If you know me, then you know one of the great sources of joy in my life is food. When I travel, I love trying new or different places, I'm always down for a good old fashioned greasy cheeseburger, and I like to reward myself on occasion with trips to Krispy Kreme after a tough day or successfully completing a project. Whether you are reconnecting with an old friend, or taking in a baseball game, good food and drinks always seem to have a way of elevating that which you are experiencing. Well, over the last 30 days, I have undergone a new, and certainly different experience with food, the Whole30 program.
A few months ago (pre-pandemic) my wife, Lindsay began mentioning her desire to take a hard look at our tendencies and norms with regards to diet and exercise, and she floated the idea of her wanting to do the Whole30 program. If you are not familiar with the program, Whole30 was first offered up in 2009 by a blogger named Melissa Hartwig Urban that would go on to become a worldwide popular diet. The program's website touts several benefits including eliminating cravings, improving energy and sleep, an improvement in allergies, anxiety, chronic pain, digestive issues, skin conditions; and losing weight healthfully and sustainably. The diet accomplishes this by emphasizing the consumption of whole foods like meat, seafood, and eggs; vegetables and fruit; natural fats; and herbs, spices, and seasonings, while eliminating sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, soy, and dairy. Over the course of 30 days, the program aims for participants to "eat foods with a simple or recognizable list of ingredients, or no ingredients at all because they’re whole and unprocessed (Whole30)."
In an effort to support Lindsay, and to also give myself a mental and somewhat of a physical challenge, I volunteered to undergo this experiment with her, and these are my takeaways as we wrap it up as of yesterday (Tuesday June 2, 2020).
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| Our Memorial Day Meal (naturally spiced/herbed burgers w/ avocado, compliant hot dogs, roasted potatoes, and a drink mix of berry kombucha and sparkling water) |
1) I don't pay as much attention to what I am eating as I think I do.
In my normal, non-pandemic life, it is not unusual for me to eat at least one of my meals a day away from home (fast food or close equivalent), if not more. My usual decision making around food is asking myself either "what's in the pantry" or "what am I going to pass on this side of the highway?" In my normal week, I often go with what is easy and accessible, and that is not necessarily always good for me. I will say that in the last few years, I have tried to give attention to portion control, and include healthier options because I know I ain't getting any younger. But thinking about eating well doesn't come easy, and it takes some significant intentionality on my/our part.
Eating out while doing this program was nearly impossible due to the limited options available that fit the diet. However, doing it during the COVID-19 pandemic certainly helped us not experience this challenge too much because we couldn't really go out in the first place. The list of possible restaurant areas in our region were less than five, and the item choices were never more than three options (shoutout to Zoe's kitchen for at least offering that much). So attempts at eating out led me to gobbling down a burger bowl from Five Guys (basically a burger without cheese or bread), and savoring salads from Zoe's Kitchen and Chipotle (have to order specific Whole30 compliant meat and toppings). We attempted to order steak or chicken entrees from a few American bar & grill chains in town (Chili's and Olive Garden for example), but the phone calls were long and arduous as we had to specify what oils the food could and couldn't be cooked in, as well as what sides we could have (steamed vegetables really only option).
All this is to say, as a society, we are much more beholden to processed foods than I think I ever realized. Our desire for accessibility and price has lowered the quality of what we consume on a regular basis.
2) Eating real, authentic, good-for-you-food is hard, and not cheap.
Simply put, eating "real" or "unaltered/processed" food is good for you, but it isn't cheap. Not to mention it is not always easy to locate, and you have to plan before you go so you can be intentional about what you buy. Each weekend, Lindsay would sit down, meal plan, and then make a grocery list of what we needed to get. This differed from our usual practice of walking up and down each aisle and grabbing things as we see them or think about them. Because we (by we I mean my awesome chef to be wife) were having to cook just about all of our meals at home, our weekly grocery bill went up, which we expected. However, the cost associated with purchasing these items was drastically more than we thought. Each week our bill would range anywhere from $350 to over $500. The meals we had were delicious, and great for us, but I'll be honest and say that I don't know that I want to invest that kind of money in my food each month. Yet, we are fortunate to be able to say that if we wanted to do it, we have the means to do so. There are so many in our communities who would be classified as at risk populations who simply can't afford it, and they are often the ones who would benefit the most from the quality foods that are espoused by this program. Instead, these individuals must resort to cheaper, highly processed foods which further exacerbate health issues or other medically associated costs. This showed me yet another way that the dichotomies of our society can be further separated by accesses to resources, and the lack of which just further compound current issues.
3) Certain foods, yeah, I can live without it.
In my adult life, in a practical sense, I would like to believe that I don't have to have any particular joys of life to be happy, to be fulfilled, or to function. I don't want anything to have that kind of control over me. This is also a spiritual practice for me of sorts, because I don't want to get to the point that I feel like I must depend on something of this world to get me through a challenge or stressful season of life. I'd much rather God be the only thing that I depend on. So for example, over the last few years, I have attempted to go at least one day a week without a cup of coffee, because I don't want to get to the point where "I have to have my cup of coffee in the morning" or my day is just ruined.
Experiencing the Whole30 showed me that I can go without having to partake of some of the foods/drinks that I have often thought I couldn't live without. Things like that rewarding doughnut after a long day, or that I can actually make it on just black coffee without all those fancy flavored creamers or sugar dominating my palate. We can either allow things like food & drink to control us, or we can be in control of our food & drink.
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| One of my favorite meals Linz cooked up, a dry-ranch chicken on a sweet potato! |
Going forward, I believe I will be more appreciative of the food that I eat. I have already seen the value of things such as the natural flavor of foods, without all the extra additions to it which actually drown out the natural flavor of food (for example, I am likely going to keep up the unsweetened ketchup. My potatoes surprisingly taste better with out the souped-up kind). I also hope to be more mindful of what I am eating, as well as how little others around me might have with regards to wholesome food options. My relationship with food certainly has changed as a result, and I think I will have a new found sense of joy as I experience food in the future.
"Whether you eat or drink...do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31
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