I’ll never be one of those people who tell you that Whole 30
is easy. It’s not. But at the same time, it wasn’t quite as hard
as I had made it out to be in my head either.
Funny how it works out that way huh? We psyche ourselves out waaaaaaay
more than we need to. In order to combat
that, I feel it’s best to go in as prepared as possible. I’ve compiled a list of tips from my Whole 30
experience that will hopefully help some of you that are nervous or on the fence
about taking the plunge.
Read The Book
Yes,
you can find out the basics of everything you need to know just from scrolling
the website, but I still strongly advise people to read the book. It explains everything more in depth and that
extra explanation helps you embrace the process better. I had followed Whole 30 and Melissa Hartwig on
social media for YEARS prior to embarking on a Whole 30 so I pretty much knew
the ins and outs of the program. Even
so, I still read the book (las minute, the day before and Day 1 of starting….cuz
that’s how I roll) and am so glad that I did.
It elevated the “rules” from just being a list of don’ts to something
that felt more purposeful rather than something just there to be tough. Does that make sense? I don’t know….just read the damn book. :😉
Strategic Timing
I strongly suggest
planning your Whole 30 for a month that’s more on the mellow side. In my opinion, the less travel, holidays, and
social events the better. Obviously,
this is unavoidable for some and there will never be a completely perfect time
but do the best you can. I planned mine
for mid-January. It was post-holiday
madness but pre “everyone in my family has a birthday” month. I also avoided eating out at restaurants. While eating out on Whole 30 is possible, it
was more work and stress than felt worth it for me.
Some may argue that the point of Whole 30 is being able to
attend events and restaurants while still sticking to it and making good decisions,
but I say why make it harder on yourself? There’s enough going on during your
Whole 30 without adding in the stress of trying to find something you can eat
or being tempted by everything around you.
Personally, I think the eating out restaurants and attending social
events with off plan food is better suited for post Whole 30 while you are entering
your Food Freedom. At that point you no
longer have such strict rules but can put everything you learned about yourself
and the foods you eat into practice to make better decisions.
Take full advantage of the times you are feeling extra motivated
Day 1 I was like a machine! I was
simmering bone broth, clarifying butter, making mayo, and making my own
breakfast sausage to cook and freeze for quick and easy breakfasts. My advice is to stay on top of things that
can get you ahead when you are feeling it, because there will be PLENTY of days
when you won’t be and it could save your butt.
If I was feeling a little motivated and had a small pocket of time I
would find something I could do. I
wouldn’t be completely out of mayo but was getting close so I would whip up a
new batch really fast. Or snap the green
beans to use in the next few days.
Anything helps!
Identify what your biggest struggles might be and develop a
plan
Like I mentioned in THIS POST, I
predicted breakfast and all the prep work would be my biggest struggles and
they were. I went into it with a plan
for if/when they reared their head. For
breakfast I took it slow and just tried a bit more and a bit earlier each day
while not trying to place too much pressure on myself thus making the situation
worse.
For the prepping portion, I made sure I had a few plans in
place for days I really didn’t want to cook.
I saved the trip to Five Guys for when I was completely over it and the
thought of having to cook made me just want to go to bed. This kept it as a
welcomed break from the norm and a novel treat.
Keep some of those in your arsenal!!
I also toyed around
with the idea of getting a Whole 30 compliant meal box delivery if I really
needed it. I would still have to cook,
but it would require a lot less thinking on my part. I ended up not doing this, but don’t hesitate
to do so if it will help keep you sane and get you through a rough patch.
Be observant
Really
try your best to be observant of your body and behavior during the 30 days. If you don’t take the time to notice the
changes you will be much more likely to give in to the “fuck it” mindset where
you convince yourself that NOTHING is even changing so what’s the point? I guarantee that if you really stop and think
about it you will find something(s) that will help keep you motivated to keep
going. For me it was being able to eat a
meal without looking 6 months pregnant afterwards and not having a noisy
stomach that embarrasses me in meetings
Cooking & Cleaning
Stock up on plenty of parchment and
foil! Whole 30 inherently comes with a
lot of prep work and dishes and lining your pans with these things makes clean
up soooooo much easier and faster. I
also tried to cook using as few pans as possible. One pot/pan meals became my jam! Even if they aren’t a “one pot meal” most
meals can be cooked only using a few items if you think them out a little
first. Stagger the cooking of things and
you can often keep reusing the same pan with just a simple wipe
out....sometimes I don’t wipe it out at all and just let the flavors roll over 😊
And it may not be a possibility for everyone, but if you are
able to wash your dishes at work...do it!!
I spent a lot of years throwing my dirty Tupperware back into my
lunchbox without cleaning it. Now I
always clean them at the sink in the work breakroom. Having a few less dishes to do once I get
home makes all the difference and I’m not dirtying multiple Tupperware
sets. I bring them home already clean
and ready to pack the next days lunch without digging around for another set.
Keep it interesting, but not overwhelming
As Melissa Hartwig says “ You don’t get bonus
points for making your whole 30 harder than it needs to be” This one sort of piggy backs of the “take
advantage of the times you’re feeling motivated” point.
I don’t suggests planning out an elaborate and time-consuming meal every
night for dinner...for pretty obvious reasons. You will get burnt out FAST and
will be more likely to go off the rails.
What I found worked best for me was trying to balance out enough of the
interesting meals that might take more work with the really simple ones that
can be whipped up in 10-15 minutes. One
day making Cracklin chicken, fried plantains, broccoli, and aioli dip was
totally doable. The next night I would be throwing some Applegate hot dogs in a
pan with a salad and calling it a day.
I kept things like compliant hot dogs, sausages, and bacon on hand at
all times without actually menu planning them for any particular day. I saved them for when I needed something in a
pinch. If I had kept it that simple
everyday though I would have for sure gotten bored which also may have made me
jump ship. It was all about the balance
of the two that made me successful
Be Prepared
In the infamous words of Scar....
Seriously though, always have emergency food with you! There was only one time that I epically failed
in this department. I had not packed a
hearty enough or fat filled lunch and then went running errands after
work. With the added errands it had been
many hours since I had last eaten and wouldn’t be having dinner for some time
even when I did get home. I was walking
around one store when I started to feel woozy.
By the second store I was barely able to hold my hand basket and was
having to stop to set it down and take breaks.
I was fading fast. Luckily, I was
able to buy something that was compliant and rip into it the second I was
walking out of the store and inhaled it in my car. It was far from an ideal situation but taught
me a lesson. From that point on I was
never without emergency food and made an effort to pack more satiating meals
for work.
Do the reintroduction protocol
When I began reintroduction once the 30 days
was over, I received several messages from people following along on Instagram
that told me I was the only person they knew that had done Whole 30 that actually
followed through with reintroduction. At first, I was surprised by this. Then I
thought about it for a minute and realized that nobody I knew had done it
either. I feel like the 30 days is
almost a waste if you don’t properly reintroduce the excluded foods. This means doing them one at a time (again,
read the book) to truly be able to gage how they affect you. Through reintroduction I found out that what I
thought were problem foods were not and most of my issues pointed to
dairy. If I had dived into a cheeseburger
on day 31, I would have completely assumed that the bread was the problem (because
that was what I had always thought before) and I probably would have kept
downing the dairy. What you learn from
reintroduction is invaluable.
This means that you need to commit to more than just the 30 days. At minimum you need to dedicate yourself to
40 days if you follow their protocol. I
divided my reintroduction into even more specific categories which took me into
45 days. But they were 45 COMPLETELY WORTH
IT days. Don’t shortchange yourself all
these benefits by going off the rails on Day 31. I promise it is worth it.
That about sums up my tips for a successful Whole 30. What tips do you have? Please share them in
the comments
