Whole30 Jumpstart Challenge!

The Basics

• When: January 13th– February 11th (30 days) 
• What: A nutrition challenge (teams of 2) following the principles of The Whole30
• Cost:  $25- Includes a before/after InBody Scan ($80 value) and a special gift from our very own talented member and artist, Jim Burke! 
• Specifics:
  • 30 Days of focus and self commitment
  • Cut out all the psychologically unhealthy, hormone-unbalancing, gut-disrupting, inflammatory food groups for a full 30 days. These 30 days can change how you eat forever.
  • Number of points earned will determine the winner. 

Quick Overview

The Whole30 Challenge is a 30-day nutrition challenge that takes a Paleo-based approach to eating. You’ll eat meat, veggies, some fruit and good fats. 

After the holidays is a great time to hit the reset button and get back on track, and this program is exactly that; a reset. This is not a lifelong elimination diet that anyone can (or should try) to sustain for an extended period of time, hence the 30-day timeframe, but is extremely beneficial in order to reset our systems from the inside out and FEEL better after over indulging during the holiday season.

In general, certain food groups (like sugar, grains, dairy and legumes) could be having a negative impact on your health and fitness without you even realizing it.

Here is a brief overview of the guidelines of Whole30, beginning with what you can’t eat. While I generally prefer not to focus on the “can’t,” omitting all of these foods and beverages will help you regain your healthy metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation, and enable you to see just how these foods are impacting your health, fitness and quality of life.

AVOID

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 because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
2. Do not consume alcohol, in any form, not even for cooking. 
3. Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and quinoa. Yes, I 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.
4. Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).
5. Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)
6. Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.
7. Do not eat white potatoes. This is somewhat arbitrary, but if we are trying to change your habits and improve the hormonal impact of your food choices, it’s best to leave white, red, purple, Yukon gold and fingerling potatoes off your plate. Sweet potatoes are okay. Yay!
8. In addition, no Paleo-ifying dessert or junk food choices! No paleo pancakes, pizza, brownies or ice cream. Trying to replicate junk food with “technically approved” ingredients misses the point of the Whole30 entirely.
9. One last and final rule: You are not allowed to step on the scale or take any body measurements for the duration of the program. This is about so much more than just weight loss, and to focus just on your body composition means you’ll miss out on the most important benefits this challenge has to offer. (We will do a before/after InBody scan)

Exceptions

There are a few exceptions to the rules above. They are:

1. Clarified Butter or Ghee. Clarified butter or ghee is the only source of dairy allowed in the Whole30 program. Plain old butter is NOT allowed, as the milk proteins found in non-clarified butter could impact your results. 
2. Fruit juice as a sweetener. A small amount of fruit juice as an added ingredient during your Whole30 is allowed, but this doesn’t mean a cup of fruit juice is a good choice.
3. Certain legumes. Green beans, sugar snap peas and snow peas are okay on the Whole30 program. While they’re technically a legume, these are far more “pod” than “bean,” and the benefits of these legumes exceed the downside.
4. Vinegar. Most forms of vinegar, including white, balsamic, apple cider, red wine, and rice, are allowed during your Whole30 program. The only exceptions are vinegars with added sugar, or malt vinegar, which generally contains gluten.
5. Processed foods. Minimally processed foods like canned coconut milk, applesauce, tomato sauce, chicken broth or canned olives are all acceptable on the Whole30 – but, avoid anything with carageenan, MSG or sulfites.

GIVE IT 30 DAYS

Your only job during the Whole30 is to focus on making good food choices. You don’t need to weigh or measure food, you don’t need to count calories, you don’t need to stress about organic, grass-fed, pastured or free range. Just figure out how to stick to the Whole30 in any setting, around every special circumstance, under any amount of stress… for 30 straight days. The only way this will work is if you give it the full thirty days: no cheats, slips, or  “special occasions”. It’s only 30 days. We want you to participate. We want you to take this seriously, and see amazing results in unexpected areas. 

Points

Summary

• Max Points per Day: 10
• START the day with 5 points.
• Subtract 1 point each time you eat something that isn’t “Whole30 approved” . Portion size does not matter, if you eat it you lose the point. Eat more than one serving, lose another point.
• Add bonus points as earned.
•  For this challenge you CAN go negative. Have a whole day of non-compliant food, you might find yourself below 0.

 Bonus Points

• Exercise (Max of 10 points per week and 2 points per day)
  • 2 points each day for taking a class at SciCoh.
  • 1 point per day for doing some kind of workout. If YOU say it was “exercise” for you, then it counts! 
• Mobilization – you’ll earn 2 points each day when you do at least 10 minutes of stretching or mobilizing. You can do any type you like – even a yoga class counts, or staying after class for Crossover Symmetry.
• Hydration – you’ll earn 1 point each day for drinking at least 64 ounces of water per day.

If you have specific training goals or concerns that may conflict with the challenge, please let me know and I will help you!

Heather