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Number One Tip!


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Remember how easy it is:

 

Eat protein: 1-2 palm size portions

Eat fat: 1-2 or more thumb-size portions

Eat veggies: 1-3 cups

 

Do that three times a day, the first time within an hour of waking.

 

I have a second tip for you, which is to eat far more than you think is morally right and proper. I eat meals out of former mixing bowls. Related to this, remember that Whole30 is about eating, not controlling your eating. There's a difference, particularly for those many women who come here from a history of disordered eating. We really, truly, madly, deeply, want you to EAT.

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^^ What Amy and Meadow said. In other words, resist the urge to satiate sweets cravings with compliant sweet things. The best, fastest way to balance hormones and slay the sugar dragon and therefore revolutionize your relationship with food and get as healthy as possible for the long run is to focus on eating to the template (protein+fat+veg in appropriate for you amounts) three times a day. Beware hand-to-mouth eating of fruits, nuts, nut butters, all variations of coconut. Change how you eat as well as what you eat and beautiful things will unfold.

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Ok, I'm going to be less practical with my words of advice and more spiritual. Though I agree with *all* of the suggestions above.

 

Listen to your body and be kind to yourself. Whole 30 is more of a process and journey vs. a set of guidelines and rules. Yes, there are "rules" but they're in place so you can genuinely communicate and understand your body. All the sugar, grains, processed food etc. has engendered a terrible environment for you to be in tune with your body. Once you push it out, you can finally listen/understand when you're actually hungry (vs cravings) and what makes you feel good. The first week or two is about finding what works and what needs to be tweaked: Eat when you're hungry, even if it's outside of the 3 squares a day. Don't stress if you can't finish your entire meal (save the rest for later if needed). This is about finding what works for you.

 

Also, this isn't about quick fixes (though you'll find your share of NSV along the way). Remember that it's about fixing a misaligned system: your health. It's going to take time and it's a journey that is unique to you. Other whole 30ers may have insights and shared struggles but try not to fall into the trap of comparing your journey with theirs. You have your own unique timeline and journey so be patient and kind to yourself. :)

 

Best of luck!

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Keep meals simple, especially at first. Don't over-complicate things. Vegetables, protein, fat, a little fruit. It's not brain surgery. :P

 

Read these forums and refer to ISWF for reinforcement.

 

Good Luck!

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My biggest tip (and I love all the others that have been suggested) is to be prepared at all times.  Carve out a couple (maybe 2 hours for each of your weekend days at the beginning until you get faster at it) and PREP.  Make a menu plan and cook food.  Protein, veggies chopped, sauces made.  Have a plan in place for what you will eat at all of your meals each week.  The quickest path to non compliance is not being prepared with suitable food.

 

Buy tinned fishes (sardines, salmon, tuna etc), hardboil eggs, prebake sweet potatoes, roast root veggies, brown ground meats, make mayo and sunshine sauce, buy or shred cabbage for "noodles" and coleslaw.  You absolutely have to have compliant food around (and fruits and nuts, while easy, don't do you many favours if used as regular consumption) and preferably a variety so that you can whip something up super fast and not be tempted.

 

My second best tip is, as a woman, make sure you have starchy veggies with your meals....especially nearing your period.  All those jokes and cracks about women craving chocolate and being demons around our periods is just mean...but it's based in the fact that our bodies need extra carbs in order to do a healthy menstruation.

 

And finally, tip #3 is to read. The Whole30 blog and the forum.  Read everything Melissa Hartwig writes.  The more you can educate yourself and immerse yourself in the knowledge that they have, the more you will understand and adopt the spirit of the program and the less likely you will be to go off the rails.  

 

:) 

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Thank you all for your tips! I love hearing the biggest thing that has worked for you. I know I will find my own as well. Keep them coming!

I really like your topic.  When you're done with your Whole 30....a post Whole 30 favorite tips would be another one you can start.

 

I'll wait for it.  :rolleyes: 

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Cook things with more than one meal in mind. Every time I made a pork roast, I had a list of things I was going to use the leftover pork for. I grilled 10 chicken breasts at a time, chopped them up and threw them in tons of things all week. I doubled batches of salmon cakes and stuffing for lettuce wraps and froze them for the following week. 

I love cooking, but by the end of 30 days of preparing every meal, I was about sick of it. Making a couple meals at a time helped. 

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Cook things with more than one meal in mind. Every time I made a pork roast, I had a list of things I was going to use the leftover pork for. I grilled 10 chicken breasts at a time, chopped them up and threw them in tons of things all week. I doubled batches of salmon cakes and stuffing for lettuce wraps and froze them for the following week. 

I love cooking, but by the end of 30 days of preparing every meal, I was about sick of it. Making a couple meals at a time helped. 

Ditto

 

I like having mix & match components available; a lot of variety from a few selections.

 

I have invested in some new tools for my kitchen: immersion blender, mandoline slicer, pressure cooker, and lots and lots of stack-able storage containers.

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Cook things with more than one meal in mind. Every time I made a pork roast, I had a list of things I was going to use the leftover pork for. I grilled 10 chicken breasts at a time, chopped them up and threw them in tons of things all week. I doubled batches of salmon cakes and stuffing for lettuce wraps and froze them for the following week. 

I love cooking, but by the end of 30 days of preparing every meal, I was about sick of it. Making a couple meals at a time helped. 

Agreed! I love to cook and have become such a better cook since embarking on Whole30, but I also expect my enthusiasm to wax and wane. When it waxes, making extra and freezing for a rainy day is a great idea. I also feel more comfortable with the framework of the program so I don't need a ridiculously bursting to the gills kitchen at all times to feel prepared. A few different proteins (right now cooked lamb, cans of fish, eggs, chicken and sausages in the freezer); cabbage, kale, a few fresh herbs, citrus, ginger, root veg, and a big bag of frozen stir fry veg; and various fats allow me flexibility for simple and quick meals. Not every day needs to be a banquet. What it means to "be prepared" can also shift and change. And you can forgive yourself for not eating like a queen every single day. You're still eating well.

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I want to come back here again to say that my number one tip for you is that you find a healthy relationship with food. For folks with eating disorders, this matters FAR more than whether or not you do or complete a Whole30. As soon as you find yourself in the eating disorder mindset, it's time to take stock and determine how far and how best to proceed. It's far more important that you eat normally, healthfully, mindfully, and with absolute freedom, than that you eat Whole30 and use it to reinforce disordered behaviors.

 

For me, this tip to you tops all others - so many women come to Whole30 from a long history of disordered eating (and you have been honest about your life journey here on these forums), many with diagnosed long-term eating disorders. Please do not use Whole30 as another tool to continue an eating disorder - instead, use it to eat. Eat, eat, eat. Learn to eat. Practice eating. Find out how to eat so as to truly love your body. And then eat some more. So stop and think about what Whole30 is doing for you, and consider how to use it for recovery, rather than reinforcement. The line between the two may seem fine some days, but please do consider this.

 

And eat. Really. Eat.

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I want to come back here again to say that my number one tip for you is that you find a healthy relationship with food. For folks with eating disorders, this matters FAR more than whether or not you do or complete a Whole30. As soon as you find yourself in the eating disorder mindset, it's time to take stock and determine how far and how best to proceed. It's far more important that you eat normally, healthfully, mindfully, and with absolute freedom, than that you eat Whole30 and use it to reinforce disordered behaviors.

 

For me, this tip to you tops all others - so many women come to Whole30 from a long history of disordered eating (and you have been honest about your life journey here on these forums), many with diagnosed long-term eating disorders. Please do not use Whole30 as another tool to continue an eating disorder - instead, use it to eat. Eat, eat, eat. Learn to eat. Practice eating. Find out how to eat so as to truly love your body. And then eat some more. So stop and think about what Whole30 is doing for you, and consider how to use it for recovery, rather than reinforcement. The line between the two may seem fine some days, but please do consider this.

 

And eat. Really. Eat.

From someone who has been there & back, and learned to love cooking, love food, and love themselves again I cannot begin to explain how much this resonates, and just how important it is. Beautifully written, and so so true.

So, yes. Love yourself, and love (good) food.

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I want to come back here again to say that my number one tip for you is that you find a healthy relationship with food. For folks with eating disorders, this matters FAR more than whether or not you do or complete a Whole30. As soon as you find yourself in the eating disorder mindset, it's time to take stock and determine how far and how best to proceed. It's far more important that you eat normally, healthfully, mindfully, and with absolute freedom, than that you eat Whole30 and use it to reinforce disordered behaviors.

 

For me, this tip to you tops all others - so many women come to Whole30 from a long history of disordered eating (and you have been honest about your life journey here on these forums), many with diagnosed long-term eating disorders. Please do not use Whole30 as another tool to continue an eating disorder - instead, use it to eat. Eat, eat, eat. Learn to eat. Practice eating. Find out how to eat so as to truly love your body. And then eat some more. So stop and think about what Whole30 is doing for you, and consider how to use it for recovery, rather than reinforcement. The line between the two may seem fine some days, but please do consider this.

 

And eat. Really. Eat.

 

These. I love these two posts. You are so right. For the first time in 10 years I am not needing to track calories! Though I HAVE thought about it, I am trusting the program. I am listening to my body signals, but also know they could be skewed with what I have done to them.

 

Thank you.

From someone who has been there & back, and learned to love cooking, love food, and love themselves again I cannot begin to explain how much this resonates, and just how important it is. Beautifully written, and so so true.

So, yes. Love yourself, and love (good) food.

 

I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE to find someone who has been there and back, someone in which Whole30 has really been a turning point for them. If you know of anyone, please point them my way. I am not shy I will talk! :D

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I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE to find someone who has been there and back, someone in which Whole30 has really been a turning point for them. If you know of anyone, please point them my way. I am not shy I will talk! :D

When I was a teen I'd wash dishes and pretend to my mum I'd eaten. I'd allow myself only 'whole' peanuts, or 'whole' biscuits - then I'd crush the bags of peanuts/biscuits meaning I couldn't eat any more. I'd starve myself all day then eat an entire pack of family biscuits in the afternoon and not allow myself to eat again until breakfast next day - which might be rice crackers & low fat cottage cheese - you get the idea, but my saving grace was that I couldn't make myself sick.

There was a long road to my recovery, and a lot of time spent in research & study about nutrition, but I know that whole30 will play a big part in keeping me healthy, nourished and loving food.

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I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE to find someone who has been there and back, someone in which Whole30 has really been a turning point for them. If you know of anyone, please point them my way. I am not shy I will talk! :D

When I was a teen I'd wash dishes and pretend to my mum I'd eaten. I'd allow myself only 'whole' peanuts, or 'whole' biscuits - then I'd crush the bags of peanuts/biscuits meaning I couldn't eat any more. I'd starve myself all day then eat an entire pack of family biscuits in the afternoon and not allow myself to eat again until breakfast next day - which might be rice crackers & low fat cottage cheese - you get the idea, but my saving grace was that I couldn't make myself sick.

There was a long road to my recovery, and a lot of time spent in research & study about nutrition, but I know that whole30 will play a big part in keeping me healthy, nourished and loving food.

I, too, did that when I was younger...and even probably 2 years ago. Throw food away, wash dishes etc.

I know quite a bit about nutrition due to my career but I do want to dive deeper into the Whole 30/Paleo/Primal/Caveman what have you lifestyle!

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I, too, did that when I was younger...and even probably 2 years ago. Throw food away, wash dishes etc.

I know quite a bit about nutrition due to my career but I do want to dive deeper into the Whole 30/Paleo/Primal/Caveman what have you lifestyle!

 

The thing that's different about whole30 is that unlike ANY other program out there whole30 insists that you eat three satiating, nourishing, nutritious meals per day. Unlike any other plan it encourages you to eat without restriction to quantity, with no mention of treats & rewards, no tracking of macros or calories - it encourages the development of healthy food choices. It takes approximately 21 days to break a habit, but it also takes about 21 days to develop one - follow the program to the rule and by about 3wks in you should instinctivley be making food choices that will ultimately improve your health. 

Paleo/Primal on the other hand, with it's numerous blogs FULL of SWYPO sweets, breads & pancakes just serves to replace old habits with new.

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  • 1 month later...

 

I have invested in some new tools for my kitchen: immersion blender, mandoline slicer, pressure cooker, and lots and lots of stack-able storage containers.

 

 

Rebe - what are your favorite storage containers? I need to invest in some new ones ... Anyone else?

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Rebe - what are your favorite storage containers? I need to invest in some new ones ... Anyone else?

 

I have various sizes of Pyrex bowls with plastic lids--safe for microwave.

 

I also have plastic containers that are stack-able, in several sizes. I get the store brand, but I think Glad makes the same thing. Supposedly, they are microwave safe, but I don't heat food in them. They're recyclable, so I'm OK with tossing them after many uses.  They are great for keeping the refrigerator and freezer organized. I use masking tape and a Sharpie pen for labeling.

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I think everybody, and not just those doing a W30, need to realise that eating real food is what we are engineered to do. Our bodies require food prepared from it's natural state; we need veggies, meat, fish, salad, fruit the way nature intended. Frankenfood in any from is not natural. It is therefore essential to realise that food preparation and cooking everything from scratch needs to be incorporated into our daily lives, make time for it and learn to love it. Be creative in the kitchen while nourishing your body and soul. Forget the TV programs telling you how you can make a meal in 15 or 30 minutes those are unrealistic. Do your food prep in advance in bulk if you are short on time but if you learn to love the process life will be happier. 

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I think everybody, and not just those doing a W30, need to realise that eating real food is what we are engineered to do. Our bodies require food prepared from it's natural state; we need veggies, meat, fish, salad, fruit the way nature intended. Frankenfood in any from is not natural. It is therefore essential to realise that food preparation and cooking everything from scratch needs to be incorporated into our daily lives, make time for it and learn to love it. Be creative in the kitchen while nourishing your body and soul. Forget the TV programs telling you how you can make a meal in 15 or 30 minutes those are unrealistic. Do your food prep in advance in bulk if you are short on time but if you learn to love the process life will be happier. 

Yes.

I grew up eating real food. Then came the "convenience" of packaged foods...and everyone in my family started gaining weight. Thank goodness I never forgot the techniques taught to me by Mom and Grandmother; they are literally a life-saver today.

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