“Whole30 has changed my life. In December of 2011, I was topping the scale at 200 pounds. My body and joints ached every day. I was always tired, not sleeping well, fighting acne and eczema. I wanted to change but didn’t know how. I bought your book, and jumped right into the Whole30 in January 2012. Needless to say, I was blown away! I ended up doing a Whole90, and lost 30 pounds in three months. I was sleeping like a baby, my eczema cleared up, my acne went away, my period cramps lessened, my energy skyrocketed, and I was so much more positive! Three years and five Whole30s later, I was 60 pounds lighter, and went from barely squeezing into a size 15 to wearing a size 4. I’ve become so passionate about health that I am now a certified health coach and just finished a 200-hour yoga teacher training.”
—Heather F., Boston, MA
Now that you know what you’re signing up for, it’s time to actually sign up. Yes, we’re asking you to commit to the program now—but that doesn’t mean starting right this minute. We’re excited that you’re excited, but there’s a whole lot of preparation to be done before you can successfully kick off your Whole30.
You may need just a day or two to get ready, or you may need a week or two to get your house (and your head) around the changes you’re about to introduce. There is no one perfect timeline—you’ll have to decide what works best for you.
In this mega-chapter, we’ll outline our five-step process to fully prepare you for the Whole30; things you’ll have to consider, strategize, and get in order before Day 1.
Speaking of Day 1 . . .
While we do encourage you to start as soon as you possibly can, there are a few things to consider before you circle that date on your calendar. While it represents just a blip in your whole lifespan, 30 days is still a long time, and we want you to think about what’s coming up during and immediately after your Whole30.
If you’ve got a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, a planned trip to an unfamiliar location, or a wedding (especially your own!) in your immediate future, consider starting the Whole30 after those events. Navigating the Whole30 for the first time under those conditions may prove extremely difficult, and we don’t want you stressed out before your program even begins. In addition, you may end up resenting the Whole30 instead of learning from it if you are forced to pass up pasta in Italy or your own wedding cake because you’re on Day 15.
This is just the first of 172 times you’ll hear us say “planning and preparation” in this book. (We didn’t actually count, but that’s a fair estimate.) Please, even if you’re really anxious to get started, don’t skip the planning process. Habit research shows that when people get excited and jump from contemplation (thinking about the program) straight to action (starting the program) they’re less likely to see the change through. Why? Because you’ve not taken the time to prepare, mentally or physically—and on the Whole30, that spells trouble.
We’re tough, but not so tough we’d want you to miss out on your own wedding cake.
It’s also important not to have your Whole30 end the day before a vacation, holiday, or special event where you know you’ll want to eat All the Things. As you’ll read in the Reintroduction FAQ, the Reintroduction portion of the program is just as critical as the 30-day elimination. Ideally, you’ll allow a full ten days after your Whole30 is done to go through the schedule as outlined, then enjoy your vacation, honeymoon, or family reunion.
In fact, if you can plan well enough in advance, starting your Whole30 exactly 40 days before your special event is actually perfect timing. You’ll be feeling so good from your Whole30 experience, your new habits will feel solidly in place, and you’ll know (thanks to your reintroduction) exactly which foods you want to avoid going forward, because their negative consequences just aren’t worth it. What a great time to head into a vacation or special event—with all the self-confidence, energy, and awareness that the Whole30 has to offer. We bet if you set it up this way, you’ll find your vacation is healthier and happier, and you won’t have to spend the next six weeks struggling to get “back on track” like every other vacation you’ve ever taken.
In addition, if you’ve got an important athletic event or an A-level race in the coming month, consider starting the program after your event is over, as your performance may suffer during the first few weeks of the program. (See Troubleshooting Your Whole30 for details.)
If you’re a professional or sponsored athlete (or if your sport is your full-time job), start the Whole30 on your off-season, and work with your coach or trainer to implement the program in a way that’s right for your specific performance goals. Note, however, the Whole30 is not a performance-focused program. We have a health focus, and as such, have not designed the rules or recommendations with elite athletes in mind. Of course the anti-inflammatory nature of the program helps with sleep, recovery, nutrient absorption . . . all things that bode well for your performance. But you and your coach may find you’ll have to choose between the health benefits of the Whole30 and maintaining your highest level of performance, which is why we encourage you not to take it on until your “prime” season is over.
Now here’s a little bit of tough love.
If you’re not getting paid for your performance, it’s not that important.
Not compared to your health, at least. If you’ve got a community-wide exercise competition, an obstacle race, or a charity 5K, don’t let that hold you up from starting your Whole30. Those events are more about the socialization, camaraderie, and memories than they are about your finish time or score, aren’t they?
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. You’ll have to deal with lots of new situations during your program, so write these events into your plan for the month (see Prepare, prepare, prepare some more), but 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.)
And with that, it’s official—you have your Whole30 start date!
Once you’ve decided when you’re going to start . . . tell someone! Anyone! Everyone! Write your start date on the whiteboard at work, tell everyone you talk to at the gym, introduce yourself on our Whole30 Forum, and post one of our graphics (see Resources) on your Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter feeds. Scientists studying change and habit say that if you share your commitment with friends and family, you are much more likely to stick to it. Knowing others are going to ask how your Whole30 is going offers you both a source of motivation and a little healthy peer pressure, and gives you the perfect opportunity to recruit some support for when the going gets tough. (“I’m starting the Whole30 tomorrow. Will you be my phone-a-friend if I’m tempted to go off-plan?”) Plus, your public commitment will likely prompt interest from family and friends, and you may just recruit a Whole30 buddy or two!
For many of you, the Whole30 will be a radical lifestyle change—and that kind of change is hard when you’re going it alone. Finding the right support network will be critical to keeping you motivated, inspired, and accountable during your program. You’ve already done the first step—choosing a start date, and publicly announcing your commitment. Why not take that opportunity to recruit some in-person support from the people who care about you the most? They don’t have to do the Whole30 with you—they just have to support your health efforts for the next 30 days.
Maybe you’re nervous about asking friends and family for help. It’s really not that hard.
Remember they love you, and only want the best for you.
The first step is sharing a bit about the program. Explain that this is a lifestyle change, not a crash diet or weight-loss plan. Describe it as a 30-day experiment, after which you’ll know a lot more about what foods are having a negative impact on your cravings, energy, sleep, and health. Be sure to mention that you aren’t cutting calories, carbs, or fat—in fact, you’ll be eating as much real, whole, nutrient-dense food as you want—and that there are no pills, meal replacements, or packaged foods to buy. In fact, the entire program and a ton of resources are available for free online!
You should also share why you are choosing to embark upon this journey with those you care about. If you’re looking for their support, now is not the time to be vague—thinks like, “it can really help with energy” aren’t going to be very engaging. Make it personal. Share your current struggles, your goals, and all of the ways you believe the program will make you healthier and happier.
If you’re speaking to those closest to you, share from the heart, and let them know the challenges you’ve been facing with your emotional relationship with food, your cravings, your habits, and your health. When it comes to co-workers, don’t get into graphic detail; try something like, “Every day at 3 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. It’s nice that you’re telling them more about your life and your aspirations, but how are they supposed to know they have a role to play here unless you tell them? Saying very directly, “Can I count on you to support me for the next 30 days?” lets them know how important these efforts are to you, and how much you’d value their encouragement and help. Even better, ask them how they think they could support you. They may come up with some creative ideas you’d never considered, and asking them to participate in the process will make them feel even more engaged.
If you want to get people on your side, you have to lead with the things you will be eating, not the list of things you’re not eating. If you start the conversation with “I’m not eating sugar, grains, legumes, or dairy, and no alcohol—turns out those things are really bad for you,” you’ll probably alienate them immediately. First, they almost certainly have some of those foods in their diet, and they may feel like now that you’re on this healthy plan, you’ll be judging their food choices. Second, they may look at the list of “can’t” items, think, “What the heck do you eat?” and immediately write the Whole30 off as some extreme fad diet. Now, imagine leading with this: “For 30 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. Sounds good, right?” Now that’s a totally different conversation—one that’s likely to earn you a high-five, and maybe even a “Where do I sign up for that?”
Still, despite all your best efforts, there are reasons that family and friends may be less than supportive of your Whole30 plan. They could be a little jaded—be honest, have you announced your “commitment” to every diet on the planet, only to crash and burn a week into it? They could be worried about your health, misunderstanding the principles of the Whole30 or confusing it for a crash or fad diet. They could be feeling slightly defensive, wondering if your new, healthy habits will make them feel guilty for their less-than-ideal behaviors. Or they could be plain old jealous, wanting to make lifestyle changes themselves, but not knowing where or how to start. If you find yourself doing the Whole30 alone, we’ve created a variety of ways to find the support you need virtually, through our community.
First, you can subscribe to the Whole30 Daily (www.w30.co/w30daily), a newsletter service straight to your inbox, every day of your Whole30. We’ve created 32 days of information (including a Day 0 and Day 31) written just for you, specific to that particular day of your Whole30. (After watching hundreds of thousands of people run through our program, we know exactly the kind of guidance you need, and when you need it.)
It’s our way of checking in with you during every day of your Whole30, filling your inbox with positive messages, helpful instructions, and a vast number of resources. We’ll provide you with specially developed guidance (especially in the first week); resources to make shopping, prepping, cooking, avoiding temptation, exercising, sleeping, and managing your stress that much easier during your program; and give you introspective assignments designed to keep you focused and aware during every stage of your Whole30.
We’ve also built in some accountability—at the end of every day, you’ll have to click the button that says, “I completed another day of the Whole30!” Yep, that means we’re waiting to hear how you did on your program every single day, which gives you even more incentive to stay committed and see your program through.
Next, make friends on the Whole30 Forum (www.w30.co/joinw30). The Forum is another way to connect with others doing the program, and learn from the many “veterans” who stick around to offer support to the new folks. With tens of thousands of participants and a fantastic team of Whole30 expert moderators, our Forum is the friendliest, most collaborative, most supportive community you could imagine.
If you’re hoping to find someone to do the program with you, be strategic in sharing your motivations for completing the program. Chances are, your sedentary best friend won’t relate to you saying, “I really want to cut my 5K time by five minutes, and the Whole30 helps with recovery from exercise.” But if you can find some common ground, or something you know he’s been troubled by, all of a sudden your pitch takes on more relevance. Tell your skin-sensitive buddy, “My skin was breaking out like crazy for a while. The Whole30 will help me figure out which foods make my skin freak out—the before and after pictures I’ve seen are amazing.” Sneaky? Maybe a little . . . but we like to think it’s for the greater good.
In particular, the Whole30 Logs allow you to share your day-to-day experience with our community, and stay in touch with others who started their program on the same day you did. Feel free to start your own threads, search for specific questions, and post on others’ threads to connect with our fantastic members during (and after) your program.
Finally, connect with other Whole30 participants on social media. Our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds are a thriving part of our Whole30 community, and a fun way for you to participate and connect. Our Instagram feed and #whole30 hashtag are particularly active—we post new, fun content several times a day, and connect with program participants when they tag us in their posts. If you need support at 2 a.m., want a quick recipe for dinner, or have a grocery shopping moment of crisis, our social media pages are the place to get sympathy, support, and advice fast. (See Resources for our social media feeds.)
Want to make the most of your social media Whole30 interactions? Get your hashtags in order. (Hashtags are used in social media to identify messages within a specific topic, like a searchable way to categorize your posts.) Our program’s official hashtag is #whole30. By adding this hashtag to your Whole30-related posts, our social media team and others looking for Whole30 inspiration will be able to view your photo and connect with you. You can also search for this hashtag on any social media platform and see what others are sharing about the program. However, that’s not the only hashtag you’ll see on the Whole30 feeds! Search for #nonscalevictory to see how people are finding Whole30 success without stepping on the scale, #whole30recipes for dinner inspiration, and #whole30problems to see a tongue-in-cheek look at some of the “problems” you may have as a result of your Whole30, like having to buy new pants because yours are now too big. We’re #sorrynotsorry about that one.
Now that you’ve chosen a start date and lined up your supporters, it’s time to get your house in order. This means, in part, cleaning out the junk food and creating a structured plan to work around family members not participating in the program. This is a critical step in ensuring your Whole30 success, so don’t skip it! Remember, planning and preparation is everything when it comes to making a dramatic lifestyle change like the Whole30.
You also need to do this because of a concept called “hyperbolic discounting.”
This is an economics term that, if you’re generous, could be applied to this “clean out the junk” situation. The idea is that you pay lots of attention to what’s happening today, but pay less attention to what’s happening in the future, because you think that Future You has way more free time, strength, and capacity. How does this apply here?
Today, you’re on fire. You’re feeling strong and confident and so excited about your Whole30 journey. You look at the chocolate, cookies, and chips sitting in your pantry and think, “I don’t need those. I don’t even want those.” And you’ll smugly just push them a little to the side and leave them there, because it’s a pain to figure out what to do with them, and you think Future You will feel just as strong, confident, and excited as Today You.
But you won’t.
At some point (many points), Future You will be stressed, craving, cranky, and doubting your own capacity. Future You will see that chocolate bar, package of cookies, and bag of chips and be so incredibly tormented by them. So much so that Future You may actually cave to the stress and temptation and eat one, bringing about the familiar cycle of guilt, shame, and remorse and breaking your Whole30 reset.
Don’t discount Future You. Deal with the junk now, because you’re feeling strong, so you have some breathing room when things get tough.
Future You will be grateful.
Habit research shows that the average craving lasts only 3–5 minutes. If the stuff you’re craving is anywhere nearby, that spells trouble. If it’s not in the house, however, you’ve bought yourself some time. By the time you change out of your pajama pants, find your keys, grab your wallet, and head for the door, the craving has passed, and you’ve stuck to your Whole30 another day. Whew. For more craving-busting tips, see Craving Busters.
First, get all the stuff you won’t be eating out of the house. Having tempting food-with-no-brakes just sitting around is a recipe for home-alone emotional binging, late-night stress eating, and enough constant temptation to wear out your willpower fast. So let’s put some distance between you and those potato chips, shall we?
It’s time to clean out the pantry—and we mean clean. it. out. Be rigorous here! The more thorough you are now, the easier time Future You will have distracting him- or herself from cravings. (Don’t think you can get away with sticking it in a shoe box way in the back of your closet, either. Do you think Future You won’t know it’s there?)
So 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.
One of the best parts of being an adult is the ability to make big decisions about your own life. Unfortunately, we don’t get to make those decisions for the other adults in our lives, even when we think they’re the right ones. You can’t force your spouse or partner to eat what you eat, but you can (and should) commit to the Whole30 whole-heartedly if you believe it’s the right thing for your health and happiness, even if no one else is on board.
You may also propose bringing kids along for the journey, but if your spouse insists they “deserve” their treats (and even undermines your authority on this one), don’t fight it right now. This month is about changing your life and settling into your own new habits—that has to take priority until this lifestyle feels manageable and easy for you.
If you’re the only one at home doing the Whole30, chances are your family isn’t going to take kindly to you tossing out their favorite snacks and desserts. 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.
At the same time, be very clear about how their actions could either help or hinder your efforts. Be specific about your expectations around junk or snack food: “Please don’t offer me chocolate, even as a joke. That would be hard for me to turn down, and I really want to stay committed to this program for my health.” However, don’t expect them to totally change their habits just to accommodate you. Know that if family movie night generally involves popcorn and candy, you’re going to need a plan to participate without feeling left out, so have a plan (like making a batch of kale chips and brewing a cup of herbal tea) before they break out the air-popper.
Even if your family won’t do the program with you, it’s still important that they support you in your journey. Write down your motivation for completing the program specific to your family: “I want more energy to play with you on the weekend” or “I want less joint pain so we can hike as a family.” Hang it somewhere you can all see it every day. Share your motivation with your family and explain to them why you are committed to this program. Communicate why it’s important to you, but agree not to nag, fuss, or fight about what they choose to eat. Finally, make a list of ways you can all treat yourselves (without food) during these 30 days, and then make the time as a family to do it.
Your family may be worried that you’ll “spoil” family traditions like movie night or Sunday pancake breakfast because you’re now making different food choices. As always, communication here is key. Talk to your family about their concerns, and get their input on how to preserve the tradition in a way that works for everyone. Institute a family bike ride or board game after dinner instead of an ice-cream fest, and assure your kids that you’ll still enjoy breakfast in your pajamas with them on Sunday morning. Don’t become a Whole30 hermit! Find ways to enjoy the social interaction of date night, birthday parties, or other family gatherings while staying true to the Whole30. You’ll get support simply by socializing, and your family will see this lifestyle isn’t so limiting after all.
Finally, if you’re the primary grocery shopper and cook in your household, determine ahead of time how much modification you’re willing to make to your shopping list and the meals you prepare. Will you still buy their chips, snack cakes, and candy, or will they have to buy those things themselves? Will you make separate breakfasts and lunches, but only one compliant dinner? Will you make only Whole30 meals, and they can add their own dinner roll, side of rice, or soy sauce if they choose?
Communicate your decision ahead of time to your family—don’t wait until dinnertime to announce that you’re not making the pasta they requested. Involve them in the process, if they’re willing. (“Would you rather have sweet potato or roasted butternut squash tonight?”) And try to find at least one part of each meal that everyone at the table can enjoy together, like a salad with homemade ranch dressing, a grilled steak, or our watermelon salad, to give them a taste (literally) of your Whole30.
Now that you’ve got space in your pantry and a family food strategy, it’s time to focus on what you’ll be eating for the next 30 days.
Even if you’re not the planning type, you really want to have at least the first few days of Whole30 meals planned. First, as we’ll explain in our Grocery Shopping section, it’s economical, ensuring you’ll buy only what you need and won’t have to throw away food you ended up not eating. But more important than that, we want to do everything we can to keep our brain happy during what is sure to be a tumultuous ride, and . . .
The brain loves a plan.
Back in the 1920s, a Russian psychologist discovered that incomplete or interrupted tasks tend to “stick around” in people’s brains, distracting us and stressing us out. This preoccupation with things left undone requires so much cognitive effort that it keeps our brains from focusing on other (more important) things. We suspect you’ve all experienced this—the distraction, unease, and restless sleep that comes from the half-completed paper due next week, the work project you’re behind on, or the email you really need to send tomorrow.
Now, let’s apply this to the Whole30.
You’re ready to start the program. You’ve got some friends supporting you. Of course, you plan on grocery shopping for some Whole30 food. But you’re going to play your meals by ear. After all, how hard can it be? A hunk of meat, fill your plate with vegetables, add some fat. Simple.
Not so simple for your brain, which senses there’s some unfinished business here. What, exactly, will you eat? Will Monday’s dinner make good leftovers for Tuesday’s lunch? You have an early meeting on Wednesday, what can you make for breakfast in under ten minutes? What the heck will you do with the Brussels sprouts you bought, anyway? This uncertainty makes your brain very unhappy, which makes you distracted, stressed, and unhappy.
Don’t underestimate how different your next 30 days are going to look from how you used to eat, even if you used to eat pretty healthy. There’s no more picking up pizza when you’re really tired, unwinding with a glass of wine after a long day, or relying on the whole-grain bagel on the breakroom counter to get you through your mid-afternoon meeting.
You cannot eat raw Brussels sprouts in a business meeting. Well, you could, but that would be weird, and not very tasty.
You really need a plan.
Make a plan for what you’ll eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the first three to seven days of your Whole30. Write it down, in detail: the complete meal, the page of the recipe or cooking technique, the ingredients you need to buy, whether you’ll make extra for leftovers. (“Cook extra chicken breasts on Tuesday, use leftovers in Harvest Chicken Salad for Wednesday lunch.”) Look at your calendar and identify challenging circumstances during this time period—early meetings, business lunches, sports matches, travel—and write down how you’ll handle them. (“Pack a Primal Pac and an RxBar on Wednesday in case my plane is delayed.”)
Now your brain is happy.
Even though you haven’t prepared, cooked, or eaten the meals, your brain still has a sense of completion because you have a plan. (Bonus: without the thought of “what am I going to eat for breakfast?” swirling around your head at midnight, you’ll sleep better, too!) So even if you’re a competent cook, a healthy eater, or a die-hard fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of person . . . trust us on this one. At least for the first few days, make a plan.
If you want to wing it for the rest of your Whole30, go right ahead . . . but if that ever stresses you out, you know exactly what to do to make your brain happy again.
Time to stock up on Whole30 foods! If you’re planning to use our seven-day meal plan, we’ve made this task really easy for you. Just download our ready-to-go shopping list at www.whole30.com/pdf-downloads and fill your cart.
If you’re going to create your own meal plan, you’ll want to read our best tips for saving time and money at the grocery store before you decide what you’ll be eating. (A budget-conscious shopping strategy may actually influence your breakfast, lunch, and dinner choices!) Turn to Making Healthy Meals Easy and read through this section before creating your meal plan and hitting the grocery store.
We’ve given you a detailed seven-day meal plan, but this is more for inspiration than an absolute directive. You’re all grown-ups, and you are fully capable of deciding for yourself what to eat for breakfast on Thursday. Read through our general plan and adapt it for your own tastes, lifestyle, family, and budget. Or, keep it simple and just do exactly what we tell you for the first week, just to get you started. We (and your brain) won’t mind that one bit.
Unless you plan on living like a recluse for the next 30 days, your Whole30 will likely be littered with obstacles. Spur-of-the-moment dinner invitations, meetings that run long, travel delays, a stressful encounter the likes of which you used to manage with wine and ice cream . . . Unfortunately, when people hit some of these unexpected tough situations, they often quit their Whole30 right then and there. Why?
Because they have no plan.
Are you seeing a theme here?
So right now, before your Whole30 actually starts, we’re going to sit down and think about the next 30 days. Let’s anticipate all of your obstacles, and make a plan for what you’ll do when you face them. We like using if/then statements when crafting our plans, so we’ll follow this template for helping you map out your best Whole30 success strategies.
First, write down every potential 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 . . . really, anything you think might come along and attempt to derail your Whole30 train.
Studies show you are two to three times more likely to succeed in your goal if you use an if/then plan than if you don’t. Here’s how it works: Habits have three parts: the cue, the routine, and the reward. If/then statements create a really strong link between the cue (the “if”) with the routine (the “then”). That strong link means you’re more likely to follow through with the action automatically, with far less effort. And “less effort” translates to “less willpower required,” which is always a good thing when highly tempting, rewarding comfort foods are involved.
If there’s nothing definitive on your calendar, use history as your guide. If the last three times you visited your mom you came home and binged on chocolate, that’s one “if.” If the last time you had a late, stressful night at the office, you broke open the wine, that’s another. It won’t hurt for you to over-plan at this juncture—the more situations you’ve accounted for, the more relaxed your brain will be, and the more likely you are to stick to your Whole30 when challenges come up.
The next step is to create the “then” part of your plan for each potentially difficult situation: “If this happens, then I’ll do this.” Again, you’ll want to write this down. Here are some examples:
Business lunch: If my co-workers pressure me to have a drink, then I’ll say, “I’m doing this food experiment to see if I can make my allergies better—I’ll just have a mineral water, please.” (Or, use a strategy outlined in our Dining Out chapter.)
Family dinner: If Mom invites me out for dinner, then I’ll remind her I’m doing the Whole30, and ask if I can cook for her instead.
Family dinner part 2: If my mom insists on taking me out, then I’ll ask her if we can go to (Whole30-friendly restaurant), because it’s my favorite and I haven’t been in ages.
Family dinner part 3: If dinner at my mom’s turns into an inquisition about my “crazy diet,” then I’ll tell them I’m happy to share all the details after dinner, and change the subject by asking someone a question about their life.
Travel day: If I get to the airport and my flight is delayed, then I’ll snack on the Primal Pacs, apples, carrot sticks, and the individually sized packet of almond butter I brought in my carry-on.
Stuck in traffic: If I get stuck in bad traffic, then I’ll put on my favorite podcast and snack on the dried fruit-and-nut bar I keep in my glove compartment for emergencies.
Birthday party: If my office has a birthday celebration, then I’ll make sure I’ve already eaten when I arrive at the party, politely refuse the cake, but stick around and socialize with all of my co-workers.
Holiday: If I’m invited to a holiday cookout, then I’ll ask the host about the menu and bring an appetizer and a compliant side dish so I know there will be something I can eat.
Family tradition: If my spouse makes pancakes on Sunday, then I’ll also make a hearty frittata so we can still eat together and I won’t be tempted.
Daily ritual: If I’m tempted to munch on potato chips during our nightly TV time, then I’ll make a cup of herbal tea, or skip TV and read a book or take a bath instead.
Wine rituals: (yes, these deserve their own category): If I’m craving a glass of wine after work, then I’ll create a new ritual: pour some kombucha into a fancy glass and relax with my spouse/kids for 20 minutes.
Stressful situation: If I find myself stressed/lonely/anxious and tempted to eat my usual comfort foods, then I’ll call one of the people on my support list and ask them to talk it through with me, then make a delicious Whole30 dinner so I’m well-fed.
Known “trigger”: If I have a fight with my spouse, then I’ll call my friend and we’ll go out for coffee or a healthy Whole30-compliant meal.
Long day at the office: If I get home from work starving and cranky and I’m tempted to order take-out, then I’ll cook a meal from my go-to list.
Whew. Do you have a long list? Good! That means you’ve really thought through all of the challenges you might face in the coming days, and given your brain a good plan so it knows exactly where to steer you if your “if” situation comes up.
Finally, it’s always a good thing to have a catchall if/then scenario here, so if you find yourself caught unawares, you still have a way to deal with it that doesn’t involve ditching your Whole30. Try this: “If something comes up that I didn’t anticipate and I feel tempted to go off-plan, then I’ll . . .” Fill in your own blank—call a friend, go for a walk, make yourself a cup of tea, jump on our Forums for support, anything you think will help you overcome the challenge and stick to your Whole30 for yet another day.
Because sometimes, that’s how you work this program.
One day, one meal, one bite at a time.
Plan three quick and easy “go-to” meals you can make in ten minutes or less, with foods you always have on hand. Some examples are a Kitchen Sink Scrambled Eggs using whatever veggies you have on hand and topped with hot sauce; our No-Fuss Salmon Cakes; a can of tuna mixed with homemade mayo, fresh fruit, and walnuts over salad greens; or a Pre-Made Paleo meal straight out of the freezer. Write your list down and pin it to your fridge, so you’ll always have a plan for nights when things just get crazy.
This is your last and final step in preparing for the Whole30, and it’s the one you may have the hardest time following. However, we take this rule very seriously, and you should, too.
There is no faster way to sabotage your Whole30 than to subject yourself to weekly (or daily) weigh-ins. If you’ve been a slave to that numerical readout, it’s time to set yourself free, at least for the next 30 days. Why are we so dead-set against tracking your “progress” based on body weight?
Oh, there are so many reasons. We’ll narrow it down to four.
First, scale weight fluctuates wildly. It’s good to measure things to track progress, and if you weighed yourself monthly, that might help you spot a trend in your body weight (gaining, losing, or maintaining). However, over the course of a day (or even a few hours) your weight can go up or down by as much as five or six pounds, and that fluctuation isn’t at all representative of body fat gained or lost. You can eat a few higher-carb meals and gain a few pounds of water weight, or wake up dehydrated and “lose” a pound or two.
When it comes to your body weight, the time of day matters, what you’re wearing matters, even where you step on your scale matters, assuming you don’t have a doctor-grade scale in your home bathroom. Allow us to remind you, that number is coming from a $20 hunk of plastic you bought at the local value store. Weighing yourself daily tells you nothing about your big-picture trend, and only serves to reinforce the next three points.
Second, scale weight says nothing of your health. You want to lose 20 pounds? We can make that happen. Cut your daily calories in half and spend two hours a day doing low-intensity cardio. That’ll make that scale show the “right” number . . . for about a month. Until your willpower runs out (as those behaviors aren’t at all sustainable), and your messed-up metabolism fights back. At which point, you gain all the weight back and then some. But hey, for a few weeks, your scale said you were down 20 pounds!
Does that digital readout moving in either direction tell you anything about whether you’re in worse or better health? Of course not. (In our scenario, the scale is going down, but your health certainly isn’t improving! Conversely, you could be doing some smart strength training, sleeping well, and eating healthy, and be gaining weight in muscle mass—but that weight gain doesn’t mean your health is declining!) That scale number alone tells you nothing about what’s going on with your relationship with food, hormones, digestive system, or inflammatory status. That number on the scale doesn’t reflect improved cravings, better sleep, a happier mood, or a boost in self-esteem. And those are the factors that impact your health far more directly than your body weight.
Third, the scale blinds you to the real results you are achieving every day you are on the Whole30. By focusing so much of your attention on that number on the scale, you effectively miss out on observing the other, more significant, results of your efforts. Your skin is clearing up. Your wedding ring slides on easier. Your mobility is increasing. You breathe easier when you run. Your nose isn’t as stuffy. You passed up donuts at work without a second thought. Your kids made a mess and you didn’t snap at them. You’ve discovered a love of cooking. Those results could be motivating you to continue with your new healthy habits—but until you stop obsessing about gaining or losing half a pound, you’ll never be able to see the emotional, mental, and physical progress you’ve actually been making.
Fourth, the scale maintains control of your self-esteem. This is perhaps the most important reason of all to break up with your scale. It’s psychologically unhealthy to allow a number—any number—to determine your sense of self-worth, value, or self-confidence. And yet, that’s exactly what happens to people who are overly invested in their scale.
This breaks our heart.
It’s downright tragic that your daily weigh-in determines whether you have a good day or bad day, and whether or not you feel good about yourself. The scale results can take you from confident to self-loathing in under 5 seconds, but what the scale is telling you is not real. You are working hard to change your habits. You are overcoming obstacles on a daily basis. You are taking better care of yourself than you have in years. You are actually doing what people every day wish they could do—change their lives for the better.
You know what this makes us want to say?
Very bad words about your scale.
So please, 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.
If you do that, please video it and send it to us. We’d love to see that.
You deserve better, and your daily weigh-in is one more habit we really want you to conquer on the Whole30.
You hop out of bed and head straight for your scale—buck naked, of course. (Can’t let clothing factor into your daily weigh-in.) You hop on, close your eyes, cross your fingers, and then peek. Whoo-hoo! Down one pound! It’s going to be a great day! You jump into the shower refreshed and invigorated, ready to tackle your morning. The next day, the routine repeats itself—only today, you open your eyes to find you’re up two pounds. Two. Whole. Pounds. Immediately, your heart sinks, and you run through all the “bad” food you ate yesterday. Was it that extra helping of potatoes? The snack you had before dinner? The kombucha? You immediately calculate a “fix” for the situation—today, you’ll only have two eggs for breakfast, no snacking no matter what, and maybe you’ll do a little extra cardio at the gym. You get dressed for work convinced you look awful (wearing the pants that were your favorite just last week), and dejectedly start your day feeling fat and ugly.
We’ll give you a very long list of ways to measure your Whole30 success, including the many physical benefits of the program. However, though we don’t focus on weight loss, most people do lose weight or improve their body composition, and that certainly can be part of what motivates you to keep up with your new healthy habits when your Whole30 is over.
However, we understand it’s really hard for you to evaluate your own physical progress just using a mirror. You see yourself every day, and small daily changes are easy to go unnoticed. So while we don’t want to see any of this weighing or measuring during your program, we encourage you to set yourself up for comparison for the day your Whole30 is over.
Weigh yourself on Day 0, before your Whole30 starts. You can also take body measurements if you like—try upper arms, chest, waist, hips, and thighs. We also encourage you to take a before picture, even if it feels embarrassing. You never have to show anyone, but we really want you to have it for posterity.
Trust us on this one.
Find a plain backdrop, stand in as little clothing as you’re comfortable in (no shirt and shorts for men, and a jog bra and shorts or bathing suit for women), and have someone take a full-body shot from the front, back, and side. Then, repeat the process in the same manner (ideally wearing the same clothing) on Day 31.
You may be so proud of your accomplishment that you want to share them with us! If so, turn to the appendix and we’ll tell you how.
And with that, now it’s almost time to kick off your Whole30 program, using the plan you’ve created and the many resources we’ve got available for you here. But first . . .
Want a sneak preview of what’s likely to happen during your Whole30? We’ve created a Whole30 Timeline as a tongue-in-cheek (but eerily accurate) way to help new participants anticipate what to expect. As with any process that involves personal experience, your results may vary, but here’s what your program might look like.
We don’t want you to ignore your body for the next 30 days—just the force of attraction between you and the earth. (That’s all your scale measures, after all!) You can still observe changes in your body and see them as progress. Keep an eye on how your clothes are fitting—are they hanging easier, fitting looser, or are they easier to button or zip? (Pay close attention to your “usual” belt loop here—you may have to adjust by a notch or two before your program is over.) Is your stomach flatter, indicating less bloating, constipation, or water retention? Are your rings slipping on or off easier, demonstrating a decrease in swelling or inflammation? Examine your skin—is it less dry, flaky, or broken out? Are your nails starting to grow, is your hair shedding less or feeling thicker? All of these physical changes are yet another sign that your Whole30 is moving you in the right direction!