Whole 30 2020

In 2019, I completed the Whole30 diet for the first time and experienced rapid weight loss, higher quality sleep, and higher energy levels. The Whole30 requires the elimination of certain foods from a diet for 30 days and then slowly reintroduced after. For me, it seemed like removing alcohol, dairy, bread, and added sugar contributed way more to weight loss and increased energy than other factors.

The second Whole30 diet challenge begins today. Last year (August 2019), I dropped from 190 lbs to 181 lbs over 30 days. This came after a decade of weighing 190 lbs, despite jogging 5 days/week and clean eating Sunday-Thursday. Today begins the challenge at 176 lbs. The expectation is to finish under 170 lbs.

Most of my life, I believed that I could exercise my weight down by jogging 5 days per week. The Whole 30 revealed a harsh truth that seems to show food is roughly 4 to 5 times more important for my weight loss than jogging 30 minutes 5 times/week.

At the end of the Whole 30 last year, I thought, “Why wouldn’t I always follow this style diet?” I hope the 2020 challenge leaves me feeling the same way.