Why I’m Doing The WHOLE30 Challenge

As you may have noticed, I like real, homemade food. I really LOVE eating seasonally, and always try my best, when it comes to healthy food choices (especially snacks). But, this wasn’t always the case. My life turned upside-down 10 years ago, and I was “forced” to change my diet. I am going to share with you my story, which is one of the main reasons why I’m doing the Whole30.

While I was still in high school I was diagnosed with a kidney stone. It was one of those big ones, that are really hard to get out on their own. The doctors also (for some reason) didn’t recommend the laser treatment, so my only options were natural medicine (herbal teas, and other alternative methods) and painkillers (I took more Advil than I dare to admit) 🙁

For more than two years I was having severe kidney pains, at least once a month. I wasn’t able to relax, because I thought my kidney will start to hurt again.

It all culminated in the April 2008, when the stone got stuck, and the pain wasn’t durable at all. The only way doctors were able to help me is to take the stone out. Luckily, it was a very quick procedure with a cystoscope. When they took the kidney stone out, the doctor said that I need to change my diet in order for kidney stones not to return.

That’s when I started to do the research on the different foods and what they can do to our bodies. I realized that we eat too much salt and too much sugar. And, to be honest, I really really loved salty food, especially potato chips. Then I made a decision – I will start to make my own food and STOP eating junk and fast food. 

Fast forward till today, I am more than 10 years kidney stone free, and my kidneys work like nothing ever happened.

So, why WHOLE30? And why now?

There are three reasons why I’m doing the Whole30:

• I want to FEEL and BE HEALTHY and get rid of the seasonal allergies that I’ve experienced for a couple of years now.
• I want to help my husband who has some digestion problems.
• I really want to defeat the Sugar Demon and clean up my diet.

I wanted to do this challenge all by myself because I didn’t want anyone to feel obligated to a very strict diet (my husband is really tough when it comes to dies changes). But a few months ago, he said that he wants to clean up his diet. I just couldn’t believe! That’s why I made a decision to start the whole30 now when there are a lot of fresh fruits and veggies available.

I know how different types of food can affect our bodies. Through the research, I came across the Whole30 and read about it. I really LOVED the idea of mindful eating and training our brain to think differently about food. Most of the times we don’t eat because we’re hungry, but because we feel stressed or bored. And I want to stop doing that. I want to eat because I need to fuel my body.

What is Whole30?

Whole30 is an elimination diet, and you commit to eating whole foods for 30 days. That means you eat all types of meat, fruits, and veggies. You eliminate all the sugars (real and artificial), all the grains (yes quinoa too!), legumes, dairy products, and alcohol for thirty days. You also learn how to read labels on packaged foods, and which additives are bad acceptable and which are really bad for you. After 30 days you reintroduce eliminated foods and watch for the effects.

If you’re interested in full details of Whole30 and how it works, I would recommend you go to the official website. There, you will find the answers to all the questions you might have about the diet.

And after that, if you would like to dig even deeper, here are the links to their most popular books:

They explain everything you need to know about food and how it fuels our bodies, and much much more.

Since I love my bullet journal and don’t go anywhere without it, I’ve decided to make a whole spread about the diet. I wrote down all the information that I think I might need for the upcoming 30 days.

The inspiration came from the Boho Berry. She is really great, and if you would like to learn more about bullet journaling and setting goals, you should definitely visit her website.

Do I have any concerns about the challenge?

Short answer – YES!

Long answer – My biggest fear is that my husband will get lost in all the “NOs” and that he’ll give up, or break the rules. But, I will be committed and make all the meals he needs (plus the emergency snacks), so I really hope he’ll stay on track.

I’ll be posting a weekly check-in with my thoughts, meal-prep ideas, recipes etc. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below or to contact me here.

I would really like to know if you would like to see recipes that are Whole30 compliant? Right now I do have one –> 30-Second Homemade Mayo.

Also, I will be taking before and after measurements. But be sure that I am not doing this to lose weight. I feel really comfortable in my skin, and I’m happy with my current weight. But more on that in later updates.

Love,

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