(Almost) Whole30 – Part 1 3

Susan and I have finished the Whole30, well for me it was the Whole26 (what can I say, it was a beautiful sunny day, we were eating hamburgers on the patio at City Pub, and a beer was just too tempting). Susan killed it and is still going strong.

I am going to re-post Kris’ comment regarding his success on the LB(A)NC and then post some steps that will help you be successful when you take the Whole30 challenge (you can read what Susan learned on her new Facebook Life Coach page:

Kris says: “One bit of encouragement I can give everyone is that if you eat totally clean for about 2 weeks, you will not even miss the stuff you cut out (at least, I don’t). At first I craved desserts and snacks too, but if you stick it out you will get past it.

And a word of warning – it’s also very easy to fall back into bad habits. ”

Saul’s (almost) Whole30 challenge steps for success in order of importance:

1. Plan ahead. You absolutely have to have all your food available for the work week. It is really hard to get fast food that is Whole30 approved (however, Jason’s rotisserie chicken and bag of salad is a pretty good option) at work or afterwards when you are hungry. I started the challenge with a good bunch of recipes, sources for good meat and pretty sorted out grocery list. If you don’t have some good Whole30 recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, three for each meal is a good starting place, take time to do that first.
2. This is a marathon, not a sprint, but keep running. I think you will feel better in the short term, but the majority of the issues you are trying to prevent happen later in life (heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, gall bladder issues, obesity, etc.). Take time to build the techniques and habits that will make you successful with the Whole30 challenge (I hope this sounds familiar to you). HOWEVER, learning techniques and building habits starts TODAY, if you eat bread or grains at every meal, cut out grains one meal a day TODAY! If you drink 2 or more cups of coffee a day, drink one less TODAY! Cook a meal from here… TODAY!
3. Don’t get too wound up about numbers. I use Sriracha chili sauce. Sugar is the second ingredient, after chili. It has 1 gram of sugar in one teaspoon of sauce. If I have 6 tsp (or 2 tablespoons) in my curry, that is 6 grams of sugar. If I have an orange for dessert, it will eat 12 grams of sugar. HOWEVER, eating a processed food condiment is much different than eating a processed foods meal. In general, avoid foods that have a label on them, but if have to eat them, read the label and know the impact, cut yourself some slack… and don’t have the orange for dessert if you already had sugar in your dinner.
4. Stay focused on your priorities: Caffeine is not one of the three horsemen. Quitting coffee was pretty brutal for about 3 or 4 days. I would suggest that if you have a customer facing job, a relationship that is tenuous, or are in any situation with multiple stressors, take the time to ween yourself off coffee. Give yourself a reasonable time (2 – 4 weeks, depending on how much coffee you drink) before you start the Whole30 challenge. Remember that removing grains, and “easily digestible carbohydrates,” as well as, balancing your Omega-6:Omega-3 ratios, in that order, for 30 (continuous) days is your top priority.
5. Be patient: This diet is just like stretching, some positions you won’t feel and others you can’t even think about getting into them. You may not feel anything for a few weeks, give your best effort for as long as you can. I have heard some people say they started feeling better immediately (especially by removing grains), maybe you will be lucky. If not, wait a few weeks and the changes will come, I promise.

Tomorrow, I will post about what benefits I saw from my Whole26.

Please post your experiences and/or success tips, I know a number of you are in various stages of the Whole30.