The halfway mark. We are atop the majestic Whole30 mountain with only downward trails from here. Can you see Food Freedom from up here? I can barely make out the faintest outline of a glass of wine in the distance….and rice, I think I see rice there too.

Feeling pretty proud sitting on top of this mountain, and thought I would use today’s post to reflect on some of the lessons learned over the last 15 days.

A Do and Don’t list, if you will…

• buy Fourth & Heart Truffle Salt Ghee and apply it liberally to all of the things. Eggs? Yep. Kale? You betcha. This jar of joy has been with me from the start and I’d like to formally thank it for its contribution to my Whole30 experience. You my ride or die, Ghee. For life.
• lead with “I’m not drinking but I’m not pregnant,” while out with friends. After I fielded the preggo question the first night out I thought I would preemptively strike. Turns out that randomly bringing up pregnancy, or the lack of pregnancy, makes things super awkward, super fast.

• find yourself some good-ass, compliant bacon. I find that the level of religious experience I have with bacon is directly proportional to the number of days I’ve completed of Whole30. I have never loved this food more. Judge me if you will, but bacon is an entry in my gratitude journal more than once.

• break your vigilance, food without brakes are lurking where you least expect them. I had what I thought was a benign apple with almond butter. About 5 minutes later I woke up, startled, from what appeared to be a completely blacked out state. I was covered in almond butter and apple juice, wondering how I got into this sugar coma.

• get your dishwasher repaired before starting your Whole30. This needs no explanation. My raw knuckles and pruney fingers tell the story of the last 15 days.
• get all high and mighty on your Whole30 blog about “all these extra hours” and “keeping promises to yourself” because things change, people. Things change. This will become clear with my final point.
• get a puppy on Day 14. Make it an adorable one. Preferably a completely unidentifiable mix that, according to their foster, loves baby carrots. While I realize that this may not be advice everyone can heed I’ve found it to be an awesome life addition, while also single handedly absorbing any of those extra hours in the day I said I had on Day 13.

While this list is far from comprehensive it does capture many of things I see when I look back at the path behind me, and makes me feel much more empowered for the path ahead. Onward, my fellow Whole30’ers, here’s to being on the right side of the halfway point.

If you haven’t had a chance to read about Jen’s LaCroix fueled dinner party, you need to check it out!