Whole 30 Part I
Weight loss, better nutrition and how to feed your body for optimal health are hot topics right now! Especially since gyms have been closed more than open and people working from home tend to snack a little extra throughout the day.
When a client approaches me about tidying up their diet (for any reason), I usually start with Whole 30. Whole 30 is an awesome tool to learn about how your body reacts to specific foods such as inflammatory foods so that you can make an educated choice in how you feed yourself. Its purpose is not weight loss, (although many people do lose weight on it). It’s simply an elimination diet where you remove the addictive and inflammatory foods for 30 days (long enough for your system to settle) and then reintroduce them one at a time to observe any reaction you might have.
At the end of the reintroduction protocol, you might learn that a specific food makes you feel yucky and choose to either eliminate or dramatically reduce how often you consume it. I usually suggest that my clients come up with a list of “never”, “usually avoid” and “good to go”. Then start to meal plan and prep around these lists.
Whole 30 Part II
The first thing most people report towards the second half of whole 30 is their energy stores. Removing foods that are hard on your system will increase your energy levels (likely your sleep and mood as well!).
The rest of the results vary from person to person; my boyfriend learned that his tummy troubles, rashes, itchy skin could be kept under control if he avoided gluten (100%) and dairy (80%). Another client learned that her arthritic knees had significantly less pain when she avoided dairy. Another had her lifetime eczema disappear when she removed dairy.
I have yet to see a client complete the whole 30 and not have learned something impactful about how food is affecting their health.
If you are trying to lose weight:
The whole 30 will clear the stuff you don’t need out of your system like inflammatory foods that are addictive and can cause you to be hungrier.
When these foods are eliminated, you feel better and your energy increases. You’re also very likely to move more, exercise harder, and do more good things for your body!
Although whole 30 does not suggest any kind of portion control most people find they naturally eat less by the end of the 30 days and their body starts to shift towards a healthier body composition.
If you are trying to improve performance:
Inflammatory foods that irritate your system will only slow you down! Figuring out what (if anything) is not working for you will dramatically improve performance, energy, and stamina. The tricky thing for a high-performance (or high volume) athlete is getting enough calories, particularly carbs.
I coach this group of people into meal prepping extra carby things (like sweet potatoes, squash, potatoes, fruit, etc) so that they have enough to fuel them through their workouts!
If you are simply trying to move to a healthier lifestyle, whole 30 is an easy way to learn simple healthy recipes that taste great, make you feel great, and are full of nutrition and free of empty calories, a very easy place to start!!!
At the end of the day
Whether you do the whole 30 or not, I would 100% recommend studying how your food makes you feel. Figure out what leaves you full and energized, what makes you sleepy and unfocused. Pay attention to how you perform at work and the gym after you eat and even how your food impacts your mood (sugar makes me GROUCHY!).
Educate yourself on how to feed your body and how your body reacts to your diet. Make consistent changes with your optimal health and performance in mind! As always if you’d like to discuss your goals and how to get there – I am always available!
Learn more about nutrition and how to feed your body. Book a consult to discuss your nutrition today!