Food Freedom
Food Freedom

Live your life free from food-related stress, guilt, or anxiety

Food freedom is feeling empowered to choose the foods that feel right for your body, and trusting yourself to make those choices

Food FreedomFood Freedom
What is Food Freedom?

What is food freedom?

Food freedom is the final stop on your Whole30 journey. It’s where you take the information you’ve learned from elimination and reintroduction and use it to create a joyful, sustainable diet for you, according to your definition of health.

Much like your Whole30 experience, your food freedom will be one of a kind. Your uniquely personal reasons for starting the Whole30, the lessons you took from the experience, and your collection of non-scale victories will shape your plan.

After your Whole30, you know better than any diet trend or magazine article the foods that work best for you—and the foods that don’t. And that will help you answer the two simple questions at the foundation of your plan: “Is it worth it?” and “Do I want it?”

Universal food freedom principles

While your plan is all about you, there are some big-picture concepts we hope everyone embraces.

Food freedom is where you want to be most of the time.

We don’t want you to eliminate Whole30 food groups 365 days a year, or complete multiple Whole30s back-to-back. The purpose of the Whole30 is to get you to food freedom.

Food freedom isn’t about saying “no.”

It’s about enjoying what’s worth it and passing on what isn’t—without guilt, anxiety, or self-criticism.

It recognizes that food is not moral.

We don’t label foods as “good” or “bad,” and know that you aren’t “good” or “bad” based on what you eat.

It means you feel at ease around food.

You don’t fixate. You don’t get anxious. You aren’t stressed. And you don’t feel pressure to follow anyone else’s food rules.

In your food freedom, you never feel deprived.

You’ll eat whatever you want, as often as you want, because you decided it’s worth it. And if you pass, there is no deprivation, because you made that decision, too.

It should be flexible, not rigid.

Because you’re making conscientious decisions in the moment, what’s worth it now might not be worth it the next time—and vice versa.

Food freedom gives you the best of all worlds.

You’ll enjoy foods that are culturally significant, family favorites, or just plain delicious—while feeling exactly as good as you want to feel.

There is no “right” or “perfect” food freedom.

The Science Behind Whole30Food FreedomFood Freedom
Give yourself the freedom to evolve

Give yourself the freedom to evolve

Think of food freedom as a practice, not an end state. There will be many occasions where you decide a food is “worth it” in the moment, then realize after the fact it wasn’t worth it at all. That is not a failure—it’s a valuable learning experience.

Your food freedom involves the continuous fine-tuning of your plan in the way that serves you best. Stay flexible, show yourself grace, and continue to trust yourself along the way. And should you ever need the structure and support of the Whole30, the program is there, ready to show you even more about the way food works in your unique body.

As with everything, exercising this freedom gets easier with practice. You will work through your decision-making process faster and with less effort. You’ll naturally create new habits that support your healthy lifestyle. You’ll gain confidence in your plan and in your body, which will spill over into every area of your life. There will be days, then weeks, then months, where you’ll look back and realize you haven’t had to think about it at all—you’ve just been living it.

That is true food freedom—and it’s waiting for you on the other side of your Whole30.

Food Freedom Forever

End the yo-yo dieting cycle forever

Food Freedom Forever offers real solutions for anyone stuck in the exhausting cycle of yo-yo dieting and the resulting stress, fatigue, cravings, and negative self-talk. In this insightful book, #1 New York Times best-selling author Melissa Urban shows you the path to true food freedom.

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Start your journey to food freedom today

Millions of people have successfully completed the groundbreaking Whole30 program, and radically transformed their energy, sleep, cravings, and health. But the Whole30 is only the first step on your journey. As anyone who’s ever tried to change their diet knows, creating healthy habits that is the hard part.

Melissa Urban’s Food Freedom Forever offers a simple, effective, 3-step plan for applying your Whole30 learnings and creating a long-term plan that sticks. In this New York Times bestselling book, Melissa will show you:

  • How customize your Whole30 for improving energy, eliminating sugar cravings, and reducing inflammation
  • How to spot your craving triggers before they’re pulled
  • Strategies for dealing with temptation, strengthening your new healthy habits, and boosting your willpower
  • Advice for navigating food freedom during holidays, vacations, periods of life stress, and social pressure

By the last page, you’ll have a detailed plan for creating a personalized, sustainable, joyful diet; finding your own healthy balance; and maintaining the peace and ease that true food freedom brings—for the rest of your life.

Food Freedom Forever gives you everything you need for achieving dietary success, for today and for the rest of your healthy life. Melissa Urban’s information is spot-on in terms of its scientific validity, and wonderfully approachable in terms of its implementation.

— David Perlmutter, MD, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Purchase Your Copy Today: Amazon B&N Indie Bound Powell’s BAM Hudson Indigo Amazon.ca Amazon.uk iBooks

Resources to support your food freedom

Browse these free resources for more information, actionable advice, and community success stories to help you live and love your food freedom.

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Is it worth it? An excerpt from Food Freedom Forever

This passage from the book will help you use the question “Is worth it?” during your food freedom.
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Heart

Managing emotions in your food freedom

How to listen to your body during stress or challenging emotions
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How to food freedom as an Abstainer (and some tips for the Moderators)

Discover how your food freedom can be understood through Gretchen Rubin’s popular framework.
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Podcast

Food freedom fumbles

Listen to this podcast to find out how to recover your food freedom without doing another Whole30.
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pen

Is your food freedom truly free?

Co-founder Melissa Urban explains the difference between “teenage” and “mature” food freedom.
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book

Dear Melissa: Nine books to support your food freedom

Helpful book recommendations about living a healthy lifestyle from our favorite author.
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Food Freedom Testimonials

Find inspiration in these food freedom success stories.

tracy-elliot
On Day 16 my panic attacks stopped: Tracy’s Story
I first learned about Whole30 after discovering Topical Steroid Withdrawal after using prescription and over-the-counter steroid creams on my eczema for almost two decades.
Cathy headshot
I feel a sense of peace and serenity that I haven’t felt in years: Cathy’s Story
Angie Gonzalez picking up a weight with one arm|Angie Gonzalez picking up a weight with one arm
Whole30 was about finding a new and improved relationship with food: Angie’s Story
Megan Whole30 testimonial
Whole30 gave me a life full of the things that fill my soul: Megan’s Story
Erin Cullin Beggs selfie
The Whole30 helped me deal with my grief: Erin’s Story
group of people at a gym holding up a blackboard that says "January Whole30 doing Heavy Thing #DallasDuo"
No digestive problems; even, steady energy; great sleep; and so many more NSVs: Amy’s Story
Joe and Alice Wurst
The Whole30 has taught me to love food more, because I no longer think of food as bad: Joe and Alice’s Story
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
This program has improved my body and my health: Kareem’s Story
Phil Collins Resize|Phill in a suit
I even started jogging because I had so much energy and a fresher mindset: Phill’s Story