Whole30 Diet Plan: 50+ Whole30 Approved Recipes You'll Love (2024)

FAQs

What are the cons of the Whole30 diet? ›

A calorie deficit is needed for weight loss. Because of its restrictive nature, the Whole30 diet will likely help create this calorie deficit. However, unless the food choices you make on this diet become a habit, the weight loss you experience may not be sustainable in the long term.

Since the Whole30 diet is more of a food challenge than a long-term change, there are some hurdles. The Whole30 diet has strict rules. The overall goal is to restrict your eating. So, if you “cheat” on a day of your challenge, they recommend you start again from day one.

Is Whole30 actually healthy? Samantha Cassetty, a registered dietitian based in New York City and the co-author of “Sugar Shock,” tells TODAY that there's no scientific evidence to support the health claims made by the Whole30 diet, and it wasn't designed by a credentialed expert.

Eliminating certain foods may cause you to experience digestive issues and discomfort. Suddenly removing fiber-filled grains and legumes from your diet while also increasing your animal-based protein intake may cause you more harm than good in terms of digestion.

Here's the rule in a nutshell: If you think your less healthy treat is going to be so delicious, so incredible, so worth it, and then you take your first bite and discover it's not… STOP EATING.

Sure enough, I was up 2.6lbs “overnight.” It's water retention and the beginning of the infamous “my pants are tighter” phase of Whole30 as the body continues expelling all the junk and getting used to a new way of eating. Day 8ish is usually a bit of a digestive adventure, so we'll see where things go.

What's not allowed on Whole30? You'll avoid grains, legumes, dairy, alcohol, added and artificial sugar, and foods with common additives like carrageenan, MSG, or sulfites. You also can't use Whole30-approved ingredients to make treats, such as pancakes, bread, muffins, brownies, pizza crust, or ice cream.

The 30-30-30 rule involves eating 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up, followed by 30 minutes of low-intensity, steady state cardiovascular exercise. Beyond these steps, the 30-30-30 method doesn't require any changes to other meals or behaviors, restrictions or counting calories.

Some downsides include Whole30 side effects like digestive problems, worsened food cravings, and reduced nutrient intake. The diet restricts certain foods and food groups, which, if followed long-term, can result in nutrient deficiencies.

Do you go into ketosis on Whole30? ›

No. The Whole30 diet doesn't have a carb limit, so it's not meant to put you in ketosis. However, it tends to be lower in carbohydrates than a standard American diet (SAD) since it cuts out grains, traditional baked foods, and processed items, which are major sources of carbs.

The Whole30 Day by Day to helps you stay motivated, track your non-scale victories, and hold yourself accountable. By the third week, most people notice small (or big) non-scale victories (NSVs) in many areas of their lives: Energy and sleep. Mood, anxiety, and depression.

Paleo and Whole30 are similar, as they both promote eating whole foods and prohibit sugar, alcohol, dairy and processed foods.

–Jess, Missouri Dear Jess, First, remember that our “three meals a day” recommendation is just that—a recommendation, based on most people's general needs and fitting into most people's regularly scheduled lives.

Okay, we'll just say it: bloating, constipation, diarrhea, or all three may appear as your gut starts to heal, rebalance, and process your Whole30 food effectively.

It's far more likely that after a Whole30, you'll feel obsessed and out of control around all the foods that you weren't allowed to have while you were on it. You might feel intense cravings for sugar, grains, dairy, and packaged foods for days, weeks, or months after the 30 days.

Cravings for the foods or drinks you've eliminated can also make you cranky, fidgety, and easily irritated. (Food dreams are common here, too.) You may also experience bloating, constipation, or loose stools as your gut adjusts and learns to process these new foods more effectively.

Yet you're still experiencing troublesome gastrointestinal symptoms late into your program, or even after your Whole30 is finished. You might be experiencing bloating, flatulence, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and/or constipation, and possibly even headaches, fatigue, and mood instability.