Here's Exactly What I Ate To Lose 11 Pounds In One Month

Delish

Lindsey Ramsey11 hrs ago

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© Provided by DelishI shake my head after spending 20 minutes in a staring contest with a bag of Starbursts when it hits me-it's going to be a LONG 30 days. When I first had the idea of trying Whole30, I was coming off an intense holiday season. So many dips, cocktails, 25 days of cookies-I was in serious need of a detox come January. I had read about Whole30, and was intrigued. After an afternoon of browsing recipes online I decided I could do this! So after my birthday on Jan. 4 (and my party on Jan. 8), it was time to take the plunge.

First, let me quickly spell out the rules of Whole30 for the uninitiated. Whole30 is designed to help you identify foods that have an adverse effect on your body. In order to identify these foods, you must first eliminate them for 30 days to get your body to its "purest" state. This means (according to the official Whole30 website):

• --No added sugar of any kind (real or artificial) = no honey, syrup, agave, Splenda, Equal, etc.
• --No alcohol in any form, not even for cooking
• --No grains = no wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains, and even quinoa
• --No legumes = no beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts.
• --No soy of any kind = no soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, and edamame
• --No dairy = cow, goat or sheep's milk products, which includes cream, cheese, kefir, yogurt, and sour cream (Clarified butter or ghee is the exception.)

You are also not allowed to re-create junk foods with approved ingredients. This is known as Sex With Your Pants On-it might feel good, but it's not the real thing. You also are not allowed to weigh yourself throughout the entire 30 days. The program is not about weight, apparently.

One more caveat before we get to the meat (hehe) of what my diet was like for 30 days. My job is literally food. It's everywhere and all I'm thinking and reading about all day. In fact, here's an incomplete list of foods that were cooked in the Delish kitchen during my time on Whole30, which I saw my coworkers devouring but could not eat:

• --Butterbeer Poke Cake
• --Edible Cookie Dough
• --Sloppy Joe Biscuit Dip
• --Reese's Apple Nachos
• --Chicken Parm Soup
• --Samoa Ice Cream
• --Brownie Batter Pancakes
• --Football Cheese Ball
• --Funfetti Shortbread Bites
• --Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars
• --Boston Cream Pound Cake
• --Pizza Mac & Cheese
• --Jalapeno Popper Dip
• --Pigskin In A Blanket
• --Chicken Alfredo Dip
• --Buff-a-cue Chicken Tenders
• --Slutty Skillet Brownie
• --Giant BEC
• --Flamin Mac & Cheetos

So yeah, I'd say this was more difficult for me than most people. But as Whole30 literature says, "this diet isn't hard. Beating cancer is hard." And man, that's a tough point to argue. 

Jawad Ameer ©2016, copyright @ jawad ameer