© 2026 ABC News

How to keep Whole30 and not alienate people

However, trouble was looming.

I had friends staying with me this weekend and needed to treat them to a great weekend without sacrificing all the progress I've made.

Just like most 20-something tourists visiting New York, my friends had an agenda jam-packed with brunch and bar-hopping.

They were excited. I was determined not to let this weekend turn me into the Whole30 wallflower I was last week.

I let my friends know in advance that I was doing Whole30 and offered to make them some meals at home. Understandably, they weren’t thrilled with the idea of a weekend full of only fruits, vegetables and organic meat, so we agreed I’d run errands while they had brunch and we’d go out to dinner later.

A post shared by Lesley (@whole30confessional) on Aug 18, 2018 at 7:12pm PDT

Despite New York City being a foodie haven, I was pressed to find Whole30-approved restaurants that my friends and I would enjoy. Luckily, we agreed on Dig Inn, and the staff was incredibly helpful letting me know which foods were compliant with the program. While I dug into my Dig Inn broccoli, my friends happily nommed on some mac 'n' cheese. All were happy and well-fed.

Going out to the bars was a better experience than last week, too. Despite some awkwardness when people questioned why I was drinking only seltzer, I felt at ease with my friends, had a blast and even escorted them to my favorite pizza place as a nightcap.

The next morning, I made them a sweet potato, veggie and bacon hash that had become almost second nature to me in the past three weeks.

I was appreciative they were letting me cook them a Whole30-compliant meal. They were appreciative there was bacon.

Next-level kitchen skills

One of my favorite things about Whole30 is that I see my kitchen skills improving every day. I'm constantly coming across new recipes from the Whole30 cookbooks I've bought and from browsing the #Whole30 hashtag and community on Instagram. I'm excited when I find new recipes that actually taste good.

As I look forward to my last week of Whole30, I'm excited to try those harder recipes I've been putting off and make sure I’m not tempted to try any non-compliant foods before the 30 days are officially up.

Favorite meals of the week

Pan-seared scallops with cauliflower-parsnip puree:

A post shared by Lesley (@whole30confessional) on Aug 20, 2018 at 5:55pm PDT

Homemade plantain chips:

A post shared by Lesley (@whole30confessional) on Aug 21, 2018 at 7:13pm PDT

Grilled salmon with roasted asparagus and salad with Whole30-approved ranch dressing:

A post shared by Lesley (@whole30confessional) on Aug 16, 2018 at 6:26pm PDT

Read week 2 here and follow Lesley's wellness adventure on Instagram.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Wellness/whole30-challenge-confessions-reached-tiger-blood-phase-feels/story?id=57358060","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/whole30-challenge-confessions-reached-tiger-blood-phase-feels-57358060","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"08:00","publishDate":"08-24-2018","updatedTime":"14:36","updatedDate":"08-24-2018","socialImage":{"alt":"Whole 30 Week 3","credit":"ABC News, Gutman","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/w30w3_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"8/24/2018 08:00:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":57358060,"headline":"How an elimination diet affects your social life","mediaAssetTitle":"180823_GMA_DIGITAL_HAULER_WHOLE30WEEK3","description":"Welcome to the 'Tiger Blood' phase.","duration":"2:32","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/i/abcnews/140505_gma_chang_823_,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["57197770","57121478","23587677"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"August 17, 2018","headline":"Here's how I feel after 15 days without sugar, grains, dairy or alcohol","section":"wellness","slug":"/wellness/story/whole30-challenge-confessions-feel-15-days-sugar-grains-57197770","id":57197770,"image":{"alt":"Here's how I feel after 15 days without sugar, grains, dairy or alcohol","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/whole_30_week_2_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Heidi Gutman/ABC News","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"August 9, 2018","headline":"Why I decided to give up all my favorite foods for the Whole 30 Challenge ","section":"wellness","slug":"/wellness/story/whole30-challenge-confessions-decided-give-favorite-foods-hop-57121478","id":57121478,"image":{"alt":"Why I decided to give up all my favorite foods for the Whole 30 Challenge ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Health/whole30-program-11-ht-thg-180809_hpMain_2_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"AOL","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"May 5, 2014","headline":"New Diet Aims to Reset Body’s Reaction to Food","section":"news","slug":"/video/23587677","id":23587677,"image":{"alt":"New Diet Aims to Reset Body’s Reaction to Food","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/140505_gma_chang1_823_4x3_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"How an elimination diet affects your social life","description":"Welcome to the 'Tiger Blood' phase.","duration":"2:32","uploadDate":"08-24-2018","publication":"08-24-2018","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/i/abcnews/140505_gma_chang_823_,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/i/abcnews/140505_gma_chang_823_,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/story/whole30-challenge-confessions-reached-tiger-blood-phase-feels-57358060"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132748964","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132747869","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132738086","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132714218","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132701634","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132706335","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132675442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132665875","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132628890","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132569874","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132567885","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:wellness:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"wellness","title":"How an elimination diet affects your social life","pubTime":"04:00","pubDate":"08-24-2018","modTime":"10:36","modDate":"08-24-2018","taxonomyTags":"none","id":57358060,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"How an elimination diet affects your social life","mediaAssetTitle":"180823_GMA_DIGITAL_HAULER_WHOLE30WEEK3","videoId":57358060,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/whole30-challenge-confessions-reached-tiger-blood-phase-feels-57358060"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/57358060","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/57358060","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};