How I Mastered the Whole30
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What is the Whole30, you may ask? The Whole30 is a reset where, for 30 days, you eliminate sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, dairy, and anything containing carageenan, MSG, or sulfites (you can find the official Whole30 rules here). This program was created by Melissa Urban, who experimented with this diet and saw great results and thus, the program was born. The premise of the reset is to eliminate foods that could potentially harm your body followed by a proper reintroduction phase where you slowly add eliminated foods back into your diet and see how they affect you.
I completed my first Whole30 in January of 2018. Having a known gluten allergy, I figured I probably had other diet sensitivities that I didn't know about. On top of that, I wasn't feeling 100% and wanted to see if the program could kick my lingering back pain, exhaustion, and chronic stuffy nose to the curb (spoiler alert: it did).
Melissa Urban has a very tough-love approach to the Whole30'ers, which I love, but doing the program isn't for the faint of heart. It was SO challenging at times and if it weren't for my parents and a few friends doing it with me, I don't know that I would have made it. So here are my tips and tricks for surviving your first, or second, or fifteenth time around:
Read the Whole30 books
If you get anything from this post, let it be this. If you are going to do the program, READ THE BOOKS! I cannot express enough how much the Whole30 books helped me during my 30 days. The two I used most are It Starts With Food and Whole30 Day by Day.
It Starts With Food goes into the science behind why the program works and what is happening in your body. It can get science-heavy at times, but she does a great job of using analogies to make complex ideas more understandable.
The Day by Day book is a journal that you do each day of your Whole30. It gives words of wisdom, encouragement, and explains common feelings you might be experiencing throughout your journey. When you've finished the program, check out Food Freedom Forever to learn about how to sustain your good habits when the 30 days are over.
Give yourself time to research Whole30 before beginning
I decided I wanted to do the program mid-December with a January 1st start date. This gave me roughly 2 weeks to scour the Whole30 website, start reading some of the books, research recipes, meal plans, and read other's tips and tricks for how to be successful. This helped me greatly because it gave me time to get into the right mindset for what I was about to embark on. So if you decide you want to do the Whole30, don't start the next day. Give yourself some leeway to really learn about the program (especially the rules!) before you get started.
Set yourself weekly goals to stay motivated
The beginning of the Whole30 is a roller coaster. Motivation is high, and so are your cravings. So to distract myself from the ice cream my fiancé was eating, I set myself a new goal for each week. You should make goals that suit your specific needs. Some of mine included make a new recipe each day for a week, try a food I've never had before, meal prep for the entire week on Sunday, etc.
Bulk breakfast, simple lunch, complex dinner
This plan worked great for me. Early in the week, I would make a HUGE breakfast skillet that would last me 4-5 days. This made my mornings thoughtless and I could add an egg or avocado to switch things up. For lunch, I would do something simple like canned tuna with avocado and mayo, lettuce wraps with Whole30 approved lunch meat or chicken sausage, or leftovers from dinner the night before. Quick, easy, and delicious. Dinner was my time to switch things up and to try all kinds of new recipes. I rekindled my love for cooking during the Whole30 by trying out complex recipes that I had never made before.
Real Plans for Whole30 Recipes
Okay gang, Real Plans saved me during my first Whole30. Real Plans is a meal planner that is customizable to your wants, needs, schedule, you name it, they've got it. I was able to customize my own meal planner, and they let me exclude cauliflower from any recipe, because yuck. Real Plans generates new Whole30 approved recipes to try each week based on the foods you like. If something popped up that I wasn't interested in, I deleted it and found a new one. It makes meal planning thoughtless! It also generates a shopping list for what you need each day. Download the Real Plans app on your phone and use it to check off items as you shop.
Leftovers are your friend
I hated leftovers. If the food wasn't from a restaurant, I would not eat it leftover, simple as that. I had to drastically change my leftovers mentality when doing the Whole30. I'm not kidding when I say that you will do more dishes than you've ever done in your life. Whole30 means eating whole foods, and usually those whole foods have to be cooked in some way. The only way to bypass cooking 90 times in a month is to suck it up and eat the leftovers. Make your dinners in bulk so that you can eat them for lunches or freeze portions for times when cooking just ain't gonna happen.
Make sure you're eating enough fat
In a country that's been taught to stay away from fat, it can be hard to switch your mentality to understanding that fat is your friend. A really common mistake on the Whole30 is not eating enough fat. This will leave you feeling groggy, hungry, and won't get you to that Tiger Blood. Add a healthy source of fat like avocado, olive oil, olives, or a handful of nuts to your meals to keep you satisfied.
Find an accountability partner
This is another big one. Accountability makes all the difference in doing the Whole30. It's hard to go 30 days without even a fleeting thought of quitting. It's hard, you don't feel great until you're at least a week in, but you WILL get there if you stick to it. And nothing holds you more accountable than having someone there to cheer you on. So recruit your mom, your significant other, or your coworkers and pass along these tips to help them complete a successful Whole30, as well!
Have you done the Whole30 before? Share your experience!
Comment below and share what worked for you, what didn't, or any encouragement you have for someone doing their Whole30!