21 days in, no grains, no refined sugar/sweeteners, no dairy, no legumes.
It’s actually not hard. Easier than I was expecting. I thought for sure my cheese cravings would come crashing down and turn me into a crazy person, but I find most ‘cravings’ for anything pass in a matter of minutes and I’m fine. The hardest part is STILL vegetables. I started out well, but I’m finding if I don’t take time to prepare a meal, I’ll just grab protein and fruit and skip the vegetables, which is a no-no.
What I miss the most, surprisingly, is sweetening my tea. I never took it very sweet, but just a hint of sweetness (stevia normally) enhances the flavors in teas so profoundly, I really miss it. And chocolate. There’s no surprise. It was chocolate that got me into the mess I am not getting back out of, so no wonder. I’d love to find some good sugar-free, dairy-free, soy-free chocolate after Whole30 (yes, there is such a thing.) that is AFFORDABLE. (No, I don’t think there is such a thing.) I’ve looked at Chocoperfection, and while I understand that they use high quality ingredients, I honestly don’t understand how one could justify $3.50 for one little chocolate bar.
As far as my goals I had hoped to reach, my skin is clearing up, and I have noticed an increase in energy. I know I won’t have lost 10 pounds. I have lost some… I can fit the ring I always wear over my thumbs again, which is always the first sign of weigh-loss for me. But I won’t be back into smaller jeans, which is okay. Eventually, I will get there, since I don’t really plan to add much of the forbidden foods back to my diet next month. You’re supposed to take a couple of weeks and figure out which foods bother you by introducing them carefully back into your diet, but I’ve essentially done that several times before. My biggest goal food-wise was to get myself back off dairy and sugar, and I think that has been accomplished. I will most definitely be sweetening my tea though, and making grain-free baked goods once in a while.
Food revelation: Middle-Eastern Butternut Squash. My sister didn’t like this because of how much garlic is in it, but I loved it. I’ve never been a huge fan of winter squash unless there was tons of sugar and cream added (essentially a custard… pie-like), so the fact that there was no sweetener added, and the blend of sweet and savory spices made me nervous. But it WORKS. It was surprisingly sweet on its own, with a bit of heat and… the texture. Oh my. I’ve never put squash through a food processor before, but it made it so soft and light, like eating a cloud. A sweet and spicy cloud.
Castle of Blue 
Valerie – have you heard of the THM (Trim Healthy Mama) diet? Any thoughts on that?
I have heard about it, but I don’t know a whole lot about it. I just read a very basic over-view on their website, and it sounds decent. They sound like they have the right idea, as far as the importance of hormone balancing goes, but there still seems to be quite a bit of grain-based foods, so I know it’s not for me. People who have been insulin resistant and leptin resistant for a long time would probably do better to go grain-free and anti-inflammatory at least until they manage to get things balanced out. From what I saw, I’m sure it’s MUCH better than a standard ‘diet’ for anyone! I did see a friend saying that on this diet you are supposed to eat three meals, 3 hours apart, and I don’t think that’s a good idea. Obviously I’m not a professional, but that’s never letting yourself get hungry between meals, and unless you are prone to hypoglycemia or some other condition, your body needs a full cycle of digestion between meals. Again, I haven’t read their book so I’m not sure what their reasoning for that is.