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I have decided to start the whole 30 as well on June 1st! My name is Kathy and I am 51, both my sister and her daughter have done it and I am in such bad shape I have decided to commit! It’s going to be tough but in 2015 my husband died and turned my world upside down. I have 2 adult kids, I now live in my own and it’s time to work on myself!

Lightening fast update bc I have a workout to get in but one tip I always found interesting for people who were used to a hot cereal breakfast is to try subbing in a cup of creamy type soup. Obviously “creamy” can be sort of hard to achieve with no dairy but getting creative with a sweet potato based soup or something with some coconut cream might help fill the void in a way that eggs don’t and soups have that great portability factor. And they are a perfect vehicle for veggies. Actually I started to type veghicle....which cracked me up more than it should have.

I really wanted a late night snack last night, and almost had one, justifying it by saying, "well, it's all healthy, on-plan food..." but I resisted, knowing that I wasn't really hungry, I was just bored, lonely, or wanting a treat. yay me.

I feel your pain, @LIEvans! I showed up at the office this morning and the water had been turned off (someone's working on it somewhere). This means no coffee for me. Perhaps I should explain a bit more -- THAT MEANS NO COFFEE!!!!! I am trying to be civil about it, but I would prefer Total World Destruction to this. Being nice to people just makes it worse. They have chosen a poor day to get on my last nerve, to be sure.

Well, despite my good intentions – I made mistakes over the weekend. Not huge ones, just small poor choices because i wasn't paying attention. I considered just overlooking them and forging on as if nothing had happened. But NO – that is not the Whole30 Way! It’s everything or nothing. Period! I will own my mistakes, and I will restart today. I will remain 100% compliant and do this right. I have a full refrigerator of good food (Sunday is my prep day) and I am ON IT! Also, I’m practicing mindful eating and it has already changed the way I feel about the foods I eat. It allows me to truly taste each bite and appreciate the differences in texture and temperature between veggies and meat and fruit. I’m surprised by the experience, and I’ve found I stop eating sooner when I am truly paying attention. Good luck to everyone. Get lots of sleep -- that's my secret to juggling everything in life and in the Whole30.

Today’s success story? I remembered to take my reusable bags to the grocery.(mentally doing a happy dance.) Today’s fail story? I was three steps from getting in line with my full cart when I realized I had left my wallet at home. (mentally falling flat on my face.) sooooo meal prep day is getting a bit of a late start, but luckily my plan calls for a huge chunk of meat in the crockpot and I can let that on over night if I need to. I prepped a trial recipe of a black cherry bbq sauce yesterday, so all I really need to do today is prep salad stuff. I’ve got this, but very glad I didn’t have a more ambitious plan in place!

One quick one...this is my absolute favorite W30 recipe. http://meljoulwan.com/2014/03/17/chicken-pesto-meatballs-marina/ I have always made these with turkey instead of chicken but Mel's magic meatball method (she should patent that) makes them incredibly moist so either chicken or turkey works without being dry. As a short cut, I have sometimes used a bottled pasta sauce instead of making her sauce. Her recipe is easy and tasty, but sometimes I need all the short cut's I can get. My favorite is Paul Newman's For the Common Good which has been easy to find even in major grocery chains so it doesn't require a specialty health food stop. Always double check because recipes change, but the last time I looked the Tomato Basil variety was compliant. If you have never tried zoodles, this is an excellent way to try them the first time because they taste delicious with this recipe. On top of all that the leftover meatballs are killer cold so it's a total win.

Hi Everyone, I will be starting my third W30 tomorrow, June 1, as well. I started my first round in May of last year, but only made it about 17 days - I used non-compliant lime juice in a recipe and didn't have the heart to start over. I completed my second round in January/February/March when I ended up extending it for about 75 days. From there, I had been doing pretty good at eating healthy and enjoying my "food freedom" until my husband and I took a vacation at the beginning of May. Since then I've felt a bit out of control and know that it's time to do another round to get me back on track. Good luck everyone!

Michelle, I hope you'll hear from a moderator or an advanced member, but I'd like to offer some encouragement from a newbie. I can relate to your frustration and discouragement because I felt it also around Day 30. On the other hand, I also felt that I was just starting to get the hang of MY Whole30 by the end, so I hung in for another 15 days at full compliance and am still fully compliant on most days at something north of Day 60. My average weight loss over that period is about half a pound a week. Nothing dramatic, but I've reached a point where I can trust that it will continue at that rate. I'm weighing myself every 10 days or so, a big change from when it was daily. I'm not an expert or even an advanced member, but here are a few comments on your daily menu. My go-to breakfast is also 2 eggs. I eat mine over a heap of sauteed spinach. I find that when I add about half a sausage patty (I use the recipe that's paired with sweet potato mash in the Pork section of the cookbook), a quarter of a baked potato plus ghee, and maybe some roasted or sauteed butternut squash I'm more satisfied (sometimes kind of stuffed) and I can more easily go 4 or 5 hours until lunch. I've read enough troubleshooting posts to know that the problem with your snack is that it doesn't include any protein. Maybe add a sausage patty or the other half of your tuna can, or maybe add the apple, cashew butter and a bit of sausage to your breakfast and skip the snack. I've learned from personal experience that snacks (mine are usually in the afternoon if I need one) are useless without the protein. For some reason I was resistant to that reality for a really long time. Maybe you are too. My impression of your lunch is that it's not nearly big enough. Eat the whole can! Or add a hard-boiled egg. I like the recipe for no-fuss salmon cakes; one or two of those make a really satisfying protein dish. I make the batch of 8 and reheat them in a microwave as needed. I would also add half a baked potato, white or sweet, to the meal. I discovered that potatoes are really my friends after being very wary of them initially. They're very satisfying, and the ghee ensures you're getting enough fat. Dinner sounds good to me. Maybe add another half turkey burger or another veggie if it doesn't feel satisfying. Ever since Weight Watchers about 30 years ago I've been religious about 64 oz of water a day. At some point when I was feeling very down about Whole30 I read a post in which the writer remarked something to the effect that the more she ate, the more weight she lost. I was very bitter about that at the time, sure that it didn't apply to me, but it stayed in my head and I've come to think it's true. As I've added more foods and sometimes larger portions I feel more satisfied after my meals, I have more energy, and I obsess less about weight loss. You don't say how many total hours of sleep you're getting. If it's sufficient, I guess you could go to bed later if you want to wake up later. For me, sleep has been the last frontier of the program. I've had various forms of insomnia for close to 20 years. Only around Day 60 did my sleep start to normalize. For a while it was worse on Whole30 than before I started the program. Now it's better. I still wake up during the night but usually am able to fall back to sleep quickly. I hope some of this is helpful to you. I spent lots of time trolling around the Troubleshooting section when I was feeling confused and discouraged. I picked up some good tips and sometimes I felt better just knowing that others were struggling too. Oh, and I also recently bought myself a copy of It Starts with Food. I find it helps my motivation to read about what I'm doing and remind myself of why. I do think Whole30 is the best program out there, and I hope you find a way to make it work for you.

The rules are really, really clear. For 30 days, no recreating baked goods. If it is important to you to have cake for an event, don't do whole30 over a period when that event is going to happen. Once your whole30 is over, you can have paleofied cake or regular cake or whatever works for you, whenever you feel like it is worth it to you. If you do have something coming up during a whole30 that you want to celebrate, find new ways to do that that don't compromise the healthy choices you are making for yourself for a month, or delay the celebration until after your whole30 and reintroductions are done. This explains why the no recreating baked goods rule is in place: https://whole30.com/2011/10/sex-with-your-pants-on/ Learn more about food freedom, life after Whole30, and how you might think about having treats in the future in these posts: https://whole30.com/2016/09/what-is-food-freedom/ https://whole30.com/2012/01/ride-your-own-bike-2/

Hey y'all! I'm starting my very first whole30 challenge on the first of June.. I have told family and friends about it and I am quite nervous as I am a junk food fiend!! If anyone else here is starting the same day as me, feel free to reach out. Kiley

I know that Whole 30 isn't about losing weight, but I hit the 50 pounds of weight loss this morning!!!! About 20 of that has been with 2 rounds of Whole 30. I feel like I have my life back after struggling my whole life with weight. I was having a lot of trouble with my eating habits after my second baby about a year ago. But now I am pre-wedding weight (6years ago) and still going strong! I'm just really excited and so thankful for Whole 30. I have been able to learn healthy food choices and re-train my brain on the foods that I should eat. And that its ok to spend a little more money on food that is better for me because it will be better for my family in the long run. I have about 15 more pounds until I meet my goal but I know that is possible with my new lifestyle.

About breakfast -- this week I planned to fry up some eggs each morning with bacon and veggies, but every morning I opened the refrigerator and thought, "Hey, beef and tomatoes! That looks great!". So that's what I've been eating for breakfast and it keeps my tummy happy and full for six hours until a late lunch. Then my lunch keeps me well fed until later in the evening when I have just a bit of meat and veggies around 7:00. The beef & tomatoes recipe is one of my favorite Sunday-prep things: just a pound of ground beef, browned, plus a can of diced tomatoes, a can of quartered artichokes and pepper, garlic salt and onion salt. Simmer on the stove for half an hour or so and store in the 'fridge -- makes four nice meals. You can skip the artichokes or add more veggies to your own liking, too (mushrooms work great).

Day 4 yall! I had a headache all day yesterday despite drinking what felt like gallons and gallons of water. I had the worst charlie horse Saturday night, it was actually sore all day yesterday! It's amazing to me how quickly you can feel changes in your body. My ankles have been swollen for at least the last two months and last night I realized that even after being on my feet all day they weren't swollen at all. The cooking all the time though... it's a struggle! SO. MANY. DISHES.

Hi all! Day two! I feel lighter already...is that a thing? Trying to add some foods in that I haven’t had for a while to make this seem like a treat at times. Went to Whole Foods and remembered why it’s nicknamed Whole Paycheck! Feeling pretty sweaty today and wondering if it’s the lack of sugar or just the North Carolina heat. I’ve checked my thermostat three times and it swears it’s only 70 in here! Hope you all are doing well this first weekend!

Hello, all! I am starting my second Whole 30 today, and pretty pumped that there are so many of us to help each other along. I am 62, healthy, and generally very happy with my life. I'm living in beautiful Greenville, SC with my husband, two dogs and two guinea pigs. My four kids are grown and on with their own lives, so I get to concentrate on myself again. My first W30 was in March of this year. It made such a change in the way I felt physically, mentally, even emotionally -- I have to continue! The focus for that first Whole30 was, "I need this healthful change to my life so I can continue my life adventure." I think I'll keep that theme again, and expand my changes into meditation and some added movement this time around.

Hey guys, June is my anniversary month of my first W30 (can't believe that was 3 years ago already) and it always makes me want to stop whatever I'm doing and spend the month doing a reset. This will be the longest I've been off W30 at a time in between since my last was in January and I'm excited to be back on plan. It's also been a while since I've joined a forum group but since I'm doing this one completely solo irl I thought I would hang out here for the month and help support some new people as well as make sure I'm up to date on any changes to the program. I will be doing a W60ish this time because I intend to continue straight through July as well. My biggest struggle is getting up in time to make breakfast, it's a meal I did without for most of my adult life because I prefer sleep to food. Not eating enough is my worst enemy, so the fact that I got in a real food hot breakfast this morning is my first mini-achievement and will be my focus for this reset. I'm looking forward to following along with all your successes!

hey all! I did some prep yesterday - made mayonnaise, coconut cream, ranch dressing, and tomato sauce - so I would have what I needed to succeed today. I'm using the 7-day meal plan in the book as a guide, so for breakfast this morning I had a frittata with red onion, tomato, and spinach with a side of grapes and almonds. it was DELICIOUS! and I usually don't bother with breakfast, so I'm doing great so far, lol! lunch will be a protein salad with a side of fruit, and dinner will have to be cooked early and brought along because my teen has a gig tonight, and there's always lots of junk there, which I Will Not Touch!

My first round, I was a bit concerned with the cost too, but what I've found is that simple is best - buying whatever greens/veggies are in season, pairing with chicken or eggs is a quick and simple meal that can be affordable. Also, when I'm on W30, I eat out a lot less - not stopping for coffee each morning, not grabbing a cookie or snack at 3pm, and not ordering pizza or other foods on the weekend - this ends up being a bigger cost savings for us that outweighs any additional cost from the additional grocery bills. Good luck!

It takes maybe 30 seconds more to cook a tray of chicken thighs or breasts in the oven than it does a package of sausages, though...open package, season (that's the step sausages don't have), put on tray, roast. And then you can have a whole bunch of protein cooked and ready to go.

two more days - I'm not ready! I have to go grocery shopping and make a meal plan...I've been eating all the junk in the house 'to get rid of it', and I feel like crap. oh well. I made my bed, guess I'll have to lie in it, right?

Back again. Yesterday was the four month anniversary of the start of my Whole 30 journey. This morning, I stepped on the scales 37 pounds lighter than that January day I took my first step toward regaining control of my health. As I've written before, I was fortunate. My initial Whole 30 experience went relatively smoothly. I don't really have any of the horror stories about food cravings; mood swings or physical discomfort that I was told could be part of the cleansing process. That's not to say my discipline hasn't been tested. I will get the occasional pang for something sinful (often pizza or chips), but more times than not I have been able to rely on the strategies I've picked up along the way to make a smarter, more mindful, choice. In the three months since I graduated from W30, I have transitioned into a lifestyle that is more like Whole 15 out of any given 30 days. My new normal is totally or nearly compliant W30 during the first three or four days of the work week, when my exercise time is a bit more limited. Then I loosen the reins a bit on Fridays and over the weekend, but do my best to supplement with lots of activity and exercise on Saturday and Sunday. More than anything, though, I am most proud of the fact that nearly every food decision I'm making today is a conscious choice. I never realized how much mindless eating I engaged in prior to starting W30. Now when I treat myself to some of my favorite foods that may be a little "off book," I'm making the decision that it's worth it for whatever the reason - special occasion, a rare food opportunity, a well-deserved treat. I'm not an all-or-nothing guy by nature but I have found some discipline I didn't know existed as result of this journey. For example, I haven't had a Diet Coke in 125 days - not bad for a guy who routinely drank six or eight a day before W30. I also have made the decision to stay away from sugar almost entirely, because I still have a ways to go to reach my weight goal and I have plenty of stored fat yet to be burned for energy. I'm sure there will be a day this summer when the only thing that will do on a hot South Carolina day is a dish of ice cream, but it hasn't happened yet. In some ways, I "failed" the reintroduction part, but in a way that works for me. I've found that I can be 80-90 percent compliant most days (100 percent on many), and still eat virtually everything I want. And the weight continues to slide off at a healthy rate. Beyond that, I have found a level of "functional fitness" that I haven't enjoyed in decades - as I have discovered in recent weeks by doing physical tasks such as trimming branches, cutting wood and push-mowing with ease that I couldn't have imagined four months ago. As I mentioned in previous posts, my overall energy is higher than it has been in years. And, I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the fact that family and friends are noticing. I am getting a steady stream of compliments on my appearance, which is good for the ego. It also shows that people care, which is good for the soul. Both provide motivation to keep me on track. I've said this before, but it bears repeating. I have been, throughout my life, the least habit-forming person I know. I'm still surprised at the extent to which this journey has changed my relationship with food. The secret, I've discovered, is there is no secret. You just have to value your health enough to stick with it and do your best to win every day.Trust me, if I can do this, you can. With appreciation, ML

Hello everyone. My wife and I are starting the Whole30 June 1st with our best friends. This is their second round and got us into it. Really looking forward to it.

Hi! My name is Dana :) I did my first Whole30 back in April and I’m ready to do another round! I’m glad I found this forum, May 29th is the perfect time for me to start again. One thing I found that helped me was to do a little introduction week before fully going in on Whole30. So that means slowly taking out the foods that were bad, instead of stopping cold turkey and going right in. I also made sure to find easy and fun recipes that I enjoyed. I DEFINITELY made sure to meal prep and be prepared for lunch and dinner, because those were my hardest meals. I’m excited to go again!

Public Service Announcement: The group threads in this section of the forum can be extremely fast moving and as such, the volunteer moderators have a hard time keeping up with reading the hundreds of posts that go whizzing by. That said, if you are struggling or something doesn't seem right or you need some specific help, please create a new post in the Troubleshooting Your Whole30 portion of the forum. Make the title of your post as specific as possible to assist in getting a response sooner. For example, titling your post "Can't Break the 3pm Slump!" rather than just "Someone Please Help!" makes it quicker for the moderators to understand and assist you. The moderators try to get to everything and we appreciate your patience but members following this outline is one of the ways that you can help us to help you!