I'm currently on day 15 of 30 for my first Whole30. The diet itself is pretty restrictive, as you cannot have any gluten, dairy, sugar, legumes, sweeteners of any kind, and other things as well. You can basically only eat meat, vegetables, fruit, and certain nuts. However, they cannot have any MSG, sulfites, or carrageenan added and certain vegetables like corn and pees are off limits.
Despite the restrictions I haven't found the change in diet to be too difficult. Before starting I was eating fast food at least every other day and constantly drinking soda and Starbucks, so I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to handle the change. However, it honestly hasn't been that bad. I will say though that you need to plan out your meals. At first I didn't have anything planned for lunch which made it really hard for me, especially because I experienced a lot of hunger pains during the first few days. Almost all of the groceries we had bought were for dinner so I was stuck just eating eggs for the first few days and without buttered toast or cheese to make them a bit more palatable it was not enjoyable. Honestly, if my brother and his wife were not doing this with me then I probably would have given up in the first three days. Once you get the meals worked out it's a lot easier though.
One thing the Whole30 teaches you is to be aware of what's in your food. For example, I needed to buy figs the other day for a recipe and the first package I picked up had sulfites added to it which is not allowed on the plan. I also couldn't get sausages to go with my eggs because each brand had sugar or honey added to it. It can be a little frustrating, but it's nice knowing that you're getting cleaner ingredients when you follow the plan.
All the stories about how your unhealthy cravings go away after a week or two do seem to be relatively true. I was a sweets fiend before I started and aside from a lingering craving for ginger snaps (something I've never craved before in my life oddly enough), all of my cravings have disappeared. When I see something I used to crave I do still think that it would be nice to eat, but I don't need it like I used to. Also, be prepared to eat more during the first week or two as a lot of people feel overly hungry while their body gets used to not running off of sugar. I felt like I was starving for about 5 or 6 days but it finally leveled out and I'm back to eating my two meals a day with a snack or two in between.
All in all I'm glad we decided to do the program, as our meals have become a lot healthier. While I haven't weighed myself since I started (it's against the rules) I can tell that I've lost some weight just by the fit of my clothes. I also just feel a lot better and have had a lot less stomach issues than I normally do. After the 30 days is up we plan on sticking with a lot of the rules, just adding in a few things we miss like black beans and honey for my tea. It's definitely a good way to jump start some healthy habits if nothing else.
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