September 2014 - Whole30 - Lessons Learned, and Tools for Success

Here are my Whole30 Lessons Learned (and Personal Advice):

1. It starts with food. It doesn't matter how much or how little you eat, or exercise, if you're eating highly processed and packaged foods full of sugar and chemicals, you're not learning anything or healing your body to its optimum. Seriously. 
2. It starts with food. Read the book!! Otherwise you don't understand the purpose of eliminating toxic and irritating foods known to cause reactions in our body. You're doing yourself a disservice by not reading this.
3. Don't give up. I've started Whole30 quite a few times, and usually around day 6 I'd give up or go out of town or get bored or not plan ahead or whatever. Something clicked this time and I had no desire to quit or give up. 
4. Restaurant eating is possible, but it may slow down the healing and detox process. Get to restaurants early and discuss with the waiters what's on the menu to find something compliant. Acknowledge that the smells and sights of the other's food will be enticing, but so not worth it.
5. Meals don't have to be expensive, complicated, or even recipes. Just grill some meat and veggies and make a salad. Done. Fast, clean, and so ridiculously easy that after a week or so you won't remember any other way of eating.
6. K.I.S.S. Keep it Simple Stupid. Just like above, you don't need recipes, sauces, or substitutions. If you're looking for ways to modify your previous addictions (fried chicken, ranch dressing, ketchup), then you're not healing, learning, or reprogramming your bad food habits. You're making it too difficult and setting yourself up for failure.
7. Don't rely on fruits and nuts. To some people these are triggers (food without breaks) and a temporary substitution for the bad stuff.
8. Leaky gut syndrome? Ever heard of it? Google it... I dare you. 
9. Find a group online for support. Or get a friend or family member to join you. Positive Support is priceless. I've been on a couple Facebook Whole30 groups for almost 2 years now. Most of the time I scroll through and don't get involved in the "Is this compliant" debates, but hearing about others successes and struggles has helped enormously. 
10. Avoid naysayers. This is your journey, not theirs. Don't listen to negativity or confusion, and don't worry about explaining the process to anyone.
11. Olive oil, sea salt, ghee, and guacamole. Yummy. Eat lots of it.
12. It's ok to judge other people's grocery carts. Silently and without them knowing, because we don't want to hurt their feelings. Resist the urge to remove their box of pasta or "tsk tsk" that cereal choice or package of cookies. Resist the urge to ambush them and talk about Whole30 as if you're the newest door-to-door salesman here to change their lives.
13. Trust in the process. 
14. Keep a log. All clean eating, diet, nutrition, weight loss, weight gain, disease managing program will tell you to log and monitor what you eat. This will help you pinpoint specific foods that cause reactions. Who knows, maybe for you it's bell peppers, and for your significant other, it's nothing at all...
15. Plan meals ahead of time and keep lots of appropriate and good food in the house. You'll spend more at the grocery store, but less at restaurants and drive-thru windows.
16. There are some pre-packaged foods on the market place that are compliant. My rule of thumb, if i can blur my eyes and still read the few ingredients, or if there are so few ingredients (ex: Ingredients: Apples, Citric Acid) that I can read the list in half a second, then it's probably compliant and ok. If not: if there are so many ingredients that I have to read and read and get out my reading glasses and ruler, then forget it, I put the item down and back away in a hurry. Seriously. I'm making my own recipes here, not eating recipes from a manufacturing plant!
17. Whole30 has published a few timelines on what to expect when you're expecting. These are guidelines only. Depending on how much weight you have to lose, how much exercising you do, or how many years of processed foods you need to clean out of your system, this timeline will change. I have yet to experience the coveted Tiger Blood, but I know I will one day.
18. Speaking of...Whole30 is apparently very similar to the online fertility diets; I haven't needed this, but I've heard stories of people getting pregnant unexpectedly after they cleaned out the chemicals... just sayin'
19. Resist the urge to shout from the rooftops and tell everyone you know and meet how you can solve their weight problems and ailments with Whole30. If they ask, tell them, otherwise, they need to find this in their own time.
20. There is no right time. If you're anything like me then there isn't a single span of 30 days, for the entire year, that doesn't include some kind of travel, trip, vacation, holiday, or other challenge. And anyway, clean eating isn't about finding the right time. The right time is now, which leads me to my next item:
21. Do the best you can. So what if you're not a #whole30purist stickler for the rules. Some of us live in the real world.
22. It's all mindset. Whole30 is a program and it's a tool. Some programs and tools are better suited to some than others. To begin your health journey, regardless of what tool you choose, you have to be in the right mindset. What do you want? Are you ready to make a change?
23. Don't weigh. Take measurements on day 1 and day 31. Take clear photos on both days in the same tight fitting clothes. Shoes tight? Take a photo of the shoes and your cankles. Take photos of your face. Remember, the scale may only go down 5 pounds, but you may go down multiple pant sizes. It's not about the number on the scale. It's about reducing toxic chronic inflammation.
24. Plan Do Check Act. The age old philosophy originating from Deming and used in Six Sigma and corporate programs around the world, and we can use it here too. Plan your meals and plan to succeed. Do the Program. Check yourself daily, hourly, weekly, whatever you need, to verify that you're complaint and heading in the right direction. And Act on whatever changes you need to make to ensure success (like eliminating nuts or other trigger SWYPO type foods).
25. Reintroduction. Trust this process. Who cares if you're craving wine or chocolate. Take a slow reintroduction process. This is a 10-14 day process. Everyone I've ever talked to (or read online) either learned valuable info from this process, or seriously regretted not doing it. Seriously. You've taken the time, struggled, and succeeded, in removing all the food groups known to cause reactions to our bodies, why dump them back in without finishing the process and learning a thing or two?
26. Do you have any of these ailments: "diabetes · high cholesterol · high blood pressure · obesity · acne · eczema · psoriasis · hives asthma · allergies · sinus infections · migraines · acid reflux · celiac disease · Crohn’s· IBS · bipolar disorder · depression · seasonal affective disorder · eating disorders · ADHD · endometriosis · PCOS · infertility · arthritis · Lyme disease · hypothyroidism · fibromyalgia"? If you answered yes, to any of these.. Do Whole30. You've got nothing to lose! Well, except for dairy, sugar, soy, grains, and legumes. For 30 days. But, you know what I mean.
    And just so I don't get sued... please note that I am not a doctor. You may need or want to check with your doctor before beginning any dietary changes.

Feel the need to buy some Tools for Success?
These items are not necessary, but they sure are fun and helpful:

 This post contains Amazon affiliate links; For more information, read my Disclosure page.

Apple Slicer Because I’m lazy and prefer to eat my apples chopped up. And it's great for the kiddos too.	Potato (Cauliflower) ricer Because I like gadgets, and cauliflower rice is life changing!
Spiralizer Because, OMG These Noodles are Great!	Mandoline OK, I don’t have this YET. But I want one.
Indoor Grill Because some days it’s too hot (or cold or rainy) to grill outside.	Indoor Roaster To roast Turkeys and Chickens with less power than your oven, and free up your oven for other fun stuff. Great for Thanksgiving, Holiday’s and Family Gatherings

Tools to Pack Away or Donate:
Food Scale and Measuring cups. we're not weighing food, counting calories, or calculating points. We are just eating (3 square round hexagon meals).

And while you're at it, hide, donate, or pack away your body scale too. 

So there you have it. Thoughts? Do you have anything to add?