One of the motivations for my pursuit of healthy habits and better choices for frequent business travelers was because it’s what I personally struggled with. For the past several years, my career has taken me in and around airports across the United States, plus a few trips to Europe and Mexico. And each trip I would return feeling beaten up, swollen, tired and a little sick. Maybe it was the burger or the burrito at the airport. Or the bourbon. Or the white powder that is supposed to be cream for my morning coffee in my hotel room. Could be the oxygen levels in the plane. Maybe it’s the cabin pressure, or worse, pressure from slow security lines at the airport. It could be any or all of the above, but the bottom line was that my lifestyle was making me bloat. Talk to most grownups who have to be on the road for work and they’ll probably share similar concerns.
Business travel is not that glamorous. And it’s also not that healthy.
How I Got Started On Whole30
Sitting at a business dinner in early October, a favorite client of mine was literally glowing. On the road most of the time, he usually shared the same level of exhaustion and puffiness that I had. We would usually start our meals commiserating on our busy schedules and how people just don’t understand how hard it is to be away from home so often.
But here he was — his eyes were shining. Skin was clear. His suit was loose. Usually an early-to-bed guy, he was awake and engaging well into the evening. In fact, he was like a younger version of his former tired-from-traveling self.
So, how did he do it?
He wouldn’t tell me. He just said he was eating healthy, trying to cut back on the wine.
I didn’t buy it. I was trying to eat healthy and to cut back on the wine. But I still felt like garbage a lot of the time. Prodding him further, he said he was in the middle of a Whole30. It was something he always wanted to do, but finally committed to it.
What is Whole30?
In an article by Women’s Day magazine, Micaela English defines Whole30 as “a nutritional program designed to change the way you feel and eat in 30 days. Basically, you have to remove all of the potentially inflammatory foods and beverages in your diet (think: added sugar and sweeteners, alcohol, grains, legumes, dairy, processed foods and beverages, baked goods, and junk foods) and eat three “clean” meals a day, made with Whole30-approved ingredients (think: meats, seafood, veggies, and eggs).”
You may have heard of Whole30 – some sort of extreme fad diet that’s nearly impossible to do. That’s actually NOT true.
Is Whole30 a Fad Diet?
I’ve tried fad diets before and this is NOT one of them. (Emphasis on the work NOT.) I’ve had crates of “food” packets shipped to me, eating puddings, puffs and proteins every two hours… I’ve counted points when I really hate math… I’ve pitched my pantry, gave up coffee and went vegan after reading Skinny Bitch… I’ve Fat Flushed and flax seeded… I’ve eaten protein bars loaded with low-carb sugar alcohols that gave me cramps thinking they were good for me… I’ve bought fitness programs designed by testosterone-loaded 30-year-olds telling me, a professional woman in her 50s, about strip sets, macros and carb loading. I’ve done it all. And all of it worked for a little while until the pounds found their way back on my frame like the Iron Giant’s arm, as if on a homing device. In other words, if there were a dieting tee-shirt that read “Say Yes to Yo-Yos,” that would be the look for me.
Yes, I’ve tried about everything in the quest for health, vitality and to just look good, which is important for the work I do. People are superficial, and especially as a woman in a predominately male industry, I like to look my best. That means I need to stay somewhat fit, plus or minus 10 pounds here or there.
So how did this guy who has a high-stress job, who travels all the time, who doesn’t make time to work out… how did he lose so much weight and end up looking younger? Fad diets may help you lose weight, but they certainly don’t give you a healthy glow. (More often, they give you bad breath, which may be healthy for you, but not for those around you). And how did he do such a strict diet when he didn’t have a kitchen to cook in?
For many months prior to my dinner with my now-skinny client, I was searching for answers, experimenting with tactics while traveling. Things like bulletproof coffee, roast chicken thighs and salad bowl breakfasts. But between lunch buffets, bourbon and business dinners, I was hardly breaking even on the scale. My friends said to get over it, that once you hit 50, you can’t expect to ever lose weight again. And if you travel all the time, you just can’t lose weight — it’s impossible.
As the number ticked up a bit month after month (a half pound here and there… two pounds up, one pound down), I was feeling like a frog in a pan of hot water, gradually headed for trouble.
Enough! I expect more of myself. I was not going to go “up” without a fight. After months of searching, I ended up at another business dinner, this time one of inspiration and hope for what might be finally possible.
My Whole30 Success Story
After the holidays in January, I decided to give Whole30 a try. I had to try something. Over Christmas, I read the books. I searched the forums. I educated myself to make sure it was the right plan for me. And so it began.
Whole30 basically gives you the guidelines of what your doctor already wants you to do – eat lots of veggies, eggs, quality meats, a little fresh fruit, nuts, berries, and avoid weird oils and processed foods. And if dairy gives you gas and bloating like it does for many, switch to almond milk. And stop eating sugar in all its forms (including alcohol). What it DOESN’T do is encourage you to eat name-brand supplements and meal replacements (talk about fad diets!), or anything that isn’t actually WHOLEsome.
Shifting away from a “healthy” diet of whole wheat and hummus may seem to be extreme. But so is eating “healthy” to lose weight while continuing to gain weight. It’s the definition of insanity, once again played out in my life — doing the same thing, but anticipating (praying for, expecting, actualizing, manifesting) a different outcome. At our age and with our road-warrior lifestyle, it just doesn’t work — at least not for me.
While I didn’t document my first Whole30 journey beyond a hand-written journal where I recorded my moods and gripes, I can tell you that it was not easy. But at the same time, it wasn’t hard once you got going. The hardest part is breaking your addiction to the foods you think you need… the cookie you think you deserve… the glass of wine to make you feel better… the foods that are the “just one bite, that’s all I need” pleasures. It’s not as hard as you think it is, because the hardest part is how you think about the food choices we make.
In those 30 days and a few weeks of loosely following the program after (adding back weekly wine and a little cheese for flavor), I went from 154 (153.6 really) to 137.4 pounds, a drop of roughly 18 pounds. That’s better than I had been able to accomplish in years and years of yo-yoing! AND the best part is that I was able to do this while traveling for work and under quite a bit of personal stress.
Today, while I still eat wholesome foods as often as I can, I find my old habits are back. A glass or two of red wine most nights… charcuterie (meats and cheeses and baguette toasts) as an evening appetizer… ice cream and chocolate chip cookies… and obviously a few pounds would find their way home. But only a few. From 137 to 139, to be exact. If this were a fad diet, I think I’d be back in the 150s again by now. But that is not the case.
Like my friend, I’ve had to modify the “purists” form of Whole30 to make it work for me while traveling for business. And while it’s not the purest form of original plan, it still works. Yes, it works for me… for my glowing colleague… and for you, if you’re interested. (Note that I’m almost done with the Healthy Business Travel (HBT) Plan outline, available later this year, so stay tuned!)
Overall, my initial Whole30 experience was a good one. Yes, it was hard. Yes, I wanted to “kill all the things.” But it WORKED! Even without working out. Within 2 weeks of difficulties, I was like a better version of myself. Totally worth it. And nothing like I had experienced before. Eating natural foods. Drinking coffee, tea and water. Discovering my hip bones again (I knew they were under there somewhere!) — yes, totally worth it.
From Whole30 to Whole90 to The HBT Plan
So today I begin the next leg of the journey. I’m taking it from a Whole30 to a Whole90, and incorporating my HBT Plan modifications to double-confirm it’s sustainable for business travel before I release it to the world. The goal is not to be on a diet but to have your choices be part of an overarching healthy lifestyle. For frequent business travelers and people who travel for work, this can be especially challenging — even though they are the ones who need to fuel themselves with the best to stay sharp and successful, giving them the support they need for the long hours and late nights required. HBT can help.
