Sustainable Cooks Whole30 May Challenge
Join the team at Sustainable Cooks for a Whole30 challenge in May. Community, recipes, and support will make this a fun challenge. Right? Sure!
Why Are We Doing Whole30?
Troy and I feel a bit stuck with our health right at this moment. I feel like I need a CTRL+ALT+DEL with my sugar cravings. Additionally, I would love to see if some recent headaches are related food or just seasonal allergies and/or my constantly out of alignment neck.
Troy’s back and body always hurt. He has had a crappy back ever since I have known him and we’ve tried pretty much everything to improve things.
Additionally, we’re both exhausted all the time. There is something to be said for the fact that we have kids, Troy has a 60-mile commute, and I am a terrible sleeper who gets up at 5 am every single to work.
But getting back to the root of all things – our health – we’re interested to see if diet moves the needle in the right direction. And that brings us to the Sustainable Cooks Whole30 challenge.
What is Whole30?
The answer depends on who you talk to. For some, Whole30 is a crazy strict eating program. And for others, it is the restart that they need to get a handle on their eating.
At its base, it is 30 days of eliminating certain foods from your diet. Big no no’s are:
- grains of any kind, including corn and quinoa
- dairy
- sugar, including honey, maple syrup or agave
- alcohol
- legumes
- baked goods, junk food, or treats
More about the “rules” are located on the Whole30 site.
What Are the Rules for the Sustainable Cooks Whole30 Challenge?
Honestly, there aren’t any. For the most part, we’re all adults and can police ourselves. For instance, Troy and I were already planning on keeping a tiny bit of butter in our diet because I find it makes scrambled eggs easier to reheat throughout the week. Then, as I read the “fine print” more deeply, we can have ghee during this process. So yay!
Why Should I Join?
Why not? It’s only 30 days and it is fun to challenge ourselves from time to time. There is a lot to gain and very little to lose. You may find out some amazing things about your health and reset your eating habits.
Also, we’re going to be in this together. Challenges are always better with battle buddies and you’ll have the whole Sustainable Cooks community to lean on when you’re ready to punch a bunny for some chocolate.
Additionally, I’ll be pinning the crap out of recipe ideas over on Pinterest (follow along here) and posting our meal plans each week on the blog. And because I can’t help myself, I’m also going to develop some fun new recipes to share with our crew here.
So…You In?
We start May 1st.
Leave your name in the comments if you want to join in on the challenge. One final step is to make sure you’re signed up for my email list to guarantee you’ll get new posts in your inbox.
OK, so the big question is… dun dun dunnnnnn…..
How did everyone do with the whole 30? I definitely feel like it reset my eating habits, and I think twice about reading labels, and being mindful of what I’m eating. Oh, and I did lose a little weight. Nothing significant, but I certainly feel better about not having those sugar crashes!
I know the 30 days has ended, but I’m still continuing on with it. For some time anyway.
Thanks for getting me started Sarah!
I’m doing a full wrap up on Monday, but in a nutshell it was fine! I lost a little weight (wasn’t planning on it so I’m meh about it), but Troy lost a whopping 20 pounds. Overall he felt amazing until the last week when he developed intense stomach cramping. He’s been to the doc twice and they had to run some bloodwork. No answers yet but it was kind of crazy.
I’m doing it! I was out of town when this post went up so I didn’t comment at the time, but I have started it, and my bestie is along for the ride (mostly – she needs her almond milk lattes to live so that’s her one variation). I made a planning error yesterday and ran out of food while also having a terrible headache, so I had to eat some peanuts as they were the least bad thing I had around. That’s all different today! Looking forward to getting some better sleep, having more energy, and finding new recipes I enjoy.
Did the evil Whole30 diehards come and slap those peanuts out of your hand? LOL. I’m of the mindset that doing your best is what matters!
Ha! Exactly! Nobody is checking my work, so as long as I feel like I’m adhering to the spirit of the exercise in a way that doesn’t compromise my actual well being, then I think I’m doing just fine!
I’m in! I do one every May to get rid of my seasonal allergies, so the timing is perfect 🙂
How does it help with your allergies? I have horrible seasonal allergies May-Sept!
Totally took them away! I was a multpile-pill-a-day person May-Sept as well, and I haven’t taken a single pill in about 5 years.
I’m in 🙂
Yay!
I’m in!
Yahoo!
I have done this in the past and it works really well. I am in desperate need of this so count me in!
Welcome aboard!
I’m in and super excited!
Yay!!!
Yes I want to!! For some reason when you switched your website I wasn’t signed up for your emails anymore 🙁 just figured it out now why I wasn’t getting any emails from you at new posts.. so I re signed up!
That’s so strange Erica! I still have you on the email list from way back when. I wonder if your junk folder is swallowing it? Either way, I’m glad to have you back!
I checked my spam mail and I dont see any!! I wonder what is going on! I’m going to sign up with my other email address too just to make sure I get the new posts! I just checked out a few paleo cookbooks from the library today. I’m excited!
Well farts! I wonder what happened? Regardless, I’m glad you’re “back” now. More bus photos on IG please!
Ok, I’ll try it. No dairy?? Yikes!
That is one of the hardest parts for me too. I was dairy-free for nine miserable months when Jack was a baby.
I don’t think I’ll be able to do a true whole 30 as I’d never be able to get hubby on board but I need to do something. I work in a big box grocery store so I end up grabbing a candy bar or bag of chips everyday on break. The baby is 15 months old and I’m still 15 pounds heavier than I’ve ever been.
In my mind, I think improving your eating as much as you can even if it isn’t “perfect” is better than nothing!
It is so hard to not eat sweets when you’re super tired all the time.