Today marks day 17 of my whole30 journey and my inbox has been flooded with questions! What exactly is whole30? What can you eat? How much weight do you plan to lose? I am looking into this diet. Can you send me your tips and tricks? Please send me more info on this diet! All those questions have been incoming as I update on my journey.
The first thing I want to clear the air about... Whole30 is NOT a diet and the goal is NOT to lose weight. The design behind the program is to push the “reset” button with your health, your eating habits, and your relationship with food. The goal is for THIRTY days you eliminate all the phsychologically unhealthy, hormone imbalancing, gut disrupting, inflammatory food groups. Once these food groups are eliminated for thirty days, you begin to reintroduce the food groups one at a time with an introduction phase after the thirty days. It is then where you can see which foods you may be insensitive to, but you never noticed because you’ve always ate them and assumed it was normal.
I have seen testimony after testimony from fellow whole30-ers who have reported improvements with life-long health conditions they have battled: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, PCOS, skin irritations, fibromyalgia, Crohn’s, IBS, leaky gut, Celiac and soooooo many more!
The second thing that is important to understand is there are rules to the program. You break a rule; you start over. There is no room to wiggle. I read a message the other day that said, “Love all the recipe ideas you’re posting! I started a whole30 a week ago but I am still allowing myself a treat on Sundays.” Well sweetheart, I am sorry to say but you are in fact not doing a whole30; you’re just eating better.
The program rules are simple. Black and white. No grey.
**Do not consume added sugar, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, coconut sugar, date syrup, stevia, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
**Do not consume alcohol, in any form, not even for cooking. (And ideally, no tobacco products of any sort, either.)
**Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, sprouted grains, and all gluten-free pseudo-cereals like quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat. This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn, and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch, and so on. Again, read your labels.
**Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).
**Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat, or sheep’s milk products like milk, cream, cheese, kefir, yogurt, sour cream, ice cream, or frozen yogurt.
**Do not consume carrageenan, MSG, or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.
Give the program 30 days and it will change your life. It will change your relationship with foods. It will teach you better habits.
So in conclusion my personal tips/tricks:
1. Set a start day that is manageable. Trying to do a whole30 when you know you have family get togethers or a vacation the chances of you being successful are slim.
2. Plan and prepare. Get some meal ideas. Plan when you will cook and what you will cook. Be leery of Pinterest recipes that dote the “Whole30” title. While many are great and follow the rules, some do not.
3. Make dump ranch. You’re welcome.
4. Go to whole30.com and read all the FREE PDF resources that are available! It will keep you on track!
5. Document your journey. Write it down somewhere and hold yourself accountable. There are tons of support groups on Facebook to become a part of for the support.
