My day-to-day journey

Aisha Sultan takes on Whole30, a month-long diet where she only eats fruits, vegetables, eggs, seafood, meat, seeds and nuts. The diet strictly forbids grains, dairy, legumes, sugar, soy or alcohol.

Day 1

Hungry by early afternoon. Thinking about all foods as either forbidden or compliant constantly.

Day 2

Ate a whole avocado and truckful of nuts as late afternoon snack. Still feeling low-key hungry.

Day 3

Have three water-based beverages at my desk: Ice water, hot water and water with lemon.

Day 4

Accused everyone in the house of eating a compliant sausage I had bought for lunch. Realized while driving I had eaten it yesterday for breakfast.

Day 5

Dreamed I fell off wagon into a barrel of carbs. On and off hunger pangs from 10:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. regardless of how many fruits and veggies I eat.

Day 6

Went to a picnic which had tables upon tables of food. All I could eat was watermelon. Saddest picnic ever.

Day 7

Making pasta for kids, popped into mouth to test if done. While chewing remembered it's forbidden food. Spit it out. Not starting over.

Day 8

Complained a lot.

Day 9

Headaches every evening.

Day 10

Low energy. Kind of depressed.

Day 11

Bored with all the compliant food choices in the world.

Day 12

Detecting a slight turnaround in mood. Headache not as bad, tried coffee with almond milk. Never doing that again.

Day 13

Accidentally put a piece of cheese in my mouth. Spit it out. Not starting over.

Day 14

Hosted a brunch. Could only eat two items from what I served. Have lost 5 lbs. Husband has lost 10.

Day 15

Halfway point. Daydreaming about pancakes, even though I don't love pancakes. Saw a picture of a sexy pancake on Instagram.

Day 16

There were doughnuts at work. Walked away. Did not feel empowering.

Day 17

Zero carb or sugar cravings. Totally gone.

Day 18

Craving dairy. Thinking about Greek yogurt and cheese. Daydreaming about nachos. Texting my siblings about nachos.

Day 19

Should have bought stock in Lara bars. (The only compliant bar I've found.)

Day 20

All I do is prepare fruits and vegetables and cook. And shop for more fruits and vegetables.

Day 21

Almond butter is not as good as peanut butter. Anyone who says otherwise is lying.

Day 22

Cooking vegetables I never tried at home before. Realizing how dependent on dairy and grains I was before.

Day 23

Can't stay up late like I used to.

Day 24

Hit peak avocado, a fruit I once loved. Have eaten it every single day. Ate a quarter of a small one, and I just could not do it anymore.

Day 25

My God, there are always doughnuts and cookies in this newsroom. Resenting everyone.

Day 26

Thinking about eating all the foods in five days. All the foods. All of them.

Day 27

Will this ever end?

Day 28

Sent my sisters a selfie because my skin has never looked better.

Day 29

I'm not going to be able to drink watermelon water again for a long time. Have a few sips every single day in lieu of dessert.

Day 30

Co-worker brings in a huge box of Bissinger's chocolate. I grab all the peppermint bark and hide it in my desk drawer to save for tomorrow.