Some people come to the Whole30 with an easily identifiable “why.” Adrien W. didn’t. There wasn’t a reason she could point to—at least not one that was obvious before her first program in 2019.
“I remember I had the thought, ‘Do I need this? Because I didn’t have a specific health concern,’” she says now.
Adrien decided to try it anyway. And what she found during her first Whole30 changed her life.
“I was really shocked to find how dramatically things improved when I thought I was healthy before,” she says. “So much improved and I got so much out of it. And then by the end, I did feel so much better.”
The most dramatic impact was to an aspect of wellness she’d been sleeping on, literally.
“I didn’t even know my brain could produce the chemicals that make me feel twilighty and good to fall asleep,” Adrien says. “It taught me that food is actually the key to sleep. I didn’t even know I could fall asleep like that or sleep so well.”
Adrien’s discovery about food’s impact on her sleep unlocked even more benefits in the waking world. She started to wake up earlier, with more energy than ever before. It’s a change so dramatic she still finds it hard to fully describe.
“It’s almost beyond words how profound that is to have access to that amount of energy and vitality that I just didn’t even know I was missing before,” she says. “Before, I just thought I was healthy, like I didn’t know any differently. This gave me access to a whole ‘nother level.”
Worth the wait
While the effects on Adrien’s sleep were drastic, her Whole30 journey was a slow burn in the beginning. She stumbled across the program online a year or so before her first Whole30. The exact date escapes her, but Adrien remembers her first thoughts about the program.
“I thought, ‘How could I do this and be full? What would I eat? How could I even do it? So I kept an eye on it for a while,” she says.
What caught her attention the most was Whole30 CEO and Co-Founder Melissa Urban. Adrien loved Melissa’s posts about her meals, tips on building a Whole30 plate, and her philosophy.
“A lot of what came from her, a lot of her confidence around, ‘You can do it. You’re worth it,’ and standing up for taking care of oneself—I think that was a big hook,” Adrien said. “There’s such clarity in the way she writes about the value of trying it for yourself and seeing what you’ll learn.”
Even with the encouragement from MU, Adrien still wanted to take some time to dip her toe in, try it out. She wanted to cook and eat some Whole30 food, to build confidence in the program and her skills before committing to her 30 days.
“I had a long lead up period,” she says. “And then it was so exciting because I was building the cooking skills and the kitchen skills and feeling—’Oh this is what satiety feels like.’ But it definitely took me a long time to jump in.”
When she took the leap, Adrien did it alone. There wasn’t a Community Cohort back then, and she knew she didn’t have other people to rely on for support. So instead, Adrien says she was “friends with the books.”
“The first one I didn’t know what to expect,” she says. “I still remember that first week being so hungry, I was like, ‘I will eat anything that is compatible.’ I think I was eating, like dried coconut, and just that was supposed to be a salad topper or something. That was not a meal.”
But Adrien continued on, just focusing on eating Whole30 foods throughout her elimination. It helped her—someone who self-identifies as a more limited eater growing up—expand her dietary horizons. For Adrien, that meant eating more eggs and meat than she had before, which she says had really helped her.
With help from Whole30.com and Whole30 Day by Day, Adrien finished her first program. And it wouldn’t be her last, either. The slow burn of her Whole30 courtship had turned into a full-fledged romance.
Support for reintroduction success
Like any relationship, Adrien’s connection to Whole30 underwent some tests. And many of them revolved around one thing—reintroduction.
“I know I would always start with the best of intentions and would do maybe a few food groups and follow the order,” she says. “I feel like I always made it through the first three food groups and then fell off around grains. And I don’t think I ever fully made it through on my own. So maybe in that sense, I am like a lot of other people, which makes me feel better because I appreciate the Whole30 reintroduction now.”
What changed for Adrien was the support, accountability, and camaraderie of the Whole30 Community Cohort. That’s not what she was used to during her previous rounds of the program. Like many people, Adrien had to deal with naysayers, like the coworker who was particularly not helpful or supportive. The Cohort was the opposite.
“Let’s just say it’s so much more fun to do it with the Cohort, and that counts,” Adrien says. “That’s at the top of the list—it’s more fun. It’s more enjoyable. It’s less isolating.”
For the first time in her Whole30 journey, she was in a group of people who were committed and invested in the experience. That community support and the additional information and advice about mindset helped Adrien succeed in a way she hadn’t previously.
“The Cohort was also the first time I did the whole thing successfully,” she says. Adrien credits the support of her fellow Whole30ers, but also the confidence to do what felt best for her. “It’s the first time that I changed the order rather than trying to follow the prescribed order. So it was almost both. I had the support, but I also did it my way, because it’s the first time that I changed the order to start with dairy.”
Adrien has learned an important lesson—that the Whole30 is all about discovering what works best for you. It wasn’t the only one that stuck with her after her most recent experience with the Community Cohort.
“I think the cohort specifically, there was so much compassion and understanding, and I think I still feel that the most,” she says. “That’s probably a difference from the other rounds. There was an empathy around this part of life. That we’re all doing the best we can, and that’s okay, rather than trying to stick to some standard as if we’re eating for a gold medal. I think it helps take some of the stress and pressure off.”
Finding her way back
Adrien W. didn’t come to the Whole30 with a “why.” And that’s okay. She had curiosity and commitment that helped her find life-changing results she couldn’t have foreseen. But now Adrien knows several good reasons to return to the program.
“Whenever I get so far into food freedom that I’m so far off, that I’m not falling asleep or I can’t regulate in a certain way,” she says, “now I always know food and Whole30 is the way back in. ‘Cause that resets everything. And it gives me the energy and the sleep and it grounds me again.”
Want to hear more Cohort success stories? We have more inspiration waiting right here. (You can also check out other inspirational Whole30 success stories in our Testimonials section.) If you’re a community person like Adrien, learn more about the Whole30 Community Cohort.
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