Dallas Hartwig

I’ve actually had a physical copy of this book since 2013, but back then I only read as much as I thought I needed to in order to do the Whole30 (we actually did the whole Lent season — 46 days, instead of 30). We were looking for solutions for persistent stomach pains that our youngest was experiencing.

I recently started downloading audiobooks of books that were still sitting in my Goodreads library unfinished, and this was one of them. And so, while commuting, I have been listening to books, and this was one of them.

Listening to this all the way through, I realize now that I have never done the Whole30 the way it was intended. And looking back through my journal, I found that I’ve done it at least 8 times!

I have to honestly say that I find the Hartwig’s writing style very annoying, very cutesy — but their information is VERY important. So, if — like me — you don’t care for this style of patronizing writing, please grin and bear it, and listen/read ALL the way through, like I have now, and give this lifestyle change (not diet — as I had been treating it) a try.

I will be digging in and doing so myself.… (más)

I have a coworker who loves this, so I decided to check it out. I read it out loud to my husband on a long road trip last spring, and we agreed to give it a try.
It's an adjustment to change eating habits so drastically, but we've both experienced health benefits since we did it—weight loss for both of us, and a huge improvement in my breathing for me. I've had asthma since I was a kid, and in the past couple of years, it felt like it was getting worse. After changing my diet, I'm completely off the steroid inhaler I used every day, and only occasionally need the rescue inhaler. This wasn't a result that had even occurred to me when I started this thing, and it kind of amazes me.
I can't say a lot about the recipes. My husband does more inventions of his own than uses the ones in the book.
The tone of the writing in the first part of the book, the part that describes the mentality behind the diet, the strict Whole 30 and what happens afterward, is friendly, conversational and funny. It's not a chore to read through to get a good idea of what to expect.
Cheese and candy fiend (not together—don't be gross) that I was, I never thought I'd be able to give those things up, but it wasn't that hard. Now that I'm not on a strict 30 day stretch, I make periodic allowances for things that were no-no's during the Whole 30—I just don't eat them on a daily or even weekly basis.
It's worth looking at for the weight loss alone. I've gone down a couple sizes in 5 months. But the other health benefits we weren't anticipating have made this something I expect to permanently affect how we eat.… (más)

This isn't the kind of book that you love or hate, but the program it outlines--The Whole 30--is. I'm on day 26, and I officially love it! Also, Dallas and Melissa Hartwig have good voices for audiobook narration, and I found this much easier to listen to (mostly while cooking!) than to sit down and read, so I was very glad. I do have the book checked out from the library too, which is helpful for seeing charts and illustrations, but those are also available on Audible and iTunes if you buy the audio. I don't have the background to critically evaluate what they call "the sciencey stuff" with any real rigor, but I'm willing to go with it anyway because I feel so much better than I did a month ago. Hooray!… (más)