Getting ready for a 30-day elimination diet
The first step is to choose the protocol you want to follow.
The two most popular elimination diets are the “Whole30” and “Paleo” diets. They are very similar, and I would recommend either one. Anyone with severe gut issues should work closely with a functional or integrative doctor and perhaps consider the GAPS protocol.
The main difference between “Whole30” and “Paleo” is that the “Whole30” program was first published in 2014 by authors Melissa Hartwig and Dallas Hartwig in It Starts with Food. “Paleo,” on the other hand, is more of a movement with a community of people behind it, and there is no one person who can say, “Yes, you can have this,” or “No, you can’t have that.” Granted, Dr. Lorain Cordain is known as the father of the “Paleo” movement with his book The Paleo Diet, published in 2002. Since then, many doctors and health industry leaders have stood on the shoulders of Cordain, and the “Paleo” movement has grown thanks to favorable scientific research and profound health results for many. Those results have led to the development of different community groups in this movement, some who stick to more of the original protocol and others who follow more current trends.
I recommend purchasing The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom by Melissa Hartwig and Dallas Hartwig, or The Paleo Cure by Chris Kresser.
Getting started on a 30-day elimination diet
The second step is to choose your start date and prepare.
If you have an important special occasion this coming weekend, wait until the next day. Use your time between now and then to do some more reading, meal planning, and shopping. There are plenty of recipes in both books I recommended, and there are plenty more on my site. If you still want more, look to Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Gather and bookmark the ones that interest you most.
Clean out your pantry and freezer of the items that you’ll be too tempted to eat. If you can’t handle seeing that frozen pizza every time you open your freezer or the box of brownie mix in the pantry, give it away. Your friends or neighbors will love it, although I’m not sure you are doing them any favors by encouraging them to eat it.
Consider making some soup, chili, and freezer-friendly meals so you have meals ready in case of an emergency (like when you are too tired to cook). You don’t want to be tempted to order fast food.
The final step before starting on a 30-day elimination diet
You can do this!
Tell people you are doing this. It’s an accountability trick. You’ll increase your chance of finishing this 30-day challenge because you won’t want to admit defeat when you’re asked about it later.
Let me know if you have any questions. In the meantime, I wish you good health and wellness.
