My first Whole30 was way too stressful. No matter why you choose to change what you eat (needing to take off a few pounds, found out you are gluten or lactose intolerant, wanting to just feel better), the key is having a plan for success. Here are my 3 strategies for a successful first Whole30.
1) Adjust your own recipes to be compliant
For my first Whole30, I only used recipes from the Whole30 book. Unfortunately, my previous diet included a lot of pasta, cheese and processed food.
Suddenly going to all whole and fresh foods meant I was eating a bunch of recipes I really didn’t like. Plus, all these new recipes kinda handicapped me in my cooking…I felt like a novice!
Make your Whole30 easier by looking through your own recipes before you start. Some might be compliant with minor changes. Obviously, you’re not going to be eating macaroni and cheese (homemade OR from a box) while on the Whole30 in particular! And you can’t simply replace grains with GF ingredients and keep making the same baked foods (that’s just against the rules…see the 7th red X here!)
But if you make a spaghetti sauce that’s compliant except for sugar, just leave that out! I’ve found a lot of my own recipes were easily fixed. In fact, I’ve never gone back to the old recipe in most cases.
2) Find “shortcut” foods that comply
Yes, you’re going to cook at home a lot if you do the Whole30. But inevitably there will be a night when you don’t have the time or the strength or maybe even the ingredients necessary to pull off a compliant meal.
Find a handful of “shortcut” foods (check your labels!) so you can pull something easy together quickly. Also check here for compliant foods. Some you need to order online, but some you can find in your local stores.
You can also find compliant options at some restaurants (check the menu online before you go!). My personal favorite in a pinch is a veggie delight chopped salad at Subway with my own dressing. (In fact, I’ll just go ahead and tell you that finding a homemade salad dressing you like is a key “shortcut” to have in your arsenal. But maybe this is another post!)
3) Find a friend willing to do the Whole30 with you (family members are best!)
It’s hard to do something like this alone. You need an accountability partner so you can talk about the struggles and successes and keep each other encouraged.
I think family members are best. If you can purge your house of off-limit foods during your Whole30, you’re so much more likely to succeed! I was totally surprised when both my husband and daughter were willing to try it with me.
Then after we did it, my son came home from school wanting to try it again with me over the summer! We’ve all learned things that helped us form a better relationship with our food and improve our health.
Are you ready? You CAN do this! I’d love to hear how these 3 strategies help make your first Whole30 successful!
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