A typical food day for me consisted of scrambled eggs with Cracker Barrel sharp cheddar cheese, toasted sourdough bread, and coffee with milk and several spoonfuls of Splenda sweetener for breakfast. On days that I didn’t have that combo for breakfast, it would generally be an everything bagel with cream cheese and a piece of coffee cake from BB’s Bagels. Lunch and dinner usually consisted of eating out at either an American, Thai, Mexican, or Italian restaurant. Somewhere in the day would be a sweet treat scattered into the mix whether it be a Chick-fil-A icedream cone, a Wendy’s Frosty, Little Debbie treats, or days when I was being “healthy” a Fiber One chocolate chip bar.

In the last 30 days, I’ve eaten no processed foods, sugar, soda, bread, pasta, cheese, dairy, or legumes.  Everything I’ve eaten originally had a face or was grown in the ground. Was it difficult to do this? Only for the first 3-4 days. Ever since then, I’ve really had no desire to go back to my old eating ways. I couldn’t believe how quickly into my Whole 30 experience that I felt so much better. Chronic elbow tendinitis and aching knees were an everyday part of my life.  Just four days into the program, I couldn’t believe that neither my elbow nor my knees hurt at all. Seven days in, I mentally felt “healthy” for the first time in a decade. That was the day I decided to quit nicotine cold turkey after being a can per day Copenhagen smokeless tobacco user for the last 20 years. I’m not saying that kicking the habit was easy, but in the past when I tried to quit I would put on 20 pounds and overall be a pretty unpleasant human being to be around. Not this time. I felt too good from my new diet/lifestyle.

So what’s the verdict? How much did you lose? How do you feel? In the last 30 days I’ve lost a total of 28 pounds and feel incredible every day. I’m no longer an emotional eater. I’m no longer an over-eater. I’ve broken my sugar/artificial sweetener/processed food addiction. I walk/jog a few times a week now. I went to my first CrossFit workout on Monday and will be joining that “box” this evening. My goal at this point is to lose at least another 20 pounds in the next 30 days.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Whole 30 program, visit http://www.whole9life.com for more info.  The two books listed below from Amazon are the ones that taught me the most about “eating Paleo”.  I highly recommend them both. I’d also like to take a quick minute to thank my wife and my friends David and Eric for their encouragement and support along the way.