SUMMARY
What is Whole30 all about? This program is an eating plan that seeks to improve your health holistically. It encourages the consumption of whole foods and excludes heavily processed food, added sugar, grains, and legumes.
Fresh N Lean is a meal delivery service that provides food made with organic ingredients. Our tasty, chef-prepared cuisine is always fresh and never frozen, and we offer several convenient meal plans: Protein+, Keto, Paleo, Whole30, Standard Vegan and Low-Carb Vegan. Choose Fresh N Lean for affordable nutrition, delivered to your doorstep.
If you’re keeping an eye on the latest developments in healthy eating, you may have a question or two about Whole30.
Whole30 is an eating plan that emphasizes whole foods. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The Whole30 diet is a nutritional program that can create far-reaching benefits. It’s ambitious in how it aims to improve your eating habits and overhaul your health and wellness.
If you’re curious about the Whole30 diet and want to learn more, keep reading.
In this article, we will:
- Answer six common questions regarding the Whole30 program
- Guide you on how to start the Whole30 diet in the most convenient way possible
All about Whole30
If you want an eating plan to work for you, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of what it’s all about. With that in mind, here are answers to six common questions regarding the Whole30 diet:
1. What is Whole30?
The Whole30 diet is an eating plan designed to give you greater insight into certain foods’ impact on your overall health and wellness. It was created in 2009 by two sports nutritionists: Melissa Urban and Dallas Hartwig.
With the Whole30 program, you’re encouraged to consume whole foods. In this way, it’s similar to the paleo diet. Both the paleo diet and the Whole30 eating plan emphasize healthy whole foods and discourage the consumption of foods with processed additives and added sugar.
Also, this program bears similarities to an elimination diet. Like an elimination diet, the Whole30 program requires you to exclude certain foods from your eating plan for a set time.
With Whole30, there is no importance attached to portion control or calorie counting. And unlike eating plans such as the keto diet, you’re not required to achieve a specified macronutrient balance with each meal.
2. How long should you continue this diet?
Whole30 requires you to cut out foods that may harm your health for 30 days. After this time, you can slowly reintroduce the foods that you’ve eliminated if you choose. As you add these foods back into your diet, you’ll be able to observe firsthand the impact they have on your health and your body.
This diet requires you to limit your eating plan to a list of allowed foods during those 30 days. If you consume food that isn’t on this list, you’re required to start the process over from day one.
3. What is the point of the Whole30 diet?
The Whole30 diet can help you get to the bottom of nagging health concerns. Certain foods are commonly associated with inflammation, hormone imbalances and gut issues. If you have these health challenges, a Whole30 diet may be able to help you identify the foods that are causing your problem. Some people use this diet to address specific types of health difficulties naturally and holistically.
It makes sense when you consider that scientific research has linked the foods that are verboten on the Whole30 diet with various health problems. Studies show that the foods banned on this eating program have a negative impact in these areas:
- Cravings
- Blood sugar regulation
- Hormonal balance
- Digestion
- Immunity
- Inflammation
Still, this program isn’t merely used to address specific health problems. People also use this diet to improve overall health, wellness and fitness in a more general way.
4. What foods are allowed on the Whole30 diet?
With this program, you’re encouraged to build your diet around whole, unprocessed foods.
These Whole30-approved foods should serve as the foundation of your diet while you’re on this program:
- Unprocessed meat, including beef, pork, veal and lamb
- Unprocessed poultry, including turkey, chicken and duck
- Seafood, including oysters, shrimp and all types of fish
- Eggs, including foods made from eggs, such as homemade mayonnaise
- Fruits of all kinds, including bananas, melons, grapes, berries and oranges
- A wide range of vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and potatoes
- Nuts and seeds, such as almonds, sunflower seeds, pecans, pistachios and cashews; nut butter, nut flour and nut milk are also allowed
- Healthy fat, including clarified butter or ghee, plant oils, coconut oil and duck fat
There is room for including some minimally processed foods in this eating plan. When selecting these foods, choose those with short ingredient lists, no processed additives and no added sugar.
5. What foods should you avoid on this program?
The Whole30 rules require you to exclude these foods:
- Pulses and legumes, including chickpeas, beans and lentils; however, green beans and most peas (such as snow peas, sugar snap peas, green peas, yellow peas and split peas) are permitted
- Peanuts (which are technically legumes) and peanut butter
- Pseudo-cereals such as amaranth, quinoa and buckwheat
- Soy and soy products, such as edamame, soy milk, tofu, tempeh, miso and soy sauce
- Most types of dairy, such as cow’s milk, goat’s milk, sheep’s milk, cheese, ice cream and yogurt; however, you can include clarified butter or ghee in your Whole30 diet
- Grains of all types, including wheat, corn, rice, millet and oats
- Added sugar and artificial sweeteners, including maple syrup, refined sugar, raw sugar, honey, stevia, monk fruit sweetener and agave syrup
- Alcohol of all types, including beer, wine, vodka, rum and gin
- Processed additives, including MSG, sulfites and carrageenan
- Pasta
- Bread
- French fries
- Potato chips
- Baked goods
- Junk food
6. What is Whole30 good for when it comes to health?
The Whole30 eating plan isn’t about weight loss, unlike several popular diets. However, weight loss may be a side effect of eating the healthy foods associated with this program.
This diet aims to reset your health and help you identify the cause of common health problems. In addition, it can help you uncover issues concerning food sensitivity. According to the nutritionists who created this diet, it has the potential to bring these health benefits:
- Improved energy
- Better sleep
- Improved digestion
- Improved mood
- Sharpened focus and mental clarity
- Improved athletic performance
Also, if you suffer from a condition like allergies, migraines, and eczema, this diet may help you find relief. In some cases, these problems are caused by food sensitivities. The Whole30 diet can help you identify problematic foods that may be at the root of your health issue.
How to start the Whole30 diet: A convenient, no-hassle approach
The Whole30 diet requires you to pay attention to the ingredients listed on food labels. And it can be restrictive since many commonly consumed foods aren’t allowed on this eating plan. As a result, shopping for approved foods can be a hassle.
If you’re looking for a convenient way to start the Whole30 diet, consider subscribing to a meal delivery service that offers a Whole30-approved menu. You’ll have the foods you need for your diet delivered to your door.
Fresh N Lean offers a Whole30 meal plan to simplify your experience with this popular diet. Our meals are chef-prepared and made with wholesome, organic ingredients.
Next steps
Take the hassle out of your Whole30 journey by subscribing to Fresh N Lean. Our Whole30 menu items include nutritious foods like grass-fed beef and cage-free chicken. We deliver your meals weekly to your home or office.
