____Emily____

That's such a bummer - I hope your pain goes away soon and that you're able to pinpoint what caused it. I did a day with no sugar yesterday (I don't remember exactly what I ate all day, but I think my only non Whole30-compliant item was a small plain latte). By the end of the day, I had a low level headache - I can't believe I was having sugar withdrawals again after only being back on sugar for 4-5 days! I think I'm going to incorporate no-sugar-added days into my diet semi-regularly. My choice to not just toss all of the leftover holiday candy before my Whole30 was not a good choice, lol. I've made the decision not to replace that candy as I consume it, so I won't have it all sitting around soon. I'm also considering doing another Whole30 in April (after my birthday, lol). I should have time to do a full reintroduction after that round, so I might try to do that as well since I haven't done one of those since 2018. It'll all depend on whether I get pregnant before then as I am not going to attempt a Whole30 during pregnancy

It's a start! I'm hoping if I keep up with the healthier eating and losing weight that it'll stay more regular.

Day 30 - Jan 31 Breakfast (10:00 am) Two hardboiled eggs (sort of... I only ate half of each because they had a bizarre taste tot hem. Potentially they've gone bad or absorbed some weird fridge smell) Lunch (12:15pm): Two scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and chili crunch Dinner (7:00pm) Taco Night Exercise: None How did I feel? Excited to be done! I was pretty low energy all day thanks to the rain and recovering from the day before. But I am so glad to have remained compliant for the entire 30 days. Results My measurable differences: - 13.6 lbs lost (5% of my bodyweight - I started Whole30 severely obese and am now only in the obese category) - Lost 1.25 inches around my bust (wouldn't have minded keeping those inches lol) - lost 1.5 inches from under my bust - lost 2 inches from my waist - lost 1.25 inches from my gut/lower belly - lost 1.25 inches from my hips - lost 1.5 inches from my left thigh (assuming the same for the right, but I don't measure both) - My resting heart rate plummeted toward the end of this Whole30 (was 74 bpm on day 1 and 64 bpm on day 30, but it took about half the month for it to start decreasing) My non-measurable differences: - reduced cravings (can't say no more, because PMS hit me hard this cycle) - I'm able to better recognize whether I'm actually hungry, or just eating because it tastes good or I'm bored - more consistent energy throughout the day

Congrats to all as well! I started my morning with a stop at Starbucks for a Pistachio Latte. As I was ordering it, I noticed that it was 320 calories . That's 320 calories I have been regularly drinking that I cut out without even noticing this whole month! I don't always get a pistachio latte, but it is generally lattes. My main meals for the day will be complaint - eggs for breakfast, sausages with mustard and carrots and guacamole for lunch, and a curry for dinner. So I think my only noncompliant foods will be my latte and potentially some candy . My measurable differences: - 13.6 lbs lost (5% of my bodyweight - I started Whole30 severely obese and am now only in the obese category) - Lost 1.25 inches around my bust (wouldn't have minded keeping those inches lol) - lost 1.5 inches from under my bust - lost 2 inches from my waist - lost 1.25 inches from my gut/lower belly - lost 1.25 inches from my hips - lost 1.5 inches from my left thigh (assuming the same for the right, but I don't measure both) My non-measurable differences: - reduced cravings (can't say no more, because PMS hit me hard this cycle) - I'm able to better recognize whether I'm actually hungry, or just eating because it tastes good or I'm bored - more consistent energy throughout the day I did not manage to get pregnant this cycle, unfortunately, but I did ovulate (which hasn't happened for a lot of my cycles)

Congrats everyone! I'll come check out the new thread

Day 29 - Jan 30 Lunch (3:00pm): Two scrambled eggs with chili crunch, Two Italian sausages, diced and sauteed Snack (time unknown, maybe like 3:30?) Two oranges Dinner (7:30pm) Shakshuka Snack (time unknown, maybe like 9:00?) Fruit gummies and applesauce Exercise: None How did I feel? Well, after not falling asleep until 7:30 am, it was a rough day. I called in sick to work and spent most of the day in bed, but not asleep (I slept about 3-4 hours). Not the best way to end my Whole30 (writing this on Day 30, still feeling blah)

I'm pretty excited for the end of this Whole30. I don't do the reintroduction anymore after my first time, but I probably should since it has been about 4.5 years since then and I'm sure my body has changed. I also haven't given a ton of thought to how I'll eat starting day 31... I would like to cut back on added sugar for sure. I'm planning to pack my normal breakfast and lunch for work, so that'll be compliant, but otherwise I don't know I kind of inadvertently gave up caffeine for most of this Whole30. Got a small nitro cold brew at my coffee shop yesterday and wound up drinking it all (normally I'd sip on it during my meeting and dump most of it after I left the coffee shop). I was up until 7:30am this morning... I had to call off work since I would only get about 1 hour of sleep before having to start. So I'm actually a bit nervous about how my body will react when I get lattes again after reintroducing dairy...

Day 28 - Jan 29 Coffee (11:00am) Lunch (2:30pm): Two fried eggs (used Trader Joes Umami seasoning) with sauteed onions; smoked salmon with chili crunch; oranges Snack (3:00pm) Two oranges Dinner (7:30pm) Hot wings; sweet potato fries with southwest aioli Exercise: None How did I feel? Overall good. My husband came back from the bachelor party and he's now back on Whole30 til the end of my Whole30. For some reason I had insomnia at the end of Day 28. I think it may have been the coffee since I've basically cut it out otherwise. Didn't get to bed until like 7:30am the following day

Day 26 - Jan 27 Breakfast (9:15am) Two hardboiled eggs Lunch (12:45pm): A Three-egg omelet with the spinach and artichoke filling from the stuffed mushroom recipe Snack (2:15pm) Solely gummies and applesauce Dinner Part 1 (6:30pm): I baked up some of the spinach and artichoke filling in a ramekin and ate it like spinach and artichoke dip with the plantain chips Dinner Part 2 (7:30pm) sweet potato fries with a southwest aioli Exercise: None How did I feel? I'm PMSing, which means I'm craving carbs so I was really struggling with wanting snacks Day 27 - Jan 28 Brunch (11:00am) Two eggs, scrambled with diced onions, smoked salmon and chili crunch on the side Dinner Part 1 (6:15pm): Salad with a vinaigrette Dinner Part 2 (6:45pm) Used the remaining filling to make more stuffed mushrooms (got portobello caps this time) Snack (9:00pm) Three oranges (lol, the carb cravings) Exercise: None How did I feel? good. Was meant to go to the gym and didn't... Definitely failed at adding exercise into my Whole30

I got sick so I've been a bit behind in updating this. I'm sure I forgot to write down some snacks... Day 22 - Jan 23 Coffee (8:15am) In-office day so I grabbed a coffee for the commute. I actually bought a nitro cold brew from Starbucks and added some of my milk Breakfast (10:15am): 2 hard boiled eggs Lunch (1:00pm): Meatballs and marinara Snack (4:00pm) mixed fruit (leftovers from a program we're running at work - blackberries, pineapple, blueberries, and grapes) Dinner (8:30pm): Roasted broccoli. There's a story to this - it was meant to be salmon and roasted broccoli, but I accidentally bought too much broccoli (or tried to make too much) and my husband told me it was too much broccoli, but I got stubborn and said it wasn't too much to eat for two people and that I could eat ALL of it myself. So he had two pieces of salmon and I had 2 lbs of broccoli. In case anyone is wondering - 2 lbs of broccoli is too much broccoli... Exercise: None How did I feel? Good. This was my last day in the office before Whole30 ends. Day 23 - Jan 24 Lunch (1:00pm): Diced cucumbers, shredded carrots, smoked salmon and the chili crunch aioli Dinner (7:00pm): Taco night - ground beef with the Siete seasoning on a bed of shredded lettuce with salsa, pickled jalapenos, guacamole and diced tomatoes Exercise: None How did I feel? Lol, besides my stomach processing all that broccoli, good. I was full until lunchtime, when I still wasn't hungry, lol. I was also super bloated all day. Toward the end of the day, I started getting a headache so I went to bed early... it didn't help Day 24 - Jan 25 Lunch (1:00pm): Scrambled eggs (three eggs) with smoked salmon, chili crunch, and Togarashi seasoning; I also had some applesauce and fruit gummies Dinner (7:00pm): Shakshuka Exercise: None How did I feel? Massive migraine all day. I called off work and spent the entire morning in bed or the bathtub, then laid on the couch all afternoon before going to bed early after dinner. I'm sure I missed recording some snacks Day 25 - Jan 26 Breakfast (10:00am) Two hardboiled eggs Lunch (12:00pm): diced cucumbers, chopped carrots, smoked salmon + chili crunch aioli Dinner (7:30pm): Spinach and Artichoke stuffed mushrooms (the leftover filling will make an appearance in Day 26 meals for sure - it was tasty); 2-3 plantain chips (see note below) Exercise: None How did I feel? I still had a small headache for most of Thursday, but was feeling better by the evening. My husband has left for a bachelor party (so obviously ended Whole30 early). I was tempted to end early as well, but decided to stick to it anyway. Made the stuffed mushrooms as a little treat, something different from my normal standard meals. I have purchased something that isn't exactly compliant as a treat as well - store-bought plantain chips (fully compliant ingredients, just against the Pancake Rule). I've opened them and had a couple to scrape the sides of the Spinach and Artichoke filling bowl after I transferred the leftovers into a container. They are okay - definitely intended to replicate potato chips. I don't normally eat chips, and when I do, it's usually about 7-10 chips and I'm done, so I wasn't too worried about breaking that part of the Pancake Rule (which in my opinion is meant to help break bad habits and cravings). We'll see if I wind up eating my words and binging on plantain chips, but I doubt it

Hope everyone's weeks are going well! It's hard to believe we're in the home-stretch. Only 5 more days for those of us who started Jan 2nd! My husband is done since he left for a Bachelor party today, so I'm on my own now. I'm so tempted to finish up early too - especially since I'm PMSing and craving chocolate. I made this Spinach and Artichoke stuffed mushroom recipe today for dinner to treat myself (sans the parmesan and with Kite Hill dairy-free cream cheese, obviously). It turned out pretty good! Although in hindsight, it'd have been better with larger mushrooms like portabella, instead of baby bella. The tiny mushrooms were hard to stuff, and I'd have preferred a bigger filling to mushroom ratio. I have the leftover filling to have at a later time - just trying to figure out what I want to do with it. Thinking about maybe doing an omelet tomorrow or Saturday.

Day 21 - Jan 22 Breakfast (10:00am): Epic Venison meat bar, Cinnamon Applesauce, iced coffee with my compliant milk Lunch (2:30pm): Three fried eggs with Shichimi Togarashi seasoning (newly at Costco) + sauteed peppers and onions Dinner (8:45pm): Hot wings + Sweet potato fries and southwest aioli Snack (9:30pm) fruit roll and gummies Exercise (6:15pm): Went to the gym and did 20 minutes of Pilates, 15 minutes of strength classes (mainly upper body but a little bit of core) and a 10 minute full-body stretch How did I feel? Went to my favorite wine bar for a boor club and ordered a tea. Was very distracted by the yummy smell of cinnamon rolls at the coffee shop in the AM. Spent my evening browsing online chocolate shops. Definitely counting down the last 9 days...

Every Whole30, I've made it a goal to get more movement and then I never do. I think I've been to the gym like 4-5 times all month. Thinking about trying to do C25K starting in February or March once it starts warming up. I just live such a sedentary life since I WFH most days now and drive into work (before the pandemic, I took public transit and walked to work 5 days a week, which netted me at least 8000 steps a day), so I need to find a way to routinely incorporate movement into my day

Day 19 - Jan 20 Breakfast (10:15am): 2 hardboiled eggs and 1 banana Lunch (12:00pm): Diced cucumber, sliced carrots, smoked salmon with chili crunch aioli Dinner (7:00pm): Shakshuka Exercise: none How did I feel? I'm sure I'm forgetting something - I totally forgot to write my food down throughout the day Day 20 - Jan 21 Breakfast (11:00am): two poached eggs, with smoked salmon and a lemon aioli Lunch (2:45pm): meatballs and marinara Dinner (9:00pm): went to a seafood boil place and got a pound of snow crabs and some raw oysters Snack (10:30pm) fruit roll and gummies Exercise: none How did I feel? Met up with some friends at a bar in the evening and drank water.... I really miss wine and cocktails. I shouldn't have gotten the evening snack but my husband got one so I did. Of course, I never should have bought those fruit snacks in the first place.

I'm getting to the point where I'm both ready to be done and also thinking I could do this forever. It's feeling easy, but also I am bored with food in general. Went to a book club at a wine bar and got peppermint tea. I really miss wine, lol. Someone else in the group is doing Whole30 as well so it was fun to talk about. Also spent this morning at a coffee shop, which I do every Sunday morning; today the coffee shop smelled so strongly of cinnamon rolls. I've never gotten a cinnamon roll from that coffee shop before (and I've been going every Sunday for over 5 years now), but they smelled pretty tempting today, lol I'm also struggling with the rule against weighing yourself/measuring. I can tell I've lost weight/inches and I'm so ready to see how much!