By RMHP
Have you heard about the Whole30 diet plan? It’s been gaining popularity since 2009, and there’s even a New York Times bestselling book about Whole30.
But, what does this diet plan entail, and is it the best plan for your lifestyle? The only way to answer that question is to learn more, so keep reading!
The idea behind the Whole30 diet plan is to eliminate a number of foods from your diet because those foods could be causing physical and emotional health problems. Per the official website, you should:
“Strip them from your diet completely. Eliminate the most common craving-inducing, blood sugar disrupting, gut-damaging, inflammatory food groups for a full 30 days. Let your body heal and recover from whatever effects those foods may be causing. Push the reset button with your health, habits, and relationship with food, and the downstream physical and psychological effects of the food choices you’ve been making. Learn how the foods you’ve been eating are actually affecting your day-to-day life, long term health, body composition, and feelings around food.”
Whole30 focuses on whole, unprocessed foods. You’ll eat tons of vegetables (including potatoes and root vegetables), different meats, eggs, seafood, some fruit, herbs, spices and seasonings, and lots of healthy fats.
You won’t be measuring calories or stepping on the scale. The program’s focus is not weight loss. Are you sleeping better? Do you have more energy? Do you feel better overall? Has your skin improved?
Think about how you might feel on a diet like this. Even cutting out excess sugar can be life-changing, and people who struggle with some of the foods listed below might find this program to be particularly helpful for re-establishing better habits.
Over the course of 30 days, you won’t consume any:
To learn more about the specifics, visit the Whole30 webpage.
The basics of the program are pretty simple, and the framework will serve you well throughout your healthy living quest — whole, unprocessed foods are great fuel for your body. Whole30 aims to improve your relationship with food.
But, is this dietary lifestyle change for you? Simply put, it depends.
Some people don’t do well on a program that allows them unrestricted calories. Others need to see the scale changing to stay motivated. And there are some vocal opponents of the plan. For example, in describing the Whole30 diet plan, U.S. News and World Report’s Health section states: “No independent research. Nonsensical claims. Extreme. Restrictive.”
You may find that a 30 day reset is just what your diet needs, or you may decide it’s too restrictive for your lifestyle. At the end of the day, decisions about nutrition and diet plans are best left to you and your doctor.