The Whole30 Lifestyle Shift

January 4, 2018February 24, 2018 GuyOnAWire38 Comments

During the second half of 2014, I underwent one of the most stressful moments in my life. I began to have random anxiety attacks that led to panic attacks. Now, I’m no stranger to these episodes, but these were unwarranted and not initiated by my own, usual provocations. No, these were an attack on my system, and I had no idea why they were happening. I went to the doctors, racked up thousands of dollars of specialist visits and tests & procedures and the doctor’s eventually diagnosed me with Crohn’s Disease. I knew people who had Crohn’s and in no way did I agree with the diagnosis. But the test to disprove it was a DNA marker test that would only rule it out as a cause if I had absolutely ZERO of the markers for Crohn’s, and the majority of the population has at least some of them.

So, instead of wasting money, I fought against these anxious episodes with my prior “training” and worked on bettering my diet. The majority of these problems arose after I was administered a course of antibiotics for a nasal infection. I took probiotics and ate better, and lo and behold, the anxiety dissipated and I wasn’t feeling like I was dying any longer.

But my eczema, allergies (especially to my overgrowth of candida), inflammation, and poor nutrient absorption remained issues for me to this very word.

Then, I had heard about the Whole30 program from one of my favorite podcasters and people, Brian Altano, and I figured “What the hell?” No matter how well I had already been eating or how much I was exercising, I found that I was still exhausted, irritable, affected by my symptoms, and honestly, unhealthy.

I’d been living an “almost Whole30” lifestyle for quite some time, but I would occasionally eat things that were vehemently against their restrictive foods, and that would feed my candida, causing more inflammation and mental fog. As a writer, I need all of the brain clarity that I can muster. I knew I would have to cut sugar out entirely for a while to whittle away at the candida overgrowth, but I was too afraid to try. The task seemed daunting.

Whole30 is the evolution of that food experiment. The book is designed to rid the body of these inflammatory foods for THIRTY whole days to pinpoint the specific problems for me. It’s not necessarily a weight loss program, but that is often an effect of Whole30 (96% of people who stick to the plan report dramatic weight loss).

Download these PDFs for a better idea of what you CAN eat. Don’t worry about weighing yourself or what you CAN’T eat. This program is much more than that; it’s about healthy living. https://whole30.com/pdf-downloads/

My CHALLENGES & How I will OVERCOME Them:

–I’m broke. I’m going to have a hard time to afford the items on this list. I work freelance and often, food is not a priority compared to a roof over my head or car maintenance to get to my jobs. This will be Challenge #1.

–The Way to beat this is to spend money when I can and work harder at my jobs (and more frequently) to enable myself more money for food. I live in one of the most expensive cities in the COUNTRY, Los Angeles, but that won’t stop me.

–I didn’t plan as the book suggested. I JUST received the book today, and the book recommends planning, so you are more likely to succeed.

–So I started as soon as possible and didn’t plan. Yes, that’s a risky maneuver that may likely end up with a “relapse.” If I cheat, I’ll need to reset to Day One. It’s not just because it’s a “diet,” but also because I need the Whole30 for my body to repair itself and to forget the systematic issues that have exacerbated my health problems since 2014. That right there is a motivator for success, and I’m fully prepared to fight with all of my strength.

–I work a lot of long days on a TV set, mostly on location. And when I don’t work in TV, I’m driving for Lyft with little options for healthy eating. I’m going to have a LOT of stressful moments where I contemplate cheating. Again, if you cheat, you need to reset to Day One.

–Therefore, I’m using what the book recommends and am utilizing the community; not only the one that Whole30 provides but also my family and friends (that’s you). I’ll be journaling my journey every day on my blog, https://guyonawire.com/category/whole30/

Doing this will keep me faithful to the program and will allow you a window into – not only my life – but also, the process of this Program. I will share my diet, and at the end of the Whole30, I’ll share my weight loss and overall energy levels, mental clarity, and more.

This will change my life, and it can change yours too. If you don’t believe me, then stick around and live vicariously through me, if only for a month.

Buy your copy of the hardcover book with hundreds of recipes today!

-Jamie (@GuyOnAWire)

Jamie writes about himself a lot. Yeah, he knows that can be irritating, but he hopes that people can learn from his mistakes, like when he had cancer and waited too long to chase his dream. Learn more about his battle with Leukemia (AML) in his on-going first draft of his book here.

~~Day Five~~ Day ZERO