I know I’ve been threatening a new project, and here it is. The Whole 30. Or in my case, the whole 60. Kind of scary to put down in print!!

Now, if you know me, you know that I’m usually against anything that “outlaws” specific ingredients. I really feel like eliminating things entirely from your diet are a recipe for failure, and ultimate disaster. Moderation, on the other hand, makes a lot more sense to me.

However! This program was suggested by my mother, who is a nutritionist, as well as an M.D., and she runs an integral medical practice in Maine. She is a super healthy lady, and I tend to trust what she says diet wise. (By the way she believes that 90% of our health is related to what you eat).

She suggested this diet not for me, but for my partner, who suffers from psoriasis. The idea behind the diet is to eliminate all food groups that are known to cause problems with inflammation, and then reintroduce them one at a time. That way, you can see for yourself the effects these food groups have on your body, and make more educated decisions about which ones you choose to eat. Now, obviously if there’s a way we can control his psoriasis through diet, we want to try it! But to be honest, after understanding the particulars, I am interested in learning how my own body reacts to these foods as well; 2 months seems like a minor investment in what could really be an eye opening experience.

Yup, I said 2 months: according to my mother you need more than 30 days to fully allow your body the time it needs and judge accordingly. And really it’s more her diet I’m following, the Whole 30 program is just a simple way for her to explain to people what to eat and what not to eat.

Also, here’s a big disclaimer: I find the book, and the program itself, a big turnoff. It reads very much like a fad diet, and in any other circumstance I would avoid it. But, it’s obviously healthy, and I am hopping on board…I’m just skipping all the really annoying sections of the book. (Many). I only downloaded it from the library so am happy to have not spent any money on it. ALSO!! You do NOT need to read the book to do this diet. Just get the basic guidelines and figure it out yourself! I get that the planning section may be helpful to those who have never planned a week’s worth of food before, but I have, and do, every week, and this mostly just takes a bit of tweaking for me. My biggest concerns are legumes (waah!) and grains (double waah). I feel pretty comfortable with booze…I’ve already been mostly sticking to seltzer at bars. And I’m sure there will be moments where it will be hard to not eat a pizza. But I’m feeling confident.

AND! I will blog it all out right here. I’ll go through my prep sessions, give recipes for all my meals, and breakdown a daily menu, so if you’re someone who DOES need help with that sort of thing, you can totally steal my stuff. And I hope you do.

Okay, onward!! Today is day 2. First couple of days menus coming soon.