Top Ten Tips for Surviving the Whole30

If you're reading this, you're probably interested in completing the Whole30. Congratulations!

Deciding to take your health into your own hands is a big step, and should be celebrated as such! You're about to embark on a full month of no alcohol, grains, sugar, dairy, soy, beans, or peanut butter, with absolutely no cheats. It may sound daunting, but I promise you it is doable. Lots of people have completed the Whole30 successfully and reaped myriad benefits, and so can you.

You just need some help.

Whole30. You can do it!

Introducing my personal top ten tips for surviving the Whole30 without feeling deprived, hungry, or regretful about all of your life choices. These come from first-hand experience, and may not apply to every person, but they just might put a light bulb over your head and give you the strength to push through to Day 30. 

Top Ten Tips for Surviving the Whole30

1. Replace peanut butter with almond butter. Trader Joe's has a salted crunchy almond butter that is out of this world. 

2. Keep hardboiled eggs in your fridge at all times. They're 70 calories of straight protein and fat, and will keep you satiated for a while. 

3. If possible, keep all non-Whole30-approved foods out of your house, or at least in one cupboard that is strictly off-limits for you. Out of sight, out of mind. You can't eat ice cream if it's not in your freezer. 

Put some caution tape over the cupboard if that's what you need to do.

4. Salt all of your food. Most likely, you're coming off of a diet of processed and canned foods that are loaded with sodium. Switching to fresh veggies, meats and vegetables means a sharp decline in the amount of sodium you're ingesting, and while too much sodium is bad for you, too little is bad, too. Plus, salt=taste, and you do not want to be skimping on that right now. 

Gotta love some natural sea salt. 

5. Speaking of taste, add ground spices and fresh herbs to every meal. You'll be surprised how much a sprinkle of curry powder or a few sprigs of parsley can add to an eating experience. 

6. If you get munchy, drink some coffee, tea or water. Most likely, you're just thirsty. Plus, caffeine (which is thankfully allowed on this program) is an appetite suppressant. Or, munch on some raw veggies, like celery or baby carrots. 

7. As a general rule, if you find yourself asking, "Hm, is this Whole30-approved?", the answer is probably no. This includes some almond milk (due to carrageenan), edamame (soy), some deli meats (sugar), and sugar-free gum (sugar substitutes). Ignorance of the law is not an excuse here. Your body will know if something bad went into it. Better safe than sorry. 

This blog is Whole30 Approved!

8. Allow yourself Whole30 "cheat days." Let me explain. On these days, if you were calculating macronutrients and calories, stop. Just, stop. Eat when you're hungry, and eat whatever Whole30-approved things you want, regardless of macronutrients or calories. This means you can have some coconut oil-smothered sweet potatoes with cinnamon and dates. Or a big, fat juicy broiled steak. Unlimited amounts of almond flour-crusted chicken fingers and far too many slices of pineapple. You get the idea. It allows you to keep sane, which is important not only now, but in the long run.

9. Eat dessert. Warm up some frozen berries. Have a fruit salad. Eat a "granola" of pecans, unsweetened coconut flakes and raw cacao nibs (find them at Vitamin Shoppe). It will make you feel like you're not really depriving yourself (because, well, you're not), and will put an end cap on the eating for the day.

Fruit salad is freaking delicious. You know it. I know it.

10. Take it one day at a time. Plan your meals for the day, and don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Health is a step-by-step process, and the Whole30 is no different. You will find Day 30 comes quicker than you think it would. Enjoy the challenge.

Good luck, and feel free to email me or ask a question on our Facebook page! 

Lift.Eat.Love.Sleep.