WLC: Team BFF's Take on the Kickstarter
The nutritional levels and what is compliant/not compliant has the biggest learning curve when it comes to the Whole Life Challenge (WLC) because its not a one size fits all approach. WLC requires the players to commit to 1 of 3 levels of nutritional play prior to the start of the round: Kickstarter, Lifestyle and Performance. Each nutritional play level is focused on making healthier food choices with Kickstarter having the fewest rules to Performance having the most.
On forums and FB you will see the rules of each level debated endlessly. So in order to keep everyone on Team BFF on the same playing field, we will all play using the "team" rules outlined in here. The Team Captain believe these rules fulfill the intent and mission of WLC and if something seems odd, let me know and I will reach out to WLC for clarification.
Note: The levels and what is allowed/not allowed changes from WLC round to WLC round so be sure to review your nutritional lists prior to the start of the game. The information included in this post is for the January 2018 round as it applies to Team BFF.
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is definitely the most overthought nutritional level of WLC. Possibly because it seems to simple. But in reality it is that simple. Let's review:
What you CAN eat with no point deductons:
-- All meats
-- All vegetables and legumes
-- All fruit (but dried fruit with sugar)
-- All nuts
-- All oils
-- Rice (all types), buckwheat, oats, quinoa, couscous, amaranth, and corn tortillas.
-- Dairy including kefir, yogurt, milk, sour cream, whey, etc.
-- Stevia and coconut sugar in all foods (savory and sweet)
-- Sugar and other sweetners (monk fruit, maple syrup, etc) in prepared savory foods and condiments
-- Sugar in your coffee
-- Gum and mints
-- Baked chips and "fries" (sweet potato, white potato, veggie)
-- Sweet potato "fries"
-- All additives and preservatives.
Eating these will cause you to lose a nutrition point:
-- Dried fruit with added sugar
-- Bread, bagels, flour tortillas, muffins, etc
-- Grain flours and potato starch
-- Cornmeal and polenta
-- Pasta (even the commercially available ones that contain lentils, chickpeas, black beans, etc)
-- Barley, couscous, farro, and wheat berries
-- Cheese and Ice Cream
-- Alcohol with the exception of 1 glass of wine/spirits per day
-- Sugar (including maple syrup, honey, molasses, agave, etc) in a baked good, candy, or dessert, oatmeal, etc.
-- Soda
-- White potato "fries"
-- Fried "chips" of any kind
-- Popcorn
Here is my FAQ on the Kickstarter levels based on questions asked in previous rounds?
1) Do I need to read labels for every jar, container, package of food I pick up in the store to see if their is sugar? On Kickstarter, the answer is maybe. The first question you should ask is the food savory or sweet? If the answer is savory (tomato sauce, marinades, salad dressings, etc) then NO, you do NOT need to read labels and you do NOT need to exclude sugar in savory foods or prepared foods. You may want to read labels so that you can make a sugar-free choice but if you consume a savory, prepared food with sugar, you will not need to deduct a nutrition point.
However, if the answer is sweet (dessert, trail mixes, granola, sweet snack foods, baked goods, etc) then the answer is Yes. You will need to determine if the sweet food has a non-compliant added sugar. The only compliant sweetners in this situation would be stevia and coconut sugar. If the sweet contains sugar, maple syrup, agave, monkfruit, or something else then you would need to deduct a point if you choose to eat it.
2) I found this great commercially available pasta and the only ingredient is black beans/chickpeas/kale, is it compliant? The answer is simple - NO. No commercially available pastas as compliant on WLC. If you want to have "pasta", try zoodles or spaghetti squash.
3) Corn tortillas are compliant so what about corn/tortilla chips? Tortilla chips are only compliant if you eat baked chips.
4) What about rice or quinoa flour? Since these are compliant grains, can I make some rice flour muffins? No! Grain flours are not compliant. If you want to try to bake breads, muffins, pastries, brownies, pancakes etc you will have to use coconut or nut flours. No grain flours for breading meats or veggies either.
5) Some things are noted as "not recommended". Do I need to deduct a point if I eat a "not recommended" food? No, you will not need to deduct a point for a non recommended food. WLC uses this notation where is there are better choices you can make.
6) I am at a burger joint and ordered by burger wrapped in lettuce. But can I have the ketchup, mayo, and mustard? Even though most commercially available ketchup and mayo contains sugar, these are allowed on Kickstarter without a point deduction (as they would be considered a pantry item).
7) Can I save up my 1 drink per day and have 2-3 glasses on the weekend (without a point deduction)? Nope. 1 drink per day. And if you forego your wine on one night just consider it a bonus because you saved some extra calories.
On forums and FB you will see the rules of each level debated endlessly. So in order to keep everyone on Team BFF on the same playing field, we will all play using the "team" rules outlined in here. The Team Captain believe these rules fulfill the intent and mission of WLC and if something seems odd, let me know and I will reach out to WLC for clarification.
Note: The levels and what is allowed/not allowed changes from WLC round to WLC round so be sure to review your nutritional lists prior to the start of the game. The information included in this post is for the January 2018 round as it applies to Team BFF.
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is definitely the most overthought nutritional level of WLC. Possibly because it seems to simple. But in reality it is that simple. Let's review:
What you CAN eat with no point deductons:
-- All meats
-- All vegetables and legumes
-- All fruit (but dried fruit with sugar)
-- All nuts
-- All oils
-- Rice (all types), buckwheat, oats, quinoa, couscous, amaranth, and corn tortillas.
-- Dairy including kefir, yogurt, milk, sour cream, whey, etc.
-- Stevia and coconut sugar in all foods (savory and sweet)
-- Sugar and other sweetners (monk fruit, maple syrup, etc) in prepared savory foods and condiments
-- Sugar in your coffee
-- Gum and mints
-- Baked chips and "fries" (sweet potato, white potato, veggie)
-- Sweet potato "fries"
-- All additives and preservatives.
Eating these will cause you to lose a nutrition point:
-- Dried fruit with added sugar
-- Bread, bagels, flour tortillas, muffins, etc
-- Grain flours and potato starch
-- Cornmeal and polenta
-- Pasta (even the commercially available ones that contain lentils, chickpeas, black beans, etc)
-- Barley, couscous, farro, and wheat berries
-- Cheese and Ice Cream
-- Alcohol with the exception of 1 glass of wine/spirits per day
-- Sugar (including maple syrup, honey, molasses, agave, etc) in a baked good, candy, or dessert, oatmeal, etc.
-- Soda
-- White potato "fries"
-- Fried "chips" of any kind
-- Popcorn
Here is my FAQ on the Kickstarter levels based on questions asked in previous rounds?
1) Do I need to read labels for every jar, container, package of food I pick up in the store to see if their is sugar? On Kickstarter, the answer is maybe. The first question you should ask is the food savory or sweet? If the answer is savory (tomato sauce, marinades, salad dressings, etc) then NO, you do NOT need to read labels and you do NOT need to exclude sugar in savory foods or prepared foods. You may want to read labels so that you can make a sugar-free choice but if you consume a savory, prepared food with sugar, you will not need to deduct a nutrition point.
However, if the answer is sweet (dessert, trail mixes, granola, sweet snack foods, baked goods, etc) then the answer is Yes. You will need to determine if the sweet food has a non-compliant added sugar. The only compliant sweetners in this situation would be stevia and coconut sugar. If the sweet contains sugar, maple syrup, agave, monkfruit, or something else then you would need to deduct a point if you choose to eat it.
2) I found this great commercially available pasta and the only ingredient is black beans/chickpeas/kale, is it compliant? The answer is simple - NO. No commercially available pastas as compliant on WLC. If you want to have "pasta", try zoodles or spaghetti squash.
3) Corn tortillas are compliant so what about corn/tortilla chips? Tortilla chips are only compliant if you eat baked chips.
4) What about rice or quinoa flour? Since these are compliant grains, can I make some rice flour muffins? No! Grain flours are not compliant. If you want to try to bake breads, muffins, pastries, brownies, pancakes etc you will have to use coconut or nut flours. No grain flours for breading meats or veggies either.
5) Some things are noted as "not recommended". Do I need to deduct a point if I eat a "not recommended" food? No, you will not need to deduct a point for a non recommended food. WLC uses this notation where is there are better choices you can make.
6) I am at a burger joint and ordered by burger wrapped in lettuce. But can I have the ketchup, mayo, and mustard? Even though most commercially available ketchup and mayo contains sugar, these are allowed on Kickstarter without a point deduction (as they would be considered a pantry item).
7) Can I save up my 1 drink per day and have 2-3 glasses on the weekend (without a point deduction)? Nope. 1 drink per day. And if you forego your wine on one night just consider it a bonus because you saved some extra calories.
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