Ok so maybe wisdoms – lol. But here are a few things I have learned as I am nearing the of my third week on Whole 30
- READ THE BOOKS – I cannot stress this enough. Yes, you can learn the plan online and yes, if you are on the tightest budget, that might be ok, but you will really miss out on a lot of the WHY. Like WHY you cannot have peanut butter and WHY you should avoid nitrates and WHY you can have white potatoes if you make them yourself but WHY you cannot have chips and fries that are made commercially (the reason is psychological and there are a lot of things in the books that are) Many are scientific but some are just about getting your head around it. So I really REALLY suggest you pick at least one of the books to read before you get going. It will be a nice reference for you for later too.
- BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF – Don’t start this the same week you are starting to workout or starting a new job etc. If you are already working out — THERE IS NO REASON TO STOP – but don’t shove the entire apple in your mouth and expect to swallow it — bite by bite. So if you are starting a new job, wait a bit. If you are planning a new workout plan, pick this or the workout and do that ONE thing for a while before adding the other.
- Realize that it IS NOT THAT HARD. Like the book says, cancer is hard, birthing a baby is hard – so really get over yourself a bit and realize that it is as hard as you make it. Do yourself a favor and PLAN some meals. Be a good shopper and if you like cook ahead (I personally do not like to cook ahead more than a meal or so so I do like leftovers, but I am not going to meal prep a whole week but it does work well for some people)
Ok — those are my top points and here are a couple more
– Don’t assume you need every fancy thing just because it is compliant or helpful. If you are rich, have at it but if you are not, understand that you do not NEED any fancy gadgets or appliances or premade store bought sauces to be successful. Will an air fryer be nice for some things — sure I guess it will be — but do you even have room for it? Same goes for the immersion blender and the 1000 other gadget and gizmos that many people say are MUST haves — none of them are. They may be nice to haves but you can be very successful with a good pan and a good knife and away you go with some everyday spices so don’t let people scare you with making it too fancy. Me personally I gave myself a treat every week so far just to see if it was worth it and if I liked it. I tried the Chipotle Lime Mayo from Primal in week one – it was ok, nothing you couldn’t live without BUT if you are a HUGE mayo fan and are missing that flavor or you like a lot of chicken salad or tuna salad, I get that this may be something that could be very enjoyable. Week 2 I tried Garlic Aioli which I found right by the primal stuff in the store. It was a very nice addition to a couple of meals as my plated fat – you could also live without – but if you are tired of avocado or you don’t like a lot of the plated fat option, it might work. This week I tried NutPods. Personally I can live without them. The hazelnut is VERY tasty but the containers are TINY and it is quite expensive. Your coffee game isn’t going to get a huge improvement over just a sprinking of cinnamon and some almond milk.
– Don’t assume everyone on social media knows anything. Even the moderators on some of the facebook pages don’t know the plan that well. They sort of make up extra rules and there are some complete idiots who tell people they cannot have tea with “marshmallow” (the plant which is totally compliant) because they think it is a marshmallow (the sweet white blob of sugar) so they are stupid and I am not being cruel here because I saw the same thing yesterday regarding licorice (the root) where the twit says not compliant because she thinks it is licorice like a twizzler. So do not rely on these people. I am not being mean, I am just saying that they are not experts, they are just humans trying to do the plan like you are so if you are confused, use the whole30 website where they have a whole “is it compliant” section or read your book — or my other suggestion which is to buy things with less ingredients which makes it easier and probably healthier 🙂