In Reality The WHOLE 30 Diet Plan Is Refreshing and A New Perspective On Foods

While there are always new diets making headlines in today’s world, one of the most talked about diets in recent years has been the WHOLE 30 diet. This diet is all about clean eating and taking a simpler and more natural approach to your eating habits. There are some people who are apprehensive about the WHOLE 30 approach, because on the surface, it seems as though this diet plan has a lot of rules. However, if you really look at the WHOLE 30 plan, it isn’t all that complicated, and it can actually be a really refreshing and easy way to change your relationship with food and step away from all of the sugars and processed foods we find in many of our foods.

If you have been considering WHOLE 30, first take a look at some of the hallmarks of this diet approach to determine if it is the right diet plan for you or not.

What is WHOLE 30?

Let’s start with the basics; what exactly is WHOLE 30? This eating plan focuses on whole, “nutrient-dense” foods. The goal is to eat pretty much only natural foods and to try to eat them in their most natural form. Simply put, while a green bean may be a natural food, a fried green bean doesn’t count as part of WHOLE 30.

This diet plan is sometimes confused with the equally popular Paleo diet—but they are not the same. Sports nutritionist Melissa Hartwig had a hand in bringing both diet plans to popular culture, and both avoid grains, legumes, dairy and refined sugars, but there are some differences. One of the biggest components of WHOLE 30 and one of the things that makes it different from paleo, keto or vegan diets is that it is temporary. A lot of people use this diet plan as a way to “reset” their system and then eventually transition to a less strict version of the diet. This isn’t only about looking better either.

The WHOLE 30 diet was designed to help you distance yourself from food sensitivities and help reset your system if you have been dealing with skin issues, hormonal imbalances, lack of sleep, cravings or digestive issues. The goal with WHOLE 30 is to highlight how all of the processed foods you eat regularly can actually impact your quality of life. With WHOLE 30, you remove all of these processed foods from your diet for 30 days, and then after the 30 day period start to slowly reintroduce them into your diet to see how they impact you. Think of WHOLE 30 as part experiment part life lesson on the impact of processed foods and a good motivator to start eating less processed food on a regular basis.

What You Can Eat

The list of foods that you can’t eat is much longer than the foods that you can eat on WHOLE 30. However, when it all comes down to it, the list of foods to eat is pretty simple to follow. You pretty much just eat organic fruits and vegetables. You can also have (a moderate) amount of meat, eggs, fish and nuts, but again you need to make sure that they are organic, natural and prepared properly. The goal of WHOLE 30 is to keep things simple, so when you eat things like this, focus on simple preparation, meaning no extra breading, salts, etc. and instead simply baking, pan cooking and roasting techniques.

Here are the basic food items that have made it on the WHOLE 30 list:

• Meat. However, burger lovers should note that buns and breads aren’t on the list.

• Vegetables. Pretty much any veggies makes the list as long as it isn’t deep fried.

• Poultry. Grilled chicken is a big part of most people’s WHOLE 30 diet plan.

• Fruits. Again, fruits are on the list as long as they aren’t covered in sugar sauces or syrups.

• Fish. This is another food you will be eating a lot of on this plan as long as it isn’t deep fried.

• Healthy fats. Avocados and raw nuts are a great WHOLE 30-friendly source of natural fats, along with your regular fish servings.        

There are still plenty of dressings, sauces and flavorings that do make the cut (you won’t just be eating broccoli and boiled chicken for a month) you just have to take the extra time to find products like this that fit in the WHOLE 30 model.

While most packaged foods don’t make the cut on WHOLE 30, there are some packaged products that do make the cut. There are brands that are making dressings, seltzers, bone broth and even mayonnaise that have the WHOLE 30 Approval sticker on them. You will likely need to go to your local health food store to find products like this. Many of these products come from brands like Primal Kitchen that focus on creating safe, natural and organic products.  As WHOLE 30 becomes more and more popular, there are a few restaurants that are even introducing meals that are WHOLE 30 compliant—but they are still few and far between, and eating out on the WHOLE 30 diet plan can be very difficult, so you will need to get used to cooking for yourself.  

What You Can’t Eat

While it is important to know what you can eat as part of WHOLE 30, it is just as important to understand what you can’t eat. Eating the foods on this list will get in the way of your clean, WHOLE 30 diet. In fact, when it all comes down to it, WHOLE 30 is mostly an “elimination diet” and focuses primarily on the things that you can’t have and shouldn’t be eating.  

Here’s what is on the “no-no” list for WHOLE 30.

• Sugar

• Any type of artificial sweetener

• Soda

• Grains (even “healthy grains” like quinoa)

• Beans and legumes

• Soy

• Dairy

• Processed anything

You should also abstain from smoking and alcohol use during this diet plan as well. Your goal is to eat and drink as natural as possible. This also means that you need to avoid things that are “made with” natural ingredients. Cauliflower gnocchi doesn’t count just because it is made with cauliflower—but you can have as much roasted cauliflower as you want!

While this can seem like a lot of work, WHOLE 30 doesn’t get much more complicated from there. You don’t have to count macros, or limit your calories, or even count points. You can eat as much as you want as long as you follow this diet plan. The focus on how you feel and about changing your relationship with food. In fact, the creator of this diet doesn’t even want you weighing yourself (except on the first and last day). The good news is that you can technically reintroduce all of these things back into your diet eventually. The bad news is, it can be hard to completely avoid all of these foods for 30 days the first time you try it.

Sugar Withdrawal

Before you start adopting the WHOLE 30 diet, it is important to understand sugar withdrawal. This happens to many people when they start a diet plant like this. Many of us don’t realize just how addictive sugar is and just how addicted we really are to sugar, even if we aren’t physically dumping it into our coffee every morning.  Sugar is in so many of the foods that we eat each and every day, and when you cut out all of those processed foods it can really cause you start having some serious withdrawal symptoms. Typical sugar withdrawal symptoms may feel like you are getting sick, you may feel tired, achy and irritable.

Many people start to get serious food cravings and feel as though there is nothing around them that they can actually eat. Constipation, dry mouth, shortness of breath and headaches are all other common sugar withdrawal symptoms. The good news is that most sugar withdrawal symptoms usually subside within a few days as long as you don’t give in and reach for that piece of cake during this period of healthy detox.

Benefits 

While on the surface it may seem like there are a lot of rules and regulations governing the WHOLE 30 diet, there are many people who find that this diet plan is more than worth the extra effort. Why is this?

Well adopting this clean and natural diet for 30 days can come with a number of outstanding benefits, including the following:

• Clearer skin

• Improved digestive function

• Fewer headaches

• Weight loss

• Boosted energy levels

• Less cravings

• Better workouts

• Improved sleep

• Better mood

If these sound like the types of benefits you want to start taking advantage of—then consider adopting the WHOLE 30 diet plan and see what it can do to change your life for the better. 

Why 30 Days?

One of the biggest components of the WHOLE 30 diet is the time frame. The WHOLE 30 diet is supposed to go on for 30 straight days—but why? What is the philosophy behind this specific time frame? Well, according to creator Melissa Hartwig, there isn’t too much science behind it. She wanted the eating plan to be long enough to actually deliver results and allow people to understand what clean eating can do for them—but not so long that the diet plan seems impossible or too intimidating to try.

WHOLE 30 - A Clean and Natural Diet For Better Sleep

If you are looking for a clean and natural diet that can help change the way that you eat and change your perspective on food, then you may want to give WHOLE 30 a try. We love that this diet is simple and healthy, and it is a great way to kickstart a new foray into healthy eating, detox your body and reset your system. Before giving WHOLE 30 a try, it is important to understand what you can and can’t eat, why the 30 day timeline is important and what you can expect when you give this diet plan a try. There is a reason that WHOLE 30 has been such a popular dietary approach and a basic introduction to this eating plan can help you determine if WHOLE 30 is the right choice for you.

Shana Thompson is a full time professional writer and editor. Shana has worked extensively in the fields of content marketing, on-page and off-page SEO (guest posts, backlink acquisition), and creative writing. As an experienced pro content writer, Shana has worked on several magazines, publishing companies and marketing agencies. Many recent projects have included everything from nutrition and health services, where a lot of research and citations were needed, to writing about health, sustainable, eco-friendly products.

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