That’s right, the moment you have all been waiting for has arrived!

We are getting ready to launch our first Strict Paleo 30 Day Whole30 Nutrition Challenge! Now before you start to panic about all the beer and cupcakes you won’t be consuming, remember — it’s ONLY 30 days! If you think about it, there is really never a “good” 30 days to run a nutrition challenge. There are always birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, bad days, and “just because” days. There will always be parties and dinners to go to, and meals that need to be eaten on-the-go. The beauty of a Whole30 challenge, is you learn how to deal with those situations in a healthy way. You begin to see things differently and become empowered to proactively make your food choices! Additionally, taking on a nutrition challenge with your fellow Foundry athletes is going to make the process so much more exciting and motivating! 

Enough Blabbing, let’s get to the meat of the program, pun intended 😉

The  Foundry’s Whole30 Nutrition Challenge Details

 Purpose: To remove those foods that lead us towards sickness and focus on those that move us toward wellness. By eliminating the unhealthy foods outlined below, we will give ourselves the opportunity to heal our guts, reduce systemic inflammation, increase our immunity, and allow ourselves the opportunity to thrive as people and as athletes.

 Dates: Thursday July 5th through Friday August 3rd

Process:

• Sign-up online by clicking here!
• If you are participating in the challenge, be sure to see one of the coaches to pick-up you very own Whole30 Guide!
• On Thursday July 5th, we will be taking “before” photos, measurements, and conducting a baseline workout. The purpose of all this is to set a baseline to compare against at the end of the 30 days.
• Beginning July 5th through August 3rd, participants will fully adhere to the Whole30 Nutritional Guidelines (outlined below)
• On Friday August 3rd, Day 30, we will be taking “after” photos, measurements, and repeating the baseline workout. Again, a good opportunity to quantify your experience.
• Upon completion of the 30 days, each participant will write a reflective essay. Don’t Panic! It doesn’t have to be long, and you don’t have to worry about run-on sentences. It’s just an opportunity to reflect on the experience and what you gained from it.
• The essays will be submitted to the coaches anonymously (we’ll number them), and we will declare a challenge winner. Note: we are not looking at essay length or grammar — just the quality of the experience
• 1st Place winner will receive a custom pair of Reebok Crossfit Nano 2.0 shoes in Foundry colors and their story will be featured on The Foundry blog
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• 2nd and 3rd place winners will have their stories feature on The Foundry Blog

Cost of Entry: $30. Please Click Here to Register!

What you Get for your $30: 

• Motivational and informational emails from the coaching team outlining tips and tricks for making your Whole30 experience more fun, delicious, and lots easier!
• Access to a private Facebook forum where participants can share recipes, triumphs, and struggles.
• Option to participate in a weekly Paleo Food Swap!
• Entrance to our Wrap-Up Paleo Pot-Luck Celebration
• A chance to win a pretty awesome pair of kicks!
• A commitment to yourself — by putting some “skin in the game,” you are committing yourself to the challenge!

How will we know if you cheat?: We won’t, but you will. We are not here to punish you, babysit you, or monitor what you put in your mouth. We are here to give you the knowledge, the tools, and the support to help you find your best health. We believe that strict adherence to the Whole30 for 30 days is essential to get the most out of the experience. You are an adult, you can make your own choices. Those who choose to follow the program for the full 30 days will see the greatest benefits. It’s not always going to be easy, it’s not always going be convenient — but we promise that it will definitely be worth it, and your bodies will thank you.

What to Eat and Not Eat on the Whole30

— as outlined by Melissa and Dallas Hartwig of Whole9

Eat real food – meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re totally natural and unprocessed.

More importantly, here’s what NOT to eat during the duration of your Whole30 program. Omitting all of these foods and beverages will help you regain your healthy metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation, and help you discover how these foods are truly impacting your health, fitness and quality of life.

• Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.

• Do not consume alcohol, in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)

• Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. Yes, we said corn… for the purposes of this program, corn is a grain! This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.

• Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).

• Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)

• Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.

• Do not eat white potatoes. This is somewhat arbitrary, but if we are trying to change your habits and improve the hormonal impact of your food choices, it’s best to leave white, red, purple, Yukon gold and fingerling potatoes off your plate. (Refer to your Success Guide FAQ for details).

A Few Exceptions

These foods are exceptions to the rule, and are allowed during your Whole30. Including these foods as part of your varied healthy eating plan should not negatively impact the results of your Whole30 program.

• Clarified Butter or Ghee. Clarified butter or ghee is the only source of dairy allowed during your Whole30. Plain old butter is NOT allowed, as the milk proteins found in non-clarified butter could impact the results of your program. Refer to the Whole9 Butter Manifesto for more details on the milk proteins found in butter, purchasing high quality butter, and how to clarify it yourself.

• Fruit juice as a sweetener. Some products will use orange or apple juice as a sweetener. We have to draw the line somewhere, so we’re okay with a small amount of fruit juice as an addedingredient during your Whole30… but this doesn’t mean a cup of fruit juice is a healthy choice! Refer to your Shopping Guide for clarification.

• Certain legumes. We’re fine with green beans, sugar snap peas and snow peas. While they’re technically a legume, these are far more “pod” than “bean”, and green plant matter is generally good for you. (Refer to your Success Guide FAQ for details.)

• Vinegar. Most forms of vinegar, including white, balsamic, apple cider, red wine, and rice, are allowed during your Whole30 program. The only exceptions are vinegars with added sugar, or malt vinegar, which generally contains gluten.

• Processed foods. Minimally processed foods like canned coconut milk, applesauce, tomato sauce, chicken broth or canned olives are all acceptable on the Whole30 – but remember, avoid anything with carageenan, MSG or sulfites. We’ve singled these three additives/preservatives out because they all have potentially nasty side effects – and you can easily find processed foods without them.

We know this looks like a lot of “don’ts,” but once you get past them, and look at all the wonderful REAL foods you CAN eat, it gets REALLY EXCITING! Especially once you start to feel better, stronger, and more energized!

It’s that simple!

We are really excited to hold and participate in this awesome challenge with all of you! It is going to be such a great opportunity to improve our health, strength, energy levels, and relationship with food. Get excited guys, we are about to have an adventurous month!!

Click Here to Sign Yourself Up!