So you’ve decided to do the Whole30. Congratulations! Your life is about to change.
I’ve done the Whole30 twice now and though I have no plans to do an official round again anytime soon, I eat pretty much Whole30 year-round. My previous diet was all about restriction, proteins bars, and low-calorie, artificial sweetener-filled “food”. Gross.
The biggest change I experienced was not in my body composition. I didn’t lose 15 pounds in a month. My thighs were still touching on day 30. I could pinch my belly fat each and every day. But you know what? I didn’t grab onto the fluff. I didn’t because it became irrelevant. I didn’t because my initial goal was to change my eating habits long term, not to drop some quick pounds for bikini season. I mean, I live in LA. It’s always bikini season. Regardless, if your primary reason for doing an elimination diet or detox is to lose weight, I don’t recommend doing the Whole30, or any other program for that matter. If you’re not willing to forget all of your preconceived notions about food, you’re not ready. If you’re not willing to accept the dietary changes your body has been asking for past the 30 day mark, then what’s the point? For me, this meant parting with grains 99% of the time and gluten 110% of the time. If I could retroactively eat less gluten, I would.
So what was the biggest change? I’ve talked about it a lot, but the biggest change you should experience on any detox program is your mindset around food. I stopped eating six mini-meals a day, every three hours. I stopped beating myself up if I ate a little extra because I was hungry. But most importantly, I dropped all thoughts on what a particular meal should be anymore, beyond food. The definition of food varies from person to person, but I tend to follow Michael Pollan’s food rules, with a clear distinction between food and “edible food-like substances”. Just because you can eat it, doesn’t mean you should, kapeesh? Your body’s craving for Papa John’s is most likely an indication of something else, because who on earth would crave Papa John’s?
So what’s left to eat if I can’t have cereal and pizza? Well, that’d be food. Here’s how I determine what food is: food should nourish you, give you energy, and provide nutrients. Nutrients that already existed in the food, that is. I’m not talkin’ fortified Wonderbread or the sugar bomb cereals that claim they’ll lower your cholesterol. But that’s pretty much it. We tend to complicate things with all these crazy health claims and low-calorie labels that vary year to year based on the latest health trend. Even though the words change, the bullshit remains. Here’s the golden ticket: if it has a label, you probably shouldn’t eat it.
Anyways, there are some products I incorporate into my diet that do have a label. But you know how many ingredients are typically on that label? One. Below are some staple products (food and non-food) that helped me transition into paleo life for the long haul.
- Coconut Aminos. I like this one and you can buy it at almost any store these days. Coconut aminos are one of the few products I learned about during my first Whole30 and continued to use after. In short, it’s a replacement for soy sauce. It’s great for stir fry, dressings, or marinades. Below are some popular Whole30 recipes that use the beloved coconut aminos!
- Cast Iron Skillet. If you don’t already have a cast iron skillet, what are you doing with your life? You can cook pretty much anything in a cast iron skillet, but I love them most for frittatas. You can check out my Everything Skillet Breakfast here, or not, you do you. Below are some other awesome uses for cast iron skillets.
- Spices. Spices make your food not taste like cardboard. You should use them. BUT, and it’s a big but, look at the ingredients. Many spice blends have sugar or some sketchy preservatives. Avoid these at all costs. Here are some of my favorite spice blends you can use on the Whole30.
- Primal Palate
- Balanced Bites (except Coffee BBQ – that one has sugar)
- Everything But The Bagel seasoning from Trader Joes (best on eggs)
- Crock Pot. Much like the cast iron skillet, if you don’t have a crockpot already, get your life together. But to be fair, I did a round of Whole30 in January and ate chili or soup daily. But you can also use your crock pot to cook an entire chicken, pulled pork, vegetable soups, potatoes, basically anything. Here are my favorite crock pot recipes.
- Balsamic Vinegar. Salad dressings, roasted veggies, meat – the options are endless and balsamic vinegar makes everything taste like heaven. My favorite brand is Napa Valley Naturals. I buy two different kinds – 25 stars and 5 stars. The 25 star balsamic is super thick and slightly sweet. The 5 star is the more common liquidy vinegar and more acidic. Up to you. Here are my favorite recipes that feature balsamic vinegar.
- Spiralizer. Get. One. Now. Here’s a link. Do it. As I write this, it’s the height of zucchini season and I’ve had zoodles every day for three weeks. No regrets. But you can spiralize almost anything – carrots, potatoes…actually that’s basically it. Whatever. Here are some of those recipes.
- Fruit. If you’re used to eating sugar laden products or just processed foods more generally, you might experience massive headaches and fatigue in the first 10 days. I swear to you, this is normal. Your body is detoxing and this is a necessary step. But I understand that it sucks balls. Have some fruit. The sugar in fruit will help negate some of these unfortunate detox side effects and will hopefully satisfy your desire to bathe in Ben & Jerry’s. Eat the whole fruit. Don’t have fruit juice (ever, if I’m real) or dried fruit. Both are HIGHLY concentrated forms of sugar and if you’re like me, you’ll demolish the entire container in one sitting. I’ve always been an advocate of eating local produce, but if you’re trying to save a bit of money, there’s one company you can look into to get quality produce at a discounted price, delivered to your door! That company is Imperfect Produce. Check them out – they’re awesome.
I hope these tips and recipes are helpful! If you’re considering doing an elimination diet, let me know what you try! If you’ve already done an elimination diet, share your tips below!