I’ve been trying to decide the rules for my September #Whole30. Yes, I know you can’t vary the rules of the Whole 30. But.

The first time I did a Whole30, I did the AIP version. It was really tough, but I really noticed the difference to my health. For the first time since school, I could run without pain. But since I fluffed the reintroduction from that Whole30, I don’t really know which foods made the difference. So I’ve been trying to decide whether to do AIP again or just a regular Whole30.

I do have a gut feel, which is that nightshades don’t agree with me, but I think I’m fine with eggs. So I’ve decided to go with that: Whole30, plus no nightshades. It rules out potatoes, but that’s probably a good thing for me anyway. The really painful bit is ruling out any tomato-based sauces. No chilli. No bolognese. No pico de gallo. Still, hopefully it won’t be forever: if I do the reintroduction properly this time, I can work out whether I actually am affected by them or not.

I struggled with whether to leave out eggs: I didn’t include them for the first Whole30, and I was really worried that I might not get the same benefits if I include them. But I realised that there is no perfect answer. Eggs are allowed on the Whole30, so I’m totally allowed to eat them. If I do the entire 30 days and don’t see the same benefits, then maybe I’ll cut out eggs too. But for now I’ll just run with my best guess.

So: looking up AIP recipes 🙂 But I can still have egg-based breakfasts. 🙂 🙂 Although frankly, I’m not a morning person until at least week 3 of the W30, so breakfast will most likely be some shredded chicken/turkey and steamed veg until then!

Prep: making progress.

Re-reading “It Starts With Food”: well underway.

Days to Whole30: 4 (eek!)

Days to first exam: 12 (argh!)

Sugar fail.

Manic day, running around after the sprog, which ended up with me spending too much in a shop because the salesman had talked to my son for so long I felt guilty not buying something, which led to me feeling guilty about spending money I shouldn’t, which led…. anyway, you get the idea. Ending up in willpower failure and chocolate.

Two things to learn. (1) Just say no – to people who want money from you. (2) Tomorrow’s a new day.

Anyway, I kept the Diet Coke limited to one, despite temptation, so not a total fail. Next!

I’m going to post a few short posts, just to hold myself accountable, confirming that I’m keeping to my goals. There will be longer posts, but when I just don’t have time to write something longer, I’ll still do a quick check-in.

So from my pre-Whole 30 targets:

29th August. Target: No sugar. Status: Achieved!

30th August. Target: No sugar, max one Diet Coke. Status: Achieved!

So, as I’ve talked about previously, I can’t just jump into a #Whole30 straight from bad eating. Right now, I’m not eating great. I’m not eating dairy or gluten, but I’m eating sugar and drinking Diet Coke, neither of which is any good for me.

I need to get ahead before September 5th by cutting out sugar and Diet Coke before I move into the Whole 30 on September 5th, otherwise it’s just going to be impossible. Unfortunately, cutting out Diet Coke gives me a stinking migraine and I can’t do anything all day, and I’ve got a busy week ahead. So here’s my plan.

Today (29 Aug)	Cut out sugar.
Tomorrow (30 Aug)	Max one Diet Coke per day. No sugar.
Friday (2 Sep)	No sugar or Diet Cokes, no crisps.
#Whole30 (Sep 5)	The Whole 30 begins properly.

Honestly, each time I try to cut this stuff, I wonder why I was so stupid to start drinking Diet Coke again anyway. Usually it was a trip to the pub and feeling too embarrassed to drink water, or else needing to do without much sleep for a while… Ah well. It’ll be nice to get rid of it from my life again.

Here’s to September!

So, I’ve been eating more-healthy, less-healthy on and off for a while, but right now I’m in a rut. Lo and behold, what should turn up in my email box but the September #Whole30. Yay!

It’s running from Sep 5th to Oct 4th, timed to end just with the release of Melissa Hartwig’s book on reintroduction. So yeah, it’s kind of a marketing stunt. But if you’re a Whole 30 fan already, you won’t really care (and were maybe going to buy the book anyway). If you’re not, and you don’t try or don’t like the Whole 30, you probably won’t buy the new book anyway. So really, it all stands and falls on the basis of whether Whole30 works for you.

I’m in.

Comment if you’re joining in too, and leave the link to your blog, so we can support each other through.

EDIT: I forgot to mention: I’m doing this in a month when I have four exams. So if I can do it, you definitely can 🙂