So what exactly IS a Whole 30 anyway? If you’ve ever heard of a Whole 30 or wondered what it was about or are just learning of it for the first time here, I’m about to do one and I’ll chronicle the ins-and-outs, ups-and-downs for the next 30 days. In a nutshell, it’s squeaky-clean paleo eating for 30 days. The idea is to give your body a variety of the most nutrient rich foods from the food pyramid, basically what our bodies have evolved to eat best. This means meat/fish/eggs, vegetables, fats, fruit, nuts, and seeds. For 30 days, there will be no grains or legumes, no processed foods, added sugar, dairy or alcohol.

Dallas & Melissa Hartwig, who wrote It Starts with Food, go into great detail on their website about the Whole 30. You can find that here: http://www.whole9life.com/category/whole-30/.

There are a growing number of studies out there that discuss how the Standard American Diet (SAD) negatively impacts our health and well-being, including, and even especially, wheat and other grains. Some of this will come up again in future posts, but for now, let’s just look at this from the perspective of a scientific experiment of one. Me. And if you want to commit to this for the next 30 days too, let me know! And I encourage you to note the changes day-by-day. What’s working? What isn’t? How do you feel? You, too, can be your own experiment of one.

I plan to share my daily journey through this Whole 30 – both food and feelings and whatever else comes up. I’ll let you know what I’m eating and how I’m feeling for a couple of reasons: 1) I think following a paleo lifestyle is not only healthy, but can also right a lot of imbalances within the body and mind, and 2) if it inspires just one of you to try it or make it through another day, then it was totally worth it. I’m not going to lie; this is not easy and it won’t all be pretty. I successfully completed a Whole 30 this time last year, but when I attempted one earlier this year, I succumbed to the call of the cocktail a few days past the 1/2 way point. That won’t happen this time.

I am ready for the challenge and so excited for how unbelieveably great I feel when my body is getting EXACTLY what it needs – no more and no less.

So let my Whole 30 challenge begin – and maybe yours too! If you plan to do one, be sure to leave me a note in the comments – and enjoy!