Well, it’s time for me to do another Whole30. I need to reset my diet, my health, and take control of my appetite and my health once again. I’ve worked hard these past 7 years to maintain my healthy eating habits and exercise, but the past 4 months have been really hard on me and this led to me eating a lot more foods I normally don’t eat.

As a deployed Soldier to Kosovo, I resisted all the local breads and pastries and as much of the carbs as possible for 8 out of my 9 months there. In the last month, I decided to allow myself to experience the local cuisine, and while it led to weight gain, I don’t regret it. I experienced so much about the Kosovar/Albanian culture through its food, and I will forever treasure those memories. However, it led me to lowering my guard and allowing myself to eat all kinds of foods when I got back to the US. This led to a dramatic weight gain and made me feel generally unhealthy.

Now, it’s time for me to reset again. I’m currently on Day 2 of my Whole30, and my mind is back into it 100% is it was on my very first Whole30 almost eight years ago. My wife and I did meal prep on Sunday, and yesterday and today, I am back at eating only Whole30 foods and avoiding everything else.

The weird part: it feels good. I remember on my first Whole30, I was hesitant and worried about how satiated I’d be after meals and how good they would be. I was worried about feeling hungry or not getting enough food. Now, having done multiple Whole30’s, I not only know what to expect, but I now look forward to them. I know that within the next few days, I’m going to feel like I was hit by a truck. But you know what? I look forward to feeling like crap. Why? Because I know that the process is working. It’ll be a physical reminder that I’m doing the right thing, and the predicted things that are supposed to happen when I’m doing it right are happening.

It helps that my wife has done a great job in identifying the foods we enjoy and love on Whole30, and she’s started us off with a solid selection of amazing and delicious foods. Portion sizes are also set by her, which helps me, because I have a problem with that. I always take more than I should, and I always finish everything on my plate. When she sets the portion sizes, I only eat what it served, and somehow, it is always enough.

So here we go. I forgot to weigh myself before I started, so I’ll do that later today. I will likely not weigh myself through this Whole30, unlike past Whole30’s. I am going all-in, and knowing what’s ahead of me, I’m excited. I can’t wait to be on the other side of this and feeling so much better, healthier, and vibrant.