So, you are doing the damn thing… GO YOU! This blog post serves as a way to support you throughout your Whole 30 journey. Below are all my tips and tricks that I use to do Whole 30 that I deem important and helpful to successfully complete a round of Whole 30.

I am not a Whole 30 coach, I am not a medical professional, and I am not an expert in this arena, so you need to do what is best for you and your body. However, I am a huge advocate of the Whole 30 lifestyle and have had my own personal amazing results since completing two rounds of Whole 30 since July 2019. I have learned A LOT throughout my time doing Whole 30, researching Whole 30, and experimenting with the Whole 30 lifestyle. The most important thing I learned during my rounds of Whole 30 is that you need to pay more attention to what is in your food, what you are putting in your body, and what makes your body feel good versus what does not.

1.KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING YOURSELF INTO!

I used to laugh at the saying from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt that said “you can do anything for 10 seconds” as she churns the power in the bunker for hours on end and breaks up the time into 10 second intervals. Until, I realized it is true. You can do anything for 10 seconds, 10 minutes, 10 hours, even 30 days. It is just 30 days of your entire life. It is 1/12 of your year. A whole whopping 8.3% of your year dedicated to making a positive change in your life for 30 days. It is not hard! Co-Creator of the Whole 30 Program, Melissa Urban says, “This is not hard. Beating cancer is hard”, and she is right!

I knew a lot about Whole 30 from people I knew who did it before me. Therefore, I did not read the Whole 30 books (though I really should have and plan on doing). However, I did extensive research on the website and paired that with my knowledge I learned from others and went for it. I actually plan on buying one of the books this week titled, It Starts With Food. If you are not familiar with Whole 30, I recommend buying that book along with The Whole30 Day by Day: Your Daily Guide to Whole30. I have read overviews and tons of reviews of both of these books and I know they will be helpful to those of you who do not have a lot of information on Whole30. I wrote a What Is Whole 30? post to give you an overview of the rules with links to the official Whole 30 rules as well.

2. FIGURE OUT YOUR “WHY”

There is no purpose to completing Whole 30 if you do not know why you are doing it. Frankly, I think without a why you probably won’t complete it because there is no purpose. You are obviously reading this post for a reason. Maybe it’s because you want to lose weight, or you want to have a healthier relationship with food, or you have a huge milestone coming up in your life and you want to feel your best. I know some moms do Whole 30 so that they can learn how to feed their families properly and have a lot of energy to keep up with their little ones. Whatever your why is make sure you write it down, hang it somewhere, put it in the notes of your phone, and every time you feel like you cannot do it or think it’s “too hard”, remind yourself as to why you wanted to make this positive change in your life in the first place!

3. KEEP IT SIMPLE/START SMALL

Making a huge change in your life is rewarding, but definitely stressful. There are a million different opinions on what products to buy, what food to make, what is the right food to make, etc. It is endless and so extremely overwhelming. Now that I am comfortable with Whole 30, what it means, what is allowed, etc. I definitely go a lot more in depth with my recipes and the ingredients I buy. However, on my first Whole 30, I kept is super simple. I ate meat, veggies, fruits, and some nuts. Go at your own pace. Create with what you have and what makes you comfortable. I truly believe that if you feel super overwhelmed cooking and that it is all too much, you are less likely to successfully finish a round of Whole 30.

I’m going to be honest. I am a college student about to go into the real world. I do not have all the money in the world. The first time I did Whole 30, I bought the bare minimum ingredients to cook with, and I did just fine. If you are not ready to make a huge monetary or personal jump into Whole 30 in terms of cooking unique or ingredient-heavy meals, that is okay. I actually wrote up a post about what I think are the most important pantry staples for Whole 30 beginners. Building up your Whole 30 pantry is costly, so slow and steady wins the race in my book, friends! I have a lot of Whole 30 items now, but it has taken me months to get what I have now.

4. MEAL PREP

There may be people reading this who are like “I do not have time for meal prep” or “I hate meal prepping.” I am going to be your friend and tell you that it is nearly impossible to do Whole 30 without some kind of weekly preparation. If you are new to Whole 30, this is probably your first time not eating some kind of processed sugar, like ever (it’s in everything). I know how I get when I get hangry, and I can only imagine you probably don’t react much better. If you hate meal prep, maybe you can break it down a little. Maybe week 1 you meal prep all of your breakfasts. Or maybe just your lunches. Or on Sundays you cut up all the fruits and vegetables you plan to eat for meals whether as a side, snack, or for an ingredient in a recipe. That way, when hunger hits, and it will, you are less tempted to cheat and eat something that is not Whole 30 compliant. You can find all of my Whole 30 Recipes under the Recipe Index or Whole 30 Resources tab in the website menu above!

5. PREPARE FOR FOOD EMERGENCIES

My friends used to joke with me in high school that I am going to be a great mom because I am always prepared and I walked around with a purse the size of Mary Poppins bag! Somehow, I always had at least one of everything someone always needed. So, it should come as no surprise that I am telling you to pack snacks in your bag in case of emergencies. I am soooo not kidding. There is a clementine and a small bag of raw almonds in my bag at all times. You never know when hunger is going to hit you. The other day I was walking through the grocery store and out of nowhere I became so hungry, I felt nauseous. Immediately, I whipped out my almonds and felt much better. But, if you don’t have those almonds or a clementine, you are more apt to reach for that Snickers bar that has been calling your name. Same goes with work parties or social outings where maybe your dinner just wasn’t enough and you aren’t somewhere with Whole 30 options.

6. CELEBRATE NON-SCALE VICTORIES

The last 5 tips were more tactical steps to successfully complete your Whole 30. But the next 5 are more mental tips. Whole 30 is a mental challenge just as much as it is a physical one. One of the rules of Whole 30 is to put your scale and tape measures away for 30 days. For someone who weighs themselves regularly, I find this difficult. However, this journey is not about losing weight, it’s about creating better habits and having a healthier relationship with food! So anytime during your Whole 30 journey something makes you feel really good that doesn’t have to do with what you think your weight is, CELEBRATE! Maybe you can feel your clothes are looser, your skin is looking better, or it’s been easier to go to the gym. Our journeys are different so I cannot tell you what victories to have, you will just know when it happens! For example, during my first Whole 30, this dress that I love did NOT fit (not even close) before I started Whole 30. By the third week I was feeling really good and decided to try it on, just to see. It zippered and fit LIKE A GLOVE. I honestly couldn’t believe it. It was an incredible feeling and a huge motivation to keep going!

7. REWARD YOURSELF/SCHEDULE TIME FOR YOU

Setting little goals for yourself and treating yourself as a motivator is a great thing! To keep yourself excited about the 30 days and to motivate you to keep going, reward yourself on different cadences. Maybe it’s, “I know the next few days are going to be tough but, if I can go for a 20 minute walk for the next 3 days, I am going to treat myself to getting my nails done or by taking my family mini-golfing.” Putting these little things to look forward to into your Whole 30 will make the 30 days fly by.

I keep saying this journey is for you, and for you only. And I mean that. Block time in your schedule (only if it is only 30 minutes a day) for something you enjoy doing. That could be reading a book, going to the gym, spending time with your friends, etc. If you sit inside for 30 days and act miserable, you are going to be miserable. Add some non-related food activities (or at least add Whole 30 compliant food) spice to your life!

8. Lay Out Whatever Inspiration You Need

So you have your why in place. The whole reason why you wanted to take on this challenge and change your life for the better. But what is going to help you successfully complete this change? It may benefit you to create a vision board, or write everyday in a diary. Some people lay out daily quotes for them to read during the Whole 30. I cannot tell you what inspiration, if any inspiration will help. The person who knows you the best, is YOU! You know yourself, you know what motivates you, so just do it!!! These 30 days can be tedious and somewhat difficult so help yourself in whatever way you can ahead of time! Did I mention how proud of you I am? 🙂

9. Find An Accountability Partner

This one is so optional, but for me personally it’s been fun to have a Whole 30 buddy. My first round I didn’t really have anyone that was fully doing it with me. This time around my future mother-in-law, my sister, and my best friend, Sophie, are all doing it with me and it is fun to talk about our failures and our triumphs! This journey is about you, but if you think it’ll be easier to have a friend, go for it!

10. KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE & STICK WITH IT!

Guys, this is easily the most important tip I have for you. Because your body is basically detoxing all the crap in your body, you aren’t going to have the most energy at first. You are probably going to feel tired, hungry, maybe a bit cranky on certain days. But try to keep a positive attitude and whatever you do, do NOT quit! You have to remember why you are doing this, and you have to look at this challenge not as “here is everything I cannot eat”, but rather, “look at all these amazing foods that are going to help me change my life.” And it may sound silly at first, but the more you can drive home in your brain that this is going to be one of the best decisions you have made in a long time, the easier it is going to be!

I hope you found these tips helpful! From my personal experiences, this is what I think is important to keep in mind! I have had my own personal amazing journeys, triumphs, and benefits while completing Whole 30 and post Whole 30 rounds. I am ALWAYS here to help you out and you can always follow me on Instagram @tasteitwithtaylor for daily “vlogging”, helpful hints, and support! <3

You can do this and I am always rooting you on!

xoxo,

Taylor

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