A Long List Means the Wrong List!

A Long List Means the Wrong List!

After taking an 8 day hiatus from blogging, I have returned just in time to celebrate the fact that after today I have just 1 day left before I complete my second round of Whole30!!!  It's hard to believe how fast the past 28 days have gone.  This past week was a whirlwind between work, school, helping my parents get started with moving into their new home, celebrating my niece's baptism, having friends over to grill out and having my niece and nephew over for an afternoon to play.  I can proudly admit that I have been around a ton of noncompliant food and still haven't been led astray from my Whole30 plan (though there were times this past week I wanted to throw in the towel)!  

While continuing on the path to Whole30 compliance, I have come to realize that though this reset may seem restrictive in the fact I have had to eliminate many foods altogether, there are some areas in which it allows me a sense of freedom.  Unlike other plans, I don't have to measure or weigh my food, count calories or track points or log a food journal.  Of course, it still takes self-control to ensure I don't eat a whole bag of pistachios or dates in one sitting, but I can eat without tracking my every move.

On this journey, I have also come to realize the importance of reading food labels.  Rather than looking at calories, fat and cholesterol, I have honed in on reading the ingredients list.  It is amazing and disturbing to see how many preservatives and unnatural ingredients are hidden in our food.  After being on Whole30, I have quickly come to learn that a long list means the wrong list.  The minute I pick up an item and see that the list is beyond one or two lines, I quickly put the item back on the shelf and move on.  There is nothing healthy or natural about an ingredient list 6 lines long for fruit dip or having high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup in ketchup (see the photos below)!  I hope that I continue to read ingredient lists beyond my Whole30 journey and steer myself in the direction of buying products with natural ingredients.  And, by natural I don't mean that the label reads "all natural", but rather the ingredient list is, in fact, natural.  Believe it or not, there is a difference and you can't rely on food manufacturers' labels to tell you what is truly natural versus not!  Okay, I will get off of my soapbox now!

Hy-Vee fruit dip label.

Hunt's ketchup label.

Be sure to check back on Wednesday as I will reveal if there were any changes in my measurements and will share photos of myself post Whole30.  I have already seen how it has impacted my mental and emotional health and how it has altered my relationship with food, but am now excited to see for myself if and how Whole30 has impacted my physical health.   Wish me luck as I finish up with one more day of Whole30 compliance before making the switch into the reintroduction phase!