Notice I said “complete” and not “attempt.” I attempted a Whole30 last January. I did not finish. In August I completed my first Whole30, and I felt great!
If any of you are familiar with Seattle in August 2012, you know how glorious it was. You also know that summertime sobriety is no easy feat! No margaritas on the deck. No G&Ts al fresco. No chilled wine in the sunshine. Anyway, you get the idea. If you haven’t noticed, I am a big fan of the cocktail, but I had gotten to the point where I really needed to cut back. I needed to know if I could do it.
I could, and I did. I think the biggest difference between January and August is that in January I was doing it alone. Not one person in my life wanted to attempt it with me–not even my spouse! In August, my sister Carie and my friend Amy joined me. And we all completed our first Whole30s and could not say enough good things about it.
I learned a few things this time around:
- You cannot over-prepare for the Whole30.
- Doing it with Friends helps A LOT!
- Going out to eat is really, really difficult, and no restaurant can make Whole30 food as well as you can.
- Preparation is key! (Have I mentioned that?)
- Success is a mindset.
I want to focus on that last one for a minute. Have you said or heard others say: “Oh, no! I couldn’t ever give up fill-in-the-blank“?
To anyone who says, “I can’t,” I say, “Wrong! You can. You just won’t.”
I will admit that eating this way is not the easiest thing in the world. Your friends and family won’t understand why you won’t “…just have a taste. Everything in moderation.”
My Whole30 cohorts all agree that having the black-and-white of the Whole30 actually makes it easier to follow than the 80-20 rule you have heard about. Whenever I eat 80-20, it quickly turns into 80-percent what I shouldn’t eat and a mere 20-percent of what I should. Thanksgiving to now has been a prime example of this.
I will get into more detail about the Whole30 in my next post. (I’m just getting warmed up!)
To anyone who says, “I can’t,” I say, “Wrong! You can. You just won’t.”
I will admit that eating this way is not the easiest thing in the world. Your friends and family won’t understand why you won’t “…just have a taste. Everything in moderation.”
My Whole30 cohorts all agree that having the black-and-white of the Whole30 actually makes it easier to follow than the 80-20 rule you have heard about. Whenever I eat 80-20, it quickly turns into 80-percent what I shouldn’t eat and a mere 20-percent of what I should. Thanksgiving to now has been a prime example of this.
I will get into more detail about the Whole30 in my next post. (I’m just getting warmed up!)
No! Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.
-Yoda, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
