Whole30- The First Two Days

I feel like I might die. Like, seriously, die. Okay, I am exaggerating a tiny bit, but still. This feels horrible.

I decided to try the Whole30 challenge. Here are the basics: You cut everything out of your diet except for meat, veggies, and fruits for thirty days. Your body detoxes and resets. All of your diet-induced ailments will go away- gut issues, joint pain, etc, etc (assuming those ailments are, indeed, caused by your diet). Oh, and bonus, you’ll most likely lose a bunch of weight. There’s a lot more involved and if you’re interested, you can check it out on the Whole30 website.

A couple of my friends did it and exclaimed on Facebook how they dropped six sizes in a little over a month. “Sign me up, now!” I thought. So I checked out the site, printed out the shopping list and the can have/can’t have cheat sheet and headed to the grocery store.

I apparently skimmed over the “side effects” section. Fatigue, headaches, and grumpiness are high on that list. I cut out carbs (other than fruit), sugar and caffeine in one fell swoop and body is rebelling. Dropping caffeine is not a requirement, but who wants black coffee or unsweetened tea? Not this southern raised child.

All I want to do is curl up on the couch, sleep, watch T.V., sleep some more, and maybe take a nap. My head has been pounding nonstop the entire two days. I had a fever all day the day before I started, so I was convinced this headache and fatigue were part of my sickness, but I have had no other symptoms. I googled it, and there it was in black and white: classic detox symptoms.

Will I give up? Absolutely not. The good new is, I feel fuller longer with all the real food in my belly than I did with the chips, dips and chocolate I was downing on a daily basis (Yes, I am was a junk food junkie). I haven’t craved a sweet all day, which I can probably contribute to not starting my day with two super-sweetened giant mugs of coffee.

So I will trudge on, making changes and concessions along the way. In fact, as I type this, my headache is dissapating thanks to the piping hot mug of (eek) black coffee I am funneling down my throat. I could get used to it.

So, basically, I have a lot of weight to lose, aching joints, back pains, digestive issues, and low energy. These are the issues that I am hoping this diet will help me absolve. I want to be a healthy eater, I want to live a long life, and I want to have more energy for myself and my kids.

I’ll try to keep everyone updated and when I’m done- if it works- I’ll post before and after photos. Cross your fingers for me. I’m gonna need all the help I can get! :)