So after I gained five pounds during the holidays from all the cookies and cheese, I knew I needed to reset my body and get back on track with eating healthy. I already tried the 21 Day Fix and Whole30 so I wanted to try something different. I heard about the Bone Broth Diet through someone at work and decided to give it a try. Not to mention, I was already drinking bone broth with my breakfast. Here are some things that I liked and didn’t like while I was on the Bone Broth Diet. If you would like to read my daily diaries on the diet, I grouped them by Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3. Or if you would like to read about my other diet experiences, visit here!
About The Bone Broth Diet
The two main rules you follow on the Bone Broth Diet are that you must eat Paleo 5 days a week and you must consume nothing but bone broth two days a week. If you want to learn more about the Bone Broth Diet, visit Dr. KellyAnn’s website and also Kettle & Fire’s 21 Day Bone Broth Plan. Both of those sites were great resources when it came to learning more about the diet and its benefits.
I also want to clarify that I made my own bone broth from scratch once during the entire diet. It’s not that it was hard or time-consuming, I just enjoyed the taste of Sprout’s organic bone broth better. Not to mention, it’s much harder than you would think to find chicken feet. Who would have thought? The recipe I used to make bone broth was from a coworker but this one from Wellness Mama is very similar
What I liked…
One of the things I loved about the Bone Broth Diet was the large amounts of collagen I was consuming. Prior to the Bone Broth Diet, I had been adding Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides to my smoothies and acai bowls because of all the great benefits collagen offers. Collagen helps promote skin elasticity, stronger nails and hair, supports joint health, and so much more. By drinking several cups of bone broth a day, the amounts of collagen I was consuming was at an all-time high and I could definitely see a difference. My nails were stronger, my joints weren’t hurting anymore, and my stomach wasn’t feeling bloated.
Another thing I loved about the Bone Broth Diet was that it didn’t really involve measuring portions and I didn’t have to count any calories. I have tried Weight Watchers, 21 Day Fix, My Fitness Pal, and none of them worked for me because I had to either measure what I was eating or count calories. Dieting is bad enough because you are restricting yourself from certain foods, add in counting calories and it’s ten times worse. Don’t get me wrong, I know I shouldn’t eat fifteen bananas in one sitting but as long as it is on the approved foods list and I wasn’t fasting, I could eat as much as I wanted.
What I didn’t like…
One thing that I found very annoying on the Bone Broth Diet was that it involved quite a bit of planning when it came to my exercise schedule and fasting days. I had been going to the gym several times a week before I started the diet and I wanted to continue going but, since I was fasting some days of the week, I had to map out which days I could go to the gym and which days I couldn’t because I was fasting.
Another thing I found annoying while on the Bone Broth Diet was the lack of variety when it comes to bone broth. At my local grocery store, Publix, they sell one kind of bone broth and at Sprout’s they sell several brands of bone broth but they are all either chicken or beef flavored. As I said earlier, I only made bone broth once while on the diet and while I could have made my own different flavored bone broth, I am not sure how easy it would be to find some deer or bison bones. I am sure over time there will be more flavors available but switching between beef bone broth and chicken bone broth got real old, real quick.
Would I ever do it again?
So now you might be asking me, would you ever do the Bone Broth Diet again? Probably not. Throughout the course of the nearly three weeks, I only lost 5 pounds. I lost that in the first two weeks of the Whole30! It was discouraging to only have lost 5 pounds and also frustrating to have to plan out which days I can work out because of the fasting. While I might not ever do the Bone Broth Diet again, I will continue to drink bone broth with my breakfast.
I’m currently working on a blog post that compares my experiences with the Bone Broth Diet, Whole30, and 21 Day Fix so stay tuned for that!
UPDATE 9/1/2020!!
I’m happy to report that I am still drinking bone broth every morning! For the longest time I had been drinking the traditional bone broth (the one that is a liquid and you have to refrigerate) but recently discovered two powdered bone broths that are nutritionally equal to the liquid version but are more convenient! Bare Bones and Lono Life are two of my favorites!!