My Whole30 journey, half-way through *Part 1*

Hello hello !

Today, I wanted to share with you this journey I embarked on on July 2nd. After a while of consideration, and some good (and not so good) planning, I am in the middle of doing something called the Whole30.

I know you might wonder why I am sharing this on this space when it is not directly linked with anything creative but… it kind of is. See, being fully in my body, embracing who I am is part of my creative journey. And food is a side of creativity as anything else (and trust me, doing this challenge does require being creative, you’ll read why in a moment).

You may know by now that I have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia almost three years ago now. 
Fibromyalgia causes a general inflammation in the entire body, with flare ups coming and going as it pleases them. Plus the sharp pain that comes when it wants, where it wants, and the fatigue that sometimes peaks… no fun. 
There are days I can barely move because even breathing hurts somehow. There are some days I just want to give up (no not die), and just lay in bed until it is over and until a better day comes. 
But this year, I decided it was time to get back to who I am, to my true self. And to get there, it means I need to instore a good self-care policy.

What the heck is Whole30 ?

There is chances you have no clue what I’m about to talk about so here is a quick round up of what it is.

The Whole30 is an elimination diet (diet in the sense it has a time frame), I am doing to understand the correlation between the food I eat and the inflammation level in my body. It was created in 2009 by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig. They both have background in either nutrition or physiology/anatomy. You can learn more about how they came up with this Whole30 thing and created their Whole9 business in their book, It starts with food.

By now, you have probably heard about the Paleo diet. Well, Whole30 is basically a Paleo diet put to the extreme (I like to torture myself like that, yes).

You stop eating the following:

• Grains (includes: rice, wheat, couscous, quinow, buckwheat, spelt, oats, corn, bulgur, etc. and the starch from them also).
• Sugar (includes white sugar, agave syrup, honey, stevia, brown sugar, maple syrup, Splenda, coconut sugar etc.).
• Dairy.
• Legumes (yup… no beans). It means none of their derivated products either such as tofu, tempeh, humus, miso… no soy sauce either, and no peanuts.
• All kinds of white potatoes (but sweet potato is your friend).
• No alcohol, not even for cooking (but vinegars like red wine vinegar are okay).

Another important point (which may be the hardest for me…): you do not step on a scale during the entire challenge. Nor do you measure yourself *silent scream*. This is because this challenge is not about losing weight, even if there are chances that weight loss will actually occur.

It IS a lot to get rid of in your diet at the same time, I hear you. But it is only for 30 days, not more (well, you technically could. Some person do a Whole45 for example). It is intimidating and this is why planning it in advance is key to your success. Know what you can eat, know the food you have available in your home that won’t compromise your will power.

Why am I doing it ?

I have several reasons, to be honest.

First, as I told you: I need to see if eliminating certain foods can help with my health. Because I can go on like this. There is no cure to Fibromyalgia, but I am a firm believer that there is a link between what we put in our body, and how it responds to it.

Then, I have determination issues. I am aware of it. I can slip easily, find excuse even when I know they are excuses, and then the guilt tags along and I beat myself up for not comitting enough. Doing this is also a good way to prove to myself that I can achieve whatever I set my mind to, no matter how hard I some days want to give up, or how temptation to fail is everywhere if I focus on it.

Hold on, in part 2 I will share what I eat, the good and the «bad» I see in this challenge and what I envision for my «after»…