Aha!

We have wrapped up Day 12. Not necessarily still going strong, but still going. A few days ago, I found myself starting to think about what foods we will re-introduce after this month is over, and how. At first, I chided myself for thinking about the “after” when we were still very much at the beginning of this journey. But then I had an aha! moment.

That is exactly the purpose of the Whole30.

The Whole30 isn’t a lifestyle. It’s not a way to eat everyday, all the time. What it is is a pause, a time for reflection. It’s like meditation – clearing away all the junk and clutter and taking a moment to rest before going forward. And spending time being thoughtful about what and how we should eat after this meditation is over is precisely the point of doing it at all.

I find myself thinking a lot about food these days. I feel as though I’m constantly cooking or planning for the next meal. But I think that’s one of the unexpected blessings of this challenge. I’m thinking about food, really thinking about it. About what I put in my body and my children’s bodies. Thinking about what things I crave and what things are good for me. Thinking about the foods I love and how maybe making them a rare treat will allow me to savor them even more than if I eat them daily.

I think this is what the writers of It Starts with Food (the book about the Whole30) meant when they said that it would change your life in unexpected ways.