Have you ever tried a Whole30? I’m sharing 5 ways to prepare for Whole30 success (especially if you’ve tried before and failed, or simply haven’t even tried!)
But first, what is Whole30?
If you look it up on their website, you’ll learn the Whole30 is not a diet; it’s more of a stop, reset and “eat healthy food” program. The way it works is you eliminate foods that tend to cause issues for a lot of people (dairy, grains, etc.) Ideally, this elimination program also helps you deal with “bad habits,” emotional eating and identify if any of those foods are causing YOU any issues. For example, some people are sensitive to gluten or allergic to dairy while others are not. You decide what it is for you. Cool, right? Plus, we can all agree consuming too much sugar is bad for us. The Whole30 asks you to confront your personal “sugar dragon” and actually CONQUER those cravings! Sounds like an epic life change, right? Absolutely!
My Whole30 Attempts
But … I’ve tried to do a Whole30 before. I first thought about it when my friend Barclay posted about it on Instagram. She tried to talk me into it, but I was hesitant about jumping in. It seemed to require WAY more prep than I felt I could handle.
Then I tried some Whole30 recipes (and really liked them!) My hubby bought us an Instant Pot (woohoo!), so I tried more recipes and kept thinking about actually DOING a full #Whole30.
A few months ago, when the latest Whole30 cookbook came out, I had the AWESOME opportunity to interview Melissa Hartwig, co-creator of Whole30, for the radio station where I work. I’d been reading a lot about Whole30 and seriously thinking about and wanting to do one. Talking to Melissa personally may have really fueled that fire!
(Here’s my Amazon affiliate link for the cookbook, in case you want to check it out!)
So ALLLL of that leads us to how I’m setting up for Whole30 success this time around! (Hopefully!) Haha!
5 ways to prepare for Whole30 success!
Alright, it’s about time to get this #JanuaryWhole30 going! Here are 5 things I’m doing to set up for Whole30 success.
Step 1: Find a Whole30 buddy (or a few)!
My friend Jessica did a Whole30 back in November. She is cheering me on and even gave me some extra Nutpods she wasn’t going to use! (Those are supposedly GREAT coffee creamers that are also Whole30 compliant!)
I then found a co-worker, Madison, who mentioned she’d be doing Whole30 in January. Perfect! We can keep each other accountable at work!
And to top it off, my friend Virjinia is a meal-prepping NINJA and she agreed to do a video with me, where we both share how we’re setting up for Whole30 success!
Step 2: Get community support & inspiration on Instagram!
If you’re already on Instagram, there is SO MUCH WHOLE30 to love! I’ll share a few of my favorite accounts to find inspiration and motivation on your JanuaryWhole30 (or whatever month you’re doing it!) You can also search and follow hashtags like #whole30, #whole30recipes, #januarywhole30, etc….!
@Whole30
@Whole30recipes
@MelissaHartwig
@thewholesmiths
@livinglovingpaleo
@paleorunningmomma
@primal_gourmet
…and there are so many more! Have fun getting to know your new Whole30 community! Not all these accounts will always have Whole30 compliant recipes, but many are!
Step 3: Create a Whole30 board on Pinterest (or follow the gazillion that already exist!)
Here’s my Pinterest board to get you started!
Step 4: Meal plan!
If you’re a perfectionist like me, I think our best bet is going to be this: KEEP. IT. SIMPLE! My week 1 meal plan looks like this:
Breakfast: Two (2) egg muffins (with veggies and sausage), 1 cup of fruit, coffee with nut pods
Lunch: “Bento box kid-friendly lunch”: baby carrots, celery sticks, tuna salad with compliant mayo & dried cranberries. 1 orange. 1 serving of almonds or other non-peanut nuts.
Dinner: Ground turkey meat sauce over zucchini noodles (store bought!) And maybe a banana or tea.
My friend Virjinia and I agree on the fact that we don’t mind repeating meals. I basically eat the same exact breakfast every day. Turkey or bacon egg sandwich and a mocha. I’m kind of excited to break out of that rut!
(Speaking of those egg muffins, check out some of my favorite recipes here!)
Step 5: Grocery shop!
Busy people UNITE! Unless you love grocery shopping, I LOVE the convenience of curb side pick up that everyone from our local HEB to Kroger, Walmart & Target have. I also love using tools like eMeals, which provide the meal plan and grocery list! All you do is click thru it then order it, either to pick up later or, using Instacart, have it DELIVERED. Life-changing! We were giggling like two little kids the first time we tried Instacart. We opened the door and THERE WAS OUR FOOD! And a really nice person delivering them! If you haven’t tried that, we highly recommend it. I shared about our experience with eMeals and Instacart (and how I believe it helped us save money and me lose weight) here.
So, are we ready for this Whole30 thing?
As ready as we can be! I sincerely hope these tips help you go for the Whole30 if you’ve been thinking about it. Comment below and let me know! I can always use an extra buddy!
Laughing (and meal prepping) thru life,
Coppelia
