Living To Eat vs. Eating To Live

So little one...

Why Whole30?

First off, if you have no idea what I am talking about please go to my Whole30 tab or here. If you look at me, I am a petite, almost 22 year-old college student with a big smile and blue eyes. I am not overweight, but I am not the epitome of fit either. I workout 5-6 times a week and loosely follow the paleo diet constructs. (emphasis on the loosely). I'm relatively OK with how I look. So you think, (and I thought too) why change? Why take on something so challenging. Because even if everything seems peachy, I am sick. 
I have been diagnosed with IBS [irritable bowl syndrome, and yes its as pleasant as its sounds]  and have been 95% gluten free for 1 year. I also have outbreaks of eczema and acne on my face, have experienced tendinitis in both of my knees and have plantar fasciitis in my left foot (don't run a half marathon without training people).

You're thinking, my heavens AJ, get it together. Now it's possible that I am hard my body with strenuous workouts or maybe I have been eating the wrong foods my whole life. 

Enter the book, "It Starts With Food". I sat down and read this book in one sitting...it was fascinating. For the first time, I received an explanation for not only what foods I shouldn't be eating, BUT WHY. I think that is why I have had trouble sticking to paleo. People told me I shouldn't eat these things but I never really understood the reasoning behind it. I was walking the walk but not talking the talk. This book also taught me something extremely important...

The relationship you have with food is probably not healthy.

I have been struggling my whole life with this and I am not alone. Food is either a reward or a regret. I would either starve myself or binge. It goes
like this:
"Wow I deserve Taco Bell today, its been a great day/bad day" 
During Taco Bell:
"I LOVE CHEESE, THIS IS AMAZING."
After Taco Bell (and stomach pain):
"I hate myself for eating that, I am in pain and this is why I don't have abs/skinny/look good." 
I want this to stop. now. I don't want to have food be my emotional crutch. I don't want to feel like its a good thing to skip meals and be constantly counting calories and then binge on food I know will make me sick. I want to love my body and love fueling it with good, wonderful foods. 

I want to make this clear: This is not about losing weight/looking good. 
I am going to take before and after pictures and weigh myself once before and once after to see if there are bonus benefits of look good but I will not step on a scale between then and that is definitely not the main focus of this experiment.

What I want to get out of this: A new outlook on food and a body that is healthier and happier. 

I will be starting June 1st...SO JOIN ME. The more support people have, the more you get out of it. Comment below if you want to start with me or facebook message me! I am hoping to post workout/food/feelings everyday for 30 days and I want others to post in the comments their's too! The whole30 website is really helpful with shopping lists and meal plans. (Expect to do some meal prep on weekends.) We have a week to say goodbye to franken-foods. Let's do this.