
Dear Melissa: Grammy’s Feelings vs. the Whole30
Dear Melissa, I just completed my Whole30, and what a difference! I never thought I would find something that would have such an effect on me—it has totally changed everything! However, on Day 28, I was visiting my grandparents (they are in their mid-80s), whom I very rarely get to...

The Best of Whole30 Recipes: Spectacular Seafood
Our @whole30recipes Instagram feed brings you delicious, Whole30 Approved recipes all day, every day. And, in our new series, The Best of @Whole30Recipes, we’ll be bringing them to our blog! Each week, we’ll feature a new mini-collection of our favorite recipes. This week, we’re bringing you some spectacular seafood dishes! Jamaican Mussels, @colleensdishes...

Whole30 and Weight Loss: Katie K.’s Story
Sometimes, we are completely astounded by the stories our Whole30 Program participants send us. Today, we’re featuring Katie K. from Davenport, IA, who used the Whole30 Program to lose more than 100 pounds and gain the energy and confidence to live live to its fullest. Katie’s Story “I had a...

The Best of Whole30 Recipes: Sauces, dressings and dips, oh my!
Our @whole30recipes Instagram feed brings you delicious, Whole30 Approved recipes all day, every day. And, in our new series, The Best of @Whole30Recipes, we’ll be bringing them to our blog! Each week, we’ll feature a new mini-collection of our favorite recipes. This week, some of our favorite condiments! Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, @colleensdishes...

Dear Melissa: Explaining the Mini-Reset
Welcome to Dear Melissa, where we answer your questions about transitioning into or or maintaining a healthy Whole9 life, helping you make what you learned during the Whole30 work in the real world. Today, we’re talking about shortened versions of the Whole30 program and when it’s appropriate to take on a mini-reset. Dear Melissa,...The benefits of a mini-Whole30, when it's a good idea, and when you should really do the full program.

The Best of Whole30 Recipes: One Dish Wonders.
Our @whole30recipes Instagram feed brings you delicious, Whole30 Approved recipes all day, every day. And, in our new series, The Best of @Whole30Recipes, we’ll be bringing them to our blog! Each week, we’ll feature a new mini-collection of our favorite recipes. This week, meals you can prepare in one pan! Ratatouille, @bitsofbbskitchen 1 large...

The Best of Whole30 Recipes: No forks required.
Our @whole30recipes Instagram feed brings you delicious, Whole30 Approved recipes all day, every day. And, in our new series, The Best of @Whole30Recipes, we’ll be bringing them to our blog! Each week, we’ll feature a new mini-collection of our favorite recipes. This week, food you can eat with your hands! Coconut Shrimp with Piña...

The Best of Whole30 Recipes: Steal This Salad
Our @whole30recipes Instagram feed brings you delicious, Whole30 Approved recipes all day, every day. And, in our new series, The Best of @Whole30Recipes, we’ll be bringing them to our blog! Each week, we’ll feature a new mini-collection of our favorite recipes. This week, warm and cold salads that are as gorgeous as they are...

Five Things Melissa Urban Learned from the Whole30
Written by the co-creator of the Whole30, who still does her own program about once a year Mid-August, I decided it was time for me to do another full Whole30 (my seventh, I think). I hadn’t done one in about a year, and although I’d thrown lots of Whole5’s and Whole7’s into the mix...

The Best of @whole30recipes: The Incredible, Edible Egg
Our @whole30recipes Instagram feed brings you delicious, Whole30 Approved recipes all day, every day. And, in our new series, The Best of @Whole30Recipes, we’ll be bringing them to our blog! Each week, we’ll feature a new mini-collection of our favorite recipes. This week, 5 recipes that feature the egg. Baked Eggs with Tomato...

Find a Healthy Whole30 Reward
As you might imagine, the Whole30 team doesn’t like the idea of using food—especially carb-dense, nutrient-poor food with no brakes—as a reward. The food-as-reward cycle is one of the most destructive eating behaviors Whole30 participants struggle to change during their program, and often resurfaces aggressively on Day 31. The rationale usually sounds something like this: Now, we’re...

A Vegetarian Whole30: Laurice’s Story
Laurice Brewer, a vegetarian from Long Beach, CA, first appeared on our social media radar in April 2014. We saw her posting about her Whole30 experience on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, using a hashtag we hadn’t seen much—#vegetarianwhole30. While we provide resources on our website and in It Starts With...Doing the Whole30 program as a vegetarian or vegan: an interview with Laurice.

The Best of @whole30recipes: Buns Not Included
Our @whole30recipes Instagram feed brings you delicious, Whole30 Approved recipes all day, every day. And, in our new series, The Best of @Whole30Recipes, we’ll be bringing them to our blog! Each week, we’ll feature a new mini-collection of our favorite recipes. This week we’re putting a new spin on some meals traditionally eaten...

The Best of @Whole30Recipes: Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
Our @whole30recipes Instagram feed brings you delicious, Whole30 Approved recipes all day, every day. And, in our new series, The Best of @Whole30Recipes, we’ll be bringing them to our blog! Each week, we’ll feature a new mini-collection of our favorite recipes. This week is all about chicken. Thai Basil Chicken (Pad Grapow),...

Dear Melissa: Slow My (Reintroduction) Roll
Welcome to Dear Melissa, where I answer your questions about transitioning into or completing a Whole30, successfully sticking to your new Food Freedom habits, and figuring out how to make this lifestyle work in the real world. Today, we’re helping a guy who feels so awesome after his Whole30, he’s not sure he...

Courtney’s Whole30 Story
We’d like to introduce you to Courtney Crozier. We (and maybe you) first noticed Courtney as a contestant on a popular weight-loss based reality TV show, and we were over the moon to see (via her Instagram feed) that she was embarking on a Whole30. Not only did she rock her program like a...

Things You Can Do with Mayo and Ghee
Today’s article is from Whole30 Recipes superstar and food blogger Alanna of Planks, Love, and Guacamole. (Are you following @Whole30Recipes on Instagram yet? We’ve got hundreds of complete recipes just like this from a fresh guest blogger every week!) I am all about flavor when I prepare meals, and nothing...Whole30 and Paleo sauces, dressings, dips, and marinades made from mayo and ghee.

The Whole30-Plus: Extending Your Program for 45, 60, or 90 days
Whole30 participant Tabitha contacted us recently with a question about extending her Whole30. She asked: “I have some long-standing issues that I have a feeling will take longer than 30 days to truly turn around. Can you give me an idea of what a Whole60/90/120 would look like?” Now,...

How the Whole30 Helped Heal My Unhealthy Relationship
Today’s guest post is from Karen Simpson, a holistic health coach Karen’s Story When Jay and I met almost two years ago, we fell for each other immediately. Before I met him, I felt as though the whole “love at first sight” concept was something that could only be found...

Even More Whole30-Friendly Recipes
header image from the Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook by Mickey Trescott We’re all gearing up for the site-wide August Whole30 (sponsored by the newly updated edition of It Starts With Food, available Tuesday, July 29th). As we outline in our “get me going” track, one of the most important steps in ensuring Whole30 success...Three special recipe book previews (including free recipes and meal planning tips) to help you succeed in your Whole30.

New Whole30® Program Rules
We have one big announcement today, in preparation for our site-wide Whole30 program starting August 1st (and pertinent to every Whole30 thereafter). We could give you the whole backstory, or we could just cut to the chase and tell you what’s what. White potatoes are now allowed on the Whole30...

Whole30 Success Story: Jenna and von Willebrand’s Disease
While so much of the mainstream media coverage of the Whole30 is focused on the weight loss benefits of the program, stories like this are what the Whole30 is really about. Jenna has an inherited bleeding disorder which tremendously impacted her quality of life. Thanks to the Whole30, her life is...

A Whole30® Fourth of July
U.S. Independence Day is just around the corner, but your independence – from bland potato salad, gut-bomb-brownies, and greasy chips and dips – starts NOW. We’re kicking off another official Whole30® (sponsored by It Starts With Food) on August 1st, but it’s never too early to start incorporating Good Food dishes into...

You Get What You Pay For: A Post-Whole30 Perspective
Today, we’re looking back to a special guest post from Anne Sharp, member of CrossFit South Arlington. The lessons she learned during her two Whole30 experiences are just as relevant to those of you “in the process” as they were two years ago. So read on, and pay attention, because you really...

Whole30 and Anxiety: AJ’s Story
We found AJ’s story on Instagram while browsing the #Whole30 hashtag. She wrote, “When I started the Whole30, I honestly was mostly looking for a way to lose a few pounds/inches before my wedding this summer. After reading It Starts With Food, I realized it is about so much more than...

Dear Melissa: The Whole30 and Eating Disorders
Welcome to Dear Melissa, where I answer your questions about the Whole30 and Food Freedom. Today, we’re talking about a serious subject: whether the Whole30 is appropriate for those recovering from or still navigating an eating disorder. Dear Melissa, I had multiple eating disorders for more than 20 years. I...Should I do the Whole30 if I've had an eating disorder? Dr. Emily Dean Harvard psychiatrist helps to tackle this question.

Dear Melissa, How Do You Eat? (Part 3)
Welcome to Dear Melissa, where I answer your questions about transitioning into or completing a Whole30, successfully sticking to your new Food Freedom habits, and figuring out how to make this lifestyle work in the real world. Today, we’re answering the #1 question on everyone’s mind, in three-part format. (Need a refresher? Go back...

Dear Melissa, How Do You Eat? (Part 1)
Welcome to Dear Melissa, where I answer your questions about transitioning into or completing a Whole30, successfully sticking to your new Food Freedom habits, and figuring out how to make this lifestyle work in the real world. Today, we’re answering the #1 question on everyone’s mind, in a three-part format. Dear Melissa, How do...

The Whole30® > The Scale: Hilarie’s Story
We first read Hilarie’s story while simultaneously planning our #IAMWHOLE30 Instagram campaign and fielding a ton of interview requests from mainstream media, all of whom were asking about the Whole30 weight loss benefits. Her tale was a breath of fresh air, music to our ears… because the scale played absolutely zero role...

The Best Mayo You’ve Ever Made
By Melissa Urban, who always hated mayo until she started making it herself I was talking to a Whole30’er the other day who mentioned she had never made homemade mayo. The only thing I could think to say was, “WHAT.” It made me sad, because you’re not really living on the Whole30...