229: Melissa Hartwig – The Whole30 Origin Story

Melissa Hartwig (@melissa_hartwig) is a four-time New York Times bestselling author and co-creator of the original Whole30 program. She’s a Certified Sports Nutritionist who specializes in helping people change their relationship with food and create life-long, healthy habits.

Melissa enjoys kettlebell training, yoga, hiking, solo traveling, and riding her motorcycle. She lives in Salt Lake City, UT.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Escaping from her life with drugs
• The gym kinda saved Melissa’s life
• Blogging… the early years
• Whole30’s origin story
• Using food like a drug
• Do you have an emotional relationship with food?
• What makes Whole30 different from other dietary approaches?
• Not combining Whole30 approved ingredients to make hyperpalatable foods
• The organic growth of the Whole30 community
• The most important part of Melissa’s job
• Having a vision from the very beginning
• Foods to avoid on Whole30
• Whole30 teaches you what foods work for you… on an individual basis
• The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) vs. Whole30
• Melissa hikes more than anybody she knows
• Are you “paying yourself” first?
• Don’t get stuck on the saddest ferris wheel, of all time
• Teaming up to do Whole30 with family or other groups
• Are you hanging out with the right people?
• How to make new connections as a grown up

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Related links:

Melissa Hartwig & Dallas Hartwig – The Whole30 (book)
Melissa Hartwig & Dallas Hartwig – It Starts With Food (book)
Melissa Hartwig – Food Freedom Forever (book)
Melissa Hartwig – The Whole30 Cookbook
Melissa Hartwig – The Whole30 Fast & Easy Cookbook
Melissa Hartwig – The Whole30 Day by Day (book)
Whole30 website
Follow Melissa on Instagram
The 44-year-old co-founder of cult diet Whole30 was once a drug addict — here’s how she found huge success (CNBC blog post)
Listen to Gretchen Rubin previously on TUHP (episode #207 & #37)
CrossFit
Listen to Robb Wolf previously on TUHP (episode #145)

Related episodes:

319: Eric Zimmer – Overcoming Addiction, Maintaining Community, Broadening Your Perspective
317: Dr. Will Cole – The Inflammation Spectrum, Managing Anxiety, Homeschooling
285: Dr. Izabella Wentz – Hashimoto’s Food Pharmacology • Thyroid Testing • Stress, Trauma & Autoimmune Conditions
259: Dr. Gabor Maté – Trauma, Addiction, & The Use Of Psychedelics
178: Mark Sisson – Ketosis Curbs Hunger • The Healthiest Oil • Reboot Your Metabolism

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