“Eat real food – meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds.

More importantly, here’s what NOT to eat during the duration of your Whole30 program. Omitting all of these foods and beverages will help you regain your healthy metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation, and help you discover how these foods are truly impacting your health, fitness and quality of life.

• Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc.

• Do not consume alcohol

• Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. Yes, we said corn… for the purposes of this program, corn is a grain! This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on.

• Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).

• Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream.

• Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.

• Do not eat white potatoes. This is somewhat arbitrary, but if we are trying to change your habits and improve the hormonal impact of your food choices, it’s best to leave white, red, purple, Yukon gold and fingerling potatoes off your plate.

Dairy, sugar, and alcohol have been the toughest to omit so far.  (Full disclosure: Brian’s pumpkin beer at Thanksgiving was great — and so was the table wine.  And I’m not starting the 30 days over.)   After 30 days, you can reintroduce the banned foods one at a time and see what impact they have on your sense of well being.  I’m really curious to see if gluten has an effect one way or another — and how much of an effect.  Same with dairy and sugar.  I’m skeptical about the legumes ban (minus peanut butter), but I figure I can closet my skepticism for 30 days.  The Whole30 folks are clear that you can eat as many calories as you like within these guidelines, so I haven’t been hungry.  Just a bit grumpy in the mornings around latte time.

Well, I better get my run in before I have to get the little guy from school.  15 hilly miles and a core workout to go.

Earliest Howard Christmas Tree Sighting Ever

(I made the angel near the top with I was Asa’s age.)