn’t have any new takeaways from the second Whole30, but we did generally feel a lot better. My sleep improved, but I still had the same macaroni and cheese dreams. 

Overall Thoughts and Recommendations

Meal planning is the biggie. As I mentioned, my husband and I still do this, and find it to be a huge help. I’ll probably do another post where I write up more about my method.

I like the way I feel on a lower sugar diet. Improved sleep is a huge benefit of this.

I don’t know if this is something I’d do every year, but I wouldn’t hesitate to do another Whole30 if I’m feeling like I need a reset or additional focus on diet for some reason. Most of what I eat is either Whole30 compliant, or easily modifiable to be compliant, so I don’t feel like it would be a huge deal to do another one. I probably will.