The paperwork is in order, the contracts are signed, and the champagne cork has been (symbolically) popped.
It’s official… we’re writing a book.
No, it’s not a book on the creative use of #hashtags (although not to brag, but we could totally write a book about that.) Nonetheless, our book is going to be all about (of course) nutrition, health and the Whole30 program. We’re going to put all our good stuff into this book – everything from our workshops to our Whole30 Success Guide to concepts we’ve talked about with consulting clients. We’ll be able to get into a whole lot of detail and put all the pieces together for you in a way that’s as accessible, practical and applicable as everything we do around here. And all our good nutrition stuff will finally be all in one place.
This is the book that you’ll give your Mom, your co-worker, your best friend. It’s the book that will walk you, start to finish, through the entire process of changing the way you eat for the rest of your life. And we won’t just dump you when your Whole30 is over – we plan to include new information about how to live a healthy, balanced, sustainable life after your Whole30.
We’ve got a kick-ass designer to help us with the graphics, and an amazing (top secret) celebrity chef to help us with our meal plan. (And this ain’t your Momma’s 30 day meal plan – we’ve come up with a cool, fresh concept that will make even the most experienced kitchen folks kick themselves and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”) Finally, we’ve got the most knowledgeable publisher in the business – Victory Belt, home of Robb Wolf’s Paleo Solution, Sarah Fragoso’s Everyday Paleo and Charles and Julie Mayfield’s Paleo Comfort Foods. Yep, we’re in some very fine hands.
So, as we finalize our outline and get to the hard work of writing, here’s your chance to sound off and post your thoughts to comments.
What are you looking for in a Whole9 nutrition book? What would make it even more helpful for your Mom, your co-worker, your best friend? What can we do to make this book the most helpful resource for healthy eating on the shelf of Barnes and Noble?
And if you’ve got a good idea for a title, we’re all ears.
We appreciate your thoughts and your feedback, and we look forward to serving our community with our first (but hopefully not last!) foray into the world of publishing.
We can help you live the Whole9 life.
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I’m going to need lots of pictures of Dallas and his man sized portions.
People need to understand this isn’t a diet, and that if you’re doing it right you will NOT be hungry.
A couple of things would distinguish you from the pack:
1) Rework and extend your Manifestos- particularly those that deal with eating ethically in addition to optimally.
2) Your original Whiteboard diagrams- loved them at the seminar. Very relatable and cute.
3) the Uniqueness of You – your road trip, for instance, is a great anecdote with lots of teaching moments like “It’s your own darn program” and “what’s in your cooler?” Melissa’s original rant on carrots and sunbutter or paleo elevator speech are classic M and D moments that should be told.
4) Whole 9. Make it more about that and less about the thirty. The thirty is great to do and to learn from, but it’s the Whole 9 that makes this lifestyle livable, right?
A few things you probably don’t need to do: An exercise chapter. No one reads it. I feel like you don’t need to do a meal plan or recipe section, either. You have a meal planner as part of your business. Why give away the store? As for recipes you guys are good cooks, but you’re “thing” isn’t the recipes. You can describe getting over kitchen/food prep fear in relatable stories.
I think the trick will be figuring out how to market your book to the people who aren’t already converts.
I would LOVE to read an at-length discussion / tool from you guys for determining pre- and post-workout nutrition, like how many carbs a woman weighing x should consume after a workout if she’s trying to lose weight, or how many carbs a guy weighing x but trying to maintain weight should consume after a workout. If you could elaborate enough so that folks of all builds and body comp goals could figure it out for themselves (especially as their situations change over time), then I would be eternally grateful. :)
“The Whole 30” is extremely catchy.
A good subtitle would be “A jumpstart to a lean, healthy, and fuller life.”
Posting about doing a “whole 30” on Facebook has generated more curiosity among family members than anything about “paleo”.
Congratulations, friends! I’m here for you, should you need motivation to keep butt in chair (that’s the secret to writing: Butt. In. Chair. – or, ya know, if you need a sympathetic ear to complain about how much it can sometimes suck to keep butt in chair.
Can’t wait to read it and put it in the hands of everyone I know. Love!
Oh! Almost forgot… titles. The thing I love most about what you guys say is your overall “Does it make you healthier?” philosophy. I think that’s really powerful and there might be something around that idea for a title.
Can I pre-order that book yet?
Title: “The WHOLE Shebang: Your Complete Guide to All Things Paleo”
(Maybe swap out Paleo for other things like Whole9/Whole30/Nutrition/Etc)
** Maybe a basic Foundation of Nutritions course for those of us OS who cannot attend one in person. I know alot of the info is on the website but it would be great to have it presented systematically in one place.
** I would love, love, love a chapter on Whole30 style eating an endurance events (running and triathlon). I am finding it challenging to balance my nutrition needs with my training load.
** Personal anecdotes from Dallas and Melissa cause I find you guys so inspirational!! You live the kind of life I want to live (and am on my way to living thanks to people like you!!)
YAY! Welcome to the book club! Maybe we need a secret handshake or password? It’s a wild ride, but very much worth it when you get to hold that fabulous piece of work.
Totally agree with Melicious on the more/less healthy sentiment – that was something from your seminar that really resonated with me.
I think the hardest part (and we discussed this) will be what topics rise to the top, so that you’re not writing your equivalent of Atlas Shrugged. Think what message you most want to get out FIRST to the masses, then you can do another book in the future, addressing other topics of interest (Dallas Mass Gain could probably a book all in itself!).
Y’all are rockstars with easy-to-understand charts. Something I remember WAY back from an old Zone thing was almost a hierarchy of “if you’re hungry/foggy headed after a meal, do this.” Pretty easy to follow (minus the whole Zone bit). Maybe along the same lines, something (chart) of “trying to lean out/metabolically deranged/autoimmune issues/pregnant/want to gain” and what things people should be including/avoiding/limiting.
Whatever you all do, I know it’s going to be FABULOUS!
The biggest thing I get is when someone asks me “why not milk (or beans or rice or…..)”. I get into the explanation and within about 20 seconds I can see that they’re lost. It’s probably more me and my inability to articulate, but a synopsis like “when you eat ____, ____ happens and will cause _____.
I can’t wait to hear of the publishing date! Good luck!
Hm…
The Food Lovers – Make it Paleo
perfect.
I think there needs to be a recipe/eating plan section for sure!! I hope that its a meal plan that doesn’t require cooking fore every single meal though. (i.e. reusing leftovers for subsequent meals, etc.)
I also agree with both points about the manifestos. I need and use the lengthy manifestos all the time. However, it would be great to have a short paragraph about each that summarizes why they are bad for you. Then, for those that we talk to that need to know the nitty gritty, we can read that part to them or they can read that part.
Make sense?
I am totally stoked. When can I pre-order??? LOL!! :)
Put me down for half a dozen of them when they are done.
“Whole Foods” might be a catchy title!!!
i like the above title suggestions. another:
the whole story on whole 30: let us change your life
I’m surprised it has taken this long! I don’t know about the title but I hope the cover has a picture of you two on it. If Robb Wolf is the “Paleo Baby Jesus”, you two are Adam and Eve. :-)
Great suggestions, all!
@The Warning: We thought about calling it, “The Un-Diet Book”, because nobody goes hungry on our plan. We’re totally on the same page there.
@Mrs. F: Stellar feedback, and spot-on with much of what we were thinking. The Whole30 will be a portion of the book (and potentially on the cover, as it’s recognizable), but it’s not the focus of the book. This is about eating well FOREVER, and using the Whole30 as your jump start to get there. We’ll also include lots of personal anecdotes, especially the “he said/she said” kind of stuff. Dallas likes to geek out on the science, and I like talking about the mental aspects of food and eating. That should (hopefully) make for some interesting reading.
We’re not writing about exercise. At all. That’s Book #2.
@Primal Kitchen: If we could actually WRITE a formula like that (that actually WORKED for everyone), we’d be fafillionaires. Unfortunately, it’s an impossible task – to arrive at something that would work for the majority of people, we’d have to water down our recommendations so much, they’d be pretty much ineffective.
The good news, however, is that we’re planning a post-workout article for the blog (FREE – and SOON!) to talk about those very factors. Stay tuned.
@BJK: Excellent points – we plan to feature the Whole30 prominently on the cover and our promotions. It gives people a sense of what to expect from the book, right?
@Mel: I’m very good at B.I.C. time, but Dallas may need some help with that. We’ll be leaning on you for all kinds of support, proof-reading and general sanity. We’re lucky to have you in our corner!
@Kevin: Ha! Not just yet, but we’ll let you know as soon as pre-ordering is available.
@Meghann: We’ll be incorporating a lot of our workshop materials into the book, and making sure there’s lots of condensed take-aways for you to share with family and friends. We’re not getting into athletics and performance too much in this one – no endurance-specific recommendations. Then again, you’ve already GOT a great book for that (The Paleo Diet for Athletes), right?
@Jules & Charles: Magnificent advice, as always. The project manager in me is already wary of “scope-creep” (we just HAVE to add this in, and that in, and this one other topic… and then it’s War & Paleo). Thanks for the tips, we’ll be leaning on you two as well along the way.
@Joe: We’re absolutely going to be including “take-aways” for complicated stuff – our very short elevator pitches for things like why grains don’t make you healthier, and what is systemic inflammation? Great idea – we’re on it.
@Matt: I think “Make it Paleo” is already taken…
@JL: We’ll have a recipe/meal planning section for sure, and I promise it’s going to be revolutionary in the way it helps you plan meals and snacks without being a slave to your kitchen. (But you’re going to have to cook. It’s, like, mandatory.) Keep you posted on the pre-order details!
@Jamie: We want you to be an official pre-release reviewer, of course! Thanks for the support.
@Tess: I think that one might be taken too… ;)
@Krista; I like the “Whole Story”… thanks for the idea!
@Patty/Chowstalker: That is ridiculous, and hilarious. We’ve already decided we’re NOT going to be on the cover, because in order to really “sell” your diet book, you have to be half-naked flexing a bicep or something, and that’s just not how we roll. Thanks for your support!
Best,
Melissa
I am so happy to read this! I have been wishing for a Whole9 book for a long time. You guys will have all your nutritional bases covered and don’t need much input for that, but I did think of one tip I think Melissa could do a particularly good job at covering.
Something along that lines that is catered to the mother/friend/or in my case boyfriend that you want to deliver the book too. I have been super hesitant to bring up the Paleo lifestyle to my boyfriend since we started dating, he is an endurance athlete and a SUPER picky eater, and unfortunately lives off wheat products. Every meal. He supports my diet choices but that is because I have celiac’s disease, and he wants me to stay alive. However I also want HIM to stay alive. And I think your book would be an awesome instrument to help communicate this! If you put in a forward or a section that is directed straight to a person being “gifted” the book that say something along the lines of:
1. The person giving you this book clearly loves you so much that they are trying to save your life, or improve you quality life and ultimate longevity.
2. The facts about the body’s response to this diet are undeniable, well referenced, and proven. This is not a fad diet, but rather a lifestyle that someone who loves you wants you to adapt because they know it will help you live a happier, longer life
3. This is most likely a very difficult proposition for the person who gave you the book to do…it is not easy to approach other people health choices, lifestyle and ultimately major pleasure sources (food). So be receptive and recognize how much courage it took for your partner to ask you to do this. All you have to do is read the book and try something new for 30 days. Is 30 days worth your relationship?
I am sure you guys can word it way better, but Melissa you have just the right amount of straightforward “sass” to really throw this in the recipients face. Even if its a guilt trip :)
Can’t wait for the book! Keep status posts along the way!
@Beth your suggestion is awesome; I want exactly the same things. I can say that perfectly well, I know, but to have the book include it as well will be a double whammy. I want the best for my family and those I love, and some extra pull from inside forces would be money.
Thanks so much for all your work Melissa and Dallas,
Living is an adventure, not a compromise, and your way of doing it makes sure it stays that way.
In addition to your unique stories and programs (the Whole 30, What’s in your cooler? article.. which I have posted to my fridge!!…) I would like to see easy to understand / comprehensive explanations of why each of the non-Paleo food groups are bad for you (i.e. Glutin, dairy, sugar, etc). I have been reading a lot of books on Paleo recently (won’t list them here) and I find that it is easy to get lost in the details, scientific facts. What I’m really looking for is the short, nitty-gritty reasoning that I could easily explain to friends and family members that are intrigued by the diet or just starting out… but still don’t understand why whole-wheat pasta isn’t good for you. Hope this helps :)
Title: Everyday Eating for a Healthy Life.
This is NOT a diet, people!
But, do include things like still eating buttered popcorn because you decided it is worth it. It is so easy for us to get into the perfection part we forget the quality of life part.
That said, I am in the midst of my Whole 30 but have no idea what the Whole 9 is other than the title of this blog. Where do I go to find out that?
Awesome! Be sure to let us know when we can pre-order on Amazon. I agree with some of the comments above regarding excercise section. You need a whole other book to cover that portion of things, so why cram it in. Make sure you have a GOOD index. It seems like in many of the paleo the index is either absent or an afterthought. I also never use the meal plans, but maybe some people do.
The manifesto’s are a definite as well as the whole30 success guides you guys are already kicking out. Often knowing what to do and how to do it are two different things. I struggled with a few Whole30s before I developed a formula to get through all the days.
I definitely want to see the sass as one commenter put it and at least one whole page of writing. like. this. IE Drinking coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. (My personal favorite)
Remembering your roots and throwing in a couple “wicked”s would be nice but maybe that is just the nostalgic part of me.
Kevin
@Beth – we LOVE that idea. Love it. You’ve helped us re-think our foreword, in fact. Thank you so much for the suggestion – brilliant.
@Caitlin: We’re definitely going to be including “elevator pitches” for each of our sections, so you can have some shorter take-aways to relay to family and friends.
@Linda: Yeah, that’s totally buried in our site, we realized. We’ll have to do a redesign with an FAQ, with one of the questions asking, “What’s the 9 in Whole9 all about?” You can find the details here: http://www.whole9life.com/personal-consulting/
@Amy: The idea of a thorough index is totally intimidating, but others have made the same suggestion, so I think we’ll do it. Thanks.
@Kevin G: Ha! I’ll see where I can work out a “wicked” or two.
Thanks to all for the amazing suggestions! We read back through this post and your comments this weekend while we were kicking around title ideas. Super helpful!
Melissa
First of all, congrats on the book and I can’t wait to read it. You have been such a great source of support for me over the last 6 months,
Not to plug another book, but I would really consider including some of the information in a book like “Good Calories, Bad Calories” that talks about how our bodies react to insulin and how it makes us fat. I literally felt like crying with relief when I first read it, because it validated so much of my own experience–why my cholesterol went up and I gained a ton of weight when I stopped eating meat and cheese in college, for example. In terms of a Whole 30, which I’m taking my second stab at Sept. 1, it explained why I was driving myself crazy for sugar. Cra-zy, like crack addict crazy. It made me feel like such a failure. I feel so much better prepared going into a new Whole 30 experience understanding what’s going on in my blood and in my cells when I feel like that. I’d read the stuff on your site and wonder why it was so, so hard for me to cut that last bit of sugar out. (I’ve been pasta/bread free with a mild sweet tooth for years. Dairy was easy, but the sugar….oh, the sugar..)
I think that’s why people call eating like this unsustainable, because the sugar cravings can drive you nuts. If you get in front of the issue, I think it will really help people with insulin issues, who really need this kind of eating the most.
“fafillionaire?”
Classic.
This book undertaking is a tipping point to awesomeness.
SO PROUD.
#thisisbetterthanomlettevilleskit
when talking about humanely raised meat talk about it in terms of nutrional benefits instead of an ethical or moral delima… lots of people tune out when they feel like they’re being lectured to.
The only book I will read is a book on #hashtags. If it’s not about #hashtags I’ll have to pass.
#justkiddingIwillbuyit #includeomega6toomega3ratiosinrecipes #pleaseandthanks
@Shannon: We’re going to include a big section on metabolism and hormonal response to food, and insulin plays a big role in that. We’ll keep it a lot more simple than Gary Taubes did – it’s not going to be a book at that level by any means. (None of our stuff is at that level, really.) We’re going to do our best to translate that science-y stuff into purposefully simplistic concepts that we hope will get the point across to our readers without confusing them.
@Kelly: The only thing that would make this book better (and make us fafillionaires for real) is if we could get an endorsement from Justin Timberlake. Or get him to appear in the book dressed like an omelet. Or Beyonce. Work on that, please. xoM&D
@Mike: You’re spot on with this recommendation – and that’s exactly what we’ve been doing for the last 6 months in our workshops too. We USED to talk about the ethical/moral issues, but honestly, that’s too heavy (and too “advanced”) for the kind of introduction to healthy eating that we want this book to be. We WILL talk about how grass-fed, pastured and organic is healthier, however. Thanks for the reinforcement.
@Kylie: Maybe we can sneak a #hashtag into the book somewhere. Like a video game Easter egg. #sneakysneakyhashtags
Best,
Melissa
A food prep section!
Your target audience probably doesn’t cook a whole lot, and all the food prep required for Paleo meals might put people off a fair bit, but a decent section explaining which veggies can be pre-chopped (and which can’t!) and how long they last in the fridge/cupboard. What meals can be bulk cooked and frozen, even if you bulk prepare and freeze half a recipe to be finished off later.
Lunches for work. Most of us have jobs so can’t cook during the day, and the canteen options are usually poor (unless deep fried everything is on your menu?) So cold, portable meals that can be pre-prepped the night before.
The easier you can make the transition the better. It’s a fact there’s more work involved, but that can be managed affectively with some smart tips (or be totally overwhelming!). This – imo – is crucial for the meal plan, you’ll be instructing someone who isn’t used to spending any time in the kitchen, go easy on them! e.g. Make a big dinner and the left overs become lunch (#onelessmealtoprepare #andasneakyhashtag)
Check out Berardi’s 15 minute ritual – it’s a few years old, but it kinda covers the basis that I’m talking about… but of course, we’d expect more details from you!
I’ve read quite a few paleo books and blog posts, and one thing that always seems to be missing is a section on getting in the right mentality to really make this a life-long change. You guys have some great no-nonsense posts about this, and I would definitely like to see a section where you expand on that.
There is so much out there regarding the science which is of course important, but to me the hardest part is not convincing someone to do this but rather having them keep the motivation to do it the rest of their lives. It’s easy to be excited and gun-ho about anything at first, but over the long term challenges definitely come up. No-nonsense advice for how to deal with temptations or social situations would be incredibly helpful.
So excited to see who the secret celebrity chef is!
Don’t forget you promised the working title was “Meat-eater!”
Melissa and Dallas, It would be great if you could include specific ideas and suggestions on eating Paleo while traveling. I travel for work on a very regular basis. All of it is air travel so I cannot take a big cooler, cannot have ice packs to keep things cold (won’t pass the TSA liquid guidelines), and when I get to my destination I am roaming around in a hot rental car or staying in hotel rooms without refrigerators. So, what can folks take with them that will work and keep them fueled during the day? I wind up eating too many nuts! Have brought along Paleo kits and small almond butter packs, but do you have other tips and suggestions? What about certain restaurant chains that are better options than others? I have consumed LOTS of bad airport salads so I could see how it would be easy to give in to bad food if I wasn’t so strict with myself. Thanks!!!! I love what you do!
I think of the Whole30 as the most militant of the paleo/primal approaches. It gets amazing results because of it, but sometimes the tone can be a little tough on people who are so attached to their whole grains and lowfat nonfoods. Personally I like your guys’ approach b/c it’s no nonsense, but perhaps my Mom wouldn’t. And I would really, really love if my mom got your message. She’s currently 35 lbs down from her all time high weight, but it’s through calorie counting and writing everything down, and it depresses me how much she has to think about food.
So, perhaps the book should be written in a way that is a little… nicer? Friendlier? For the people that aren’t already total converts.
Congratulations! I am so excited about your book. It will be so nice to gift it instead of constantly referring people to a slew of blog posts. (I think they get tired of me deferring them to you. But you say it better than I do. And why “re-invent the wheel”?”)
A couple people kind of touched on some meal planning suggestions I was going to throw your way. I just bought your success guide to do the Whole30 (and to check out whether I want to pay the licensing fees for my gym to have one custom-tailored ;), and a couple things I think would have made it less daunting/time-consuming to get started. One would be perhaps to tailor weekly plans (or at least one week, to get people started) to include cooking for quantity instead of per meal, accounting for leftovers/snacks/etc, rather than a different recipe for each day, and include a specific grocery list for each week that you can just copy down and go (in addition to the general foods list). I got all excited about the recipes in the Guide, but then spent quite a lot of time figuring out which ones would use similar items (i.e. one recipe calling for 6 oz chorizo, then finding another one that would use the other 10 oz) so that I could minimize my grocery bill, but I still ended up dropping about $150 for about 8 days of food, and $550+/month on groceries just isn’t in my budget (though I admit that I really have no idea how much it *should* cost for a month of groceries). The other suggestion would be to perhaps include tips about using those excess items (i.e. if a recipe calls for 6 oz chorizo, then perhaps add a note like “Got leftover chorizo? See on page .” or “Freeze the leftover chorizo to have on hand for quick recipes like or .”
Another thought would be to expand on the “Food For Thought” section and create a questionnaire with sliding scales and/or with questions that require specific rather than open-ended answers. I.e., instead of “Since I started my Whole30, I’ve noticed _____ about my sleep.”, have a multi-part question: Pertaining to sleep: How long does it take you to fall asleep once you lie down? How many times do you wake up during the night? Do you have to have an alarm to wake up? When you wake up, do you feel like you had enough sleep?
I think that would help people pinpoint exactly what they should consider when thinking about what they’ve noticed about different symptoms. But then, I tend to geek out a lot about things; I like to have objective numbers to compare. You could even host it on your website, and instead of including it in the book (since it could get lengthy), people could go online (perhaps with a pin code access only available to those who purchased the book?) and fill it out with a summary emailed to them, and you could collect some subjective data to reference!
OK, now I’m not only geeking out; I’m rambling. Congrats again! :)
Thanks to all for the suggestions. Bridget, if you’ve been reading our stuff for a long time, you’ll know we’ve been moving into the “nicer” territory for a while now. (The original Whole30 post, back in July 2009, said, “If you cheat, slip or fall off the wagon, go somewhere else. I’m not interested in your excuses, only your commitment and your results.” For real. The tough love was waaaay tough.) We’re going to continue our gentler, softer tone in the book, as this will be many folks’ introductions to our material, and we want it to be accessible. But we’re not losing our by-the-books guidelines or softening our stance, either – that’s how we get the results we do.
Kristie – thanks for all the meal planning tips and suggestions! I’ll pass those along to our chef, I like many of these ideas.
Best,
Melissa