5 Things I Hear All The Time Now That I Am A Whole30 Certified Coach
I’ve officially been a Whole30 Certified Coach for a month now and what a month it has been! There are so many great things about earning this distinction I couldn’t possibly list all the rewarding things this new job brings to my life and especially to the lives of others.
Being a Whole30 Certified Coach isn’t just about coaching though.
I feel like a big part of my responsibility is to help educate people. After all if you don’t understand what the Whole30 is and myths aren’t dispelled you will never understand what this dietary reset can do for you and how it can change your life.
The last 30 days provided many questions and a lot of conversation. The two most common phrases I hear from people inquiring about my new coaching position are, “I really need to do that”, and “I did that once but I didn’t make it through.” Good news! A coach can help with both of those things. But the other topics have centered around some confusion, myths, and misconceptions people have about the program. Here are the most popular ones.
1. “What do you eat on that?” Or sometimes it’s a statement, “There’s nothing you can eat on that thing.” Usually at this point I pull out my phone and post some pictures of the following meals.
Smoked ribs with BBQ sauce
Cobb Salad with Grilled Chicken
Tuscan Chicken
Beef Teriyaki
Wings with Buffalo Sauce
Shrimp Scampi over Spaghetti Squash
Eggs and Bacon
All sounds pretty good to me. All looks pretty good right? There is plenty of good wholesome, nutritious food with delicious sauces and herbs that taste incredible. It has become easier and easier to find Whole30 recipes and obtain Whole30 products and ingredients. In fact, I would say there are meaningful changes happening in the food industry because of Whole30.
2. “I did the Whole30 but I didn’t lose any weight” - A lot of people assume it is a fad diet and that it is used for weight loss. Weight loss is NOT the reason you should do a Whole30. You’re not counting and restricting calories or tracking macro nutrients. The Whole30 is not a diet and it’s certainly not a fad diet. Diet to me signifies not sustainable and scale-driven. This reset provides a deep introspective look at your habits and your relationship with food. It’s about what works for your body and is best for you and it’s not about a number on a scale. To reshape your life, your habits, and your relationship with food you need to put that scale away. It’s about how you feel and is an important self-experiment. As a trainer, I will tell you this though - weight loss is a simple equation - calories in need to be less than calories out. Simple. If you use the meal template and portion guide weight loss will likely happen as a byproduct because yes, even too much of a good thing could make you gain extra pounds.
3. “Why are you eating that? That’s not on the Whole30!” - Yes, there are so many times when I’m out to eat or out with friends where they inform me that my food or drink choice is not on the Whole30. I’m glad they are looking out for me but the biggest assumption is that you eat like this forever! I eat completely clean a lot but no, you don’t have to and are not, giving up all these foods your are eliminating forever! After the 30 days, some perceptive journaling, and a structured reintroduction you will be armed with the knowledge to live in your Food Freedom going forward. That means you will now make educated decisions. If dairy and sugar are my triggers - which they are - then I know I probably don’t want to have yogurt with artificial sweetener or I’m just asking for achy joints and skin issues for the next few days. So now there is no guilt just consequences. I can choose to eat that ice cream but I know and have to accept what it will do to me and quite honestly, a lot of times it is simply not worth it. For me, wine also effects me adversely so I’m better off with a beer but not more than two. I not only know what bothers me, I know how much bothers me. It’s all information I acquired about myself on this program over the last 3 years. It’s continual learning process for me.
4. “I feel fine so why would I have to do this?” - Couple things about this question. First of all, people think you have to be sick or in pain to do this. Yes, it can help you cope with symptoms of disease or chronic pain - I’m living proof of that. But there are so many reasons to do a Whole30 I actually have a hard time believing there is a person on the planet who would not benefit from this reset. The second part of this is that most people don’t know how bad they feel until the feel good. I went into my Whole30 focused on coping with MS, but then I learned how low my energy was in general and how bad my skin and hair felt at times. In fact, the first time I did Whole30 I didn’t want to stop and reintroduce foods because I was feeling so good I didn’t want anything to change it. There are so many reasons to do a Whole30. Mood, hormone balance, curing cravings, migraines, allergies, less gas, increased libido, mindful eating, etc…and the list goes on.
5. “I need to do it but I just don’t think I can give up…..” - this sentence is usually finished with “alcohol” and a lot of people will add in “cheese” or “cream” in their coffee. This is where some tough love can help snap you out of this idea. It …Is…Just…30…days. 30 days is not a lot when you’re talking about the rest of your life is it? You can drink your coffee black and you can go without that alcoholic beverage for 30 days. I promise you can do this for 30 days and I promise it will be worth it.
There are always people waiting for the right time to do a Whole30 but I would tell you, just do it. Commit to it. Embrace it. Be open-minded and honest and you will learn more than you could imagine about the most important topic you could ever study - yourself!