The Whole 30 Food Challenge

[Kraftster]

I started this thing yesterday. Anyone else do it? Its basically a paleo diet with a few added restrictions for 30 days with absolutely no cheating. Anyone do a paleo diet (or gluten free) and have some favorite foods they can recommend?

I made a stir fry with Red Boat Fish Sauce (the only brand complaint with the rules) and Coconut Aminos last night. It wasn't too bad, actually. I have had this bad taste in my mouth since yesterday evening, though. Its like a faint aspartamey sort of flavor. No idea what it could have come from because I detest that flavor and never drink diet pop/beverage. Maybe its my taste buds detoxing, but that seems way too fast for that to happen.

The details:

Eat real food – meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re totally natural and unprocessed.

No:

- added sugar of any kind, real or artificial
- alcohol
- grains + corn (including pseudograins: wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grain, quinoa, corn)
- legumes (except for green beans or sugar snap)
- dairy
- carrageenan, MSG or sulfites (aside from naturally occurring sulfites)
- white potatoes

[shmenguin]

i bet about 99% of people who do this will accidentally be eating MSG the whole time.

[TheHammer24]

No:

- alcohol

Well, it was a nice thought for 4 sentences.

[Kraftster]

I spent about the last week prepping. Inadvertent slip ups seem likely without some real effort, research, planning, etc.

My wife did not want to partake in the planning very much, but I am feeling much more upbeat about the whole thing than her. She thinks this is going to suck.

[count2infinity]

The no grains thing would get to me. I could get away for a bit without wheat, but no rice? no oats? no quinoa? how exactly are those not considered "Real food"?

[Kraftster]

No:

- alcohol

Well, it was a nice thought for 4 sentences.

I'm in a great stretch of beer drinking and have a lot of good stuff in my house. This will be the hardest part for me.

[dodint]

I'm slipping back into Paleo. I did it for a while in 2007 and it was awesome, but just too expensive for my lifestyle. Now that I'm taking home a little more I'm going at it again. Instead of jumping in with both feet and going cold turkey I'm just replacing meals and food stock with Paleo stuff. Eventually it'll all turn over and in a few months I'll be eating mostly whole foods. Being a bit in the sticks I have to order some stuff online. A shipment of Coconut Aminos and Macadamia Nut Oil came in last week, good stuff.

[PensFanInDC]

The no grains thing would get to me. I could get away for a bit without wheat, but no rice? no oats? no quinoa? how exactly are those not considered "Real food"?

I think because they can't be consumed raw. Meat would be an exception as it has to be cooked, save for fish. I'm not sure though. Rice should never be excluded from a diet especially if you are giving up wheat. That's just my opinion though. When I eat like this (and I currently am) I eat A LOT of sweet potatoes. It satisfies my sweet tooth and my carb cravings. I never cut out rice though and eat it with just about every meal. I also eat oats in the morning.

[Kraftster]

The no grains thing would get to me. I could get away for a bit without wheat, but no rice? no oats? no quinoa? how exactly are those not considered "Real food"?

I think its a bit of the paleo rationale (eat like cavemen) plus the fact that they all contain lectins and have the "bad" effects on the gut.

[columbia]

What's the endgame?

[dodint]

To live forever, like the cavemen.

[Kraftster]

What's the endgame?

That's sort of my objection to the whole thing. It really is a "challenge" in my mind more than it is a sustainable diet. For me, the reasons I'm willing to do it are:

1) I feel rather unhealthy post-holidays and could use a bit of a "reset" because I was in a good groove for much of the past 12 months.
2) I am curious to see whether I feel the "cleanse" and start feeling better/more energy, etc.
3) If I even pick up a couple positive eating habits for post-30 days that will be beneficial.

[columbia]

What's the endgame?

3) If I even pick up a couple positive eating habits for post-30 days that will be beneficial.

That's my guess.

One could certainly stick to such a rigid diet, but

1.) That doesn't seem like a good way to enjoy life.
2.) That no alcohol thing is a bummer; see 1.)

[Digitalgypsy66]

Nice idea, but not sustainable for normal people.

Seriously, I am doing a low-to-no refined carb "diet" right now, a post holiday purge, if you will. No rice, bread, sugar, and limited fruit. I don't drink much anyway. Nothing to drink but water, tea, and coffee (mostly decaf).

I've done this before and have had great success in losing (or maintaining) weight, but it just isn't practical long term. I enjoy a bowl of cereal from time to time. Maybe some chips and salsa. Dessert here and there. What's the point of living without these things? Why bother leave bed?

Edit: I could probably do that for 30 days, no more.

[Kraftster]

Yeah, it is expressly not designed to be sustainable. I do better in full-scale will power challenge mode as opposed to an ounce of discipline to cut out one little thing here or there. And based upon past experience, I will continue to cut out things here or there after something like this.

[meow]

I eat a pretty strict diet.

meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds.

That's about all my diet consists of. However, I do eat rice, mushrooms, and occasionally dairy.

[viva la ben]

It's weird people associate paleo with cavemen because the Paleozoic era was 550-250 million years ago. It was the time the first ever vertebrates walked on land.

[count2infinity]

Isn't it paleo for "paleolithic" which is when humans first started making tools?

[columbia]

Spoiler:

[Letang Is The Truth]

The no grains thing would get to me. I could get away for a bit without wheat, but no rice? no oats? no quinoa? how exactly are those not considered "Real food"?

I think because they can't be consumed raw. Meat would be an exception as it has to be cooked, save for fish. I'm not sure though. Rice should never be excluded from a diet especially if you are giving up wheat. That's just my opinion though. When I eat like this (and I currently am) I eat A LOT of sweet potatoes. It satisfies my sweet tooth and my carb cravings. I never cut out rice though and eat it with just about every meal. I also eat oats in the morning.

you got a rice cooker?

[shoeshine boy]

my SO is Asian. cutting out rice is not an option in our house.

[PensFanInDC]

I eat a pretty strict diet.

meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds.

That's about all my diet consists of. However, I do eat rice, mushrooms, and occasionally dairy.

Same here. I ate like this for a year and lost 100lbs. I crapped out back on 9/1/13 when I was recovering from GoRuck and jumped back on the wagon the first of the year.

[dodint]

my SO is Asian. cutting out rice is not an option in our house.

By that logic my wife is doomed to a life of pierogi, haluski, and halupki.

[PensFanInDC]

my SO is Asian. cutting out rice is not an option in our house.

I at first read this as "my wife is SO Asian...." and thought, "How does one become more Asian than other Asians?"

[count2infinity]

I eat a pretty strict diet.

meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds.

That's about all my diet consists of. However, I do eat rice, mushrooms, and occasionally dairy.

Same here. I ate like this for a year and lost 100lbs. I crapped out back on 9/1/13 when I was recovering from GoRuck and jumped back on the wagon the first of the year.

you lost 100 lbs in a year? holy crap. Took me a year and a half to lose 50 pounds (and then 4 years to gain it all back )