‘Whole30, Take 2’: What I’ll do differently this time around

Loca Living Editor Kendra Nichols hopes to lock down her sugar intake for good via her second go at the Whole30 plan. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Editors’ note: With better eating in mind for the new year, five Washington Post staffers each embark on a month-long effort to change their daily habits. Watch for weekly updates at washingtonpost.com/food.

A couple years ago, I randomly ended up with a book about the Whole30 plan. I wanted to lose a little weight and control my sweet tooth, so I gave it a try.

Haven’t heard of Whole30? It’s a “tough-love” month-long plan — “not a diet,” its creators say — to change your relationship with food. Think Paleo, but take it up a notch: no added sugars, no dairy, no grains, no legumes and no alcohol. It is neither moderate nor sustainable, but fans call it “life-changing.” Some people choose it to deal with digestive, immune-system or metabolism problems, but considering our society’s love affair with sugar, I would guess Whole30’s claim that it will “put your sugar dragon on notice” is probably the most popular goal.

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I won’t say it was 30 days of pure culinary bliss, but it definitely had its benefits: I learned a bunch of new recipes, from the Whole30 book but also from the numerous Whole30 and Paleo blogs and websites that have sprung up. I cooked a lot more, ate out less, didn’t drink at all and learned a lot about what was in my food. I spoke to meat sellers at farmers markets about what was in their sausages, and I was introduced to the wonders of chorizo (which I found was less likely to have added sugars than other sausages). Oh, and I lost about five pounds.

But on Day 31, someone made me a birthday cake, and it was over. I had only a little slice, but sugar was back, and all those rules that kept me in check were gone.

A couple years later, I’m mostly back to my old habits: making daily trips to the vending machine (Peppermint Patties and peanut M&Ms are my favorites), gobbling up any free baked goods that are brought into the office and wondering immediately after dinner what’s for dessert.

So why would I try Whole30 now? Beyond just wanting to reset my diet and get out of the vending machine rut, I want to build on some of the lessons I learned the first time around. I want to take more joy in cooking — even if it means spending way more time in the kitchen and in the grocery store. And I want to recapture the mindfulness I found when it came to food.

But most important, I want to fix one big mistake I made before: skipping the reintroduction. Though it’s tempting to go right for all the foods you’ve been missing, a Whole30 doesn’t really end at 30 days. The plan offers a “fast-track” reintroduction and a “slow-roll” reintroduction, but I didn’t do either.

This time, with a more responsible transition back to the real world, I’m hoping my newfound eating habits will stick.