So while on our brief hiatus, after the holidays we put ourselves on the super trendy, super clean, and super hard Whole 30 Diet. Partially because we needed a reset after all of that cake, pie, dressing, and all the other things we will not name here in this post (hey wine). For those of you that don’t know what the Whole 30 Diet is – direct your attention to here.

It promises great results, and a 100% reset on your system. While on the Whole 30 Diet, your body will essentially hit the “reset” button, and after 30 days, you can gradually introduce your regular foods you are use to eating, back into your lifestyle. Part of the diet is to call attention to your relationship you have with food, and help you make changes based on that relationship you once had. If you are a snack binge queen like us, and always fill the need to snack – this diet is supposed to help you realize why you are constantly snacking, and where you can make healthy changes.

It’s safe to say we quit halfway through sis. But here’s why….

Everyone Had An Opinion About Everything

We mean everyone had an opinion. People who did Whole 30. People who have never done Whole 30. Nutritionist. Psychologist…I mean everywhere we looked, someone was inserting their opinion about the type of foods we should be eating on this diet, and what we shouldn’t. Even on the Whole 30 website, there was modification after modification, and no real hard set rule of this is what you should eat , and this is what you shouldn’t. When searching for Whole 30 approved recipes, and checking the Whole 30 website to see if these ingredients were compliant, we were met with tons of forums where it was compliant for some, but not compliant for others.

There Are “Real” rules & “Psychological” Rules

Midway through the Whole 30 diet, we looked up a “Whole 30” approved “ice cream”, where it was really just frozen bananas with a little bit of approved coconut milk, frozen and whipped out when you got that sweet tooth. After speaking with some folks who have done the Whole 30, we learned that any type of “snacking” or “bad habit eating” was considered non compliant, even if the ingredients were Whole 30 approved. What? We get it – yes this is an entire “reset” period for your body, but eating frozen bananas and coconut milk was considered “psychologically cheating” because in your mind you were still eating ice cream…but weren’t we eating Whole 30 in our mouths?

There Are Other Ways to Eat Clean. Just Eat Clean.

One great thing about Whole 30 was that it forced us to create new recipes, and find new ingredients that we might not have picked up on our grocery store run. It also forced us to learn more about the foods we were putting in our bodies, and pay more attention to the labels that are on the back of the products you buy. It shed light on other diets that are almost like Whole 30, but you have a little room to make the diet your own…like Paleo. Paleo diets are super clean, and very reminiscent of Whole 30…but there is no shame for “psychologically cheating”.

It Doesn’t Break Bad Habits

Let’s be honest sis. 30 days? Everyone we talked to that completed the Whole 30 diet, ended up binging on chips, pizza, and ice cream the DAY the diet was complete. What real change can be made, if all you’re thinking about is the lifestyle you want to go back to once the diet is over? Always remember that if it takes a lifetime to develop the eating habits you now have…it will take longer than 30 days to fix those habits. Just saying boo…

This entire process was kind of eye opening. It showed us that at the end of the day, people will always have an opinion about every thing you do…even what you eat. You have to do whats best for you, your body, and your health…and only YOU will know what that means. If it takes having “fake ice cream” to stay on track so that you do go binging on Ben & Jerry’s  – then do that. If you want to eat super clean 80% of the time, and not so clean 20% of the time to stay on track…do what’s best for you. The Whole 30 diet may not have changed us on the inside physically, but definitely taught us a thing or two about what others have to say, and how we should always follow our gut (literally) and listen to our own voice.

Featured Image: @sajenicole