The Art of Running in the Rain

Hey everyone!

I’m a little behind on this final wrap up and I have to be honest with you it’s because I’ve kind of been dreading it. The reason being that I truly feel that the Whole30 didn’t really work for me. Although, in a way I can look at this as a win for science. Meaning, sometimes you can fix some things naturally (eating differently, acupuncture, exercising, etc.) and sometimes there’s a place for western medicine (medication, psychotherapy, etc.). My main concern coming into the Whole30 was my digestive issues, after doing the Whole30 nothing changed in that area. In fact, on occasion I felt worst. Turns out my diagnosis is Mastocytic Enterocolitis, a disease in which you have an increase in mast cells in the colonic mucosa (I know, more than you wanted to know, but honestly if sharing this story means someone else goes to an allergist and finds relief from the pain then I will share). Since my visit with the allergist (who had no idea what the Whole30 was) I’ve been on Cromolyn Sodium, and the effects have been instantaneous! I’m so incredibly happy that I sought out a gasteroentinologist, that I went through with diagnostic procedures and that I followed up with an allergist, WORTH IT! Now, the Whole30, I’m on the fence about whether it was worth it or not. Ultimately if you do it and it helps you eat more whole foods and less processed foods then all the power to you, but I’m a firm believer in the 80/20 rule, so I’m not sure if I’ll ever do something like this again.

Now, I’ll get into the food and then I’ll tell you my final thoughts…

BREAKFASTS

Kale, sweet potato and egg scramble (I still eat this for breakfast/dinner all the time post whole30…so good)

Homemade almond milk, walnuts, berries, almond butter.

Chia pudding (almond milk, berries, chia seeds, ground flax seed, unsweetened coconut, almond butter).

Broccoli and egg scramble with a side of blueberry-banana-coconut milk-chia pudding

Fried eggs, avocado, and salsa.

Another Pitaya bowl (not technically in the spirit of whole 30 but all the ingredients were compliant so fuck it)

Scrambled eggs, potatoes, and blueberries (Whole foods hot bar is really good for Whole30 compliant outings, it was one of the two places dave and I ate out at during the month).

Broccolini scramble, sweet potato wedges, and strawberries.

LUNCH/DINNERS (wasn’t as good at capturing these, sorry)

Roasted red pepper soup with chilean sea bass. Dave was a huge fan of this dish!

Grilled salmon on a bed of mixed greens with balsamic and olive oil.

More salmon burgers, asparagus, and sweet potato wedges.

This is what my ‘sweet potato wedge’ prep looks like almost every Monday. This is a habit I will maintain for sure!

Avocado, homemade mayo, egg salad.

I figured the best way for me to analyze the Whole30 was to do a pro/con list.

PROS

• Got me into some really good food prep habits.
• Increased awareness of how much sugar is in almost ALL foods.
• Decreased craving for sugary treats.
• No break outs throughout the entire month.
• Decreased eating out.
• Observed a distinct negative reaction when introducing sugary treats (e.g., increased heart rate, anxiety, and a head ache).

CONS

• Made my digestive system worst at times (I feel that this was in part due to the fact that I was trying to adhere to the no-snacking policy and in doing so increased the size of my meals and with my condition it’s better to eat small meals more frequently).
• Social situations feel a bit awkward.
• Almost unable to eat out at all.
• Certain restrictions feel unhealthy for vegetarians (e.g., no beans of any kind, limit nuts, etc.).

I’m very happy for all the people that reached out to me and expressed their positive experiences with Whole30. In summary I feel as though my experience was neither good nor bad, but I can say I took away some positives from it, so I’m happy I did it.

Be well.