Sept 1st strict 30 day paleo challenge

[Kerry]

Originally Posted by Dottie

I'm going to do my absolute best to follow the whole30 foods list. If I just can't drink my coffee without half and half, then I'll go to tea in the mornings. A strong Irish or English breakfast tea wakes me up lol.

I couldn't ever imagine life with out coffee or sweetner or cream....

The best way for me to transition to drinking black coffee with nothing in it was drinking it iced. after about 5 days of choking my coffee down black with nothing in it, I love it black, the stronger the better..

[Chasintrail]

I'm following Primal - all real food, no processed, no/minimal vegetable oil, minimal dairy. I base my diet on meat/eggs and add veggies around the edges. Since the only fruit I like is out of season, I probably won't be eating much of that. I will not give up my coffee with 1/2 & 1/2, although I have given up sweetener in it.

[Desdemona98]

I will check out the food recommendations.

Stevia is new for the US, so it might be why its on some, "no," lists. Its been used in Japan for quite a few years though, from what have read, with no side effects. Its also suppose to be good for your teeth.

Another sweetner option could be coconut syrup. I found some in a health food store, its suppose to be low on the glicemic (sp?) index and has a lot of amino acids and other good things. Not many sweatners actually have nutrients. The stuff I bought doesn't taste like coconut at all, but it is very thick, so you would have to put it in your coffee/tea while its still hot if you drink it cold.

[Chasintrail]

I tried to find some information on the coconut nectar a little while back. I have a suspicion that it's mostly fructose since I can't find anything that gives a breakdown. Does the bottle have a glucose vs fructose breakdown?

[skinnygenes]

can we have agave or grade b maple syrup? I need coffee even decaf just for some psycological reason. I wonder if adding coconut milk and agave would be ok, once a day?

[Kerry]

No sweetners

[Kerry]

I wanted to add some things to get everyone going!

What is the Whole30?

Certain food groups (like grains, legumes and dairy) are probably having a negative impact on your health and fitness without you even realizing it. Are your energy levels inconsistent or non-existent? Do you have aches and pains that can’t be explained by over-use or injury? Are you having a hard time losing weight no matter how hard you try? Do you have some sort of condition (like skin problems, digestive ailments, seasonal allergies or fertility issues) that medication hasn’t helped? These symptoms may be directly related to the foods you eat – even the “healthy” stuff. So how do you know if (and how) these foods are affecting you?

Strip them from your diet completely. Cut out all the inflammatory, insulin-spiking, calorie-dense but nutritionally sparse food groups for a full 30 days. Let your body heal and recover from whatever effects those foods may be provoking. Push the “reset” button with your metabolism, systemic inflammation, and the downstream effects of the food choices you’ve been making. Learn once and for all how the foods you’ve been eating are actually affecting your day to day life, and your long term health. The most important reason to keep reading?

This will change your life.

We cannot possibly put enough emphasis on this simple fact – the next 30 days will change your life. It will change the way you think about food, it will change your tastes, it will change your habits and your cravings. It could, quite possibly, change the emotional relationship you have with food, and with your body. It has the potential to change the way you eat for the rest of your life. We know this because we did it, and thousands of people have since done it, and it changed our lives (and their lives) in a very permanent fashion.

The Whole30 Program, As Outlined

[Kerry]

and more.. lol

The Whole30 Program, As Outlined

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

More importantly, here’s what NOT to eat during the duration of your Whole30 program. Omitting all of these foods and beverages will help you regain your healthy metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation, and help you discover how these foods are truly impacting your health, fitness and quality of life.
•Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in all kinds of ways.
•Do not eat processed foods. This includes protein shakes, pre-packaged snacks/meals, protein bars, milk substitutes, etc.
• Do not drink alcohol, in any form.
•Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, millet, oats, corn, rice, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. (Yes, we said corn!) This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.
•Do not eat legumes. This includes beans (black, kidney, lima, etc.), peas, lentils, and peanuts or peanut butter. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).
•Do not eat dairy. This includes all cow, goat or sheep’s milk, cream, butter, cheese, yogurt, whey, ice cream, etc.
•Do not eat white potatoes. It’s arbitrary, but they are carbohydrate-dense and nutrient poor, and also a nightshade.
•Most importantly… do not try to shove your old, unhealthy diet into a shiny new Whole30 mold. This means no “Paleo-fying” less-than-healthy recipes – no “Paleo” pancakes, “Paleo” pizza, “Paleo” fudge or “Paleo” ice cream. Don’t mimic poor food choices during your Whole30 program!

One last and final rule. You are not allowed to step on the scale for the duration of your Whole30 program. This is about so much more than just weight loss, and to focus only on your body composition means you’ll miss out on the most dramatic (and lifelong) benefits this plan has to offer. Give yourself a well-deserved, long overdue break from fixating on that number on the scale! Absolutely NO weighing yourself or taking comparative measurements during your Whole30.

[Kerry]

and a little more....

The Fine Print



A few concessions, based on our experience, and those of our clients. These are less than optimal foods that we are okay with you including during your Whole30. Including these foods in moderation should not negatively impact the results of your Whole30 program.
•Fruit juice as a sweetener. Some products will use orange or apple juice as a sweetener. We have to draw the line somewhere, so we’re okay with a small amount of fruit juice as an added ingredient during your Whole30… but this doesn’t mean a cup of fruit juice is okay!
•Processed Meat. On occasion, we are okay with organic chicken sausage (those that are nitrate, dairy, gluten and dairy-free), and high quality deli meat, packaged fish (like tuna or smoked salmon) or jerky. Read your labels carefully, because Whole30-approved processed meats, especially jerky, are hard to find.
•Certain legumes. We’re fine with green beans, sugar snap peas and snow peas. While they’re technically a legume, they’re far more “pod” than “bean”, and we want you to eat your greens.
•Processed goods. We’re okay with cans or jars of olives, coconut milk, sauces and spice mixtures like tomato sauce or curry, or vegetables like sweet potato or butternut squash, but only if the labels prove they’re “clean”.

Ready to Start?

Now that you have the basic plan, you need to know how to implement it. It’s simple, actually. Start now. Today. This minute. Count out thirty days on your calendar. Plan out a week’s worth of meals, go to your local health food store, farmer’s market or grocer and stock up on things you’ll be eating. And then… go. Cold turkey, just start. Don’t put this off, not for one more day. If you give yourself excuses or reasons to delay, you may never begin. Do it now.

Your only job for the next 30 days is to focus on making good food choices. You don’t need to weigh or measure, you don’t need to count calories, you don’t need to stress about organic, grass-fed, pastured or free range. Just figure out how to stick to the Whole30 in any setting, around every special circumstance, for the next 30 days. Your only job? Eat. Good. Food.

The only way this will work is if you give it the full thirty days, no cheats, slips or special occasions. This isn’t Whole9 playing the tough guy. This is a FACT, born of education and experience. You need such a small amount of any of these inflammatory foods to break the healing cycle – one bite of a friend’s pizza, one splash of milk in your coffee, one lick of the spoon mixing the cake batter within the 30 day period and you’ve broken the “reset” button. You must commit to the full program, exactly as written. Anything less and we make no claims as to your results, or the chances of your success. Anything less and you are selling yourself – and your potential results – short.

It’s only 30 days.

[Kerry]

and yet a lil more

It’s For Your Own Good

Here comes the tough love. This is for those of you who are considering taking on this life-changing month, but aren’t sure you can actually pull it off, cheat free, for a full 30 days. This is for the people who have tried this before, but who “slipped” or “fell off the wagon” or “just HAD to eat (fill in food here) because of this (fill in event here)”. This is for you.
•It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Giving up heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You won’t get any coddling, and you won’t get any sympathy for your “struggles”. YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE not to complete the program as written. It’s only thirty days, and it’s for the most important cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime.
•Don’t even consider the possibility of a “slip”. Unless you physically tripped and your face landed in a box of donuts, there is no “slip”. You make a choice to eat something of poor quality. It is always a choice, so do not phrase it as if you had an accident. Commit to the program, 100%, for the full 30 days, and don’t give yourself an excuse to fail before you’ve even started.
•You never, ever, ever HAVE to eat anything you don’t want to eat. You’re all big boys and girls. Toughen up. Learn to say no (or make your Mom proud and say, “No, thank you”). Learn to stick up for yourself. Just because it’s your sister’s birthday, or your best friend’s wedding, or your company picnic does not mean you have to eat anything. It’s always a choice, and we would hope that you stopped succumbing to peer pressure in 7th grade.
•This does require a bit of effort. If you’re cutting out grains, legumes and dairy for the first time, you have to replace those calories with something. You have to make sure you’re eating enough, that your vitamins and nutrients are plentiful, that you’re getting enough protein, fat and carbohydrates. You’ll have to figure out what to eat for lunch, how to order at a restaurant and how often you’ll need to grocery shop. We’ve given you all the tools, guidelines and resources you’ll need in this Success Guide, but take responsibility for your own plan. Improved health, fitness and performance doesn’t happen just because you’re now taking a pass on bread.

In Conclusion

We want you to participate. We want you to take this seriously, and see amazing results in unexpected areas. Even if you don’t believe this will actually change your life, if you’re willing to give it 30 short days, do it. It is that important. We believe in it that much. It changed our lives, and we want it to change yours too.

There are plenty of “nutrition challenges” out there – programs that promise you’ll see quick weight loss, more energy and improved performance without missing out on the foods you really like. These plans give you more of what you want – arbitrary points for eating junk food, or an exercise penance for cheating, or acceptable alcohol choices “if you must drink”. But here at Whole9, we’ve built our entire business around telling you what you need, not what you want. We will not pander to you here. We will tell you what we know to be true, based on literally hundreds of testimonials and clients’ real results. Programs that offer built-in cheats or rationalizations for less than healthy food choices simply do not work long-term. They don’t teach you anything about how the foods you are eating are affecting you, and they don’t do anything to help you change your habits, patterns and behaviors. The Whole30 program has been in motion for 18 months now, with participants all across the world – and has measurable, real-life, sustainable results to back up our claims.

Welcome aboard.

[Dottie]

I have a base level disagreement with them about stevia lol. As long as it's the leaf, powdered or distilled with water, not the stevia "blends". I can't imagine it not being allowed IF you don't have an insulin response to it, know what I mean?

[Dottie]

Do they have any direct "yes or no" on fermented foods like sauerkraut, nutritional yeast, pickles, things like that? I read whole30 and a few other paleo sites and they are all different.

[Kerry]

I just stopped using them all together.. made me enjoy my fruit more..
I guess if you don't use it in excess its ok..
If you are eating a bush of stevia every other day maybe not so good lol

[Kerry]

Originally Posted by Dottie

Do they have any direct "yes or no" on fermented foods like sauerkraut, nutritional yeast, pickles, things like that? I read whole30 and a few other paleo sites and they are all different.

They are all different.. like Sarah Fahsgo (everyday paleo) eats honey....
Robb wolf promotes high fat
Loren Cordain promotes low fat...

I think the fermented foods are ok if they are all natural..

Like we have a local russian grover who we can buy fresh sauerkraut.. but we need to make sure that there is no sugar etc.. I know robb wolf says kimchee is ok too.

I eat pickles, but I don't go overboard with them, a jar lasts the family ATLEAST a week.. Besides I think all the fermented foods are good for digestion, and its not like you are sitting down and eating a bucket of kraut, its like a condiment..

[Dottie]

I love kimchee so that works for me lol

[Dottie]

I'm going to try to get off the stevia during this 10 days before the challenge and see if I can do it.
I can drink black tea, so I may just need to find a really good coffee and go from there.
Wish me luck lol!

[Kerry]

im telling ya, i tricked myself into drinking my coffee black
and I was the worst! I started with small iced coffee nothing in it and after about 5 days I craved it that way and wouldn't drink it any other way now!

[sadie_adriana]

I'm going to do the challenge, is everyone starting Sept 1st?
No weighing until the 30 days is over then? I can do that
I have been drinking black coffee/ even from Starbucks, I just get americano's iced or hot, its not so hard to get used to, I will admit, I really do miss cream in coffee, but only when I smell the wonderful aroma when I'm ordering at Starbucks. Home is not a prob at all.
Dottie, I'm betting you wont have much difficulty giving up stevia.

[Dottie]

Thanks Sadie
I actually brewed some coffee and am making ice cubes with it lol. I figure I can add them to my fresh coffee to ice it down. I hate watery iced coffee.

I think what we can do is someone start the challenge thread the day it starts, and I can sticky it and we can all check in, offer support, etc on it?

[Kerry]

Yay!

[sadie_adriana]

great idea Dottie, I hate watery coffee too, when I'm away from home getting coffee, I order espresso shots over ice in a cup, no water, the ice melts and dilutes the coffee fast enough as it is. Home coffee is made very strong here, I love coffee.

[Kerry]

I don't know if I can go 30 days with no weigh lol

[lauraleeor]

we have had a busy weekend and I have not been online!!

I use coconut cream-do not shake a can of coconut milk, keep it in the fridge and just scoop out a tbl for your coffee-it is as good as half and half to me. I use cinnamon in my coffee with it.

I don't think the restriction on stevia or other sweetners is because of their being natural or not or even where they fall on the glycemic index-it is to wean your taste buds from the sugar. the coconut syrup is all fructose-instantly used by the liver in bad ways.

Laura Lee

[Dottie]

I gagged down the black coffee cold, thanks for the tip Kerry, at least it was palatable lol.

[Dottie]

Originally Posted by lauraleeor

the coconut syrup is all fructose-instantly used by the liver in bad ways.

Laura Lee

I am wary of that product too. I know agave sent my blood sugar spiking.

[lauraleeor]

dottie-agave nearly killed me!!!! I guess I was so weaned from sugar (not artificial ones at the time) and I had a food addict binge on an agave sweetened frozen dessert and I felt like I was having a heart attack-and then the diarrhea set in.

Laura Lee

[Dottie]

Yikes! Mine wasn't that bad, but I'm not diabetic so seeing my blood sugar shoot up to 160 was a bit scary. It came down fast and I had an actual "crash" which was light headed, shakey, headache and all that. And that was just 1T of the stuff in my tea.
I've read a lot that some of the "real" agave products are not real agave, I'm thinking I got ahold of a not-so-reputable one.

[Desdemona98]

Either Agave or Acai (I think it might be Acai) is crazy high on the glicemic (sp?) scale, above HFCS.

I don't think I'll do the "Whole 30 Day" per say.. but I'll do my own strict version. Mostly the "no process," doesn't work for me because I am too damn busy. Though the only thing that I will keep will be my jerky sticks.. which also nixes the grain thing, but its a very small amount. I am also not giving up butter or cheese, but I will stick to plain yogurt or yogurt with nuts or fruit. I didn't see anything against fruit in their list.

I also plan on enjoying a drink now and again, but I will cut that down to just one when my son is not home. Otherwise I should be pretty close to what they want. I'll be 85% them and 100% what seems to be healthy while still keeping my Sanity. No cheats is my goal (I cheat way to much).

[Dottie]

Hi Des That sounds more like south beach phase 1!
Paleo doesn't allow dairy or grains at all and, from what I've read, the whole30 challenge is very strict on those things.

[Chasintrail]

If this has turned into a Whole30 challenge, I'm out. Sorry it's too strict, I don't feel the need.