Skiing the steepest ravine, a new addition to the Star Wars franchise, complimentary pedicures, (legally) procuring a yacht, and sinking at least one cup in beer pong during the final microsecond to nullify the streaking rule. What do all of these things have in common? Straight awesomeness. Just like the Whole 30 program.
Ha! I’ve taken my audience captive using amateur creative writing techniques ordinarily taught in 7th grade. For serious, though, I wanted to write a comprehensive Whole 30 post for anyone thinking of joining us during our January challenge. Many of you have expressed the opinion that learning about this program from me is superior to wandering the web for pertinent material. I’m flattered and confounded by this, but I shan’t complain and attempt to do my best at summarizing and providing enough information for you. I also hope to dispel any misconceptions about the most biological and evolutionary-minded way you can nourish your mind and body. Let’s begin, “question words” style.
What?
The Whole 30 (w30), at its most basic level, is a month long clean eating program that is implemented for various reasons- stay tuned. Food groups of focus include good quality meats, seafood, vegetables, nuts, seeds, healthy fats like avocado, coconut, and olives, and oils from those last three. There is no calorie counting, no portioning, and no weighing. Eat those foods ^^^ until your body signals you are full. (Which is perf for me, cuz I love food and hate hunger). Fruit is also included, but in moderation due to a relatively high sugar content.
Why?
Many participants choose to do a w30 to determine how their bodies react to potentially allergenic food groups (my main reason back in February 2015). You absolutely cannot rule out the possibility of an allergenic food affecting your body, in a manner subtle or obvious, until you completely stop consuming it for weeks (ideally 4). You can easily grow accustomed to chronic bloating, digestive discomfort, mild acne, joint pain, a minor skin condition, headaches, anxiety, or any other side effect of an allergenic / inflammatory food simply because it’s what is “supposed to happen” when you get older, or during a menstrual cycle, or when your meds just aren’t quite right, or when you skipped a day of coffee, or because it runs in your family, or or or or or… I wanted to stop treating my symptoms with a defective tourniquet and delve to the root cause of my anxiety, digestive discomfort, and lack of energy.
Aside from determining if a food group affects you, other reasons you might complete a w30 include the desire to decrease inflammation, alleviate or cure various illnesses, improve mood and sleep, slay junk cravings, and/or increase energy, all without a magic pill, powder, or prepackaged meal. A nice side effect of a whole 30 is typically weight loss, but it shouldn’t be the driving motive behind committing to the program. In fact, one “rule” of w30 is to not weigh oneself for the entire month. Doing so could ruin your mental game and discourage you from continuing. I didn’t notice major results (energy, mood, and digestive related) until week 3. Imagine if I consistently weighed myself and saw no change for the first dozen days! The scale is, sadly, not such a great motivating tool.
To reiterate, the reason for completing this program does not center around losing as much weight as possible in a month, nor stem from the desire to hop on the next crash diet trend fluttering ‘round Tinseltown. Once we abandon the falsity that eating real food is just another “fad”, or some newfangled way to starve yourself to twig-sized, we can turn our attention to more mature subjects (like the dozens of incredible benefits you’d notice after a month of eating the way in which we were designed).
Who?
Ninety-nine percent of the population. I would say 100, but we all understand science is full of exceptions and kinks, and I’m not about to dispute the universe. There is, however, a slightly modified version of the program for pregnant mamas, nursing mamas, athletes, and vegetarians. Because this is not meant to be a low carb lifestyle, the w30 founders (Melissa and Dallas Hartwig, for future reference) suggest that any woman supplying nutrients to her children and any active person increase his or her carbohydrate intake through the consumption of whole, unprocessed foods like bananas, plantains, squash, cassava, taro, and sweet and white potatoes. In addition, these folks may need to snack between the suggested 3 meals-a-day template. I completed my first w30 while nursing and only experienced positive benefits to my milk supply and overall health.
Where?
Anywhere! Pretty much. Below, I’ll provide some ideas and tips for staying true to a w30 while out and about, no longer vanishing behind the comfy and safe fortifications of your kitchen.
When?
Quite a few others and I will be starting a w30 on January 4th! We are a mix of veterans and w30 fledglings, which is just the way I like it. Last year, I created a facebook group for anyone who would like a casual place to post foodie pics, ask questions, and virtually hurl objects when it’s day 4 without a venti peppermint mocha with whipped cream (don’t worry; I’m tempted and tormented by the same kinds of screaming sugary banshees).
But….. how?????
Fine question. Hopefully I can provide you with some tips and advice based on my own experiences and the research I’ve done on the subject. Read on, fellow maverick.
Before I began that fateful first w30, I had found myself immersed in the paleo world for 2 years. Despite this, the challenge terrified me. “You mean I can’t even have ONE SIP of dry red wine on Valentine’s Day!? But it’s full of antioxidants AND low on sugar! WAAHHH!” …and the like. But I was determined to figure out if gluten actually caused problems for me or if I was just another one of those crazed trend followers who blamed gluten for droughts in California and dead zones in the Baltic Sea. (As it turns out, I do in fact have a gluten sensitivity. At least I seem to tolerate dairy, WEEE!) Also, please note the hint o’ sarcasm, pre-parentheses.
A great starting place is the official w30 website, at www.whole30.com. They fully flesh out everything there, from mulling over your first challenge to coming back for thirds and fourths. Best of all, it’s FREE! No profit-amassing, agenda-pushing company, doctor, or “nutritionist” will demand your credit card number or precious limbs.
What We Noticed
Steph K: decreased anxiety
Steph R: resolved hip pain
Dani: decreased symptoms of tendinitis
Me: decreased anxiety
All 4 of us: increased energy, improved mood, decreased bloating, and weight loss (36 lbs total).
Footnote for potential naysayers: during the reintroduction period, one can quite obviously notice which foods trigger different symptoms, i.e. what we observed is real and can be replicated again, as this program is set up much like a science experiment. Also, quell the nay-saying. It promotes an unfavorable image of envy or self-consciousness.
Money Well Spent
Often, would-be participants are hesitant to take on this challenge due to dwindling piggy banks. It is obviously more expensive to buy good quality, preferably grass-fed, ground beef than a box of $1.20 pasta. However, keep in mind that the amount you spend on fancy, sugary beverages (think Dunkin Donuts), Chinese food takeout, and your weekly trip to the corner liquor store will decrease to exactly zero. Personally, I spend about $30-40 a week on non-w30 items while outside a challenge (which is about 10-11 months a year lol). While on the program (1-2 months a year), I can spend that money on quality sourced meats, seafood, and perhaps a splurge item like Tessamae’s salad dressings* or Kombucha**.
*Lemon Garlic, Cracked Pepper, Balsamic Vinaigrette, Lemonette, Zesty Ranch, Grapefruit Poppyseed, Oil Free Italian, and Hot Sauce/Wing Sauce are approved! I find mine at Whole Foods.
**Fermented tea, w30 compliant as long as the bottle contains less than 2 grams of [natural] sugar. I find the GT’s brand I like at both Whole Foods and Target!
Be sure to check out my w30 items blog post, referenced later.
Tips/tricks
- My w30 mates and I developed a tentative meal plan for each week of the program. I chose to use google docs- which essentially governs my life- and created a calendar with simple recipe ideas and food prepping lists for each day. I love lists. And color coding.
- For an added bit of kinesthetic motivation, set up two vessels in an area you visit at least once a day. In one cup, add 30 small objects, like marbles, pebbles, or sharpened porcupine quills. After you’ve completed an entire day of the challenge, move one of the small objects into the other vessel. It’s reassuring to see that the days do, in fact, continue to press on. Even if you feel you cannot. ;-p
- Set aside a couple hours each week to roast vegetables or make a large crock pot recipe. Think in big batches and allow leftovers a seat at your breakfast table. If you’re a mayo person, find an easy paleo mayo recipe and whip that up (with an immersion blender, it takes me less than 10 minutes). This can be used to dress up some cubed chicken or can be diluted with a touch of water and the addition of dill/pepper/garlic for some ranch dressing! Hard boil some eggs. Chop any veggies that you’ll need for weekday meals. If you’re not the planning type, try something new and…. plan plan plannnnn, even just a little. It’ll pay off, fer shure.
- Print out an 8 ½ x 11 piece of paper with the days of the week and enough space to write in your planned meals. I placed this paper “menu” into a standard picture frame and wrote out my meals, on the frame’s glass, using a dry erase marker. This way, I could start fresh each week by wiping away last week’s meals! (Credit 100% goes to Pinterest, as usual).
- Coffee: perhaps the most vital matter about which to chat. I’m only a moderate coffee drinker, but the feeling of deserting it altogether for a month must be akin to what Master Frodo felt upon stepping outside the Shire’s borders on a mission of likely death in Mordor. Recently, however, I starting sampling cold brew coffee and actually find myself enjoying it without the addition of anything. Gasp, indeed. It’s not bitter or acidic; I highly recommend it. You can also add some cinnamon, canned coconut milk (check for sneaky non-compliant ingredients… explained on the w30 website), and/or homemade almond or cashew milk- recipes online. Look into bulletproof coffee as well. On w30, whisk (I use a fork) ghee and coconut oil into your hot coffee. Sounds strange, tastes great. There is hope, folks!
The Challenge of Dining Out
There you are, dejectedly slouched in an Applebee’s booth with your family, staring blankly at the intimidating mozz sticks and maple butter blondie at the neighboring table. Not that I know anything about maple butter blondies. Bar food surrounds you and the server just placed a bucket of coronitas in front of your grandpa. Get down with your bad self, pops. Ah! Apologies… back on topic. It is very possible to dine out while completing your challenge. Straight from the w30 website, link here: http://whole30.com/2012/11/dining-out-whole30/, the best protein to consider is steamed / grilled fish or seafood or lean cuts of red meat, like sirloin steak. The next best option would be grilled chicken, sans skin, or fattier cuts of meat like sauce-less ribs or ribeye steak. A bun-less burger also falls into the “next best” category, due to potential use of non-compliant cooking oils. Restaurant proteins to avoid would be factory farmed pork, especially bacon and sausage, anything fried, skin-on chicken, meat in a mystery sauce, and conventional hot dogs. Side the aforementioned proteins with some steamed / roasted veggies, a not-buttered but salt and peppered potato, and/or a side salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil (hold the croutons).
Do not be afraid to ask your server what is added to the vegetables, for example. It might be standard for that restaurant to add butter to their veggie platter before placing it on your table. I went out twice during my first w30 and was so glad that I explained I was completing an elimination diet prescribed by my doctor (perhaps a bit of a stretch, but it sounded official… hehe); she explained that the eggs atop their burgers were fried in butter! I asked if they could use olive oil instead, and she happily accommodated. I’ve spoken with several servers and they all agree- as long as you’re pleasant and friendly, they have no problem at least trying to accommodate your needs. Be sure to tip appropriately for their extra efforts, of course.
As for drink options, you may just have to stick with water, black coffee, or unsweetened tea, hot or cold. I’m sure, though, there are some restaurants out there that provide options like La Croix sparkling water. Let a girl know if you come across any.
I’d also like to note a few places I like to visit when in a pinch on w30. They provide quick meals with simple, approved ingredients, as long as you’re paying attention to your choices.
- Smashburger. I confirmed that their burger patties are gluten free. Just keep in mind that the beef is probably not grass-fed (look up the nutritional difference between grass & grain-fed if you’re wondering why this is “such a big deal”), but it still makes for a quick w30 lifesaver when necessary. Olive oil is used to fry their delectable white and sweet potato fries, so no worries there. With that said, it’s probably not the best idea to order 3 large smash fries if one of your goals is to feel a bit lighter :-p (something I personally need to keep in mind). Pick up a bun-less Create Your Own burger with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, sautéed onions, and mustard. Feel free to add avocado / guacamole, mushrooms, or an egg. I prefer to prepare these myself at home and just add to the burger to save a few bucks. Yummmmm. Oh! Find a coupon; they’re typically always available online or if you complete a short survey using your receipt (to be used on the next visit).
- Chipotle. As I wrote this post, I discovered (remembered?) there is a single approved combination of Chipotle that one may order while whole 30-ing (everything else is cooked in rice bran oil). Go with a carnitas burrito bowl or salad with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, and/or guacamole. The veggies are out as well. If you want to commit to the program and get to the root of your issues, remember: inflammatory and anti-nutrient food groups must be eliminated for 30 days. For the record, I’ll house any type of Chipotle while not participating in this program. Again, this is about 10-11 months of the year for me.
- Honeygrow. A haven of salad and noodle bowls, whose shop interior is reminiscent of a wealthy hippie’s relaxation loft. Create Your Own salad with a choice of lettuce, 3 veggies, and shrimp / free-range chicken / avocado / egg. You may need to ask about dressing ingredients, as I cannot find them on their website. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar are always an option.
- Saladworks. Create Your Own salad with w30 approved ingredients, as mentioned above.
W30 Compliant “junk foods”
What if you took eggs, a ripe banana, cinnamon, and a pinch of almond flour and made w30 compliant pancakes? What if you devoured a bag of potato chips that only includes 3 ingredients: potatoes, olive oil, and salt? Those are all w30 compliant ingredients, right? Right. Exceppptttttt (apologies in advance) this program also aims to reshape the way you think about food and alter the potentially dangerous relationship you can have with it. Sure, those ingredients are *technically* fine, but rewarding yourself with a stack of pancakes or a bag of chips is probably not mentally healthy. From Melissa and Dallas: “We know from experience that one of the fastest ways to negate the potential benefits of your Whole 30 experience is to try to recreate your old, unhealthy diet with technically approved ingredients. And when it comes to the psychological hold certain foods have over us, the whole (pancake) is far more than just the sum of the parts (ingredients).” So try to avoid that “w30” coffee creamer recipe that calls for dates, coconut milk, and vanilla extract. This challenge is meant to transform your body *and* your mind.
Useful Resources- go go go
- whole30.com, of course!
- http://whole30.com/new/ – welcome to the w30 universe
- http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/ – cuz you gotta know the rules…
- http://whole30.com/2011/06/the-whole30-a-z-real-life-testimonials/ – a personal fave. Read about the myriad of diseases, illnesses, and ailments that were cured or alleviated after completing a w30 challenge, straight from the participants themselves.
- On Instagram, follow “whole30”, “whole30recipes”, and “neemahfit”. The former two accounts are both hilarious and informative. The latter belongs to one of our own January 2016 participants, who will be documenting her first time journey into the world of w30!
- If you’re on Pinterest (read: if Pinterest has sunk its dagger-like talons into your creative soul and there’s no hope of return to an ordinary life), search whole 30 recipes. There are hundreds upon hundreds available.
- Visit another post on my humble lil’ blog at: https://anjelicafs.wordpress.com/2015/07/09/hello-world/ where I list dozens of w30 (and non w30) items available at 6 different stores. Approximate prices included.
You can do this. Trust me, and the hundreds of thousands of others who have as well. I cannot wait to see what results and benefits you notice after this challenge! Now I shall leave you with my first round food log, if you care to take a peek. You’ll notice that meals and snacks (keep in mind I was nursing, so I needed to snack more than usual) repeat often. Peace, love, and good food.
And by chance there was any question, I was kidding about the sharpened porcupine quills.
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My Ol’ Food Log
The numbers signify what date of the month it was- end of January to end of February. Sometimes I’d wait a few days to log, hence the lapses in memory lolol. Common abbreviations include: hb- hard boiled, wh- white, ckn- chicken, avo- avocado, saus- sausage, sw- sweet, coc- coconut, lett- lettuce, mac- macadamia, pepp- peppers, spin- spinach, kom- kombucha, cauli- cauliflower, hd- hot dog
Monkey salad = cut up bananas, blueberries, almond butter, coconut flakes. Life altering.
28
~ apple, hb egg, mac nuts/almonds, tea
~ Rx bar, carrots + almond butter, 3 homemade meatballs, orange
~ salad w/ shrimp
~ bit of wh potato, strawberries
~ 2 Applegate hd, kale, pickles
~ bites of sardines, apples, almonds, tuna (food prep)
~ figs, prunes
29
~ 2 eggs, spinach, sw pot hash brown, tea
~ orange, mac nuts/ almonds
~ wh pot, 3 meatballs
~ salad w/ can of tuna/mayo
~ cherry lara bar
~ ckn breast w/ veggies, sauce, zoodles
~ chamomile tea
~ prunes, figs
30
~ hb egg, a sardine, rx bar, few mac nuts, 1/2 avo
~ 2 hot dogs, kale
~ salad w/ can of tuna/mayo
~ leftover ckn/sauce/veg
~ pear w cinnamon
~ slice roast beef / olives
~ prunes, figs, mac nuts
~ chamomile tea
31
~ rx bar
~ 2 eggs, Aidell’s saus, avo
~ more things I forget
1
~ rx bar, hb egg
~ eggs, saus, avo
~ crock pot pork, cauli rice
~ more things I forget
2
~ 2 rx bars
~ berry smoothie
~ salad w/ tuna
~ crock pot pork, cauli rice
~ 2 dates
~ 2 hot dogs, mac nuts, oysters, plantain chips, guac
3
~ 2 eggs, salsa, avo, sw pot
~ rx bar, apples w/ almond butter
~ salad w/ tuna, plan chips
~ carrots, pork roast / coc aminos, sw pot
~ wings & too many baked fries…
~ passion tea
4
~ 2 eggs, avo, baked fries
~ rx bar, other snackies
~ salad w/ hot wings, banana
~ cinnamon tea
~ cinnamon squash
~ 2 hot dogs, pork, sw pot
~ 2 figs, mac nuts
5
~ 2 eggs, avo, cinnamon squash, lamb
~ almonds, kale chips, rx bar
~ salad w/ ckn
~ almonds/mac nuts
~ oranges
~ shrimp/ brussel mix
~ kombucha
6
~ smoked salmon, roast beef, 2 hb eggs, potatoes
~ monkey salad, tea
~ rx bar, squash
~ burger, sautéed veggies
~ almonds/ mac nuts
~ lamb burgers
~ figs, kombucha
7
~ rx bar, 1/2 avo, prunes
~ lamb burgers, shrimp/ Brussel mix
~ meatballs, liver, mayo
~ mac nuts, plantain chips
~ random things while prepping food
~ fruit smoothie (careful, these are discouraged due to high sugar intake in short period of time, i.e. a blood sugar spike)
8
~ ½ fruit smoothie, 2 hb eggs
~ rx bar, almonds, mac nuts, apple
~ tuna / paleo mayo, meatballs, avo, olives, 2 hot dogs
~ passion tea
~ burger w/ mushrooms, peppers, lett, tom, hot sauce, monkey salad
~ ½ bottle kombucha
9
~ 2 eggs, 2 saus, avo, spinach, chai tea
~ coconut chips, rx bar
~ salmon / paleo mayo, plantains, 2 meatballs
~ smashburg!! added egg, avo, mushrooms
~ ½ bottle kombucha
~ 2 figs
10
~ hb egg, hot dog, ½ avo, 1 meatball, ½ sw potato
~ lara bar, plantain chips
~ chipotle
~ salmon, broccoli, baked potato, fruit
~ burger, pickle
~ way too many figs… (those were my actual words in the food log haha. You don’t have to weigh or measure on the w30, but there’s still a such thing as moderation. Stop eating when you’re full.)
11
~ omelet w/ tomato, spin, pepp, onions, mush, baked potato, steamed zucchini
~ 5 figs
~ salmon, broccoli, baked potato, fruit
~ banana, pineapples, mixed fruit
~ almonds, prunes, rx bar
12
~ omelet w/ tomato, spin, pepp, onions, mush, 2 sm sweet potatoes
~ mac nuts
~ Whole Foods gr beef, ckn, lett, tom, guac
~ buff ckn salad
~ figs
13
~ silver diner compliant philly omelet, potatoes~ burger w/ pork belly, lett, tom, onions, avo, side of sw potato fries
~ some of Steph’s turkey/cabbage stew, banana
~ few figs
14
~ rest of Steph’s turkey/cabbage stew, ½ avo, figs
~ something for lunch, I forget
~ egg yolk, ½ avo
~ daikon root, saus, meatballs, sauce, pepp, mushr, onion
15
~ rx bar, avo, hb egg, mac nuts
~ sw pot hash, 2 eggs, spinach, ½ avo
~ plantain chips
~ something for lunch I forget lol
~ bison burger, lett, mushr, egg
~ dates
16
~ 2 eggs, hamburger, sw / wh potatoes, spinach
~ leftover daikon / saus dish, banana/coconut/ almond butter/cinnamon
~ 2 hot dogs, plantain chips
~ figs, dates, raisins, blueberry tea
17
~ rx bar, mac nuts
~ 2 eggs, spinach, cinnamon tea
~ bit of almonds, mac nuts
~ tuna / mayo salad
~ 2nd rx bar… eek
~ sausage bake- apples, sw potatoes, squash, ½ kom
18
~ 2 eggs, spinach, avo, sw potatoes, apples w/ almond butter, cinnamon tea
~ veggie salad, white & sw potatoes
~ mac nuts & almonds
~ mac nuts, sausage bake
~ kale chips, apples w/ almond butter, figs, dates, ugh!
19
~ 2 eggs, spinach, 1/2 avo, sw potatoes, cinnamon tea
~ rx bar, mac nuts, almonds, apples w/ almond butter
~ salad w/ chicken, lara bar
~ mac nuts, sardines, potatoes, cauliflower
20
~ 2 eggs whites, avo, cauli, sardines, cinnamon tea
~ rx bar
~ something I forget
~ pad thai, cauli rice, kom
21
~ 2 eggs whites, avo, cauli, sardines, cinnamon tea
~ rx bar
~ something I forget
~ pad thai, cauli rice, kom
22
~ silver diner- modified huevos rancheros
~ sausage bake
~ rx bar, mac nuts, almonds, avo deviled eggs, olives
~ roast beef, kom
~ homemade orange chicken, mac nuts
23
~ 2 slices roast beef, mayo, ½ avo, sw potato / ghee, kale chips, cinnamon tea, ½ smoothie
~ rx bar, mac nuts, almonds, mothers tea
~ salad w/ chicken, pear
24
~ 2 slices roast beef, mayo, ½ avo, sw potatoes, 2 eggs
~ mac nuts / almonds
~ rx bar
~ burger / broccoli / lett / tom / onion / mushr
~ orange chicken, cauli rice, mac nuts, ⅓ kom
25
~ 2 sardines, avo, 2 sw potatoes, banana, almond butter
~ mac nuts, almonds, rx bar
~ ½ avo
~ tuna salad
~ apple
~ lara bar, mac nuts, 2 Applegate hd, 1 sw pot, cauli rice
~ mini monkey salad
26
~ lara bar, 2 eggs, 2 sardines, sw pot, ½ avo, cinnamon tea
~ Applegate bologna, cauli rice
~ almonds, walnuts
~ salad w/ tuna
~ leftover pork loins, cauli rice, sw pot
~ passion tea
Homemade Jeli 