Whole 30 Rules

More importantly, here’s what NOT to eat during the duration of your Whole30 program.  Omitting all of these foods and beverages will help you regain your healthy metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation, and help you discover how these foods are truly impacting your health, fitness  and quality of life. 

1. Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc.  Read your labels (and your Success Guide FAQ), because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
2. Do not eat processed foods. This includes protein shakes, pre-packaged snacks or meals, protein bars, milk substitutes, etc.
3.  Do not consume alcohol, in any form.  (NEW! And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)
4. Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, millet, oats, corn, rice, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa.  Yes, we said corn… for the purposes of this program, corn is a grain!  This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on.  Again, read your labels.
5. Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, kidney, lima, etc.), peas, lentils, and peanuts.  No peanut butter, either.  This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, tamari and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).
6. Do not eat dairy. This includes all cow, goat or sheep’s milk, cream, butter, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream.
7. Do not eat white potatoes. It’s somewhat arbitrary, but they are carbohydrate-dense and nutrient poor, and also a nightshade (refer to your Success Guide FAQ for details).
8. Most importantly… do not try to shove your old, unhealthy diet into a shiny new Whole30 mold.  This means no “Paleo-fying”  less-than-healthy recipes – no Paleo pancakes, Paleo pizza, Paleo fudge or Paleo”ice cream.  Don’t mimic poor food choices during your Whole30 program!  Those kinds of food miss the point of the program entirely.

One last and final rule.  You are not allowed to step on the scale during your Whole30 program.  This is about so much more than just weight loss, and to focus on your body composition means you’ll miss out on the most dramatic and lifelong benefits this plan has to offer.   So, no weighing yourself or taking comparative measurements during your Whole30.  (NEW!  We do encourage you to weigh yourself before and after, however, so you can see one of the more tangible results of your efforts when your program is over.)

he Fine Print

A few concessions, based on our experience, and those of our clients. These are less than optimal foods that we are okay with you including during your Whole30.  Including these foods in moderation should not negatively impact the results of your Whole30 program.

1. Fruit juice as a sweetener.  Some products will use orange or apple juice as a sweetener.  We have to draw the line somewhere, so we’re okay with a small amount of fruit juice as an added ingredient during your Whole30… but this doesn’t mean a cup of fruit juice is a healthy choice!  Refer to your Shopping Guide for clarification.
2. Processed Meat.  On occasion, we are okay with organic chicken sausage (those that are nitrate, sugar, gluten and dairy-free), and high quality deli meat, packaged fish (like tuna or smoked salmon) or jerky.  Read your labels carefully, because Whole30-approved processed meats, especially jerky, are hard to find.
3. Certain legumes.  We’re fine with green beans, sugar snap peas and snow peas.   While they’re technically a legume, these are far more “pod” than “bean”, and green plant matter is generally good for you. (Refer to the FAQ for details.)
4. Certain processed foods.  We’re okay with cans or jars of olives, coconut milk, sauces and spice mixtures like tomato sauce or curry, or vegetables like sweet potato or butternut squash, but only if the labels prove they’re “clean”.  (Refer to your Success Guide FAQ for details.)
5. Vinegar.  NEW!  All vinegar, with the exception of malt vinegar (which generally contains gluten), is allowed during your Whole30. This includes white, apple cider, balsamic, red wine, rice, and other non-malt vinegar varieties.