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Truth or Fad?<br />
The Whole30<br />
From a College<br />
Student<br />
Photos by Mary Clay Kline<br />
By Carson Cook<br />
There are a million different diet fads<br />
claiming to change your life and your body,<br />
but it is difficult to differentiate between<br />
what is truth and what is a fad. Cue the<br />
Whole30 Diet: a 30 day challenge that uses<br />
a no-nonsense approach to eating the best<br />
foods to fuel your body. This diet is not for<br />
people who allow “cheat days.” It is a strict<br />
30 day, no slip-up program with incredible<br />
results. The beauty of the Whole30 diet<br />
is that it is based around feeling your best<br />
and how to achieve sustainable weight<br />
loss. Calories are not counted and you are<br />
only encouraged to step on the scale before<br />
and after the 30 days challenge. The diet<br />
promotes eating whole foods, that is, food<br />
before processing, in order to live and<br />
feel your best. This program is not some<br />
diet craze - it is about eating food in its<br />
intended way.<br />
The main principles of Whole30 share<br />
many similarities with a paleo diet. Proteins<br />
and veggies are to be eaten in abundance.<br />
The diet prohibits any sugar, alcohol, dairy,<br />
grains or legumes. Although this list sounds<br />
very limiting, the point of the program is not<br />
to restrict your food intake or tell you what<br />
foods to eat. The point is to change the way<br />
you make food choices and teach you to read<br />
labels in order to consume only the most<br />
simple and whole foods. While a potato may<br />
be Whole30 compliant, french fries are not<br />
because they are a processed version of a<br />
whole potato. You may find a lot of baked<br />
goods and dessert recipes online that claim<br />
to be “Whole30 compliant.” The creators of<br />
Whole30 urge you to stay away from these,<br />
as a cookie is still a cookie even with coconut<br />
flour. When in doubt, leave it out.<br />
I mustered up the courage to complete<br />
The Whole30 this summer. I learned how<br />
to eat what is best for me personally and<br />
how to eat to truly nourish my mind and<br />
body. Light background on my health and<br />
fitness: I workout fairly regularly and do not<br />
consider myself a terrible eater, although I<br />
am still a college student and enjoy drinks<br />
and tacos with friends every now and then.<br />
I chose to fully commit to the diet at home,<br />
so that going out would not be as tempting.<br />
The biggest key to being successful with<br />
Whole30 is preparation. Meal prep is so<br />
important to succeeding with this diet. I<br />
began my journey at Costco, where I stocked<br />
up on my favorite Whole30 essentials like<br />
<strong>Alice</strong> Spring 2018 75
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