In graduate school, I wasn't feeling healthy and struggled with feeling positive about myself emotionally and physically. I felt convicted to change the way I was eating and ended up doing Whole30.
Whole30 is a detox in which you cut out potential inflammatory foods (i.e. sugar, grains, dairy, legumes, soy, alcohol, MSG, sulfites, or carrageenan). The point is to train your body to run on nutritionally dense foods that your body craves. I know people who are skeptical of Whole30, but my experience was wonderful.
1. Keep it simple
Whole30 takes a lot of time and energy. Figure out how you can realistically and simply make it work. Scrambled eggs and compliant Lara bars were breakfast staples! Foods with little prep time or were easy to grab made Whole30 easier. In the end, you have to make Whole30 fit into your life.
2. Read the Whole30 guide and peruse the cookbooks before starting
This guide helps you fully understand the intention behind the program. It gives you the complete guidelines of Whole30. Once I decided to do Whole30, I read this book. I felt motivated and immediately started making a list of all the food I would need.
3. Follow Whole30 accounts on social media to get good recipes
There are so many amazing food bloggers and chefs who frequently post Whole30 recipes on social media. You can get simple recipes in a pinch when you have no idea what to cook for dinner. One of my favorite meals I found on the Whole30 recipes Instagram page was a crockpot teriyaki chicken recipe.
4. Give your friends and family a heads up and gather support
I had several friends who supported me while I was doing my Whole30. Some of my friends had done it before, and some friends did it after I did. It was helpful to have encouragement and validation. I didn't join any Whole30 groups, but even little things like having my mom make me Whole30 pot roast when I was home from school on the weekend was such a big support.
5. Make cooking and grocery shopping a priority
Cooking and grocery shopping take time and devotion during a Whole30. I was at the grocery store almost every day and my life kind of revolved around it. It's hard to make it a priority, but it gets pretty systematic. You definitely save money by not eating out as much. It was worth the time and energy.
6. Create a semi-structured game plan for the 30 days
I am awful at meal planning. When I did my Whole30, I picked out the recipes that I wanted to try from the books and scrolled through Instagram to find other recipes to make. I made enough food that I could eat a couple meals off of them. A lot of them were crockpot meals, which made my life easier. Having at least somewhat of an idea of what you're going to eat is necessary.
7. Don't plan to cheat, but forgive yourself and move on if you do
Melissa Hartwig would probably argue with me on this, but there is a major learning curve with Whole30 rules. It's incredibly easy to mess up, and you should technically start over if you do. I probably spent more time in the grocery store googling ingredients to make sure they were Whole30 compliant than physically getting the food and checking out to avoid messing up. Do your best with every intention to follow the rules.
8. Plan your Whole30 at a time when you know that you will have few life obstacles
Obviously, Christmas isn't an ideal time to be doing a Whole30. Though you could eat Whole30 style all the time, there are times that are more practical. Evaluate your whole year, and figure out where Whole30 would fit in best. I did mine when I started my second year of graduate school. I had just moved and was able to have a fresh start grocery shopping. I was also energized and wasn't too deep into the school year yet.
9. Don't cut yourself off from your social circle
Activity with my friends tends to center around eating or drinking. Whole30 does not lend itself well to this sort of lifestyle. I did go out with friends and eat according to the rules. It takes a lot of strength not to indulge in Chili's chips and salsa. However, I would suggest supplementing those times with activities that don't center around food. Don't let Whole30 hinder your social life!
10. Don't focus just on weight loss as a benefit
While I definitely lost weight, it was only one benefit of the entire detox. I had more energy, slept well, was able to focus better, and didn't give in to cravings as much. One of the biggest benefits that I was surprised to see was on my skin. Normally, I have really dry skin. After Whole30, my skin was not dry at all, and I was told I had a healthy glow. I'm still learning how to balance health and food. Whole30 was definitely a step in the right direction.
