My Thoughts On and Concerns with Starting Whole 30

Monday is the day that I am starting on my Whole 30 journey. If you are not familiar with what Whole 30 is it is basically a very strict 30 day paleo eating program. The basics are no (added) sugar, no alcohol, no dairy, no grains, no soy and no legumes for a whole 30 days. If you are interested in the ins and outs of it you can read more about it on their website Whole9.com.

I’ve been interested in the paleo lifestyle for several months now so when my friend Julie, from Run. Walk. FASTPASS. Repeat, mentioned that  she would be doing Whole 30 in early June I vowed to join her. As life would have it our schedules didn’t line up so I am starting a week before she does but I feel the support will still be there and maybe I will have some advice for her as she starts her journey.
I have spent several hours this week getting my very detailed menu plan ready and if I can stick to it 100% I will be golden. Where are my concerns you ask? Well,  here they come right now. My biggest concern is cost. I am a stay at home mom with a family of 6, and since moving to California our grocery bill has already almost DOUBLED! This is with some organic items, like fruit, veggies and eggs, and conventional meets. I am not sure I will be able to move to 100% grass fed, free range products like I would like to. A good thing about Whole30, though, is that they realize this can be an issue so they give you a list of best, better, and good options. I am hopeful I can work with my current budget and still stick with the program.
My next concern is finding products that are Whole30 compliant. I have done quite a bit of research and I have found that sugar is added to EVERYTHING! Luckily I have seen a couple bloggers report that they have been very successful purchasing from Target and Wholefoods and I happen to have both of them available to me so I am hopeful I can make it work, but it will take more work on my part to hunt the products down.

My last concern is that I will actually be able to stick with it for the entire 30 days. Part of me feels that it isn’t that different than how I have been eating. Generally for dinner I have a lean protein source and a veggie. That will not change, so I am good there. Now giving up cheese, that will be the challenge.
I feel that in order to be successful I have to not over think it and just take it one day at a time. So that is what I plan to do and I am hoping that at the end of the 30 days  I can report that all these worries for nothing.