Before Day 1 my clients and I practiced eating for the Whole30 ahead of time. This gave us time to try new foods, test out new recipes, and become familiar with the “fine print” of the program. Trust me… if you are thinking about doing the Whole30 practice first! I would say it took me about 3 weeks to feel as if I could let go of my dairy products and say goodbye to my protein powder. But during these weeks prior to the Whole30 my clients asked me a lot of great questions, and I had a few of my own regarding what exactly is allowed and what isn’t. So before you ask, “Can I have…” try these 4 Steps first.
- Step 1: Google it
Chances are you are not the first person to ask the exact same question… and Google knows everything. Seriously though! Start your google search phrase with “Whole30” and add additional search terms to narrow down the topic. For example, “Whole30 protein powder” if I wanted to know if protein powder was approved on the Whole30. I could also type in, “site:whole30.com” and then my search term if I only wanted to search the Whole30 homepage. The same goes for if you wanted to know if an ingredient listed was used as an artificial sweetener or as a preservative… google it. But you should always remember if the food item in question has a lengthly hard to read ingredients list, that should be a huge red flag that it is not Whole30 approved.
- Step 2: Whole30 Forum
Google works great for a quick fix, but sometimes you might need a more complex answer… this is where the forum comes in. Here you have both users and professional moderators who provide answers to thousands of questions brought up on discussion boards each sorted by topic. You can conveniently search with the forum for exactly what you are looking for to avoid having to read multiple boards to find your answer. The forum is great! I have already used it multiple times for both questions and motivational support! Chances are you won’t be making it through the 30 days without at least one stop to the forum for a tricky question or a motivational boost!
- Step 3: Connect on Social Media
Your currently reading a blog… chances are you understand how connected social media is these days. Try looking up Whole30 hashtags, searching on Pinterest, or joining a Whole30 Facebook group. Check out my social media links at the top to see more about my Whole30 experience, Pinterest is huge inspiration for me… try starting there.
- Step 4: Ask Melissa
Ok so you’ve hit steps 1-3 but your question is perhaps more personal. Maybe its not related to training or nutrition at all. Questions like, how to make it through the 30days without having a supportive family, or how to balance the hardships of having a stressful job… then you should check out Ask Melissa. Just like “Dear Abby” Melissa answers readers anonymous questions and gives advice to those who might be dealing with larger support needs.
And as always… feel free to ask me! The comments can be a great way to get your questioned answered quick!