Any tips for a successful Whole30 while working in a restaurant/bar?

[emmak]

Despite trying my best to eat healthy, exercise more, and avoiding food when I'm not hungry, I'm not feeling my best and am very interested in doing my first Whole30. However, there's a challenge I'm hoping you all can help me with - I work as a bartender in an Italian restaurant/lounge/cocktail bar. I'm sick of all the food, so it's easy to choose to eat a salad, other compliant meal, or bring my own dinner. What I'm more worried about is the alcohol and the hours. I have to taste drinks as part of my job, so I'm not going to be able to cut that out completely, but drinking is a big part of the culture among my coworkers and is a primary part of any non-work activity with my social circle. My partner is doing the Whole30 as well, but works a 9-5 Monday-Friday job, while I work more like 6pm-3am 4 nights a week.

Any tips on avoiding the booze without isolating myself from my community?

How do you manage meal planning and compliant eating with unusual hours? 

Thanks in advance for any advice! I'm going to figure this out and hopefully see great results with my weight, my sleep, my eczema, my energy, and my appetite!

[ultrarunnergirl]

Great questions. My brother is a bartender and has successfully done Whole30.

You can spit after tasting, just like wine makers do. 

We have many posts on how to stay compliant while being social/on the job. One  Two Three On The Job

You can certainly go out to bars with your drinking friends and order club soda and lime. To set yourself up for success, one of our suggestions is to offer up alternative social activities like planning a hike, seeing a movie, bowling, laser tag, Escape Room ... etc that don't necessarily involve drinking as the focus. 

Meal planning - just as you would if you had a 9 to 5, cook up a bunch of food for the week. Make yours portable - like frittatas or hard boiled eggs, salmon cakes, burger patties, salads, bell pepper strips, baby carrots, compliant mayo... stock up on compliant snacks like chomps, compliant jerky, Epic bars etc for times when you can't eat a real meal. Here's the Travel Guide which may help too.

Kudos to you for giving it a go. You can do this!