The Whole 30 Diet: What You Need to Know

The deal with this top diet craze.

The Deal With This Diet - Whether it’s Kobe Bryant or LeBron James, celebrities and everyday folks are flocking to the Whole 30 Diet. But what is it exactly? Read more about the creators of this diet craze, its rules and the pros and the cons. — Kellee Terrell(Photo: Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

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The Deal With This Diet - Whether it’s Kobe Bryant or LeBron James, celebrities and everyday folks are flocking to the Whole 30 Diet. But what is it exactly? Read more about the creators of this diet craze, its rules and the pros and the cons. — Kellee Terrell(Photo: Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Set a Mutual Goal - When you first started dating, the two of you probably discussed a variety of dreams and goals you were going to tackle together. So it’s important to set aside time to create a mutual goal and diligently work as a unit in making sure the goal is achieved. (Photo: Nigel Carse/Getty Images)

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What Is The Whole 30? - Created in 2009, The Whole 30 is a 30-day diet that restricts you from eating certain foods in hopes to jumpstart weight loss and reap other health benefits. It’s all about clean eating and whole foods. Once the 30 days is over, you can slowly begin to reintroduce the foods into your system.(Photo: Nigel Carse/Getty Images)

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What Are Its Benefits? - According to the diet’s creators, by cutting out certain foods and ingredients, The Whole 30 will help you lose weight, jumpstart your metabolism, help with fertility issues, seasonal allergies, reduce inflammation and give you more energy. However these claims have yet to be proven by science. (Photo: Jon Feingersh/GettyImages)

What Is Prediabetes? - Prediabetes is a precursor to Type 2 diabetes, which means that your body is having issues breaking down the sugars in your blood. But because it’s in the early stages, your blood glucose (sugar) levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes yet, says the American Diabetes Association.  (Photo: Getty Images/STOCK)

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No Sugar? - It’s not just table sugar either; it’s anything with sweetener in it. This includes: maple syrup, honey, agave nectar and coconut sugar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet and Stevia, to name a few. Also, they recommend that you check food labels because of the hidden sugars that come in foods like pasta sauce, bacon, almond milk, you name it. (Photo: GSO Images/Getty Images)

Reducing Liquor Intake - Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good cocktail, but in order to meet my weight loss goals, I am going to have to cut back on the vino and the margaritas. However, I can have one 5 oz. glass of red wine (150 calories) a night, which has been proven to help fight against heart disease and increases good cholesterol. (Photo: David Silverman/Getty Images)

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No Liquor or Wine! - If you want to take this diet seriously you have to say no to any forms of alcohol, even cooking wine. They also suggest that you don’t smoke either. (Photo: David Silverman/Getty Images)

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Beans - Beans are packed with protein, fiber and minerals. Add chickpeas to your salads, black beans to your soup or white beans to your pasta. (Photo:  Ed Nano Photography/the food passionates/Corbis)

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But Why Legumes? - Chickpeas beans (black, red, pinto, etc.) and even peanut butter, may all have hidden soy products in them that the creators claim are bad for you. So you can’t eat them. You can however have green peas, green beans and snap peas though. (Photo:  Ed Nano Photography/the food passionates/Corbis)

See Ya Dairy - If you are for real about the Whole 30, you cannot consume any dairy products, this includes, milk, yogurt, ice cream, coffee creamer and cheese. Yep, that's right, no cheese.(Photo: Jupiterimages/Getty Images)

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See Ya Dairy - If you are for real about the Whole 30, you cannot consume any dairy products, this includes, milk, yogurt, ice cream, coffee creamer and cheese. Yep, that's right, no cheese.(Photo: Jupiterimages/Getty Images)

No Grains Either - Not even whole grains are allowed. So say goodbye to rice, bread, oats, quinoa, pasta, bread crumbs, pizza or any gluten products. (Photo: Radius Images/Corbis)

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No Grains Either - Not even whole grains are allowed. So say goodbye to rice, bread, oats, quinoa, pasta, bread crumbs, pizza or any gluten products. (Photo: Radius Images/Corbis)

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No Processed Foods and Baked Goods - Anything that comes in a box and with tons of ingredients is off limits. No candy, chips, cereal, cupcakes, waffles, pancakes, nothing. The focus is to eat foods that come as close to nature as they possibly can. (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

TLC Diet - Also known as Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes, TLC was created by the National Institutes of Health and ranked No. 2 by U.S. News & World Report. This low-fat diet focuses on "cutting back sharply on fat" and increasing fiber consumption along with some good ol' calorie counting. (Photo: Maximilian Stock Ltd/photocuisine/Corbis)

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So What Can You Eat? - Seafood (tuna, salmon, tilapia, catfish), lean meats such as turkey, chicken and beef, along with healthy fats such as olive oil, nuts (just not peanuts) and seeds. Plus: You must eat a lot of veggies and some fruits. You can also use vinegar, salt and fruit juice as a sweetener for cooking. (Photo: Maximilian Stock Ltd/photocuisine/Corbis)

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Calling Girls “Fat” May Increase Their Risk for Obesity - Telling girls that they are “fat” can increase their risk of obesity. Researchers found that girls (both Black and white) who were ridiculed were 1.66 times more likely to be obese by the age of 19. It’s believed that this negativity can help foster feelings of despair and usher in even more unhealthy lifestyle choices, HealthDay writes.(Photo: GettyImages)

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You Can’t Weigh Yourself Either - One rule of this diet is that when you are on it, you cannot weigh yourself on a scale. They want all of your focus to be less about the stress of what you weigh and more about the foods you are eating. So no obsessing!(Photo: Stockbyte/Getty Images)

Reducing Your Risk - The good news is that heart disease doesn’t have to be our destiny. Eating low fat and low calorie foods along with lean meats and more fresh veggies in addition to working out five days a week can slash your chances of developing heart disease. So can ditching the cigarettes and being easy on the salt. (Photo: GettyImages)  

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So Yeah It’s Really Strict - You know how some other diet plans give you free pass weekends, The Whole 30 is not that diet at all. Slips ups are not allowed.  (Photo: Cristina Cassinelli/FoodPix/Getty Images)

The Pros - But there is something to be said for eating less processed foods and eating more of a plant-based diet, which science has found to reduce heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure risk. Not to mention, it can help you lose weight, too. People who love the diet claim that it’s worked wonders. (Photo: Tetra Images/Getty Images)

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The Pros - But there is something to be said for eating less processed foods and eating more of a plant-based diet, which science has found to reduce heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure risk. Not to mention, it can help you lose weight, too. People who love the diet claim that it’s worked wonders. (Photo: Tetra Images/Getty Images)

Is There a Cost? - There are some leagues, such as ESPN and Fox Sports, which are free to play, but if you are really competitive and want to go for the cash prizes, then you may have to dish out cash to join the league.(Photo: LaCoppola-Meier/Getty Images)

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The Cons - Health Magazine labeled The Whole 30 as one of the worst diet fads of 2013. By eliminating important foods such as whole grains and low-fat dairy, people may be sacrificing crucial vitamins and nutrients. Also, this diet can be expensive, stressful and you may gain back any weight you lost once you go back to eating all the other foods. (Photo: LaCoppola-Meier/Getty Images)

Healthy Diet - Cultivating a balanced diet helps build strong cells and healthy breast tissue and plays a vital role in maintaining breasts perkiness.   (Photo: Tim Pannell/Corbis)

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Trendy Diets Don’t Always Work - While the diet’s testimonial page is full of claims of changed lives, that doesn’t mean it's for you. Remember, the key to a healthy body is balancing exercise with eating healthier. So if you aren’t willing to give up all of this to lose weight, then really no one can blame you. (Photo: Tim Pannell/Corbis)