Among the health and fitness fads
Co-founder says elimination meal plan ‘health-focused’
on social media is Whole30, a food program that has people claiming weight loss, higher energy and more.
Among the health and fitness fads flooding social media pages is Whole30 — a food program that has people claiming weight loss, higher energy, better mental health and more.
Whole30 is an elimination diet, designed for detoxification in a month’s time. Meat, eggs, fruit and vegetables are part of the plan while dairy, grains, legumes, alcohol and sugar — including honey, maple syrup, agave and others — are eliminated.
Meal preparation and sitting down to eat is encouraged while snacking is discouraged.
Wendy Vess, of Orlando, saw friends posting on social media about the benefits of following the Whole30 plan for a month, so she decided to give it a try. She read the book and followed the plan’s suggestions to prep whole foods, and she avoided processed items.
“I learned that everything has sugar in it, even stuff you would never think would,” Vess said.
Vess said that the first three weeks were tough, but then it became surprisingly easy to follow the plan.
“I was ready to do it forever. I felt amazing,” Vess said.
She continued the first round of Whole30 for six weeks and lost 16 pounds during that time.
“After the detox it’s amazing to experience how food really tastes. Sweet things become repulsive in flavor. And my energy was incredible,” Vess said.
While many people tout the weight-loss benefits of the program, that is not actually the intent, said Whole30 co-founder Melissa Hartwig, a certified sports nutritionist.
“We don’t even talk about weight loss as a Whole30 benefit because our approach is 100 percent health-focused,” Hartwig said.
In 2009, Hartwig and a friend started following what would later be called Whole30.
“I had such a powerful, transformative experience. I decided to share my experience on my personal blog, and a few hundred people wanted to follow along with the ‘rules’ I had drafted,” Hartwig said.
That was the start of the first Whole30 group in July 2009. The popularity of the program encouraged Hartwig to write a book about those rules and how to incorporate the one-month reset. The book “The Whole30” went on to become a New York Times best-seller.
Kimberly DelTorchio, of Satellite Beach, decided to try Whole30 after her sister saw an improvement of symptoms associated with an autoimmune disorder. DelTorchio wanted to use it to examine her eating habits, specifically snacking habits. A mom of three and pescatarian, DelTorchio was drawn to the program’s use of whole foods and emphasis on meal prep and sitting down to eat.
“I didn’t do Whole30 to lose weight. I wanted to reset my eating habits,” DelTorchio said. “I’m always on the go and I usually snack or eat standing up as
To prevent school shootings like the one in Parkland, the United States Secret Service on Thursday released a guide intended to help schools identify troubled students and other threats to their campuses.
In its guide, the agency urges schools to establish “threat-assessment teams” — groups comprised of teachers, guidance counselors, coaches and administrators — who meet regularly and identify threats to their campuses. The guide was readied by the Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center, which has researched violence in schools. The agency warns there is no one single profile of students who carry out shootings.
“These acts of violence were committed by students who were loners and socially isolated, and those who were well-liked and popular,” the agency said. “Rather than focusing solely on a student’s personality traits or school performance, we can learn much more about a student’s risk for violence by working through the threat-assessment process.”
It calls for gathering “the most relevant information about the student’s communications and behaviors, the negative or stressful events the student has experienced, and the resources the student possesses to overcome those setbacks and challenges.”
Other Secret Service recommendations for schools include defining what would require staff to intervene, such as violent acts or bringing weapons on campus. The agency urges setting up a system for tips to be reported, such as an online form that ensures anonymity. Students are more likely to come forward when they don’t have to fear retribution, the report says.
It calls for having procedures to gauge threats, such as conducting interviews to figure out if students have mental-health issues, an inappropriate interest in weapons, access to weapons or who have made unusual or threatening comments.
Broward has tried to conduct threat assessments: After Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz wrote the word “kill” in a notebook, the Broward school district conducted a threat assessment to see if he posed a danger to himself or others.
But Broward’s current threat assessment system lacks accountability, said April Schentrup, whose daughter, Carmen, was killed in the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Schentrup, a school principal appointed to a position overseeing district safety and security, said the assessments are kept in separate files. “No one actually looks at it” unless asked, she said.
But changes are on the way. Metal detectors will be at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High this fall, and a schools safety report recommends adding them at all Broward schools.