Our entire office went grain-free for a month. Here's what happened.

Because we work at a nutrition startup, we're always curious to try different diets and food trends to see what actually works. At any given time, some of us are trying paleo, intermittent fasting, Whole30, keto, zero sugar, low cal—you name it, we've tried it. 

Recently, we decided to go grain-free for a month. We'd heard about the growing trend and wanted to see its effects for ourselves. 

Here's what we found. 

photo credit: @austinfoodielimits 

Observations 

"Fewer breakouts on my face!" ―Celest

"I’ve lost 16 pounds so far." ―Todd

"Meals can be just as delicious and flavorful without grains! There is always a vegetable alternative—zucchini for noodles, cauliflower for rice, lettuce instead of a bun. I feel A LOT lighter after eating this meal rather than a heavy meal full of grains." ―Kristen

"Fewer stomachaches, and way more energy!" ―Kelsey

"It feels good to be more mindful about the food I put into my body. It was a bit of a transition at first. As someone who is mostly vegetarian, I was used to relying on bread and pasta to fill me up. But I was able to find a good balance by incorporating nutritious and satiating foods like bananas, avocados, lentils, cheese and eggs into my diet, and I feel cleaner and lighter as a result." ―Nora

"Very consistent energy levels, no bloating, and losing fat." ―Manish

"I've lost 12 pounds so far in the first month. The biggest thing I’ve noticed is absolutely no inflammation in my body. I went from having to take several breaks per week in between workouts to not having to take any breaks at all." ―Norm

Verdict...

Photo credit: @austinfoodielimits

Over the weeks, we swapped recipes, tips and restaurant recommendations and we can safely say we're masters at the grain-free lifestyle. The hardest part is that grain byproducts seem to show up all over the place. Once, we opened a box of flavored waters, excited to try them, only to find that—lo! They contained soluble vegetable fiber from corn! 

It was honestly an eye-opening experience. None of us had realized how many random products contain grain. It made us reconsider our own bars and the direction we wanted to go with our ingredients. 

Too often, people who go grain-free for autoimmune or other reasons have to spend too much time making their own food, using fringe ingredients like almond or cassava flour that aren't carried at most grocery stores. 

We want everyone to have easy, delicious, on-the-go options that they can just grab, with the assurance that there are no grain products used. 

Now, all of our FitJoy bars are completely grain-free. We've taken out ingredients like rice flour, dextrose, and more, to make sure that our products aren't contributing to the excessive amount of grain in people's diets.