Does this work in the real world?

[whyhelloannie]

Hi everyone,

I am eager to try the Whole 30/Paleo way of living but have some concerns.

1. I am hesitant to try any "diet". I have never done fad diets and would rather focus on healthy eating.

2. How well does this work in the real world? I work full time and have a 19 month old son. My husband works nights, so when I get home from work, I'm taking care of our son by myself and busy. How practical is it to eat this way long term when you are a working mom and travel? There don't seem to be many options for when you have to eat on the run.

Thoughts?

[missmary]

1. well, this isn't a "diet" and it's not a fad, so no worries there.

2. how well it works depends entirely on your committment. If you feel like the guidelines are arbitrary and it doesn't matter if you follow them or not, you'll find it impossible to follow the plan. If you believe the guidelines result in a significant health benefit and you're committed to doing all you can to follow the plan, you'll find it quite possible, if not always easy or convenient.

Have you read "It Starts with Food"? Understanding the reasons for the guidelines makes a huge difference.

[midwestgirl80]

It all comes down to planning. This made all the difference to me! I bought the Well Fed cookbook, and she has a section in there about preparing your food ahead of time and doing one big cook-up a week - this helped me enormously! I would definitely recommend that book, in addition to ISWF.

As far eating on the run, we did two short weekend trips during my Whole30 and I prepared for the road trip with healthy snacks (so no being tempted by stops at McDonald's on the way) and always brought something with us in case I did get hungry. My favorites were hard-boiled eggs, nuts, and bananas - things that can be eaten with minimal preparation. I'd stress though these should be back-up options, in case dinner comes later than planned. I didn't have these as a sub for a meal, just to get me through when plans were changed as they often can be with busy lives or when traveling.

[Guest]

It's not a diet really. It's not eating all the crap that is awful for you. And again, it's 30 days. I'm a married mom to 3, work full-time+ and we are busy people. It's totally doable but you have to plan a little and yeah, some nights I totally winged it but I made it work.

I don't have the luxury of a grocery store. I live in a very rural area and there was no running and grabbing anything so there were many times where I had to make do or do without and if we can do it in this household, you can certainly do it with a toddler.

[kew]

For me, planning is key. Doing a big grocery shop on the weekend, with an eye to possible meals for the week, if not a nailed-down meal plan, plus some weekend pre-cooking (blanching veggies, browning meat, cooking a big pile of chicken), is essential for me to stay on the plan. Mind you, it would help if the whole household ate in a paleo manner, but I'm the only one.

I think that Melissa Joulwan's Well-Fed is very helpful as a cookbook for Whole9/Paleo. I might even recommend it above the Hartwigs' ISWF, depending on whether you need more about the "why" or the "how" of this lifestyle. Just one person's opinion, though.

[Andrea D.]

Real world, real food. It takes so planning and practice but it's definitely doable.

[lauragh13]

I've found that got a bit EASIER once I got used to it, because as long as I get enough protein and fat in meals, I don't need all the snacks betweentimes, and I am a lot more resilient when plans do get changed and I don't get to eat exactly when I expected to - my body can burn fat for fuel without my blood sugar dipping, and I've got some to spare :-) And its just easier NOT to be getting hungry all the darn time!

I ditto all the advice to be prepared. Once you get your shortcuts established and your pantry stocked, it's as fast to re-heat chopped chicken and slice a tomato or pepper and splash some oil and vinegar or chopped avocado on it as it is to make a sandwich. I boil up a few eggs every couple of days and I keep individual packets of tuna handy, and with my mayo and whole30 compliant relish, that's excellent easy meals on the run or to take to work.

I have a bunch of tupperwares of chopped veggies to grab, and every time I chop an onion, I chop another and put it in the fridge to spice up a quickie meal. I have individual servings of ground beef frozen (ok, this is darn good with balsamic vinager and oil) to grab for lunch, a bag of frozen shrimp, and a pack of already cooked chicken sausages. ALL easy for a quick meal (and variety so you don't feel like you just HAD chicken for 2 meals in a row, not again...).

Oh, I bought a huge bunch of small and medium-small sized tupperwares, since I'm using them a LOT more for pre-chopped and pre-cooked ingredients. I also got a tray thingie and put my most used spices in it right where I can always get at them - I am using them SO much more. No more opening cabinets and poking around.

Another helpful tidbit - after a couple of weeks you will reduce your time at the grocery store because you will know what brands are Whole30 compliant. AND you'll know what you can only get at a specific inconveniently located store and know to stock up when you are there.

[Susan W]

Here is the meaning of the word diet in the dictionary. In this case, it refers to the first one. At least for me.

1. The usual food and drink of a person or animal.

2. A regulated selection of foods, as for medical reasons or cosmetic weight loss.

3. Something used, enjoyed, or provided regularly: subsisted on a diet of detective novels during his vacation.

Sunday cookathons will save you as far as time and planning goes. Steam saute a variety of veggies. Today, I did 3 bunches of broccoli, two nappa cabbage and I'm about to take my beloved spaghetti squash out of the slow cooker. I also have a huge vat of cocoa chili from Well Fed bubbling away and a turkey breast in the oven for lunches. I hard boiled 12 eggs (actually, I used my handy dandy egg cooker in the microwave) and mixed up 2 cans of tuna with celery, fresh dill, home made mayo and a sliced up HB egg or two. I will be eating like a queen this week.

[jrustdc]

There's a big learning curve and the work involved is significant, so it IS hard with little kids - but it's worth it and doable. Slowly it will be come easier. I second all of the planning and advance prep suggestions above. You can do it!

[MtnRunner]

I look at it as more of a "damn the man" kind of plan. I don't want the government and big corporations profiting off of our laziness. I just got done prepping food for the week, just jammed out to iheartradio.com while I washed, chopped, peeled, boxed ad bagged away.

It's a choice, you want the easy way out or are you willing to work a little?

[jrustdc]

FWIW, I have a 4 year old and a 6 year old, and a wife with chronic illness, and we make it work. Not sure all of the previous commenters are in the trenches with the small fry at the moment, so I wanted to reassure you that it IS hard, but possible.

[Shantess]

I'm going to basically echo what others have said. I do see this as "healthy eating", not a diet. I don't believe that things like dairy, grains, food preservatives, etc. are healthy, therefore, to me paleo and the Whole30 is ideal. In terms of whether or not this way of eating is sustainable for busy people and families, I think it definitely is. However, it comes down to priorities. if you're willing to plan ahead, cook a lot, make larger batches so you have leftovers to eat for lunches and on-the-run, then yes it's do-able in the real world. If you feel frozen dinners and take-out is easier, than this may not work for the longrun....nothing wrong with that but that's not the Whole30's fault, it's a personal choice.