My Whole30 Experience: Wholly Disappointing
The Whole30 experience has so many positive testimonials, so many tag lines that draw you in: you will never be hungry! You’ll lose so many inches! You’ll almost definitely lose weight! Your taste buds will adapt to loving Whole Foods, so that even a carrot tastes too sweet! You’ll feel TIGER BLOOD energy like never before!
Allow me to share my Whole30 experience, which resembles nothing of the sort.
Many begin this fad diet as a means of resetting their body, hormones, and weight. I went into it equipped with heavy research, and a determination to complete with success. I recently hit over one year of being gluten free, due to my diagnosis of celiac disease. My goal was to utilize Whole30 as an elimination diet, per which I would hopefully establish any other food sensitivities. After my extensive research, I was of course, psyched to have the added (and nearly guaranteed) tiger blood energy and lost inches/weight. I was optimistic!
My partner and I both followed the rules to a tee. We measured and weighed ourselves right before starting, ordered compliant Whole30-approved products to equip our pantry. (Thank HEAVENS for Thrive Market, without which we would never have made it).
I even totally reorganized my pantry to accommodate separation of approved and non-approved foods. We were PREPARED.
If only I had prepared myself for the reality of what my Whole30 experience would actually be:
1) Insane spending on stupidly overpriced groceries.
2) Hunger for MOST of the time….
3) Terrible headaches way beyond the detox phase,
4) Weakness and less powerful workouts,
5) Uncomfortable, irregular, and weird GI issues the entire time (and this is coming from a celiac…)
All of this suffering, the strict deprivation, and the stress over compliant meals, yielded the “amazing results” of only losing 1 pound, an inch off each thigh, and actually gaining inches in other places.
To say the least, I am underwhelmed.
Now, before I dive into the details of why Whole30 was such a waste of time (and money) for us, I will say that my post-Whole30 research may have an answer as to “why” it sucked so much for us. Many forums, articles, etc. suggest that people who already eat well, generally don’t thrive on this program.
Apparently, people who hit up drive thrus, and live off of sugar and processed foods, etc. will be the ones to have those “crazy awesome results!” This makes sense, because if you’re eating poorly and then start clean eating this abruptly, yeah, you’re probably going to end up feeling better in the end. Whereas, if you already practice clean eating like we do, it may not change anything. If you’re someone who doesn’t eat super clean, and want to try it to detox your body, it might be worth trying. Maybe.
We won’t even dive into the psychological impact of Whole30.
Without further ado, let’s dive into the details of my Whole30 experience.
You BEST BELIEVE I documented each and every meal, mood, and bodily function. I’ll spare you the physiological details, but here’s what I think is relevant to anyone who is considering this fad diet.
1) Most expensive groceries of your life
Whole30 is NOT CHEAP. In fact, it’s exorbitantly expensive. I was surprised by this, because I’ve already experienced the increase of grocery bills from forced gluten free eating (#celiaclife). (GF groceries have been found to be 242% more expensive, in fact) I figured, “how much worse can the cost of Whole30 be? We’re just buying meat and vegetables.”
No no no. On Whole30, you’re buying organic, sustainable, pricey bougie meat and vegetables. Not to mention the Whole30 compliant sauces, mayo, salad dressings, and items that make meals more palatable. I’m talking $7/bottle on average, for stuff that is GONE after two salads.
Thankfully, there are helpful groups like Thrive Market,
Thrive Market has various diet filters that can be applied to your search, and discounts on these products. Throughout Whole30, I applied the “gluten free” and “Whole30 compliant” filters, which saved me so much time searching/reading labels. Thrive Market also has beneficial discounts on otherwise overpriced products. I am an affiliate for them now, because I love them so much!
If you’d like to join the market and THRIVE, follow the ad below. I’ll earn a little commission, and you’ll get a great, healthy, shopping experience. Win Win! Also, if you click HERE, you can get a free gift when you set up a membership (FYI, their free gifts are awesome).
But, back to Whole30. I really think we spent close to $100/week on groceries just to keep food in the house. I have never been so horrified at the empty fridge and pricey grocery bills, or the constant hunger, despite the investment.
So, if you choose to embark on Whole30, be prepared for expense.
2) Hunger for MOST of the time
I was so hungry for almost every day of the 30 days. Mainly, this was because I very quickly got sick and tired of meat, potatoes, and eggs. I’ve always hated mornings, and therefore have always hated trying to feed my body breakfast. This meant that for many of the 30 days, I pretty much resorted to a smoothie, as I truly hated the idea of eating anything else. Lunch and dinner were better, but mornings were the worst.
This is not to say that I didn’t make some awesome dishes throughout our 30 days.
One good thing about this experience is that it forced me to get more creative with my cooking.
I made a truly delicious Whole30 compliant loaf of bread a few times that was a saving grace amid the monotony of meat and potatoes. We made tacos with fresh chimchurri sauce (pictured above), Jamie Oliver’s Harissa Chicken, and more recipes that actually were quite tasty.
We discovered some really yummy and fresh solutions to food. It was a ton of work, but we ate well. It also helps that I enjoy cooking. If you don’t like to cook, I highly discourage you from even visiting Whole30 land. You might not make it out alive…
3) Terrible headaches, ALL MONTH
Oh heavens, the headache. I mean that figuratively and literally.
Whole30 was a headache-fest of truly annoying proportions.
It didn’t matter if I had more water, less water, more caffeine, less, etc. The headache was there to stay. Oddly enough, I did not have any negative bodily symptoms until after the “detox phase.”
Basically, everything gained from the sources I researched ahead of time, was total crap and not accurate to my experience.
4) Weakness and less powerful workouts
This one really aggravated me. Not only was I hungry, suffering from headaches, and stressed about every meal, but I had absolutely no energy!
Now, let’s keep perspective. I never have energy anyway, thanks to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but if you can believe it, I actually had LESS thanks to Whole30.
My workouts were so much harder, and I had much less motivation in general, to do much of anything. I felt weaker than I ever have in my life.
This brings me to point number 5.
5) Uncomfortable, irregular, and weird GI issues the entire time (and this is coming from a celiac…)
Pretty much everything I ate went straight through me, nutrients likely included. Even with supplementing additional vitamins, kombucha, and bone broth, my body did not keep much of what it consumed, if ya know what I mean. (You would think THIS at least would lead to weight loss, right? HA! Think again. One measly pound.)
Detox is right...Whole30 will detox all that is healthy, with a mandated diet that removes all fibrous foods, and bans artificial sweeteners, so that even your fiber powder supplement is banned. Sheesh.
My partner and I both are thrilled to finally be returning to a more normal range of gut functions after finishing Whole30. (Thank you, Lord).
I will not disparage the Whole30 name in entirety. I do believe it has worked and led to good things for many people. Again, they are likely the ones who needed a diet upheaval in the first place, but it might work for you!
For those of you that are already mindful of clean eating however, I would encourage you to heavily vet and research for yourself before taking on what (for us) was a terrible Whole30 experience.
While it is not my intent to be a negative nelly, it is my intent to provide you with an honest evaluation of a program that would likely never be this candid.
(It’s their business; I guess you can’t blame them for not wanting to lose support).
The bottom line is, as with all things diet/body related, it is never one size fits all. I embarked on my Whole30 experience to see if I could end up feeling better, and it didn’t work for me. The good news is, now I know. Now I know that food likely isn’t the issue, and that I can blissfully continue to consume my brie cheese, nut thin crackers, popcorn, and coffee with sweet creamer.
Sometimes, food brings joy. Contrary to what Whole30 and other diets dictate, if your relationship with food is healthy overall, finding joy in your food can be a beautiful thing.
You May Also Like
Chronic Fatigue and Celiac Disease: From Femme Fatigue to Gluten Free Foodie
Transform Your Mind and Body: 30 Days of Practice
