Several people have been asking me about my food journey, so I figured I'd get my thoughts out in a blog. This post is long, but if you're curious about healthy lifestyles, I deeply encourage you to read it.
In January, I completely changed to eating a whole-food, plant-based diet. What does that mean? I became vegan and switched to (mostly) organic, unprocessed foods. I started to read food-labels and if there was something in a product that I couldn't pronounce nor knew what it was, I essentially didn't purchase it. I started realizing that I wouldn't sprinkle all of those pesticides and preservatives and chemicals on my food, so why was I putting them into my body in the first place?
So I re-learned how to grocery shop. I learned new recipes and ways of snacking. And from January-June, while I definitely felt better, I wasn't getting the results that I longed for, particularly pertaining to my sleep (or lack thereof).
When June arrived, I had my annual physical exam with a new primary physician. This new doctor took a more wholistic approach in comparison to my last doctor and after getting my blood work back, she recommended that I do Whole 30 for three months and then take my blood work again. My triglycerides were almost twice as high as the highest healthy limit, and I had other worrisome numbers in there, also.
Whole 30 is essentially a clean-eating Paleo lifestyle. It's supposed to function like a 30-day cleanse, as it's much stricter than just eating Paleo.
The rules of Whole 30?
...Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial (that includes maple syrup and honey).
...Do not consume alcohol in any form, not even for cooking.
...Do not eat grains (this includes corn and quinoa).
...Do not eat legumes.
...Do not eat dairy.
...Do not consume carrageenan, MSG, or sulfites.
...Do not try to re-create baked goods, junk foods, or treats with "approved" ingredients.
Some tips on Whole 30?
...Eat real, whole food.
...Basically, on Whole 30 you can eat meat, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and nuts (except for peanuts, which are a legume).
...If you're not sure, don't eat it.
So I switched my food lifestyle all over again. As you can see from the "don't" list, I could no longer be vegan. Without legumes and grains, I would only be able to eat fruits and vegetables as a vegan, and those wouldn't sustain me. Fortunately I was used to the no-dairy-thing and no-artificial-food-thing from the whole-food plant-based diet, but it was time to add back in meat and eggs and take out many more things.
My consensus? Whole 30 is much, much, much harder to stick to than being vegan. It was way more restrictive, especially when it came to eating meals out. (No added sugar meant that, for most places, I couldn't even have salad dressing. Oil and a lemon wedge on the side, thank you.) But it was so incredibly worth it.
It's Basic Science.
One of the first things I did after getting put on the Whole 30 (Whole 90?) plan was buy and read the book It Starts with Food. This book was written by the creators of Whole 30 and includes (in simplest terms with a lovely sense of humor) all of the science behind the program. The most fascinating thing that I learned from the book is that it's basically a hormone problem. The amount of carbs and sugars that are in a typical American diet throw off our hormones, which disrupts a variety of important cycles in our bodies.
My biggest recommendation if you are thinking of doing Whole 30 is to read It Starts with Food. For me, it was helpful to really understand why I was eating this way, especially on the days that I looked upon yet another batch of eggs for breakfast with disgust. After reading the book, I understood why my sleep was terrible, why my triglycerides were high enough to kill me, and why no matter how "healthy" I ate I just couldn't lose weight (and keep it off).
Another nugget of information that I gained from both being vegan and then being paleo is the harmful effects of dairy on the body. Think about it. We are the only "animals" that drink another animal's milk. It's sort of gross if you ask me. And while the thought of it made me gag, I am a cheese-lover. I could honestly sit down and eat an entire block of cheese in one sitting if I had the nerve. Cheddar. Blue cheese. Gouda. Parmesan. I love cheese. But the more I read, the more I realized how harmful it really is. According to Forks Over Knives (a documentary that promotes a vegan lifestyle), research has shown that the protein found in dairy is directly linked to breast cancer. That was enough to turn me vegan for awhile and is enough now to remind me that, by and large, I should stay away from the cheese (and milk and yogurt, etc). It's interesting that now if I have a "cheat-on-my-paleo-lifestyle" day with a piece of pizza or some other form of dairy, my stomach is usually extremely upset with me. My body has learned that cheese is bad (even if it tastes so good).
So what happened to me on Whole 30?
My Sleep Improved.
Every year of my life, my sleep slowly grew worse and worse, to the point that, over this last year, I was getting around two hours of sleep per night, if I slept at all. You can imagine the toll that this took on my body, my personal life, my work, and even my spiritual life.
After just a few short weeks of being on Whole 30, I began to sleep through the night. No, my sleep is still not perfect. Yes, I still take awhile to fall asleep and wake up a few times in the middle of the night. But now, I tend to get a full night's sleep every night.
Above all, this was the most significant impact that Whole 30 had on my life. It regulated my hormones so that I could sleep and function like a normal human being.
My Triglycerides Improved.
Normal triglycerides should be less than 150. Mine were checking in at 236, which made my doctor worried and was the primary reason she put me on Whole 30 to begin with. 236 was almost double what the highest "normal" number is. After three months of Whole 30 and taking fish oil supplements every day, my triglycerides went down to 68. Whoa. My doctor seemed surprised and thrilled at this number, as did I. Going from 236 to 68 in just three months with no medicine or anything? Well, that sounds almost unbelievable, like a miracle.
My Thyroid Began to Function Normally
Before Whole 30, my thyroid was in the hypothyroid range. Normal thyroid functioning is important for a variety of issues as it deals with hormones, sleep being one of them. When I got my blood work done the first time, my doctor offered to put me on medicine for this right away. She said that while Whole 30 might improve my results, it was unlikely. But I declined, curious to see what Whole 30 would do. Well, the new diet caused my thyroid to decrease just enough to put me in normal range. Take that, Modern Medicine.
My "Good Cholesterol" Increased.
My HDL levels (also known as "good cholesterol") was checking in previous to Whole 30 at 36, which is a rather low number. Good cholesterol is important to have in your body because it helps to fight the bad cholesterol. After Whole 30, it increased to a (basically) normal range of 46.
I Lost Weight
I lost about 15 pounds when I went on the whole-food, plant-based diet but then my weight stabilized. On Whole 30, I lost an additional 15 pounds, totaling in a 30 pound loss for the year. Mind you, never once did I count calories and I rarely (rarely, rarely, rarely) exercise. All I did what change what kind of food I put into my body.
The interesting thing is that if I really thought about it, I was eating probably twice as many calories on Whole 30 than I ever had before, yet the pounds just began dropping without me even trying. This is all explained in the book It Starts with Food, but basically is due to this: Our bodies are created to burn fat. On the typical American diet, we consume so many sugars and carbohydrates (which turn into sugars) that our bodies have been conditioned to burn sugar and store fat. Cut out the carbs and sugars and your body re-learns how to burn fat like it was intended to do. Because of this process, the first couple of weeks on Whole 30 are hard. Like, really, really hard. Your body is re-learning how to function and you go through total sugar withdrawal. But after a couple of weeks, your body gets it and the withdrawal symptoms go away.
My Relationship with Food Improved.
I learned that I do not "have" to eat something. If I go out to eat or to a party, no one is force-feeding me ice cream or chips. During Whole 30, I literally had to say no to most food. I even went to a wedding(!) and managed to talk to the waitstaff and eat Whole 30 while I was there (talk about dedication). No one was forcing me to drink champagne at the toast or have the hors d'oeuvres at cocktail hour or eat the salad with the dressing. I learned to say no. This carried over after I completed my 90 days, too. Now on the weekends, I decide ahead of time what I want to "splurge" on and go for it. Celebration is important and going out to eat is something my husband and I love to do. But I also know what's "worth it" and what's not. I have said no to things like ice cream, bread, chips, etc. post-Whole 30 because I'm reminded that don't have to eat it just because it's available (or free).
I've come to view food as my medicine, rather than all the drugs that previous doctors have wanted to pump into my body. And so I can say no to foods because it's not healthy for me to consistently say yes to them. Hippocrates once said to "let food by thy medicine" and I think he understood the implications of food and chemicals on our body more than most modern scientists these days.
I also don't really miss all the sugar anymore. If I have just a little bit of sugar now my taste buds are like, "Yikes that is SWEET!" I also really missed my carbs in the beginnings (particularly pasta or bread for sandwiches), but I've learned how to do life without them and rarely even think about them as options anymore.
Whole 30 Is Not My Savior
While many of my health issues improved, others did not. I still have seasonal allergies, joint pain, feel tired most of the time, and actually have a pretty significant health issue that another doctor has been seeing me about for 7 months now. There are stories of Whole 30 fixing these for people, but it didn't for me. Also, my LDL levels ("bad cholesterol") went up just slightly, despite the good news of my other numbers finally fitting into normal range. I say this to show you a real picture of my health and not a "Whole 30 fixes ALL!" fabrication.
Overall, I am happy with my results, though. Whole 30 did what it was supposed to do (fix my triglycerides) and then some (fix my sleep, my "good cholesterol", my thyroid, and my health in general). Jesus is my strength and healer and savior, not a particular doctor or lifestyle change or food or medicine. So while I will advocate for anyone to try this eating plan for 30 days because I truly believe it will improve anyone's health, Whole 30 will not fix every problem that you have. Namely, it will not fix your spiritual problem of being separated from God. That is for Jesus, our Savior, to do.
If you'd like to chat more about Whole 30 or are thinking of trying the program for yourself, email me! I would love to share more with you.
