Please fill out the quiz below prior to the first meeting. In addition to the quiz is a food and health journal. Keep track of the way your food is affecting you. You can do this 7 days prior to the start of the course or during Week 1. 

Next week you will begin the Whole30. This week it's your job to gently begin adding in more vegetables into your meals, especially greens. You also need to do a pantry sweep and put aside or throw away all foods that are not compliant with the Whole30.

Please continue to keep track of what you're eating and how it's impacting you. 

The attachments for this week are:
1. My story
2. Whole30 Program Rules
3. A shopping list
4. Produce that's in season this Fall
5. Why beans and legumes are not included in the Whole30

As the course begins, take your measurements including your weight, waist size, arm and thigh size. Also, take a picture of yourself before Week 2.

I know it's not necessarily comfortable to do these things but it's very rewarding to see the difference at the end of the course. 

You don't need to step on the scale every few days. In fact, I suggest that you step on it only once before the course and then put away your scale for the next eight weeks. Don't pull it back out until the program is over. 

Lastly, seek out an accountability partner for going through this course. Ideally it is someone you live with and share meals with and they want to do the program with you. 

Or you may find someone who is going through this course at the same time whom you can check in with via phone or email. 

This week we start the Whole30. To see exactly which foods are not permitted please see the handouts from Week 1 with more information on the Whole30. 

To be blunt and brief about it, you must get through the next thirty days without dairy, sugar, wheat, flour, alcohol, or soy. It is often these ingredients which are used to make a meal seem tasty. If you relate with this sentiment, take heart because there are still plenty of hearty options for what to eat.

Here is my advice for making the Whole30 not only a healthy but a yummy experience:

Find some staple foods that you will be happy to eat several times throughout the week. Healthy people tend to eat a similar lunch every day with a few variations. Here are some staple vegetable dishes I eat:

In addition to a few sides of vegetables, I will regularly consume a protein (egg, meat or fish) and an avocado. If I am still a little hungry after lunch, I might have some fruit or coffee, tea or kombucha. Just make sure your kombucha doesn't have added sugar after the fermentation process has occurred.

The next thing to consider is that we are entering the holiday season. Many people associate the holidays with all sorts of homemade breads and pies. This season we are going to need to reorient our relationship with the holidays. Just imagine all the extra energy you will have by eating clean at this time of year. You can use this extra energy to create a new tradition. Think of how you want to purposefully spend your holiday season.

Here are some examples of what you can do differently this Thanksgiving and Christmas: volunteer to help deliver meals and presents to other people, participate in a run like the Turkey Trot, write letters to loved ones, start a new project or entrepreneurial endeavor. Take time each morning when you journal to think about how you want to give back in a unique way this year.

A few things to be weary of as you embark on the Whole30. Do not become dependent on relatively unnatural products to compensate for something you miss.

For example, many almond milks contain a plethora of chemicals in them and if you consume this in large quantities in place of dairy, your system will not like it.

Avoid using carbonated water too much. If you are going to consume carbonated water, use a brand whose only ingredient is carbonated water and add lemon or lime yourself. Topo Chico is the only brand I know of that doesn't add other ingredients to the water. Avoid brands like LaCroix which add in other "natural flavors."

Explore recipes you can use that are relatively simple to make. Below are a few websites with Whole30 compliant recipes:
1. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/22590/healthy-recipes/whole30/?page=2
2. https://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/whole30-and-flirty-and-thriving

Also, there are services which will deliver Whole30 compliant meals to your home:
1. https://www.snapkitchen.com
2. https://www.territoryfoods.com

As long as you have a plan, you are set up for success. Take a few minutes now to plan out your meals for the next few days. Make sure the food you need is in the refrigerator. If you are taking a trip, make sure you have easy access to Whole30 compliant foods/snacks. If you are planning on having a meal out with friends, check the menu of where you are going or better yet, ask if you can decide the restaurant so that it will be easy to pick a healthy option. 

This week we will look more closely at what insulin and cholesterol are and perhaps dispel some myths about both of them. Looking at the science behind why we are making changes in our diets can empower us to continue making good choices for our bodies and our minds. 

If you are embarking on this course around the time of the holidays, there is a necessity to reorient your relationship with celebrations as these often include large amounts of unhealthy food and encourage overeating in general. 

If we are able to approach the holidays with clear minds and healthy bodies, then it becomes much easier to open our hearts. I personally believe that eating clean during the holidays can make for one of the best seasons yet. 

Sacrificing bready and sugary foods not only requires reorienting toward the holidays, it also requires filling a void. The void is actually an extremely positive thing and indicates the potential to establish something new in our lives. This opportunity tends to only come around when we wipe away something that no longer serves us. Consider what new thing you want to add into the mix of your life?

A little bit about insulin... You can see this week's hormone for more information. Insulin is a hormone that is secreted when we consume sugar or protein. It indicates the cell to absorb that protein or sugar into itself for energy. If we consume more sugar than the body needs, extra insulin floats around in the bloodstream. This begins the downhill process of the cells gradually becoming more and more insulin resistant. The more insulin resistant they become, the more insulin the body needs to secrete. In this vicious cycle, the cells are increasingly desensitized to insulin's effect and the person begins to gain weight. The body set point is determined by a person's insulin levels. When we eat healthy foods that are low in sugar, we gradually decrease our insulin levels. 

A little bit about cholesterol...Cholesterol has for many decades had a bad reputation. However, it is an essential building block of every cell. We just need to feed our body the right kind of foods in order to use the right kind of cholesterol in the body. We want big fluffy particles that don't easily oxidize or contribute to the cell build up of plaque. One way to do this is to eat healthy fats, to avoid unhealthy fats and to avoid junky, processed foods. See this week's handout on cholesterol for more information.

Finally, intermittent fasting is restricting your window of eating to a limited number of hours in the day. In addition to eating healthy, low carbohydrate foods, intermittent fasting helps to reduce insulin levels. It also reduces bad cholesterol, LDL, low density lipoproteins that consist of small particles. Fasting also reduces our triglyceride level, which is a fancy way of saying it burns fat in the body. 

This week you will begin the practice of intermittent fasting. The window to aim for is 16 hours of fasting every day and 8 hours of consuming food. Remember that 8 out of every 24 hours are spent sleeping. So that means if you can refrain from eating 4 hours before you go to bed and four hours after you wake up, you have reached 16 hours of intermittent fasting. 

You don't need to start with 16 hours of fasting. If you currently only fast for 10 hours of every 24 hour period, see if you can fast for 12 for a week, then 14, then 16. Take three weeks to graduate yourself up to 16 hours. 

This week, we will begin practicing the Ketogenic Diet within the scope of the Whole30 program. That means we are still following all the rules of the Whole30. We are just narrowing the scope of what we are allowed to eat within the Whole30.

We will eliminate from our diets all foods that are high in carbohydrates, that means sugary and starchy foods. When we reduce our carbohydrate intake to less than 50 net carbohydrates in a day, we so drastically reduce the amount of glucose available to the system that the body must turn from burning sugar to the body's fat preserves. This results not only in weight reduction, it also cleanses the body of unnecessary waste products within the cells.

When fat is converted into energy, it becomes a ketone. This is where the term ketogenic diet arises from. Ketones are a cleaner fuel than glucose and tend to produce 30% less free radicals in the body. This means the body uses less energy to fight off free radicals and has more available energy for cleansing the body and feeding the brain. For this reason, many people report feeling much clearer in their minds when they are on the ketogenic diet. 

Hello Yogis. We have just passed the midpoint of this course. The beginning of week 5 marks day twenty-two of the Whole30. Week 5 also marks one week of practicing the ketogenic diet. We will practice the ketogenic diet within the confines of the Whole30 for two weeks total. On the second day of week 6, we will complete the Whole30. 

Once the Whole30 is complete, we will begin reintroducing foods which are Keto-compliant yet not Whole30 compliant. We will continue reintroducing foods through week 7. On the final week we will look to create a long term plan. 

Keto friendly foods that may be reintroduced once the Whole30 is complete include cheese, butter, heavy whipping cream, limited amounts of milk and yogurt. 

When you begin reintroducing different forms of dairy, take note of the impact each dairy product is having on your body. It is especially important to make use of your food journal at this time. If you find that milk or cheese or any other dairy product makes you feel unwell, then choose to add it sparingly back into your long term diet.

This week we are going to check in on how you are doing with the various components of the course. If you are doing this course on your own, you can journal about these prompts and then discuss them with a trusted friend, family member or mentor. If you are doing this course with others, you can collectively discuss the following questions:

In addition to checking in about your progress, this week we are going to look at the role of protein in the ketogenic diet. The model we are following, developed by Joseph Mercola, is called Mitochondrial Metabolic Therapy. This diet is high fat, adequate protein, low carbohydrates. We consume enough protein to maintain the current muscle mass. We do not over consume protein because unused protein is converted into glucose and thus raises insulin levels and chances for disease. 

How much protein is the right amount? On average, females may consume 12-15 grams per meal or 36-45 grams per day. Active and athletic females may consume 18-24 grams per meals or 54-72 grams per day. On average, males may consume 15-20 grams per meal or 45-75 grams per days. Active males may consume 25-40 grams per meal. This amount can be modified based on your age, athleticism and whether or not you are pregnant. 

Hi Yogis!
Today marks the beginning of week 6. Tomorrow will be the final day of the Whole30. This means you will begin the process of reintroducing foods back into your diet. More on that in a moment. 

Let's take a look at what we have done so far:

So far we have been on a similar path together. As we begin reintroducing foods, I want to offer you a few options:

Option 1: Continue the ketogenic diet for one more week, reintroducing foods that are Keto-friendly. 

Option 2: Begin reintroducing carb rich foods.

Option 3: Continue the ketogenic diet introducing Keto-friendly foods, then intensify the state of ketosis via a 48 hour fast.

For all three options, we will begin adding some carb rich foods in at week 7. This is because we want to practice micro phasing. 

Microphasing is shifting back and forth in the diet from day to day between having primarily glucose as a fuel source to primarily fat to primarily protein. More on this next week. 

What are the benefits of a 48 hour fast? Fasting reduces insulin levels, shifts the body into fat-burning, increases autophagy (cellular cleansing), and can help regenerate damaged organs in the body. It can also re-sensitize our taste buds and help us eat more mindfully on regular eating days. 

Fasting is something the human body adapted to over millions of years when food was scarce and it proved to have beneficial effects on the human body. It is an excellent practice to do on a consistent basis. 

There are many different kinds of fasts. However studies have shown that reducing one's caloric intake in a day to 500 calories has many of the same benefits as a full fast.  You may want to experiment with this next week. 

Now let's look at an article on metabolic flexibility and some suggestions for food reintroduction! See both attached pages. 

Hi Yogis,

Today marks the beginning of Week 7 in the Nutrition Course. We have one more week to go before the course is complete. Way to go! At this point you are likely experiencing increased energy, clearer skin, reduced weight, reduced insulin, lower levels of bad cholesterol and all around better health. 

Because the course is almost over, it is essential that you begin to consider how you want to continue applying these principles once the course is over. Let’s review the most important parts of maintaining a consistent healthy diet that we have covered so far. Then we will introduce a few new principles. 

Principles of Healthy Eating We’ve Covered:

Now let’s look at a few new principles:

Check out this week’s handouts for more information on local and seasonal eating as well as making the process sacred!

Between week 6 and week 7, you have introduced one new food ingredient per day. Then the next day you removed that food from your diet and introduced a different food. You made note either mentally, in your health journal or on the Cronometer App how those foods affected you. You may have discovered one of your favorite foods leaves you feeling low energy. Now you know the price you have to pay in terms of your life force energy in order to enjoy a certain food. You might also have noticed that no food in and of itself caused you to feel unwell. It may very well be the accumulation of inflammatory foods that caused you to feel bad. 

Now that we have made it through one week of reintroduction, for the second week of reintroduction, you will have more liberty to add more ingredients per day into your diet. Here are the guidelines:

The most important thing to accomplish this week is to establish an eating routine that you can maintain and that feels good for you. Some of you will want to stay on the Whole30 for a while. It is fine to turn the Whole30 into the Whole60 and/or the Whole90 and go for a long time eating really clean and healthy! 

However, at some point most people tend to shift toward a regular diet. The question is… what is your new regular diet? How can you eat in such a way that you are eating clean, you are getting a variety of foods, you are occasionally satisfying the itch for some rich and heavy foods, but most importantly, you are eating foods that feel good to you and provide your mind and body with plenty of energy. Can you make fasting a semi-regular part of your life? (See this week’s handout to read more about various forms of fasting and find a method that works for you.)

Our dietary needs differ based on our activity levels and our personal constitutions. So it’s not right to say there is one way that we all need to eat. We can at most agree that healthy whole foods which are consumed with as little processing as possible is the best way to go. 

Good luck reintroducing!

This is the final week of Nutrition for a Yogi. I hope you have learned and implemented many new habits that you will bring with you into your long term practice of eating. We have spent the last two weeks reintroducing foods that we eliminated for the Whole30. During the first week of reintroduction, you reintroduced just one food at a time. During the second week of reintroduction, you experimented with having 3-4 foods not on the Whole30 in a day. 

A very important principle to continue practicing from this course is moderation. Continue to eat well for most of the time. That being said, it is also ok to moderately indulge. There are many delicious foods out there and it is pleasurable to take part in enjoying them from time to time. Some things to consider when you do indulge is to plan a special meal ahead of time. It is much better to share a yummy meal with others that you have allocated as a feasting day than to eat unhealthy foods unplanned just by yourself. These two different attitudes will greatly affect how your body digests and absorbs the food. 

Plan a few times a year to be more vigilant with the food you eat for several weeks. For example, you can do this nutrition course two times a year. For the rest of the year, it is paramount that you continue to eat well. You just don't have to be as rigid. 

By this time you have discerned eating patterns that work for you. Make a commitment to eat well at the very least 51% of the time. If you can, aim to eat clean 6/7 days per week and allow yourself to indulge once a week. 

Fasting is so beneficial for the body. Plan to fast (in addition to daily  intermittent fasting) at least once a month. However you may find that you can fast once a week or once every fourteen days. 

Remain open to your varying needs over the course of the year. Your body will crave different foods and perhaps different patterns of eating depending on the season. While it is important to maintain structure, you may self-reflect and determine that your eating schedule for summer may include more fruits at breakfast while your eating schedule in spring may be a low sugar green drink in the morning. 

Your final assignment is to create a mind map of how you want to move forward with your diet at nutrition. This mind map may include a weekly schedule of the types of foods you want to eat on each day. It can include your continued health goals, how you want to feel energetically and emotionally as a result of the food you eat. It can include other goals you can now achieve because you are eating healthy. When you complete your mind map, send it to me at brynn@elementalyogatherapy.com. I would love to see it. 

See a few examples attached plus worksheets for you to fill out and post in a prominent area of your home, car or work. Congratulations on making it this far. I hope this course has changed your body, your mind and your life!