Whole30: Beginner’s Guide, What to Eat and Avoid, and More (2024)

FAQs

Whole30: Beginner’s Guide, What to Eat and Avoid, and More? ›

On Whole30, you can eat meat, vegetables, fruit, tree nuts and seeds, and healthy fats. However, you must avoid sugar, grains, legumes, dairy, alcohol, and processed food additives. Although it would be difficult and very restrictive to maintain long term, the Whole30 is designed to be done only for 30 days.

You'll avoid grains, legumes, dairy, alcohol, added and artificial sugar, and foods with common additives like carrageenan, MSG, or sulfites. You also can't use Whole30-approved ingredients to make treats, such as pancakes, bread, muffins, brownies, pizza crust, or ice cream.

That said, plenty of people who try the Whole30 diet do end up losing some weight. “The benefit of Whole30 is that it encourages eating whole foods, which are foods in their most natural state,” says Sara Haas, RDN, a nutrition expert with formal training in the culinary arts.

When you're on Whole30, toast, cereal, and oatmeal won't fly. But that doesn't mean you have to eat a plate of boring scrambled eggs each and every day. These casseroles, egg cups, breakfast stacks, and more will have you looking forward to your morning meal—and full way beyond your morning commute.

On Days 10 and 11, you are statistically the most likely to quit your Whole30. (That's why they're “the hardest days.”) By this point, the newness of the program has worn off, and though you've made it through most of the unpleasant physical milestones, you've yet to experience significant benefits.

Though peanuts and peanut butter aren't allowed on the Whole30 program, other nuts and nut butters are. Cashew butter is loaded with nutrients like healthy fats, magnesium, manganese, and copper. Its smooth, sweet taste pairs well with apples ( 1 ).

I encourage you to read the whole post (and the experience that prompted it), but I'll summarize it here: If you get one bite into a less healthy treat and realize it's not worth it, stop eating.

Basically, all fruits and veggies are acceptable on Whole30, so your favorite apples, bananas, berries, and the like are fair game. The same can't be said for your green breakfast smoothie, however.

Some downsides include Whole30 side effects like digestive problems, worsened food cravings, and reduced nutrient intake. The diet restricts certain foods and food groups, which, if followed long-term, can result in nutrient deficiencies.

Yes, you can eat potatoes of all colors under the new Whole30 guidelines, white varieties included. Mash 'em up, roast them, or throw them in the skillet to enjoy. Just don't eat them commercially deep-fried or in packaged chip form to stay Whole30-compliant.

Can you drink coffee on the Whole30? ›

Whole30 and Coffee

Here's their official stance on coffee: “Yes, you can have your coffee. You're welcome. You can drink it black, add unsweetened compatible nutpods, coconut milk, almond milk, or add cinnamon or vanilla beans to the brew.

According to the official Whole30® website, once those 30 days are up, it's up to you to “carefully and systematically reintroduce those foods you've been missing”.

It's got only four ingredients: water, organic almonds, organic acacia gum, and sea salt. You've seen this in literally every grocery store, and now you know: Yes, you can drink it while doing Whole30. Silk's unsweetened vanilla carton is fair game, too.

Sure enough, I was up 2.6lbs “overnight.” It's water retention and the beginning of the infamous “my pants are tighter” phase of Whole30 as the body continues expelling all the junk and getting used to a new way of eating. Day 8ish is usually a bit of a digestive adventure, so we'll see where things go.

Whole30. If you're used to eating a traditional low-fiber American diet—meaning not many fruits, veggies, and whole grains and lots of sugar and processed carbs—switching to this veggie-heavy diet may trigger diarrhea, Upton said.

My first round of Whole30, I dropped 11 pounds and 13 inches; my second round, I dropped 6 pounds and 5 inches; and my third round, I maintained a healthy weight and dropped 3 inches.

Most people start a Whole30 for weight loss or help identify foods that give them digestive issues. On Whole30, you can eat meat, vegetables, fruit, tree nuts and seeds, and healthy fats. However, you must avoid sugar, grains, legumes, dairy, alcohol, and processed food additives.

All fruit, including dates, can be part of your Whole30 elimination.

But white potatoes are an accessible, nutrient-dense, whole food, and it was an easy call to bring them back into the Whole30 along with other starches and varieties of potatoes. They were added back into the program in 2014, with the exception of commercially-prepared fries or chips.