Many of my friends and family have been asking me to describe my experience and opinion regarding the Whole30 especially in regards to asking if I would recommend trying this diet and I have been fairly closed off on the subject from the distance. I think I am finally in a place where I am ready to share my opinion that I have been forming over 36 days. So buckle up:
This may seem trivial or like something that should have a simple "I liked it." Or "I hated it." But, unfortunately I have severely complicated this trendy fad diet. As many know, I have struggled with severe migraines for about 20 months. I have tried just about everything under the sun and this diet was one more thing to add to list. What many people do not know about me is that I struggled with disordered eating for the better part of my college career. Therefore, going on a "diet" to help restore and heal my body was a scary thing to enter into. It was very important to me that I was in a good place emotionally to start this diet. So, I made a rule that I would not weigh myself for the entirety of the diet as weight loss was not the goal of this experiment. In fact, I have probably been a healthier weight over the past year than I have been in years. Do you know what the number one comment I received after about 2 and half weeks of doing this diet was? "Have you lost weight? Keep it up! You look great!" Nobody was trying to be mean. No one was trying to be insensitive. But man, our culture is obsessed with female weight and it was so apparent during this past month. Guess what friends, my blood pressure is normal, pulse is typically good, I have no signs of heart disease or anything physically wrong with me. That was true before this diet and after. I am positive I have lost weight. So what. I'll probably gain it back at some point. One day, maybe I'll have a kid, or maybe my metabolism will just slow down and I'll put on some weight. My body is a miracle. It can break down food and is capable of bringing life into the world and houses a brain that is pretty incredible if I do say so myself. Every connotation involving "You've lost weight" pretty much indicates that you are playing into the beauty standard. Nobody asked me, "so how's your blood pressure?" Maybe because that sounds personal? Well so is commenting on weight! It is amazing how deeply ingrained thinness equating to beauty is in our culture. We even equate thinness to health which is also inaccurate.
My Whole30 experience made me look at every nutrition label, prevented me from eating corn and legumes which I thought was absolutely idiotic, and the people in the Whole30 forums were straight up hangry bitches. It also helped me to find meals that were not processed, to focus on eating fruits and vegetables and minimally processed meats and to be disciplined in something for 30 days. I discovered that I am completely intolerant to egg whites, reaffirmed that I am sensitive to dairy and I learned how to marinade a steak #adulting.
There were moments when I fell into not wanting to eat (old habits die hard). I became too obsessed with food and my body image even though I still haven't weighed myself to this day. I am unclear as to whether or not it contributed to helping my migraines. I did have less migraines the last two weeks. For 21 days I craved Oreo cookies which sucked. It took a lot of the enjoyment out of eating for me. However, it did get me to think about how most of America eats for enjoyment and experience but how in most of the rest of the world, people eat to survive. That was a sobering thought. I struggled to feel full even when I ate full meals which I think may have been because my body was missing sugar. That got a little better the last week.
I think it is important to realize that we over consume processed goods and it is a major contributor to a variety of health ailments. I also think that when we focus too much on anything in this world, we can make an idol out of it and create a space where we search for value and self worth.
In this time where we are seeing more and more areas of our world where women lack power and respect, a word of caution: Beauty is not found in the weight that you lose. Beauty is not found in the gaze of a man. Beauty is not found in the comments of your coworkers or the culture we wake up into ever day. That beauty is a fleeting construct as worthless as the feelings it stirs in billions of women every day. Beauty is the quiet, confident strength and dignity within you- "you were made for more than a culture, more than a man or person, more than a fleeting idea".
Do I recommend the Whole30? Well, I learned a lot. But I feel like that is a silly question. Do you need the Whole30? Because unless you have an unsolveable health problem, no I absolutely don't recommend it. Dieting is something that should always be well thought out and something you need to be emotionally prepared for. Because people are going to make comments to you off hand that may seem like nothing but you will probably feel them. And you need to know that. You need to know your worth. And you need to know your body is a temple that one day will pass away. Outward beauty is fleeting and people spend big bucks trying to hold onto it.
It is important to be conscientious of what you are putting into your body. I just cannot in good conscience recommend this diet to someone who doesn't show signs of needing it knowing that 20 million America women will have an eating disorder at some point in their life. This diet is not supposed to be about that, but I'm telling you from personal experience and from being a member of this society for 25+ years, it can snowball fast. If you are sick and have an illness that is not getting better, this may be something worth trying. But have people around to hold you accountable and to encourage you. I am continuing to eat minimally processed foods and essentially am continuing Whole30 for awhile to see if it helps my migraines- but again, I do this because I want to get better it is not meant to be a full on life style switch. It is a 30 day diet plus the reintroduction phase and then it is over. If you want to do the Whole30 because you want that to be your life style or you just want to try it, that is completely your choice and something you absolutely can do. Just know that the Whole30 is not the only healthy lifestyle or even the only elimination diet out there though it is one
of the most recommended to start out with. And if it taxes you emotionally, it may very well not be all that healthy for you.
But honestly, I just want to love Jesus and love my husband and love my students and eat Oreos and be able to do that uninhibited by cursed migraines. Bring on the wrinkles if I can have my Oreos! And that ends my feminist rant on the Whole30.
