I Tried Whole30 and Gave Up Added Sugar, Dairy, and Grains—Here’s What I Learned (2024)

I texted my roommate some passionate message about “EATING A F#&%ING BAGEL,” and we headed to my favorite restaurant (Brooklyn Bagel—go there) for a cream cheese-covered everything bagel with lox. I treated myself to a soda as well, because why the eff not? I post-gamed my cheat meal by splitting a six-pack of Insomnia Cookies with my roomie, who was thankfully along for the caloric ride of a lifetime. I proudly stuffed my half of the cookies (two peanut butter, one chocolate chunk—in case you were wondering) in my mouth on the train ride home. I’d never experienced such a beautiful indulgence in my life. And I had the sugar hangover the next day to prove it. (I'm not kidding when I say I spent the day after in a sugar-induced mental fog, made worse by my sugar-induced headache. I'd never hated sugar—or my lack of self-control—more in my life.)

Oh, and just so you know, you're supposed to restart your 30 days once you cheat. I decided not to do this, because I had a trip coming up that I so thoughtfully planned my Whole30 around. Unfortunately, when I caved, restarting meant restricting my diet while on vacation—something that was just not gonna happen. (Sorry guys. We can't all be Gisele and Tom.)

So here are my takeaways.

Let's talk results. First of all, Whole30 did end up challenging my relationship with food. My pre-Whole30 food mentality was: "Eat now. Regret later." (To be clear, "regret" alludes to feelings of pain and binge-induced food comas, not necessarily qualms with my appearance.) But Whole30 forced me to rethink that mantra, turning it into, "Eat now, and maybe regret now. But thank yourself later." I didn't eat the pizza. I ate the roasted vegetables. And guess what: It did make a difference. I felt the results. I've never had more energy—or fewer digestive issues. And even though Whole30 isn't a weight-loss program, being more mindful about the foods I ate did carry the added benefit of me dropping a few pounds, as well.

Whole30 has a guide to the 10 days following the program, as well. This time period is called the "Reintroduction Phase," because Whole30-ers are supposed to use it to slowly add ingredients back into their diets to see what's causing a problem. I defiantly (and regretfully) abandoned this time period and resumed pre-Whole30 eating habits almost immediately after my 30 days were up. Neither I nor my digestive system recommend this approach, but sometimes a food-loving girl's gotta do what a food-loving girl's gotta do.

That said, I see indulgences totally differently than I did before. Now that Whole30 is over, I can ~treat myself~ again. But instead of mindlessly diving into the nearest cupcake, I try to be more conscious of my desires. Before picking up a tasty treat (or two, or three—let's be real), I ask myself, "Do you really want this? Or do you just want to eat it because it's near you?" More often than not, the answer is that I'm just trynna eat it because I can see it. If that's the case, I bypass the treat and rest assured that the craving will pass (because seriously, it usually will).