I’m on Day 28 of the Whole 30, a 30-day food challenge.

I needed a food reset – both in my physiological experience of inflammation in my body and my psychological relationship with food. It’s working. I’m conscious of what I’m putting in my body, I feel much better, and I’m eating local and seasonal foods, while reducing my food cravings and late-night and emotional eating habits.

What is the Whole30?

The premise of Whole30 is “eat real food.” Eat meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and natural, healthy fats – while avoiding the following:

• No added sugar – real or artificial
• No alcohol
• No grains
• No legumes
• No dairy
• No baked goods, treats, or junk food – even with approved ingredients.

You can think of it as paleo + an elimination diet. The program was created by two sports nutritionists, who wrote a New York Times best-selling book in 2009 and a recent follow-up. The authors claim it’s been tried by millions of people and there is certainly a large community behind it answering questions, writing articles, and purporting its benefits (rebalancing hormones and reducing inflammation – and improving digestion, sleep, skin, hair, etc.). While there seems to be little scientific evidence, it’s something I’ve tried before and loved it. But this go-around was particularly tough.

Why did I start this?

I needed a food reset – both in my physiological experience of inflammation in my body and my psychological relationship with food.

This past April, I spent a month traveling through Europe, eating to my heart’s content and drinking wine. It was my first abroad since the pandemic and let myself indulge. I love food and drinks – and savoring good food with loved ones. In France and Italy, I was eating croissants and/or pasta and drinking wine nearly everyday. Wine was excellent, cheap, and part of everyday life during my travels.

I’ve also had long-standing food, less-than-healthy habits. I eat less frequently for nutrition, but rather more often for taste… and to reward myself or in reaction to being upset. I love snacks, sweets, salty chips, desserts, fried food, comfort food, baked goods, dimsum, carbs (noodle dishes,, pasta), and cocktails/wine. I have childhood family memories connected to food, and I know sometimes I eat to subconsciously re-live them (or at least that’s part of the greater enjoyment anyway). Also since I was a kid, late-night snacks was always a reward. Food was the way my mom showed me love. And while I was studying late in high school, my mom gave me fruit (Korean pears) or some kind of snack (chips, chocolate, ho-dduk) around 8:30/9pm.

So as an adult, I turn into a bit of a cookie monster at night. I needed to get my cravings under control.

Did it work?

I do feel great – physically and psychologically. I haven’t measured my blood sugar or body weight before starting – but I’ve noticed fewer instances of brain fog, unexpected fatigue, and sugar crashes. I feel I have more control over how my day goes. My days have less variability, so I’ve been able to identify and isolate the impact that sleep has on my daily experience (performance, mood, energy levels).

Whole30 was and still is psychologically hard. I had a few days when I almost caved. I’ve gone so far as to load my cart full of takeout on my UberEats or DoorDash apps. Days 15-20 were the hardest. No one else is doing Whole30 with me at the moment, but I reached out to friends at low points. But this week, I forgot about my cravings.

Whole30 has been time consuming, but I’m grateful I have been able to carve out time to shop, prepare, cook, and wash dishes. I’ve cooked all but 7 meals – I’ve only eaten out with friends 3x and done takeout 4x. And I had no issue with watching friends enjoy alcohol, pita bread, or patatas bravas.

The food reset is working. The detox is working. I feel like I’ve reset my taste buds. I’ve mostly been using olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, cilantro, and basil for flavor.

Some highlights and recent discoveries include:

• The sweetness of orange yellow beets, figs, peaches, cantaloupes – all currently in season
• Creaminess of ripe avocados
• Juicy, sweet, and fatty plantains (ordered from Kitava)
• Otoro sashimi just sliced right at home
• Cooking duck breast – eating it medium rare and enjoying the skin – and cooking veggies in that duck fat

This time (2022) vs. last time (2018) – Notice a difference?

I’ve done whole30 before – mostly as an elimination diet in the past. In 2018, I had some digestion issues with sharp pain my in stomach. After a battery of tests, the doctors weren’t able to diagnose anything. Past food allergy tests showed an allergy to shellfish (so I reduced my intake of shrimp, crawfish, lobster, etc.). I considered using Everywell to test a range of food sensitivities, but was concerned about privacy issues so didn’t order it.

After my 2018 whole30, I willingly reduced my intake and weaned off of butter, beer, artificial sugar, rice, garbanzo beans, chickpeas, yogurt, and granola. This time around, I can taste the difference of not having soy sauce, cheese, bread, dumplings, noodles, pasta, fried food, corn, and honey in my diet and body. Also, while it’s technically compliant, I reduced my intake of sesame oil which I used to drizzle on top of many dishes for an extra kick of umami.

Truly following the Whole30 program not only requires preparation, but a commitment to start over and comply to the all-or-nothing mindset with a level of rigor, rigidity, and intensity. If you accidentally consume food that’s not “compliant,” you have to start over. In 2018, I started over at the day 10-11 mark and finished it out again. In 2020, I remember having monk fruit by accident (artificial sweetener in a juice – and juice isn’t totally recommended either) into day 22 – and quit. Earlier in my Whole30, I think I had cornstarch in the juicy potatoes at Souvla. I asked a few questions, but I didn’t ask about corn (which is marked as an ingredient on their menu list :(. I remember eating potatoes beyond the point of being full, thinking “man, these are addictive.” While I’m not going to start over, I’m going to “finish strong” and finish out the next 3 days.

Gratitude + Recommendations?

I feel so lucky to live in California where I have access to fresh, seasonal produce year-round through local farmers markets. I only started recently shopping at farmers markets this year – and I can definitely taste the difference. I’m grateful for the farmers, purveyors, and everyone in the ecosystem that makes it possible to have access to some of the most delicious and healthy things I’ve ever eaten in my life.

Do you have any healthy food habits or recommendations based on what’s worked for you? Any nutrition plans, tools, structures, and accountability groups you want to share?