Krystle T. can’t pinpoint her exact number of Whole30s—but she’s sure it’s more than 10. And, to this day, the program is still helping Krystle discover new information about her body, relationship with food, and how to live her best life.
But her long-term relationship with Whole30 started out with a quest for something completely different. Krystle was looking for a quick fix. She was getting married soon and wanted a fast way to better fit into her wedding dress.
“I was reading more about [Whole30] and was quite interested,” she says. “I was like, ‘Okay, this isn’t a diet, but it sounds really interesting—something I’d like to try.’ So I actually found it in looking for weight loss things, but very quickly found out that’s not really the point. I did it anyway because I was excited.”
At that time, the first Whole30 book was the only option on the shelves. She used it to complete that program on her own. Krystle admits it wasn’t done perfectly, but she had a great experience. And, as we know now, it would be the first of many.
Even though Krystle is busy—with a day job and duties as an on-call firefighter for two departments near her home in British Columbia—she makes time to do the program at least once a year. This usually happens in January as her “reset” to start the year, and she always follows the Original plan.
Until September 2024.
Embarking on a Plant-Based adventure
Krystle has always been interested in plant-based eating. She’s thought about trying out a vegan or vegetarian diet many times. Shopping and cooking for two different dietary philosophies—one for her and one for her husband—made it too cumbersome to attempt.
But a documentary series on Netflix in early 2024 convinced Krystle’s husband to take the plant-based plunge with her. The series depicted a study testing the benefits of a plant-based diet by having one twin eating that way while the other remained an omnivore. After watching the results play out, Krystle and her husband decided to try plant-based eating for a month.
That first month was followed by many spent trying different recipes and eating a mostly plant-based diet. So when the 2024 September Whole30 was announced, Krystle’s decision was an easy one.
“To me it just seemed like perfect timing because I’d already been doing it like 75 percent of the time,” she says. “It was just like the stars aligned just at the right time, because I actually wasn’t even planning on doing a September Whole30.”
Krystle was excited by the opportunity to do something different with her Whole30. And the switch from Original to Plant-Based wouldn’t be all she changed in September 2024.
Finding community—and so much more
The idea of joining a Whole30 Community Cohort sounded fun to Krystle. She was already changing her normal routine with the program, and the addition of the Cohort experience seemed like “such a great experiment” to her.
“I’m so used to doing it on my own,” Krystle says. “My husband will eat whatever I make, but he’s not into it in the same way. He doesn’t understand it in the same way. He just goes along with it, and he’s not going to argue if someone makes him some food.”
The Cohort provided Krystle with a community of people who were into the Whole30 in the same way she is. The financial investment also made her more committed to the experience. But, most importantly, Cohort gave Krystle back something she was missing after doing so many Whole30s.
There’s a tradeoff when you’ve done as many Whole30s as Krystle. She says you gain the knowledge of what is and isn’t compatible, you have favorite recipes, and understand how to plan and prep. But “it’s not something new and exciting” anymore.
“Doing the Cohort added back some excitement for me of watching the daily videos while I was having my coffee, and even just popping into the chat when I have a lunch break,” she says. “It just builds up your excitement and enthusiasm about the program that I wouldn’t have otherwise had.”
Solving a mystery years in the making
The Cohort experience was a good one. Having the mix of support, excitement, and experience helped Krystle overcome challenges—especially giving up staples in her diet, like rice and oatmeal—and reinforce her dietary decisions.
“I have also done food sensitivity testing,” she says. “For me, it was a validation of what I found through doing Whole30. It really hit the nail on the head, it’s on this chart, it’s not just in my head, or in my stomach.”
For Krystle, that meant dairy and gluten were already out. She skipped reintroducing those food groups. Instead, Krystle used the Plant-Based Whole30 to systematically solve a mystery that’s been bothering her for almost five years—what causes her night sweats.
She started with eggs. They hurt her stomach right off the bat. Seafood was fine at the time of eating, and later at night, too. Then there was poultry and beef. Both meats didn’t cause immediate digestive problems. But they brought on sweats she hadn’t had much during her program or her year of plant-forward eating.
“This is also why I wanted to do the Plant-Based plan,” Krystle says, “because I was like, ‘It’s been getting better this year. I wonder if it’s literally that meat sweats thing.’”
It literally was. Krystle says she still wants to go back and do a more thorough fish test “to continue the detective process, as Melissa would say.”
New lessons lead to even more freedom
Even after 10-plus rounds of the Whole30, Krystle’s dietary self-experiments are still illuminating exciting new findings. And she continues to use those lessons to tweak her habits and food freedom.
Right now that means mostly following the Plant-Based Whole30 plan, but with the addition of non-gluten grains. She knows, “Alcohol is not my friend—I didn’t even need to reintroduce it to know that.” And Krystle has found a balance of eating joyfully and feeling her best.
“If I go out for dinner, I can still eat what I want because I know I was eating really good for my body the rest of the day and the day before,” she says. “Therefore, I can handle this and not ruin my night or ruin my next day. That’s a big thing for me. If I keep a somewhat stable state, that allows you to be able to go enjoy your life, go out for dinner, have fun, and not pay the consequences for it as much.”
Krystle started out searching for a quick fix. What she found is a long-term relationship with the Whole30 that has blossomed into beautiful food freedom.
Need another inspirational Cohort success story? We have a whole collection waiting for you. (Also check out other inspirational Whole30 success stories in our Testimonials section.) If you’re looking for excitement and support, like Krystle, find out more about the Whole30 Community Cohort.
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