3rd Whole 30 - slaying sugar dragons and maintaining weight

[Hannlib]

Hi there,

 

I'm just looking for some advice and support in getting the most out of my third round of whole 30 which I'm starting tomorrow. I've done two previous rounds with total compliance (I'm a rules kinda girl) and mixed results. My first was May 2014. I got great results from a digestive system point of view, confirmed through the reintroduction phase my intolerance of gluten and also discovered issues with rice (especially rice flour) and tomatoes. And realised that while occasional dairy is okay I feel WAY better when I don't eat it. And I don't really miss it. I went super strict that round, because I also wanted to tackle my sugar cravings. So no fruit either except for 3 dried apricots a day which I mixed into a meal, purely to ensure I actually pooed occasionally. 

At the end I reintroduced fruit, because the Summer fruit season here in the UK is so short and so delicious. And then I made some paleo baked goods, because I love baking and I really missed it. And I ate a lot of dark chocolate. And drank wine. It was definitely progress on my pre whole30 creme egg and haribo habit but I do recognise it as indulging that sugar dragon with different foods. Then I went on holiday, fell off the dairy and sugar wagon entirely and UGH.

 

So a second round in September. I didn't want to eliminate fruit because that doesn't feel sustainable. And it was fig season. But i intended to eat it just with meals as advised. Sadly September was a tough month with my Grandma becoming very ill and then dying. I travelled a lot, was a way from home a fair bit and was very sad indeed. I stayed compliant food wise but ended up snacking on Nakd bars, fruit, nuts, sultanas, seeds etc. I knew that what I was doing was far from ideal, but there it is. Needless to say on day 31 I went out and bought chocolate. And wine. 

 

So. Generally I eat paleo. Pretty near whole 30 compliant meals with the addition of cured meats for convenience. Dark chocolate. Wine. Lots of SWYPO. Christmas was a mess of dairy and sugar. 

 

Round 3 I REALLY want to make progress on my sugar cravings. They rule me. I think about eating chocolate all the time. Sure, it's 70%+ dark chocolate but I know it's still sugar. In the evenings I go mad raiding the cupboards. All day i'm fine, but my cravings in the evening are off the scale. I've read ISWF and the bit on leptin resistance really resonated. Also, I'm pretty light. 5ft2" and about 103lb. At the end of a whole 30 I'm usually about 99lbs which is really a bit too skinny. How do I keep the weight on while whole 30ing?? I'm female, mid thirties, two young kids. I get very little sleep ....

 

So I'm thinking:

3-4 meals a day

water and herbal tea in between

 

No fruit/ dried fruit/ nuts/seeds/ nut butters unless they are an integrated part of the meal. So pork chops baked with apple, okay. A satsuma with my lunch, not okay. Sunflower seed butter in a west African chicken stew, okay. Almond butter on a banana, not okay. Mango salsa with grilled chicken, okay. Punnet of blueberries, not okay. Pecans in a waldorf tuna salad, okay. Handful of cashew nuts, not okay. Sound fair? Or do I need to eliminate fruit entirely? 

 

Also no almond milk lattes. 

No white potatoes (huge trigger food for me. no brakes). 

 

 

I have a nasty feeling that *really* I need to do a w45 or a w60. But I can't quite get excited about that right now ...

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you!

[MeadowLily]

Forget all of the nuts, nut butters and dried fruits.   You're also picking fruits on the high end of sugars - banana, mango.  Remember...cashews are the carbiest nut.   More carbs than all of the other nuts.   Only chestnuts have more carbs - but who really eats chestnuts?

 

Frankly, it sounds like a whole lotta nuts the last time.  What I don't see are the proteins.  Do you veer towards mostly chicken?

 

It's the strangest thing.   I used to eat a maxi-mum of chicken.   Now it's almost down to a zero-mum of chicken.  I don't know  how that happened.  I go right for the gusto.   Lots of beef and fish, some pork and almost zero chicken/turkey.  We do have wild game where I live, so I do that, too.   Really zero in on the proteins this time and you won't be dreading anything.   I think if you have proteins, your weight won't be dipping under a 100.   Where are the vegetables,  I think you could gear up on those, too.     1-2-3    Proteins, vegetables and good fats.    Leave the nuts for the squirrels and this Whole 30, you're going to rock it and  feel much  better.

 

[ladyshanny]

Round 3 I REALLY want to make progress on my sugar cravings. They rule me. I think about eating chocolate all the time. Sure, it's 70%+ dark chocolate but I know it's still sugar. In the evenings I go mad raiding the cupboards. All day i'm fine, but my cravings in the evening are off the scale. I've read ISWF and the bit on leptin resistance really resonated. Also, I'm pretty light. 5ft2" and about 103lb. At the end of a whole 30 I'm usually about 99lbs which is really a bit too skinny. How do I keep the weight on while whole 30ing?? 

The only way that I personally have managed to put a dent in my Sugar Dragon is to eliminate fruit. This is not a Whole30 official recommendation but something that I have found works for me.  I do not include it in anything at any time.  This has been the only time in my life where I actually feel like that addiction to sugar has been dulled down significantly.  I have also chosen to disclude nuts because of their "sweet" nature.  I once ate almost an entire can of macadamia nuts in a week (not while on W30) and only eventually realized it was because they have that small bit of sweetness to them. Cashews too.

 

Cravings are best dealt with by making sure you eat enough at all of your meals throughout the day.  Making sure you have ample servings of protein and fat and lots and lots of veggies.  The less room you leave for those cravings to poke in, the better off you are.

 

Here's the meal template again for quick reference: http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-meal-planning.pdf

 

Here's the article on how to keep weight on....although the smoothie recommendation may not jive for you given your other goals. In your case you are going to need to make sure you are eating fat in decent quantities at every meal.  http://whole30.com/2013/12/keeping-weight-whole30/

[Hannlib]

Forget all of the nuts, nut butters and dried fruits.   You're also picking fruits on the high end of sugars - banana, mango.  Remember...cashews are the carbiest nut.   More carbs than all of the other nuts.   Only chestnuts have more carbs - but who really eats chestnuts?

 

Frankly, it sounds like a whole lotta nuts the last time.  What I don't see are the proteins.  Do you veer towards mostly chicken?

 

It's the strangest thing.   I used to eat a maxi-mum of chicken.   Now it's almost down to a zero-mum of chicken.  I don't know  how that happened.  I go right for the gusto.   Lots of beef and fish, some pork and almost zero chicken/turkey.  We do have wild game where I live, so I do that, too.   Really zero in on the proteins this time and you won't be dreading anything.   I think if you have proteins, your weight won't be dipping under a 100.   Where are the vegetables,  I think you could gear up on those, too.     1-2-3    Proteins, vegetables and good fats.    Leave the nuts for the squirrels and this Whole 30, you're going to rock it and  feel much  better.

 

 

 

Yep, my post says no nuts, nut butters or dried fruits this time round, doesn't it? And that last time was a bad effort.

 

I eat a wide variety of protein. Beef, pork, chicken, partridge, wild rabbit, tuna, salmon (canned and fresh), prawns, cod. I eat plenty of veg too. I eat whole 30 meals   . I love cooking and am very happy with my meal templates. What I am not happy with are my evening cravings despite my meal templates. 

[Hannlib]

The only way that I personally have managed to put a dent in my Sugar Dragon is to eliminate fruit. This is not a Whole30 official recommendation but something that I have found works for me.  I do not include it in anything at any time.  This has been the only time in my life where I actually feel like that addiction to sugar has been dulled down significantly.  I have also chosen to disclude nuts because of their "sweet" nature.  I once ate almost an entire can of macadamia nuts in a week (not while on W30) and only eventually realized it was because they have that small bit of sweetness to them. Cashews too.

 

Cravings are best dealt with by making sure you eat enough at all of your meals throughout the day.  Making sure you have ample servings of protein and fat and lots and lots of veggies.  The less room you leave for those cravings to poke in, the better off you are.

 

Here's the meal template again for quick reference: http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-meal-planning.pdf

 

Here's the article on how to keep weight on....although the smoothie recommendation may not jive for you given your other goals. In your case you are going to need to make sure you are eating fat in decent quantities at every meal.  http://whole30.com/2013/12/keeping-weight-whole30/

 

Thanks, that's really helpful. And pretty much what i thought. I've stocked up on olives and avocados and mayo and so on to boost my lunches. We certainly do root vegetables here in the UK in February so I have sweet potatoes, celeriac, parsnips and carrots all ready to go this week. My breakfasts have got a bit protein light so I have plenty of cooked meat to add in this week. 

 

Do you not eat fruit at all, ever? I find it so depressing. But it definitely kicks off my sugar cravings. Maybe the fruit needs to go entirely. I've no intention of eating nuts as snakcs at all, they hit all my triggers too.

 

SO. More of the good stuff. Maybe four meals a day? Or stick with 3 good sized ones? In the past I've done an extra meal in the evening (I eat tea at 5pm with the kids or it all goes bad ways) but I'm not sure if that is pandering to the evening cravings iykwim. 

[Hannlib]

Yep, my post says no nuts, nut butters or dried fruits this time round, doesn't it? And that last time was a bad effort.

 

I eat a wide variety of protein. Beef, pork, chicken, partridge, wild rabbit, tuna, salmon (canned and fresh), prawns, cod. I eat plenty of veg too. I eat whole 30 meals   . I love cooking and am very happy with my meal templates. What I am not happy with are my evening cravings despite my meal templates.

Actually, you have a point. Mango salsa is off the menu. Tuna salad doesn't need pecans in it. Grapes are like crack.

Going to think on those meal plans and eliminate the fruit and nuts.

[ladyshanny]

Do you not eat fruit at all, ever? I find it so depressing. But it definitely kicks off my sugar cravings. Maybe the fruit needs to go entirely. I've no intention of eating nuts as snakcs at all, they hit all my triggers too.

I have gone over 2 months without eating any fruit.  I used to eat a TONNE of it but then when I started having three main meals a day that had protein, veggie and fat, I found there was very limited room left for it and that when I did have it I didn't feel as well as if I skipped it. Then I realized that the only time I ever used it was to "abuse" it when I was craving something sweet.  So out it went. 

 

Just yesterday I had the first piece I've had in over 2 months, a gorgeous, juicy navel orange.  And then I was bloated and had painful gas all night. 

 

I'd be curious if you do a Whole30 without any fruit and then see if you still think it's depressing.  That might be the sugar effect talking.  

[Hannlib]

Ugh sorry for all the repeat posts. Don't know how to delete.

I have gone over 2 months without eating any fruit.  I used to eat a TONNE of it but then when I started having three main meals a day that had protein, veggie and fat, I found there was very limited room left for it and that when I did have it I didn't feel as well as if I skipped it. Then I realized that the only time I ever used it was to "abuse" it when I was craving something sweet.  So out it went. 

 

Just yesterday I had the first piece I've had in over 2 months, a gorgeous, juicy navel orange.  And then I was bloated and had painful gas all night. 

 

I'd be curious if you do a Whole30 without any fruit and then see if you still think it's depressing.  That might be the sugar effect talking.

I definitely abuse it from a snack point of view. And I've also labelled it as as bad as chocolate snack wise, so I tend just to eat chocolate. Great attitude Hannah. But I do make a number of recipes involving fruit which I genuinely enjoy, and I don't think from a sugar hit point of view. But I need to examine that, clearly. Ask myself - why am I adding fruit to this, why do I fancy it. I do remember by the end of my first whole 30 I was literally salivating chopping up nectarines for my girls. I would love to find a healthy relationship with fruit. Maybe elimination needs to be the first step to that.

[ladyshanny]

Ugh sorry for all the repeat posts. Don't know how to delete.

I definitely abuse it from a snack point of view. And I've also labelled it as as bad as chocolate snack wise, so I tend just to eat chocolate. Great attitude Hannah. But I do make a number of recipes involving fruit which I genuinely enjoy, and I don't think from a sugar hit point of view. But I need to examine that, clearly. Ask myself - why am I adding fruit to this, why do I fancy it. I do remember by the end of my first whole 30 I was literally salivating chopping up nectarines for my girls. I would love to find a healthy relationship with fruit. Maybe elimination needs to be the first step to that.

It's alright, sometimes the posts get duplicated, I just hid the second one for you.

 

LOL, fruit is as bad as chocolate, that's some excellent rationalizing there!  

 

I have one recipe that I add fruit to, the Well Fed Pina Colada chicken recipe.  I still added the pineapple chunks but just ate around them. For me that coconut milk + vanilla + pineapple was just too much for my little sugar-addict brain to deal with...even in a savoury dish it was too reminiscent of dessert-type things.  Husband still likes the pineapple in it though so I didn't exclude.

 

Keep me posted, I'm curious how you will choose to go forward.  Self experimentation is the only way to find out exactly what does or does not work.  Watch your physical and emotional reactions as you go and you will undoubtedly learn something new!

[Hannlib]

It's alright, sometimes the posts get duplicated, I just hid the second one for you.

LOL, fruit is as bad as chocolate, that's some excellent rationalizing there!

I have one recipe that I add fruit to, the Well Fed Pina Colada chicken recipe. I still added the pineapple chunks but just ate around them. For me that coconut milk + vanilla + pineapple was just too much for my little sugar-addict brain to deal with...even in a savoury dish it was too reminiscent of dessert-type things. Husband still likes the pineapple in it though so I didn't exclude.

Keep me posted, I'm curious how you will choose to go forward. Self experimentation is the only way to find out exactly what does or does not work. Watch your physical and emotional reactions as you go and you will undoubtedly learn something new!

Yes I know that recipe. It is quite sweet! It wasn't a huge hit round here so hasn't become a staple in our meal plans.

I make some pork sausage burgers which contain grated apple which isn't really noticeable. On the other hand I bake pork chops with pear and apple slices. That's quite a lot of fruit with dinner.

Interesting. I will indeed keep you posted. Looking forward to starting now.

Oh and I did a start of plan weigh and it seems Christmas has taken its toll, I'm about 107lbs so I have a little wriggle room on the weight loss. Won't be weighing of course but hopefully I'll only lose a couple of pounds.

[Ytu]

I'm on a sugar dragon slaying mission too! We can do it! 

[Hannlib]

I'm on a sugar dragon slaying mission too! We can do it!

Good luck!! Mine is a tenacious beast.

Day ?? 17 I think. I'm not really keeping track. I am being super focussed on my meals and eating habits. Really trying to eat good sized template meals, enough starchy carbs and drinking enough water. The last 2 are the challenge. I'm not eating anything between meals or after I finish my meal three. In previous rounds I've allowed myself an extra small meal in the evening - I often eat dinner at 5pm with the kids and it's a long time till breakfast!! But I've decided this just fuels my evening eating habit so I've stopped. And guess what - I'm not hungry. I'm feeling quite bloated which is unusual - I usually get skinny v quickly on whole 30 so I think my efforts to eat more are working.

Couple of day's meals ...

Yesterday

M1 Turkey hash (turkey mince, onion, sweet potato, red pepper, sunshine spice) with green beans and 2 fried eggs. Aiming for 2 palms of protein and a cup of veggies plus the eggs

M2 green salad with romaine and spinach, cucumber, celery, radishes, carrot, olives, a hard boiled egg and a can of sardines plus olive oil vinaigrette.

M3 fiesta pork chops from well fed 2 (I ate 1.5 chops) with cauli rice, kale, brocilli, green beans. Easily 3c of veggies. also half an avocado with diced onion and cucumber and peppers.

Drinks were 2 herbal teas and not quite enough water.

Today

m1 same as yesterday plus a cup of zucchini soup to up my breakfast veggies

A decaff americano

M2 curried cream of broccoli soup (2 bowlful) and 3 chicken drumsticks. Should have had a hard boiled egg too as was starving by dinner

M3 that paleomg buffalo chicken 'pasta' so I had a whole chicken breast and easy 2 cups of zucchini noodles, carrot, celery, onion and Mayo. It was quite delicious I have to say.

Other drinks 2 herbal teas and probably not quite enough water.

Bit light on the starchy carbs this week and today especially. I do struggle with that .. I like raw carrot so trying to eat that with my lunch. My first week I ate loads of root veg mash but that hasn't happened this week. I'll try harder going forwards. Sweet potato isn't my favourite thing on earth. I LOVE white potatoes so much, so I have eliminated them. No brakes and I feel them send my blood sugar wild.

So. Will I ever stop wanting chocolate?

[Hannlib]

My sugar cravings have been off the scale today. And the last couple of days I've been really fed up with my food. That isn't usually an issue, I love cooking and eating this food but nothing has tasted right the last couple of days.

I did a big long hill walk on Saturday - 16km. That's the only thing different.

I wonder if this is my sugar dragon having a final ditch attempt. I'm not craving anything horrific or non compliant (except dark chocolate as per usual). But getting lots of urges to eat fruit, nuts, coconut milk etc. The bananas in the fruit bowl looked so good today. My sugar dragon is sneaky but I'm pretty sure it was him telling me to put homemade coconut milk in my herbal tea tonight. I didn't. Ha.

Food. Been trying hard with the starchy carbs and template quantities.

Yesterday

M1 chicken, prosciutto, zoodles, sweet potato noodles, green beans, 3 fried eggs all in ghee. A black coffee which I didn't drink.

M2 tuna mayo salad, hard boiled egg, salad leaves, cup of zucchini soup.

M3 Kahlua pork, roast sw pots, beetroot and carrots, cabbage, cucumber, mayo.

Today

M1 pork mince, roast butternut squash, green beans, zoodles, 2 fried eggs all cooked in ghee

M2 4 egg omelette (shared with my toddler) with mushrooms. Plus some Kahlua pig pork, romaine, cucumber, red pepper, carrrot and cashew nut salad and mayo. I couldn't finish it.

M3 coconut beef stew, sweet potato hash, green beans and brocolli plus garlic mayo.

I'm not drinking enough water. I maybe need to measure out my daily amount and try to get through it. Peeing is a luxury round here (full time mum) and I generally run myself a bit dry. Its a hard habit to break.

Anyway. Onwards. Day 21 done.

[Hannlib]

Does anyone have any advice or encouragement please? Day 27 done today. And truly, I feel no further on in slaying my sugar dragon. I still have sugar cravings. After every meal and particularly in the evenings. I still want to eat all evening. I'm still constantly thinking about chocolate but also fruit/ dried fruit and so on. Constantly remimding myself it's my cravings talking.

I read all these testimonials where people say 'I have no sugar cravings at all'. That isn't me. I can't imagine being in that place.

Part of me thinks press on, do a whole 45/ 60/ whatever. And part of me (the dragon part...) thinks stuff it, what a waste of time that will be. I eat paleo anyway, it could be worse. Just have some fruit. Then I remember my chronic thrush issue that I'm trying to tackle and that puts me off the fruit. For an hour or so.

Rah. Any words of wisdom please?

[AmyS]

Just off the top of my head, I wonder if you are at a place in your cycle where you just need more carbs and fat? We women have been trained to ignore our bodies' needs for increased carbs and fat in the two weeks before our periods (and to instead substitute - wait for it - CHOCOLATE).  I eat six full meals per day several days before my period. I find, for instance, that if I'm craving sugar and food overall as much as you describe, I really need to eat.

 

This might not be your situation at all, of course. So - you might consider evaluating your cravings from the point of view of what your body is asking for, nutrition-wise. In other words, don't necessarily assume that your body is lying to you. Just assume that it doesn't yet comfortably speak the language of Whole30 as it asks for what it needs. Sugar cravings can mean genuine hunger, need for more carbs and fat, thirst, exhaustion, or any number of other things. If you can turn inward and ask your body what it wants out of that chocolate/sugar, maybe you can break it down for yourself and then you can nurture yourself in response to those cravings.

[Ytu]

Hi Hannlib,

 

Sorry to hear your cravings aren't getting any better.

 

You could look into nutrient supplements - I've read that sometimes we can crave sweets (especially chocolate) due to a mineral deficiency, possibly magnesium. Chromium is meant to help with sweet cravings as well. 

 

I'm one of the lucky ones I guess ... little to no cravings while following the programme (guess my brain likes rules), but I know if I slip up the dragon will come raging back as that's what happened last time.

[Hannlib]

Thank you both :-)

Ytu I'll look into those supplements, thank you. I like a set of rules too and there's no chance of me slipping up/ falling off the wagon during my w30. It's how to proceed afterwards that's the challenge. I can ignore the cravings when I know I *have* to but I was hoping they would diminish so I don't have to spend so much time with them!!

AmyS interesting thoughts. I don't know where I am cycle wise. I've been on the progesterone only pill for about a year (ie no cycles) and just stopped it 3 weeks ago. So there could be a period due any time I guess. I am very susceptible to hormonal swings. These cravings have been pretty static throughout the 28 days though.

I had wondered about craving fat. I've been craving coconut milk a lot and also nuts. It feels like a fat craving but I've been telling myself my sugar dragon is just sneaky. I am quite slight and haven't been aiming to lose any weight.

I don't know if I could eat more. Some days perhaps. But 3 good big meals feels sufficient. I am not hungry in the evenings, just wanting to eat iykwim.

I do miss fruit. Not as a snack, but as part of my cooking repertoire. I enjoy its varied and fresh tastes. It's been frustrating to exclude recipes that enjoy fruit. I love cooking and new recipes. I enjoy fruit in salads as well as cooked into dishes. I miss that. A chopped apple in a tuna salad for example.

I think part of it is me clinging on. I don't want to never eat chocolate and desserts and treats again. I enjoy baking with my children and for my family and it's bad enough that I can't eat the gluten filled stuff. Or even the gluten free stuff (I react to rice flour same as gluten flour). I love love eating whole 30 food but I want to enjoy the treats too -but as an occasional and enjoyable part of my diet rather than the compulsion they currently are. Maybe that's impossible.

I think I need to keep an eye on my habits going forward. So today my littlest handed me a half eaten satsuma, plum, and bowl of strawberries. I didn't eat them because of w30. Off w30 I probably would, because waste. But I think I need to keep that mindfulness and attention to what I put in my mouth. Even when I reintroduce some fruits. Which may be soon after I finish.

[lgt2013]

Hannah, I am in a similar situation. I have always had a monstrous sugar dragon (my parents let me eat whatever I wanted all the time as a child -- I was naturally very slim). At one point a few years ago, I was craving something sweet, usually chocolate, after every single meal, including breakfast. I'm on day 8 of my third whole30, first one was Nov 2013. After the first, I fell right back into the sugar (holidays) and it was even worse than before. Winter/spring 2014 I was eating a big slice of cake/cheesecake almost DAILY! (my local grocery store has a ridiculous bakery section). After my second, last Aug/Sept, I only allowed sweets if they were "special". Everytime I was tempted, I asked myself, is that special? Is it something I can have anytime? I did really well until the holidays, when of course, everything is special -- buckeyes, fudges, pies, etc. And then I slid right back into the sugar again (red velvet oreos? really?) This time I'm hoping to get back into that thought process of not having treats unless they are truly special (this adresses the concern of never being able to have dessert or treats again). I figure if I start this now, I'll be better prepared for the holiday season and be able to get back to whole30 living after they are over.

 

As far as cooking with fruit, I only do it when the sweetness has the salty counterpart -- I like the balance between the two flavors. I wouldn't use fruit just to add sweetness. In fact, I had sweet potatoes in my breakfast this morning and I ended up pushing most aside because they were just too sweet without anything salty/crunchy to balance. But I do still want chocolate on a regular basis. And last night I found myself thinking of all the pastries and yummy baked goods I am no longer allowed. It's an ongoing fight, but my health is worth it.

 

~Liza

[Hannlib]

Liza funnily enough I struggle with sweet potatoes partly because they are so sweet!! Also the texture, ack.

I've come a long was since my first whole 30. My gluten intolerance is well and truly confirmed and that rules out so much not worth it stuff for me. Being gf sent me down a route of waaaay too much sugar -haribo, sweets, meringues, any chocolate I could find. I'm much pickier now. Quality dark chocolate and I enjoy paleo baked treats. So I never really happen across something worth it unless I make it!! I enjoy that and don't want to give it up but these things had become a twice daily indulgence. Maybe I've made more progress than I give myself credit for, I've a tendency to be hard on myself. Christmas made me slide too (dairy and sugar) but this whole 30 has definitely reigned that back in. Just the good bad habits that will prevail!

Interestingly I blame my parents too. I wasn't allowed any sugar at all or treats, sweets etc. My mum was super strict. Of course this meant I was desperate for them and they became very high value items. I still have that same furtiveness, eating things quickly in the pantry, sneaking illicit sweet things, that I learned as a child. That's why my kids aren't paleo. We talk about healthy choices but nothing is off limits. Sounds like as parents we can't win!!!

[Hannlib]

Well, day 30. I feel pretty much the same. Still craving fruit, nuts and chocolate. I actually sniffed my daughter's chocolate biscuit today!!

I'm pretty disappointed to be honest. I feel pretty good otherwise, my skin is clear, I'm enjoying my food. I know I'll continue with my w30 meals. I'm pretty sure I've lost a few pounds but not too many. So I'm happy with all that. But I'd really hoped to squash these sugar cravings.

I don't know what I'll do tomorrow tbh.

[ladyshanny]

Well, day 30. I feel pretty much the same. Still craving fruit, nuts and chocolate. I actually sniffed my daughter's chocolate biscuit today!!

I'm pretty disappointed to be honest. I feel pretty good otherwise, my skin is clear, I'm enjoying my food. I know I'll continue with my w30 meals. I'm pretty sure I've lost a few pounds but not too many. So I'm happy with all that. But I'd really hoped to squash these sugar cravings.

I don't know what I'll do tomorrow tbh.

Hi Hannalib,

 

Those damn sugar cravings!  Some things that have helped my monster be reduced from the size of a house to the size of a mouse:

• no fruit at all
• starchy veggie at least once per day, usually in the evening and more like with every meal in the week before and of my period
• no nuts (I attribute this to losing that hand-to-mouth snack desire that is often associated with sugar foods)

This all came about after 2 Whole30's and 7 months in between of living as close to Whole30 as was reasonable for me.  It was following the last W30 that I really noticed that my cravings and "need" for sugar had changed completely.  You might need to just keep working on it as best you can, following the basic principles of Whole30 as often as possible? 

[Hannlib]

Hi ladyshanny,

Thanks for the encouraging words! I've done all those things this round. I guess I need to consider how I go forwards from here. I always eat compliant meals but it's whether to stay off the fruit and keeping an eye on those habits.

I might go start a post whole 30 log. This won't be my last whole 30 for sure! And I'm planning to start an exercise class tomorrow which is a big thing for me. And try to get more sleep!

[Hannlib]

Well I'm 99.5lbs this morning. So I've lost 8.5lbs. Which is about 3 or 4lbs too much, really. Sigh.

[Hannlib]

Well I think I've come further than I thought. My husband was away last night, I got the kids to bed and had the whole evening to myself. Usually this would be an A1 opportunity yo have some yummy chocolatey snacks. When you eat three meals a day being mithered by small children the opportunity to eat alone is very appealing. Also my dinner was a bit of an uninspiring collection of leftovers.

But I didn't. I don't drink alone, and I think I need to not eat chocolate alone too. So I didn't. I had two huge glasses of fresh lime and soda and enjoyed my peaceful evening. No need for chocolate or anything else.

I'm taking each day as it comes now, but I felt in control last night.

[smacd]

Hi Hannah- your story is really resonating with me just now. What did you decide?