FitAndFabForever

I'm starting my fourth - mainly to re-calibrate my eating as I've been including cozy comfort foods again and it's time to get back to basics. This time even though it's not encouraged in the Whole 30, I'm intending to be mindful of my portions but without going crazy with it. Just wanting to pay attention to those serving sizes. As I get older I can't eat the same without it showing on my hips and belly. :-) Look forward to the companionship during this shared experience. It helps!

Hi Asharn, I was eating as a vegan before starting the Whole 30 and so I can relate. Personally at first I found it hard because just the idea of my eating meat made me gag...despite having previously been a perfectly fine carnivore before turning to plant based foods. So I didn't want to cook raw meat so I found lots of pre-cooked meats at Trader Joe's. In the cold section (where they have cheese and so on) I found grilled chicken breasts, grilled chicken patties and spicy sausages all precooked. One version of sausages has no added sugar. Once I adjusted, in the frozen section they have Chilli-lime turkey burgers. Trader Joe's also has bags of frozen chicken breasts and thighs, salmon, tilapia, etc. Really easy to prepare (don't have to chop anything before cooking). There are probably lots more options elsewhere but TJ's is still my fave stock up place. Hope this helps a little. I'll be starting on 11th as well - tuning in on the other group.

Hi fellow Whole 30'rs! I just turned 56 three days ago. Yay! I've enjoyed hearing from others around my age as well as those who aren't.. I successfully Whole 30'd last summer. I am pretty healthy generally but since last year I've lost family members & started self-soothing eating lots of cookies. I was fine with it 'cause I planned to Whole 30 the habit & take the belly off later. That time is now. One problem I had during the last Whole 30 though, was a healthy sweet tooth: ie. Lots of sweet potatoes, roast veggies, butternut squash, berries...& other sweet but nutritious foods. In every meal & I began craving them as well! Red flag. If anyone has suggestions on how to Whole 30 without this problem I'd love to hear feedback. And suggestions of other non-sweet carbs, because it could've been a carb craving thing. Meanwhile glad to be on this one month journey with you all. The forum contributed greatly to my success last year & I hope it'll be the same this year. Blessings.

I'm sorry to hear the 30 day Daily Emails package is going away. Although they had so much information I didn't read all of it, I enjoyed seeing each one pop up daily and loved checking off at the end of the day. The cheering squad that popped up after saying you'd done another day successfully always made me smile and feel "YES I did it!". Some of the entertaining videos that accompanied it made me laugh out loud. That alone was worth the entire set of daily emails. I wish it could be automated so that it would be easier for them to send it out. The journal has most of the info, but nowhere near as much as the emails. I hope they bring them back and set it up so you can start from scratch with the emails if you have to start over.

I started using the Day by Day journal, and love that it combines the email encouragement with other info in one journal book. But then had to start over :-(. Does anyone have any ideas on how to start over while still using the journal book? It only goes Day 1- Day 30 so unless you do it perfectly the first time, it's hard to know how to use it. I temporarily glued copies of the log pages over the pages I'd written in. But this isn't a good solution. Any ideas anyone?

Also if one is really struggling, they have a Daily email thing for $15. I signed up and it was SO worth it. Daily newsletter/letters that really explain things, encourage, entertain. I didn't read everything but it's always available to me to read at any time. Their final pop up page every day always got me smiling. Here's a link to a sample email they've made available. https://daily.whole30.com/email_sample.html I also found writing here with others who'd started the same day, really helped too. The moderators are great.

JoeS, hang in there. It gets better, then worse, then way better. It's worth it. Think of it as the withdrawal stage. It's normal. Stay strong. Hope this article helps: https://whole30.com/2013/08/revised-timeline/ Just remember to follow what ShannonM816 has written above. The water flushes out the toxins faster. I found it helps to keep a full jug of water on my desk, and fill it at least twice. Or marking off when I drank a glass of water - aiming for a glass every hour from 9am-4pm which equals 8 cups of water (recommended average in health circles). Keep reaching out too. And find similar forum entries. You aren't alone.

Can anyone shed light on this issue of "Natural Flavors." Are they potentially bad for us? Silk Almond milk has "Natural Flavors". On the Cheat Sheet for Additives, I see Natural flavors is ok. But my understanding is that 'Natural flavors' could be MSG or other additives not good for you. I'm wondering whether it's really ok or to keep avoiding this additive. Here's a link on one persons take: http://foodbabe.com/2011/12/01/chemical-warfare-with-natural-flavor/

Hi. I'm new! Day 2. All the best.