Whole30

Show Notes:

Shoutout to:

Clean Eatz Cafe

Books recommended:

The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom
by Melissa Urban

Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits
by James Clear

Transcript:

Narrator
Welcome to The Best of LKN, a podcast featuring the best small businesses and the most influential professionals around Lake Norman, North Carolina. Each week, we spotlight those businesses and individuals that are making a positive impact here in the Lake Norman area. Thanks for joining us, enjoy the show.

Jeff
Hey, everyone, welcome back to The Best of LKN podcast. I have a special sort of bonus episode for you this week. We’re releasing this in between our normal episode releases every Thursday. In this episode, Andrea Sharp, the co-founder of Mbrace Studio, returns to discuss Whole30 with me. Whole30 is a 30-day lifestyle makeover that revolves around changing our relationship with food. Andrea is a Whole30 coach and has completed 13 Whole30 resets herself over the years, as well as guided hundreds of students through their own Whole30 resets. Andrea is coaching me and my wife through our first Whole30 reset, and we’re beginning our reset today — the day this episode releases. I look forward to sharing with you our experience with the Whole30 program, and hopefully, our insights will help you decide if a Whole30 reset might be right for you. Real quick, I want to give a shout out to Sodoma Law North for their sponsorship which allows us to provide a written transcription for each of our episodes. I also want to give our sponsor Clean Eatz Cafes a shout out because actually what they do is very relevant for this conversation. More on the Clean Eatz connection in the closing comments of this episode. I’ll keep you updated on my Whole30 journey each week in our weekly email newsletter. So, if you haven’t already subscribed, please do so. The newsletter is free and also a great way to show some support for this podcast. I try to keep the newsletters as short and to the point as possible, with links to our most recent podcast episodes and written blog articles. And I’ll also share some upcoming local events that you might find interesting. Don’t worry, I’ll never spam your inbox and you can unsubscribe anytime. Finally, I want to point out that my audio quality isn’t as great as it usually is in this conversation. I thought I’d try recording with just my AirPods earbuds rather than my usual studio setup, which is what I’m recording with right now. The audio is clear, but not as good as usual. So, I won’t be recording using earbuds anymore. Andrea’s audio sounded fine, so I must have been doing something wrong on my end. Anywho, let’s roll this episode. Enjoy getting to know all about Whole30 with Coach Andrea Sharp from Mbrace Studio.

Jeff
Hey everyone, welcome back to The Best of LKN Podcast. Today, I am super excited to be joined by Andrea Sharp, the co-founder of Mbrace Studio. Andrea, welcome back to the podcast.

Andrea
Thank you for having me, I’m so excited.

Jeff
I’m excited too. I’m a little nervous, because of what we’re gonna be talking about. We’re gonna be talking about Whole30 and making some lifestyle changes for Jeff. And thankfully, my wife Laurie is also going to be joining me in this challenge. But Whole30 is something that has come up in several of my conversations with fitness organizations and entrepreneurs over the years. And so, I’m really excited to be sharing more information about whole 30 with our listeners and kind of enlightening folks who may, like me, have questions about the program. It’s not a diet, how would you describe it, a program?

Andrea
When I think of the Whole30, I think of it as like you’re pressing a reset button on your health, your habits, and your relationship with food. And the Whole30 is really a, it’s about you. It’s not about anybody else, or you know, a lot of people will think, oh, I have to have a cauliflower kind of, you know, cauliflower crust pizza. Do you? Like, we need to figure out if you have an aversion to gluten, or legumes, or different things like that. So, the Whole30 is that chance where you get to find out what foods work with or against your body. And it really is, you know, something that can change your life. So, as I’ve talked to past clients, there’s just so many amazing things that happen. But it is not a diet. It is a reset. It is not something that you should be on for a long time. You’re just learning about yourself over those 30 plus days.

Jeff
Well, I can tell you that my diet needs a reset. So, we talked about this a few weeks ago and I thought it would be a great idea for the podcast to share my experience with the Whole30 and share with the listeners and kind of you know help educate our listeners a little bit more who may not be familiar with Whole30, and so I’m excited. I’m looking forward to it. I know it’s not going to be easy. I’m not that naive. So, I know it’ll be an adjustment for sure. Andrea, share, so we’ve had you on the podcast, we talked about Mbrace Studio with your, with the co-founder, Diana, and I also had you both back to talk about Atomic Habits. The one and only book review we’ve done on the podcast, I always expected to do more, but you know, anyway. But that is a book that we love to quote. So, share with the listeners a little bit of your background with Whole30. How did you discover Whole30, and share, like details about your Whole30 journey and what you love about it, and the certification process too.

Andrea
Awesome. And before I jump into that, I think you’re gonna love how the Atomic Habits book coincides with the Whole30. So, it really does create some amazing habits, and you’re gonna see that. But my journey with the Whole30 started about five or six years ago, and I had heard about it from a neighbor. So, it was kind of, you hear people, like you are hearing like, oh, I heard the Whole30 is a cool, you know, diet. That’s how it was introduced to me. But I watched as my neighbor, like, just started to look better every time I would see them. I was like, wow, what are you doing that you just look so good? They seemed so positive. And so, I did a little bit of research. And then I worked with some of my current clients, and we kind of just decided to try it together. And they did a great job, and I failed on my first round, because I didn’t set and plan and prepare. So, it was right at spring break, which is not the ideal time to start a diet or a reset. But when I came back from spring break, and I saw how amazing my clients looked, it really made me want to try this. So, then I restarted and really stayed true to it, and what I found was my biggest, we call it non-scale victories. Because during the Whole30, you cannot weigh yourself, that you just are listening to your body. And so, I had, it totally changed my relationship with food. I was a lot more calm. I feel like I was a better wife, mom, a better trainer. And I just, everything, I would say it’s like you’re running on all cylinders. My workouts were better, I was sleeping better, able to handle stress better, and not leaning into foods as like a coping mechanism. So, when it’s taken away from you, you have to actually maybe feel the sadness or feel that anxiety and try to create a new habit to deal with that instead of using food. So, that was a big deal. And then I just really loved Melissa Urban, who is the co-founder of Whole30. And I love the Whole30 community. They are just very open and giving, they are all about helping all people try to achieve the best health that they can and making it accessible to all people. And I just was following her a lot on social media, and I reached out to her and said, I would love to be a Whole30 coach. I DM’d her. But, you know, it is a little bit expensive to go through the certification. And she’s like, I’m gonna give you a scholarship. So, she gave me a scholarship, and it changed my life. So, I immediately started studying. I was just so excited. So, I just barreled right into it. There’s four parts to the certification. There’s like a test, and then you have to do different projects, and that. But I was just so excited. And some of my friends say I’m like, I’m a Whole30 dork. Like I just really love it. Because it’s not a diet. So, you can do this for any age range. No matter what health issues you have, it truly can work for anybody. And you know, my ultimate goal is to do it with my son, Richie, who has autism and epilepsy, and to see how if we take out certain foods, how that will affect him. So, that’s what we’re going to try for this summer. And I’m really excited about that.

Jeff
That is awesome. How long did the certification process take you?

Andrea
Ah, I would say I did in under a month.

Jeff
You powered through it?

Andrea
So, yeah, it’s, I was just ready. I was so excited because I’d help people through Whole30s before but when you have that certification, then you’re like, ready and you can put that stamp on there. Yeah, I just did it as fast as I could.

Jeff
Whole30, the reset, takes how long?

Andrea
So, the Whole30 process is, I always say it’s around 50 days, okay, because you have, when I have a client, I’m going to lead them through five days of prep. So, I’m explaining to them what the Whole30 does. Things to expect, how we’re going to, you know, overhaul their kitchen, take out things that could make you fail. And, you know, get your team around you, like, you’re gonna have your wife, so it’s really good to let people in your life know that you’re doing the Whole30. And then I just become your best friend. So, I’m going to help you. So, you go to sleep on the night before your Whole30 knowing exactly what you’re going to eat, you might be a little nervous, like excited, nervous, but you know that you’re ready. And then the Whole30 process is 30 days, where we take out foods that are scientifically deemed problematic in the areas of cravings, digestion, metabolism, and immune system function. So, these foods aren’t necessarily bad, right? But what we’re going to do is just see if removing these foods, how it makes your body feel. So, throughout those 30 days, there’s what we call the Whole30 calendar. It’s not exactly perfect, but it is really close. So, like day one, you’re gonna feel like, wow, I can do this, I feel awesome. Day two is the hangover, where you’re very mad. And it was funny to not have sugar or cream in your coffee on day one. But now your body’s like, wait a second, no, I don’t like this. And so, then you fast forward to day four, which we call KATT Day, which is kill all of the things. And that is where you’re really mad. So, it’s just, I just tell people along the way, these are the things to expect. But it’s amazing to see like, okay, I’ve taken out these foods and how much they are affecting your mood, your sleep, your, you know, digestive system, all that kind of stuff. So, that’s what’s going to happen throughout the 30 days. But at a certain point, you hit what we call around day 17, Tiger Blood, where everything is starting to click, where you kind of start drinking the Kool Aid, like you kind of start believing this is working. And your workouts are better, your sleep, just everything, it’s like a light bulb goes off. And then you get closer to day 30, and people get a little nervous because they’re like, I feel so good I don’t want to go off the Whole30. What happens now? And then that’s when I take you step by step through the reintroduction process. And so, it’s worked out in a way where we reintroduce foods in a certain order. And then we go back on the Whole30 throughout that and then we get to do a science experiment with yourself. And you get to decide, wow, gluten really does not work with my body, but dairy is okay. So, then when you’re somewhere and someone’s like, oh, I shouldn’t have that has dairy. Well, I can because it doesn’t bother me. And then so as we’re reintroducing foods, you’re going to also be able to do those tests, where, you know, I’ll tell people throughout, is this worth it or not worth it? Like, it might be your mom’s favorite like lemon meringue pie, you know, it has maybe some dairy and other things, but you love it so much. So, that stomachache that you’re gonna have is worth it. Like you know that you’re gonna have it, but it tastes so good. It’s you know, there’s no longer ignorance is bliss, I say, so you’re not gonna say, I don’t know why I don’t feel good, you’re gonna exactly know why. So, that’s some of the benefits of the program.

Jeff
Day four, KATT Day, kill all the things. I love that acronym. I have those days and I’m not even on the Whole30.

Andrea
It really is gonna be so true. And then it also comes with its little, like its cousin, eat all the things. So, then you’re just like super hungry. So, it really, it’s just funny how it does work.

Jeff
I have those days too. Eat all the things.

Andrea
We all have eat all the things day. Yeah.

Jeff
Can you share a little bit about, what am I going to be? I know, we don’t have a lot of time to go through the entire like prep phase and what we’ll be putting in our kitchen. But what are some examples of meals that I’ll be preparing?

Andrea
So, what is cool is sometimes when people see like, okay, there’s these rules, and they get a little bit nervous. But what I try to tell my clients is there’s freedom in the rules. So, think of yourself like a chef. And if I gave you. you know, chicken, potatoes, vegetables, and here’s the seasonings you can use, there is sky’s the limit on what you could do with that. So, during that reset, we’re going to take out sugar, alcohol, legumes, non-gluten grains, gluten grains, and dairy. So, I teach my clients how to read all the labels, so you’re going to get your pantry, your fridge, everything ready. And then once you have it there, you’re gonna be able to make some amazing recipes. And it doesn’t have to be like Martha Stewart perfection, right? Where we have to look at a recipe every time. It’s thinking, okay, well, I like tuna fish, a tuna fish sandwich, well, okay, I can use this kind of tuna, this kind of mayonnaise. Maybe I can’t have bread now. But maybe, oh, Andrea told me about the sweet potato toast. And so, I’ll teach you different things that we’re going to plug in and it’s going to be a replacement for that. It does take a little bit of getting used to, but the food is actually really, really good because it’s just real food, you take all the processed food out of it. And that’s one of the cool, what we call again, non-scale victories, those NSVs, is your taste buds will heal. You will taste a strawberry on Day 17 and think, is this a piece of candy? Like it will taste that good because we’re so used to these super foods and super flavors, we’re going to take those away, and then you’re going to be like I always say, back to zero, back to equilibrium. Your body is going to be working the right way, especially your tastebuds.

Jeff
So, I’m going to be getting rid of bread?

Andrea
Yeah.

Jeff
I’m one of those people.

Andrea
But I always tell people, this is what Melissa Urban says, is, unless you’re your kid, but you’re an adult with a bank account and money, and so after the Whole30, you can buy bread again. Like, you can, it’s not forever. It’s just for those 30 days. And some people, you know, when I was asking my clients about their testimonials or things that they learned, these are the people that never thought they could go without cream in their coffee, and years later have never put it back in. Because they just, it’s just totally, it really can change your life. And you’re going to create some amazing habits. So, you know, from like the Atomic Habit book, where he talks about the art of showing up, right? So, each day, we’re going to teach you to show up for yourself, and then you’re going to start believing that you are a healthy person, and then you just are going to be a healthy person. Because you’re doing all those things every day. You’re feeding your body the best foods for itself, you’re going to be getting amazing sleep, you’re going to be calmer. And so, you’re going to embody that person that you want to be. And that’s why the Atomic Habits, you know, it’s more than 30 days to create a habit as we know, but you just keep stacking up meal after meal, choice after choice of like, success, and then you know, you just feel really, really good.

Jeff
Yeah, absolutely. We could talk all day again, about that book, because of all of the, just the gems that he dropped, the value bombs that he drops in that book. But yeah, I mean, it’s, look, I’m not terrified of cutting some of these things out of my diet for 30 days and potentially forever, if that’s what I choose to do after that, but I’ll tell you one thing, one hot button, one difficult thing is going to be that happy hour. That beer or glass of wine on the deck after work in the evenings. I think that’ll be a challenge. I’ll just be honest with you.

Andrea
I think it is for a lot of people. And again, with my testimonials with my clients, that was one of their biggest things, to get through a weekend without drinking, was a huge thing. And there’s also something that kind of goes along with drinking sometimes are what I call like, hang-xiety. So, when you have that hangover, it like increases your anxiety instead of doing what you want, like to let it relax you. But what’s really cool about the Whole30 is since its inception in 2008, there’s so many partners with it now where you’re going to look for a seal where it says Whole30 approved. So, there’s certain companies where they really make sure that they are sticking with the rules of the Whole30, and it has that stamp on there. So, if you see some bacon, it says Whole30 approved, you don’t need to read the ingredients. But on that sense, there’s also a lot of cool drinks. So, like mocktails that are like, there’s hop water where it tastes like beer, but it’s water. There’s different CBD products that they allow you to have. So, there’s a lot of cool things that you can have at that five o’clock time and still not feel left out. And that’s one thing that I challenge my clients to do is I don’t want you to be a hermit and just stay in your house all day. I want you to go out. So, that means if you are going to go to a brewery, what option can you have? And so, that always is a really cool thing when someone’s like, I just spent four hours at a brewery and didn’t have a beer. But I had a great time. It’s like, I never thought I could do that. And that’s a success.

Jeff
That’s interesting. Yeah, I love that. Stay positive.

Andrea
Stay positive. There you go, that’s good.

Jeff
Yeah, it’s all good. All good. Thinking of my pantry. Thinking about what’s in that pantry. I’m guessing that potato chips have to go away. Peanuts?

Andrea
Peanuts are a no. And so, there’s certain things, like peanuts are a legume, which that’s one of the ones that you can’t have. So, that’s like under the bean family. And so, you can’t have peanuts, but you can have other nuts like almonds and pecans and all that. We’re just going to be watching what they cook it in. But I give a lot of recipes to make it yourself. And it’s gonna taste better than the store one and you’ll be like, I will never actually buy roasted nuts again. I’m just going to do it myself. For way cheaper.

Jeff
Yeah, we love almonds too. Ice cream?

Andrea
You’re gonna love the recipe I’m gonna give you.

Jeff
Ice cream is off the list?

Andrea
Ice Cream is off the list, yes.

Jeff
All right. It’s all good. It’s all good.

Andrea
The goal is like three meals a day with some snacks if you need it. So, if you’re an active person, or you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, you’re gonna need to add some extra meals. But what’s interesting about people is we’re just like constant snackers. Right? So, like, our hormones never get a chance. There’s different hormones that work with our bodies, insulin, glucagon, leptin, they all work together. And if you’re never truly hungry, like there’s just all these things you’re going to learn. So, I’m going to teach you a new way of eating. And you’re going to make sure you get carbs, protein, fat, all these cool things are going to work together. And like I said, you’re going to be running on all cylinders. It is going to be hard to take away some of those like normal snack foods, but we’re going to replace them with some other complete snacks, where it’s like a carb and a protein. So, you’re not just like, mindlessly eating. Right? So, I’m going to challenge you on cravings. That’s a huge thing. And then I always tell the hunger versus cravings test. So, a lot of times people will be like, I really want chips. Do really want chips, or do you, like, are you stressed out? Like, maybe you need to figure out something like, you’re searching maybe for a connection, not a cookie. So, that’s what they say in Whole30 world.

Jeff
I gotcha. Okay. Well, I do a lot of searching for connections. I rummage through the cupboards, looking for cookies quite a bit.

Andrea
There you go. And a lot of people do. So, it’s changing that habit. So okay, I’m stressed out, I’m gonna go and do this. And it does make you feel better, so why wouldn’t you do it again? So, if I take that away, then you’re gonna have to find something new. And I’m gonna help you replace it with some positive habits. And it’s kind of interesting, a craving can last for about four minutes. So, if you can bust through that four minutes by doing something else, you’re like, oh, wait, I didn’t want that cookie. And then you move on. So, those are some of those challenges. And like how they say we choose our hard. So, it’s hard to not feel so great. But it’s also hard to do a Whole30. It’s not easy, but we choose our hard, so that hard is going to make you feel better. And that’s the cool thing about it. And all the people that have done the Whole30 with me, they feel like they ran a marathon and they’re so proud and it just truly does change their life. It’s that cool.

Jeff
Well, I don’t like to lose so I’m gonna make this happen.

Andrea
You’re in it, man.

Jeff
Yeah, I’m in it. So, speaking of being in it. So, you go through the prep phase, you help your clients, you give them kind of a meal plan, and help them shop for what they’re going to need to prepare their meals?

Andrea
Yes, so I offer several different options. So, there’s the group Whole30s that I’ll do throughout the year. So, it’s a little bit less monetarily, but there’s like a private Facebook group, we do a lot of Zoom meetings, and we’ll do things together. But when you do an individual Whole30 with me, I will go to the grocery store with you, if you live around here, and I’ll help you. Or I have a lot of people with either the group or individual where they’ll go to the store and they take a picture of a food item, and then I can help them through that. So, that first grocery store trip is a little daunting, but then you’ll figure it out, and it will be fine. I do give everyone five weeks of meal plans. I do it every Thursday, I give it to everybody. And then I give you tons of ideas for snacks, easy recipes. I make it, I want you to be successful. And then that’s where, you know, I think all Whole30 coaches do an amazing job. I just do it a little bit differently, where I’m super hands-on, like, I my success is your success. And I want you to reach out to me if you’re feeling like, I have a question about this, or feel like I want to have this ice cream. I want you to reach out to me first, because I’m going to help you, and we’re gonna get through it. So, that’s where I kind of let people know in that prep time, like, I want you to trust me, I’m gonna help you. And then in those 30 days, you’re gonna do that reset, and I’m gonna guide you through each day. Help you through KATT Day, help you or cheer for you when you’re in your Tiger Blood Day. Help you on day 3 where you’re like, I’m scared, I don’t know. And then through the reintroduction where I’ll be like, what happened when you had rice? Or kind of show you how we’re gonna do it so you can really write down, I make my clients write down or do it in notes, when they ate this food, what happened? Because sometimes our memory will go, and we don’t remember. And then after that, you go into what we call food freedom. And so, that’s what I was talking to my former clients about today, where that’s the Whole30 world, where you do a reset, and then you are in food freedom. And then after food freedom, you might realize, okay, I just went on a trip, and everything has fallen off the rails, all the things I’ve learned, I’m kind of, ice cream is back, beer is back, I don’t feel good. Then you say, I need to maybe go back on a Whole30, or do a mini reset. That’s two weeks. And then after you do the Whole30 you’re gonna realize like, wow, after two weeks, you do feel better. And then that mini reset is there. But food freedom is just what it sounds like, knowing and having the freedom that this food works for me, this food does it. This food kind of is like a trigger. And it makes me, these chips make me then want cookies, and cookies, want ice cream. And so, it’s like, I have to take that away, because it’s just like a cascade effect. So, that’s food freedom. And that can be forever. And that’s kind of what I’m in. So, I’ve done 13 Whole30s. And I’ve just learned over time what foods work for me and what don’t. So, it’s pretty cool.

Jeff
I was talking to Sarah Conrad over the weekend in preparing for our conversation. She’s the owner of Clean Eatz cafe in Cornelius and Mooresville, and Charlotte actually. The Cornelius and Mooresville locations are sponsors of course of The Best of LKN. And I’m a big fan of Clean Eatz, I’ve been shopping there for several years before I actually connected with the owners. And I had some questions for Sarah about like, wanting to let her know that I’d be starting the Whole30 with Andrea, and wanted to kind of find out if there were some options that might be compliant at Clean Eatz. And she did share that there are some options in the Grab N’ Go cooler. And as well as on the menu that you can customize a lot of what you order there on the menu in the cafe too. But I was very happy to learn that there are some options there that I might be able to utilize as well during my Whole30 journey. You’ve done some work with Clean Eatz. What do you think about some of the options they have there?

Andrea
I love it. So, I just recently, we did a workout there. And I just love all the staff and the owner Sarah, and it’s just, that’s one of the things with the Whole30 and kind of going with that Atomic Habits, is like pave the way to make it easy. Don’t put roadblocks in. So, if you know, okay, I’m gonna actually have a really big week ahead of me and I’m not gonna be able to cook as much, I’m gonna go to Clean Eatz and grab some of the Grab N’ Gos and know that when I’m hungry, here’s my option. So, it’s a win-win. And so, with their options, they use rice sometimes. So, we’re just going to double up on the veggies and the protein. And so, you’re good to go. And they just have so many, I just love all the food there actually. I just started eating meat again recently. And I just really love a lot of their foods.

Jeff
Well, that’s good to hear. I mean, sometimes life gets in the way, and I can’t prepare every meal that I eat, but knowing what to order when we do go out will be super, super helpful. I also want to give a shout out to Sodoma Law, while I’m talking about sponsors. Sodoma Law will be providing the transcript for this episode. So, folks who are either hearing impaired, or perhaps it’s just more convenient to read the episode rather than listen to it, will be able to do that. So, big thanks to Sodoma Law and all of our sponsors. You can find links to all of our sponsors on our homepage at thebestoflkn.com, or in the show notes for this episode. So, speaking of this episode, it’s Monday, April 11th. When am I starting? When am I going on Whole30? Do you recommend a Thursday? A Monday? What’s your recommendation, usually?

Andrea
You know, I like to start people on a Monday, that’s just my recommendation. But if you feel like, you know, we had talked about a Friday, if you feel that you have a little bit more time, then I would start on that Friday. So, it’s up to you. But it’s just, it’s truly making that commitment and that’s what I have my clients do. Tell me your why. Like, you know, we’re doing this, why? You know, so what is your ultimate goal? Do you want to feel better? Do you want to sleep better? Remember that why and so when we’re like, just at the starting line of any race, like the goal is to get to the finish line. But there’s also other goals, like to feel good, or to, you know, that’s what I want you to think of. So, whatever day that we start, I just want a commitment. And I’m going to get you through it.

Jeff
We talk about, we bring up, know your why, start with your why. And a lot of my conversations here on the podcast, you know, I’m a huge Simon Sinek fan and that magnificent TED Talk from years ago, Start with Why. And then, of course, the book that followed and all of his amazing keynotes since then, but yeah, it’s just so important that you kind of dive deep into your why and keep it top of mind. I was gonna say earlier, and I forgot to mention or elaborate on this a little bit. But you had mentioned some of the things that your former clients have shared with you about their experience with Whole30 and wondered if you had any testimonials that you could share with us from former clients on their experience with the Whole30. And specifically going through the program with you.

Andrea
Yeah, so I reached out to so many of my clients that I just had a class with every single person in the class has done a Whole30 with me. And so, it was just interesting, as they’re sitting around talking, what benefits that they found, one of them was actually being knowledgeable and reading the labels of your food. So sometimes when you go to the store that says organic, healthy, you just take it as that face value, and people will just put it in their cart. But when you actually do a Whole30 and I start making you read ingredients, and you say, oh my gosh, sugar’s, the first five ingredients, they’ve just named it five different names, then you’ll say, I’m actually not going to have that, or you’ll say it’s not worth it. So, that’s one of the big ones. One of my clients said she felt like she caught up on a decade’s worth of sleep.

Jeff
Nice. Yeah, I can relate to that. In our conversation leading up to this, I had mentioned to you, you would ask what are some benefits that you would love to get out of Whole30, and I mentioned better sleep and you shared that.

Andrea
Yeah. And so that’s a huge one. A lot of people with like autoimmune disorders and diseases saw like a remission point with like eczema. I’ve had someone with granuloma annulare, which is like an all over kind of like rash, taking different medications, nothing worked. Whole30 totally took it away. People that they think they have hereditary dark circles and bags under their eyes, gone. So, it just does some really amazing things. You know, heartburn. If you have aching back, it takes away all the inflammation. So, there’s just all these cool things, again, those non-scale victories. Who cares what it says on the scale? Are you feeling better? And one of my other client’s testimonials was he just, his anxiety, his level of calmness, everything, he just felt 100% better. And he knew, I want to say, feeling this way for as long as I possibly can. He didn’t think he could feel that way. So, that’s where it’s finding your new normal. So, some people who are smokers they’re like, well, I always feel, I feel good. Well, do you? Like that’s your normal. So, maybe someone who’s normal, they only get a few hours of sleep. When they’re on the Whole30 and they’re like, oh my gosh, I get seven hours or eight hours of sleep, I feel really good. A new normal. So, that’s where people just feel really good. And then they have this knowledge. And then they can keep moving forward, like I said, into food freedom, like maybe never having cream in your coffee again, or whatever those things are that make you feel better. You have control. So, that’s the cool thing. A healthy control, not a negative control.

Jeff
I could go for some of that.

Andrea
Yeah, there you go. It does work.

Jeff
I could go for some of that feeling 100% better.

Andrea
Mm hmm.

Jeff
All right, I’m gonna jump into a quick lightning round. This is just for fun. But I’m going to share with you what a normal day in the life diet for Jeff. So, I’ll just give you two days of examples. Day one, coffee with cream. But I did cut out cream in the last four or five days. So, I’ve been back to black coffee, which is just fine with me too. But then, on my way to business number one, I like to call Famous Toastery in Davidson and order the famous hash to go. So, I’m guessing that’s a no.

Andrea
The thing that is cool and then we’ll talk about is like I want you to tell me if you’re going to that restaurant like Famous Toastery, love it. And then I’ll look it up and I’ll be like, here’s the five things you can have. And then you’ll be able to, you’ll still be able to go there, we’re just gonna maybe change it up. But yeah, that probably is not compliant because it has butter.

Jeff
Right? Okay. Lunch, the other day, I enjoyed a really great roast beef sub from the Pickled Peach. And it had, it was on a long roll with horseradish and arugula, so it had arugula on it.

Andrea
Yeah. So, that probably off the bat, it would be totally fine, without the long roll. And then I would just ask them how they cook the meat because sometimes with those slow roasted meats, they will add sugar to make it taste good.

Jeff
Okay. For dinner, I had lasagna.

Andrea
Yeah. That’s an easy one, though.

Jeff
And then of course, the ice cream. And the handful of potato chips I had, you know, when I usually walk right in the door, when I get home, the first thing I do is go to the cupboard and grab a handful of potato chips or peanuts.

Andrea
What kind of chips?

Jeff
Simply Lays, those are

Andrea
Oh gosh, there we go. Yeah.

Jeff
They’re so good.

Andrea
I like that. They are good.

Jeff
All right. I’m not gonna go into day two, because my days are all just identical. So, that gives you an example.

Andrea
But it’s good to hear. I think what is interesting is that you’re open to all foods, because some people are kind of restrictive on like, maybe they won’t eat meat, or they won’t do this or that. And so, it’s just going to be changing things around. And, you know, like, again, when you come home, we’re going to have those roasted almonds that I’m gonna give you that recipe for it, you’re going to have that, you’re gonna have your dinner and everything prepped. And there are, you know, like the option at Clean Eatz, but there’s also like frozen meals that are Whole30 approved. So, you can have those there. Chipotle is another restaurant, they have Whole30-approved bowls. So, there’s going to be a lot of options for you. That yeah, you’re gonna, it’s all going to work out. And then, it’s not forever. So, if you love lasagna, you can add it back in. If we figure out dairy and gluten are fine for you, then there you go.

Jeff
Well, I like that, it’s reassuring that like, it wasn’t 100% axe everything that I was eating. Like there are some modifications we can make that are pretty simple. And of course, during a Whole30 there’s at least one or two of those things have to go completely, but that’s all right. It’s all good. So, we’re recording on April 11th, I’m cool with starting on a Monday. So, let’s do, we’ll launch on April 18th. That’s a week from today. I’ll drop this episode, kind of, be like a special episode, a kind of a bonus episode, I’ll drop it, normally we release on Thursdays, I’ll release this one on Monday the 18th. And we’ll like officially launch the Whole30 journey for The Best of LKN and Mrs. Best of LKN, and then I’ll also share in the weekly email newsletter, I’ll share a note or two about the process and the experience that we’re having during the process. And shameless plug, I want to remind listeners too to sign up for our email newsletter, if you haven’t already. The form’s on our website on the homepage at thebestoflkn.com. Just enter your first name and your email address, and you’re good to go. I’ll send you an email every Thursday. They’re short and sweet and to the point, with links to our latest content, podcast episodes, and long form written articles that we love to write about, of course, food and beverage, but other topics as well. So, yeah, I’ll throw a note in there each week too about my Whole30 journey and how things are going and some challenges and some victories that we’re having along the way. Andrea, how can listeners connect with you if they want to learn more about Whole30 and sign up with you either as in group Whole30 or as a personal coach?

Andrea
Yeah, I would email me directly at andrea@mbracestudio.com. So that’s m-b-r-a-c-e studio.com. Or you could reach out to me, DM me @mbracewhole30coach on Instagram. And then just follow us because I will tell people throughout like, hey, we’re going to do a group. So, I usually do a group three times a year, around September, here in the spring, and then in January.

Jeff
Prime time, right? January.

Andrea
The prime time. Everyone wants to reset at that time.

Jeff
No vacations for Whole30 coaches in January.

Andrea
No way. That’s our big, the big one is September actually, because after summer too where it’s like, oh my gosh. Yeah. So, those are the two big ones for the year.

Jeff
All right, cool. Well, I’ll have the links in the show notes. And we’ll tag you on social as well. Your Instagram accounts and I’ll have the links in the email newsletter as well. Andrea, this is awesome. I’m excited. I’m looking forward to the Whole30 reset and going through the process with you and keeping our audience up to date and informed on what it’s like and our experience with it. So, thank you very much. I’m really excited. Really excited to start this with you.

Andrea
Yeah, I am too. And thank you for allowing me to lead you and coach you through a Whole30. It really is going to be life changing. And I can’t wait to show your audience all the cool things Whole30 can do.

Jeff
I can’t wait either. Andrea Sharp, the co-founder of Mbrace Studio and Whole30 Coach. Andrea, thanks again for joining the podcast.

Andrea
Thank you.

Jeff
Okay, here we go. Whole30 is on. Thanks Coach Andrea for joining the podcast and holding my hand on this Whole30 journey. I’m excited to get started. Friends, you can learn more about Andrea and Mbrace Studio at mbracestudio.com. She and her business partner, Diana shared their entrepreneurial and fitness journeys with us back in Episode 39 of the podcast. They also joined me to discuss the book Atomic Habits by James Clear and Episode 56. Follow Andrea on Instagram @mbracewhole30coach and reach out to her via email at andrea@mbracestudio.com. That’s the letter m-b-r-a-c-e studio.com. I’ll have those links in the show notes for this episode. As always, you can find the complete show notes for all of our episodes at the home for Lake Norman’s number one small business podcast and online resource www.thebestoflkn.com. Be sure to sign up for our weekly email newsletter while you’re there. I promised a little more information about Clean Eatz and their meal plans, and how I’ll be able to supplement my own meal prep at home with meals from Clean Eatz. Well, in addition to their weekly meal plan menu and in-cafe dining, you can also custom order meals online that have exactly the ingredients you need for your reset. These meals are great to stock up on and put in the freezer for those days that you don’t have time for the kitchen. I’ll share some notes about what I order in our newsletters over the coming weeks. Big shout out to all of our sponsors. These amazing local small businesses have been so generous in helping us produce content for this platform each week. And we are so grateful for their support. We featured every one of them on the podcast and if you haven’t already done so, please have a listen to their episodes. You can find links to our sponsors in the show notes for this episode, and also on our homepage at thebestoflkn.com. Friends, that’s going to do it for this episode. Wish me luck as I launch my Whole30 reset this week. We have another episode for you this Thursday, as always. So, until then, cheers Lake Norman. Bye for now.

Narrator
We hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of The Best of LKN. For more information about this podcast, show notes, video episodes, and links to our featured businesses, please visit www.thebestoflkn.com. We publish episodes weekly, so be sure to subscribe and stay up to date. Until next time, cheers Lake Norman.