Is The Whole30 The Right Lifestyle Change For You?

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- About 45 million Americans go on a diet each year to lose weight. A newer program that promotes weight loss isn't called a diet at all.

"I was a pretty good healthy eater but there was just something that wasn't working," Brooke Aho, from Edina, said.

Aho had tried several diets until she heard about The Whole30 from a friend. The Whole30 book outlines the basic rules: no grains, dairy, legumes, added sugars or alcohol for 30 days. No checking the scale during the 30 days either.

"You go through a sugar detox in like three days where you just noticed your body is just, 'Woah,'" Aho said.

She made it the 30 days. She dropped 11 pounds in her first round and says it made her sugar cravings more manageable.

Thousands of others have showed off their results by posting their Whole30 journeys on Instagram. Some are veterans, others are doing their first Whole30 that wasn't created for weight loss.

"I think it's a holistic lifestyle change," Ethan Komoroski, who didn't set out to lose weight, said. "I just feel less stressed. I worry less about what I'm going to eat."

But is the Whole30 program a long-term solution?

"I think a lot of us in the nutrition community would kind of say proceed with caution," Sara Bloms, a registered dietitian, said.

Bloms says the program eliminates a lot of key nutrients found in things like beans, yogurt and whole grains.

"If it's a reset -- you kind of want to view it as a reset. This is a way to reduce the processed foods and the added sugars and rediscover vegetables and lean proteins and how to eat better and how to feel better," Bloms said.

While the Whole30 is only 30 days, many who complete it claim they want to continue eating in a similar way. Just ask Bailey Ryan.

"My ankles hurt and I was tired all the time," Ryan said.

Two years ago Ryan topped the scale at almost 300 pounds at 22 years old. A nursing student, she knew something needed to change.

"I was always the biggest one in the group and I got sick of it," Ryan said.

She did her first round of the Whole30 in April 2015 and lost 22 pounds. She continued eating a similar diet with occasional treats.

"I just had this idea of what maybe life could be like if I was feeding my body the things that it wanted me to," she said.

Today Ryan is down 126 pounds and has become an internet sensation on Instagram (@paleobailey), inspiring others to give the Whole30 a try. She's currently working on coming up with the money to have surgery to remove excess skin from her weight loss.

But is the Whole30 for you?  All of the Whole30 "graduates" interviewed said it takes time, commitment and sacrifice. They stressed the real goal is to make The Whole30 plan into a whole new way of living.

"If you prioritize yourself and your health then you're going to see the results of that," Ryan said.