Your Whole30 Journey: Where to Start
A little collection of my favorite tips and resources for you use to jump-start your Whole30 journey!
I get this question A LOT: “I am interested in starting Whole30, but I don’t really know where to begin!?”
Such a good question – I did my first Whole30 in May of 2017. Since then, I have completed two more, I have helped coach my Dad and other family members through several rounds and I have essentially adopted the Whole30 lifestyle ever since. I love sharing what I have learned and providing any insight into helping others start their own journey!
Getting Started with Whole30 – Where and How to Start:
1. Invest (or borrow from the library – although I love having my own copy to re-visit over and over again) in some Whole30 Books and Cookbooks
It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways – this (and the next one listed) are two must-haves in my opinion. This book explains all the reasons for the rules and helps you understand why you are doing what you are doing. Such good information!
The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom – This is like the Whole30 bible. The rules are easy to read, there are meal plans and some basic recipes.
The Whole30 Day by Day: Your Daily Guide to Whole30 Success – I personally haven’t used this book/resource, but it is essentially a journal for you to keep track of your Whole30 journey with daily inspiration and tips.
Food Freedom Forever: Letting Go of Bad Habits, Guilt, and Anxiety Around Food by the Co-Creator of the Whole30 – for after your Whole30 and reintroduction when you are trying to figure out your new normal!
The Whole30 Fast & Easy Cookbook: 150 Simply Delicious Everyday Recipes for Your Whole30
2. My Top 5 Tips
- Research: (See #1 above). You gotta do your research. Not only do you need to find out if this is right for you, but you need to know how it works, what are the rules, what is the purpose, etc. (For a list of Whole30-friendly products see my Ultimate Amazon Shopping List)
- Plan: Once you wrap your head around what the program/lifestyle is all about, make a plan for yourself. Whether it be for 2 days at a time, a week at a time or for the entire 30 days! Figure out how you are going to come at this thing.
- Have a Buddy (if possible): This is totally and completely doable to do on your own, but speaking from experience, it is a heck of a lot more fun if you have a buddy to do it with. When I went through it with my entire family this past January, we had a big text chain that we communicated through every day. We asked questions, shared what we were cooking as well as triumphs and struggles. It was so much more enjoyable and fun!
- Mind set: You need to decide for yourself (like this big boys and girls that we are) that you are going to do this. Yes, there will be hard days, but there will be a heck of a lot of good days too. You can’t go at this halfway. Make up your mind you are going to do this and get it done.
- What is your WHY: this ties in with my previous tip – you need to be clear on WHY you are doing this. What is motivating you. Keep that at the forefront of your 30+ day journey. For me, it was to get my gut right, get more energy and hopefully clear up my acid reflux.
3. Check out these favorite Whole30 Recipes from The Wooden Skillet and start cooking!
Whole30 Breakfast Ideas:
Whole30 Vanilla and Cinnamon Coffee Creamer
Simple Homemade Whole30 Breakfast Sausage
Whole30 Lunch Ideas:
Make Ahead Apple Chicken Salad
My Favorite Tuna Salad Stuffed Avocado
Seared Scallop Salad + Avocado and Grapefruit
Chicken Bacon Club Collard Green Wrap
Whole30 Dinner Ideas:
Grilled Weeknight Cilantro Lime Chicken
Weeknight Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Whole30 Sauces and Staples:
I hope this helps you guys with a starting point! I know all the information can be really overwhelming, but just start at the beginning (It Starts With Food and Whole30 books) and go from there. I know you will find your way, but if you have questions, don’t hesitate! And don’t forget to check out my Ultimate Whole30 Amazon Shopping List for more inspiration!
Don’t forget to check out my Instagram account – Or give me a follow on Facebook or see what I am pinning on Pinterest!
Love,
E
Lindsey Shakerian says
I’m not sure if I’ve just been living under a rock for the last few years, but could you give a basic overview of what whole30 is? Thanks!
Erin says
Hi, Lindsey! So in a really quick nutshell, Whole30 is a 30 day elimination diet. You eliminate a variety of foods for 30 days (such as dairy, grains, legumes, etc.) and then reintroduce them one by one after the 30 days to see how your body responds to them. The goal is that you can then discover foods that your body responds negatively to and then you can decide, long-term, what foods you want to eat often or what foods you only want to eat once in a while (because maybe they don’t make you feel so good). Personally, I found that quite a few foods give me stomach aches or make me feel lethargic so I eat Whole30-focused foods about 80% of the time – I just feel better that way. I highly recommend the book It Starts With Food!! It really dives into and explains all the rules and the reasoning for them in a scientific, but understandable way! If you have any other questions, please let me know!