What do YOU do to get psyched for your Whole 30?

[firsa]

Hi all! I did a Whole 30 more than a year ago and it was great. I've been eating healthier in general since then (definitely cooking more), but I really think I could use another solid 30 days to kick some bad habits that have crept back up.

 

I was wondering what you folks do to get psyched for your Whole 30. Is there a particular breakfast that gets you in the Whole 30 jive? A particular kitchen ritual (roasting up a bunch of cauliflower or making a big crock pot chili recipe, maybe?) that you enjoy that sets you up for your first few days? A particular book or website that you re-visit to get your head back in the game? A friend or family member who you call for some motivation?

 

I've been going to bed every night for like two weeks thinking, "This is it! In a few weeks I'm going to feel like a brand new person all over again." Then I wake up and just go about my day like normal, not like I'm doing a Whole 30. The desire to feel better is there, but the motivation to do the work apparently isn't, lol.

 

Thank you.

[AmyS]

If I cook up a great roast in the crock pot, have some greens ready to go, roast some potatoes or sweet potatoes, get some guacamole - I usually eat that and sort of discover that I've fooled myself into another Whole30.  Hehe

[wholedlyon]

Firsa, what if the motivation doesn’t come?

 

I wasted a lot of time in my past waiting for it to feel right or be really motivated. I realised that the motivation will come from the results I begin to see after I’ve started. Rather than waiting, I relied on discipline to get started and with time, I found the positive results I was seeing spurred me on.

 

I also stumbled into a great support network in the forums and had a great bunch of people going through the Whole 30 with me.

 

My advice is to just start.

 

Each week, I plan out every meal for the coming week. From that plan I create my shopping list and then do a cookout on Sunday, making as much as I can for the week ahead. I have the same meal a few times a week to reduce the number of meals I’m cooking and it’s worked well for me over the past 43 days. You could also cook large batches and freeze for the coming weeks.

 

“You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great”

― Zig Ziglar

[Guest]

doing comes first, motivation follows  

[frantastic]

Agree with the above. While planning and preparation and your brain are all required, over-thinking is not and will not serve you well. Take some steps of action - purge your kitchen (purse, briefcase, etc) of non-compliant foods (if you have stuff you want to have in 30 days, give them to a friend/neighbor until you've hit your 30). Shop for good compliant foods - have some ready to grab things too (if I just feel like I can't deal with cooking, Aidell's chicken and apple sausages cut up in a big salad is an awesome meal) along with the more elaborate plan-ahead meals.

 

A complete fact is that YOU CANNOT EAT FOOD THAT IS NOT IN YOUR POSSESSION!

 

You have all the power.

[MeadowLily]

I get out of bed and give thanks for another day.

 

Some or many will find the Whole 30 when they're feeling sick, suffering with a medical condition such as the AIP, diabetes 1 or 2.   You start immediately.  The half has not been told how illness is a motivator into Whole-ness.

[firsa]

Thanks for the tips, everyone! And yes, I understand that action precedes motivation, but I did "just start" multiple times over the last six months. It didn't stick longer than 1-3 days each time until I went and ate something that made me feel crummy. Which just annoyed the heck out of me, because this isn't my first rodeo. That's why I was wondering if anybody else had go-to tricks they'd use to "fool themselves into another Whole30" (love that, AmyS!). I'm all about tricking myself into doing what's good for me, and making things that are bad for me incredibly inconvenient. 

 

I think the key that I was missing, that I personally needed, was reduced household stress and more family support -- my husband just finished a stressful and rigorous 6-month training program, and now that he's done and our schedule is back to normal, it's going pretty well. I mean, it's only been a day, but it's been better than my last few stutter-starts. So, we're now each on our own 30-day programs. Him, gluten-free, no sweets, less eating out. Me, Whole30. 

 

And I really do appreciate the tips. Meal planning was definitely integral to my last Whole30, wholedlyon. AmyS, I love the idea of doing something in the crock pot and roasting up some veggies -- I'll roast veggies today and pick a crock pot meal while I finish up our last big batch of spaghetti sauce (over zoodles of course). Frantastic, thanks for the "no time to cook" meal ideas... a salad sounds better than my usual emergency no-cook meal (sardines), plus it's got veg! MeadowLily, gratitude does put a new spin on any undertaking, thank you.

[Guest]

For me it was about making it as easy as possible to succeed. I cut up lots of veggies and leave them in a bowl, then just grab cups of them and boil them for the meals. I make big batches of vegetable soup and store it in the fridge, then just have some shredded chicken and avocado with them. 

 

I am by no means perfect as I have had restart after restart, but these are very much demons in my head. 

 

I also take peppermint tea to work now to avoid me wandering off to the shop to buy something to give myself a break from the stress - instead I'll go and make a cuppa.