Planning and preparation are the key to success on the Whole30. Here are some basic steps for getting your home and your head Whole30-ready. For a more detailed step-by-step plan for getting started with the program, see pages 17 to 31 in The Whole30.
Step 1: Choose Your Start Date
Start as soon as you possibly can, but plan carefully. If you’ve got a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, a new baby due any day now, or a wedding (especially your own!) in your immediate future, consider starting the Whole30 after those events. It’s also important not to have your Whole30 end the day before a vacation, holiday, or special event. The reintroduction phase is just as critical as the 30-day elimination. Ideally, you’ll allow at least 10 days after your Whole30 is done to go through your Fast Track or Slow reintroduction, then enjoy your special event. (See page 42 in The Whole30 for reintroduction guidance.)
Finally, take a look at your calendar during the proposed 30-day period and see what business or personal commitments you have in place. If you’ve got a family dinner, a business lunch, or a bridal shower in your imminent future, excellent! Consider it an opportunity to take your Whole30 skills out on the town, and create a plan for how to handle it (see Step 4). You’ll have to deal with lots of new situations during your program, so don’t let them push your Whole30 off.
In summary, there will never be a “perfect” time to do the Whole30, so think about what you have coming up, choose a date, and circle it on your calendar in permanent marker. (Really—write it down. Habit research shows that putting your commitment on paper makes you more likely to succeed.)
Step 2: Build Your Support Team
Finding the right support network will be critical to keeping you motivated, inspired, and accountable during your program. The first step is sharing a bit about the program, leading with the things you will be eating. Say something like, “For thirty days, I’ll eat lots of whole, fresh, nutritious foods—no calorie counting at all! Breakfast could be a vegetable frittata, fresh fruit, and avocado; lunch is a spinach salad with grilled chicken, apples, pecans, and a raspberry-walnut vinaigrette; and dinner is pulled pork carnitas with roasted sweet potato and a cabbage slaw.”
You should also share with those you care about why you are choosing to embark upon this journey. Make it personal. Share your current struggles, your goals, and all the ways you believe the program will make you healthier and happier. Try something like, “Every day at three p.m., I feel like I need a nap. I’m hoping the Whole30 will help me keep my energy up without my usual afternoon soda and candy bar.”
Finally, don’t forget to ask for their support. Saying very directly, “Can I count on you to support me for the next thirty days?” lets them know how important these efforts are to you and how much you’d value their encouragement and help.
Still, despite all your best efforts, family and friends may be less than supportive of your Whole30 plan. If you’re having a hard time talking to friends and family about the Whole30 or are dealing with pushback during your conversations, read the Friends, Family, and Food section in Food Freedom Forever for guidance.
Step 3: Get Your House Ready
First, get all the stuff you won’t be eating out of the house. It’s time to clean out the pantry—be thorough; throw out the foods you won’t be eating, give them to a neighbor for safekeeping, or (if you feel right about this) donate them to a local food bank.
If you’re the only one at home doing the Whole30, dedicate one drawer in your fridge and one out-of-the-way cabinet for your family’s off-plan items, so you don’t have to reach around the Oreos every time you need a can of coconut milk.
Even if you’re not the planning type, make a plan for what you’ll eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the first three to seven days of your Whole30. Then, go grocery shopping and buy everything you need for your first set of meals, plus Whole30 pantry staples. (See whole30.com/pdf-downloads for a detailed Shopping List.)
Step 4: Plan for Success
Think about the next 30 days, and write down every potentially stressful, difficult, or complicated situation you may encounter during your Whole30. These may include business lunches, family dinners, travel plans, a long day at work, birthday parties, holiday celebrations, office gatherings, family stress, job stress, financial stress . . . anything you think might derail your Whole30 train. Then, make a plan for how you’ll handle it. Use if/then statements when crafting plans. Some examples might include:
Business lunch: If my coworkers pressure me to have a drink, then I’ll say, “I’m doing this food experiment to see if I can improve my allergies, so no alcohol right now—I’ll just have a mineral water, please.”
Family dinner: If Mom invites me out for dinner, then I’ll either choose a Whole30-friendly restaurant or ask if we can cook together instead.
Travel day: If I get to the airport and my flight is delayed, then I’ll snack on the meat stick, apples, baby carrots, and small packet of almond butter I brought in my carry-on.
Finally, find three quick and easy “go-to” recipes in this cookbook; meals you can make in 20 minutes or less with foods you always have on hand. Write your list down and pin it to your fridge so you’ll always have a plan for nights when things just get crazy.
Step 5: Toss That Scale
This is your last and final step in preparing for the Whole30—for the next 30 days, get rid of your scale. Put it in the garage, give it to a friend to “hold,” or better yet, take it out back and introduce it to your sledgehammer in a nice little pre-Whole30 ritual.
We don’t want you to ignore your body for the next 30 days—keep an eye on how your clothes are fitting, whether your stomach is flatter, your rings are looser, or your skin is clearer. You can also take before and after measurements; weigh yourself, take body measurements, and/or a photograph on Day 0, and then again on Day 31.
Ready, Set, Whole30!
And with that (and perhaps a quick refresher of the program details, FAQs, and Whole30 Timeline in The Whole30), it’s time for your Whole30 journey to begin! But before we jump straight into the food, let’s talk about some planning and preparation tips to make the most of your Whole30 Fast and Easy recipes.