A Guide to Surviving Whole30

Y’all. I have been thinking about doing this post for MONTHS now. I am excited to share what I have learned and I plan on breaking it up into a series of posts for the next few weeks.

As some of you know, I completed my first round of Whole30 this past summer. I didn’t announce it on social media or anything really. To be honest, I just didn’t want to say I started something only to fail like a week in {cue every other diet I have ever tried}. I was so determined to get through the 30 days of clean eating and I just truly wanted to succeed in a goal I made for myself.

My Initial Whole30 Results:

The photo on the left was taken about a year ago at my sister’s bridal shower. I had Ben just about 3 months before and was eating whatever was easy, because I had two kids under 18 months. The photo on the right was taken the last week of Whole30 (Round 1). All in all, I lost 6 lbs in a month, and about 4 inches from my waist.

^^These were taken exactly a year apart^^

Whole 30 in a Nutshell

• Eliminate any and all added sugar, grains, legumes, dairy and alcohol.
  • This is ultimately cutting out most of the foods that could be attributing to inflammation, chronic pain, digestive issues
• Eat REAL food.
  • Meats, eggs, vegetables, fruit, healthy fats.
  • basically, when you read the ingredients, make sure you can pronounce all of them!
• Eat three whole meals, without distractions (impossible for this mama). The creator of the program really encourages participants to eat meals large enough that will keep you satisfied until your meal and eat intentionally. Snacking is not necessarily a no-no, but needs to be intentional as well.

Tips and Tricks to get you Started:

• Choose a day to start and START. I recommend you doing your own research before by reading It Starts With Food and Whole 30 Books, check out the Whole30 website, and be mindful of your calendar.
  • Don’t try to start a Whole30 when you will be leaving for your anniversary trip on Day 15. Just start when you get back!
• Tell someone about your plan. Have them hold you accountable. David did not necessarily do a Whole30 with me, but he sure as heck made sure I stuck with it, even on days I wanted to quit.
• PLAN AHEAD. I know this sounds so cliche and everyone says it, but it is TRUE. There will be days when you are tired, cranky, and hungry and all you want to do is drive through and get a burger. It makes life a little easier when you have a meal planned and possibly prepped ahead of time. I love using RealPlans. It does cost money to use it, but it seriously is awesome. I could write a whole post about RealPlans. Maybe I will…
• Make extras. I try to make sure I always have food left over at dinner so I can have it for lunch the next day.
• Be prepared to say no. It sucks to say no to happy hour after work or that Starbucks drive thru calling your name (HAYYY PSL)… Just remember why you are doing this in the first place. Dig your heels in and be stubborn about this. Seriously. It will be worth it.
• Try new things! I have discovered some of my new favorite recipes just from trying something new. I will be sharing some of these recipes in the upcoming weeks.
• Drink LOTS of water. This is something I constantly struggle with but it helps when you have fun water like La Croix or Topo Chico… 😉 Drinking water helps you feel full and helps curb those cravings.
• Have an “Emergency Meal Plan” when your day does not go as planned and your planned meal just isn’t going to work. I have a list written on the side of my fridge with options: Turkey Burger with Avocado, Scrambled Eggs with Chicken Apple Sausage, Sweet Potato with Almond Butter… just to name a few. It doesn’t have to be pretty, but it does have to be compliant!

Pros of Whole30

• No calorie counting, dealing with macros, etc!
• No portion sizes to fret over… just general guidelines.
  • The program suggests palm sized amount of protein and a plate filled with veggies…but if you are hungry and want more, by all means, get more.
• Sweet Potatoes, Regular Potatoes, Coffee, Avocados, Bacon and even Bacon fat are ALLOWED. GLORY GLORY HALLELUJAH.
  • This is not a joke, y’all.
• Energy levels increase the further into the program you get. Now, this is totally subjective because I have two toddlers that demand all of mama’s strength just to make it to bedtime.
• According to the program founders, there have been many reports of improved health and diminishing symptoms of a variety of ailments from following the program.

Cons of Whole30

• If I had a nickel every minute I spent in my kitchen, I would be swimming in money, y’all. It is a LOT of time. Just be prepared.
• You will experience a “hangover” from sugar. It is not pleasant, but you can get through it.
• If you had a social life before (I didn’t), you might not have one for the next 30 days. It’s a whole lot easier to just whip up a dinner at home than try to order something compliant at a restaurant.
  • Side note: If you do need to go to a restaurant for some special occasion, get a salad (olive oil on the side) or a burger with no bun (avocado on top).

IMPORTANT: This is mentioned in the books listed above, but this resonated so much with me. If you are going to do a Whole30, do it ALL OUT. You are not going to get the results you want if you are kind of doing one, or just have a bite of bread once in a while. The whole idea of the program is to COMPLETELY eliminate the foods that cause inflammation in your body and allow time to heal. Don’t cheat. Or you will have to start over. It’s not worth it.

I could go on and on, but I won’t… I will save it for another day! 😉 My sister Mariah ROCKED her Whole30 IN AFRICA. So, if she can do it in a 3rd world country, you can do it. Her little schedule was the cutest.

 

For my fellow Whole30 veterans, what would you add to the Tips and Tricks?

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