SusanMarks

One of my favorites! It's got everything!

Hi Selma! so excited for you and your first whole30! here are a few things to remember heading in. trust the program and process. it works. be patient with yourself and show yourself grace. most people begin to feel tiger blood and non scale victory results in abundance heading into the third week. some take longer. so know your journey will be specific to you just stay compliant throughout. focus on all the gains, not on what you're going without. non scale victories are gains, staying committed to your commitment to eating real whole nutrient rich foods is a gain, getting to the end of each day having stayed compliant is a gain! Remember we're not after perfect Whole30 journeys, we're after staying committed and compliant. you may need to boss your brain a bit. our brains are really great at trying to convince us to give it what it wants. past habits are deeply engrained in our thoughts and emotions so know there MIGHT be days where you simply need to tell your brain no and strengthen that commitment muscle. jump on the whole30 website for lots of great tips, articles, and recipes! https://whole30.com

@LindsNW05 hey lindsey! I'm so excited for you and your husband as you begin your Whole30 journey. I'm not sure which book you are reading but they are all great and will be a source of ideas and encouragement for you! hope to check back and hear about how its going for you both!

@Travel_lady congrats on finishing your whole30 and all the good feels + weight loss! those are amazing non scale victories regarding your migraines! so glad for you! well done!

HI @Felicia1971 and @Eakster! I know you are most likely beyond your Whole30, Emily, but wanted to respond for future reference and because Felicia is now in it! I love how aware you were of what you were eating, how much, and what may have been triggering some of your discouragement! First of all, I just want to remind you that there is no perfect Whole30 and if you remained compliant while on your Whole30 you're doing great! At about 2 weeks is when I find most of my clients begin to fine tune their intake and make adjustments as needed. Somewhere around 3 weeks is when they begin to feel all the good feels and start seeing significant non-scale victories....which are the bigger goal and "win" over losing weight. Be patient and always trust the process with Whole30. It works, it may just take a little extra time for some to see the full results. Give your body time to heal, and for your digestion and hormones to find balance. The overall results of Whole30 differ so much from person to person depending on habits and the status of your health at the front end of your journey. Also, be on the lookout for the non-scale victories before looking for weight to drop or your waist line to change. The rest will follow suit. Yes to drinking more fresh water over sparkling. Look to whole foods for fiber rather than supplements: artichokes, brussel sprouts, avocados, berries, etc. Nuts are definitely easy to overeat so using those as more of a condiment on a salad is a great way to consume nuts or occasionally for a snack. White potatoes can be an issue for some. Always wise to remove them as you did and see if it makes a difference. but again ~ stick with it and trust the process. Focus more on all you have to gain by feeding yourself with real whole nutrient dense food, bringing down inflammation, and know whole30 accomplishes far more than weight loss for you.

can't go wrong with the defined dish! she is a great whole30 resource!

Hey Laura! Really excited for you and your Whole30 journey! I commend you and your ultimate goal for doing Whole30 - to not only finish but take steps toward truly changing your relationship with food! Bravo! That's what its all about! Couple of thoughts. Having your WHY very clearly outlined is so powerful and serves as that "true north" you can go back to on the tough days. Mentally preparing ourselves is as important as preparing our kitchens and prepping food! If you take the time to think ahead about what you'll do and how you'll handle tough days (call someone, hop on the forum and share where you're at, have some fool proof options to fall back on, etc) will be super helpful. Focus on all the gains Whole30 has to offer rather than focusing on what you're giving up for the 30 days + reintroduction. Know that there will be days that you may literally have to boss your brain! Its not uncommon to find ourselves mentally battling as our brains will do everything they can to convince us to give it what it wants. Focus on savoring experiences beyond food. Sometimes we can be far too focused on the food and forget to incorporate an attitude of savoring and seeing the abundance in the whole experience of life and what we're accomplishing in taking steps toward changing our health! And definitely plan to do reintroduction! It will help solidify all the hard work and fresh new healthy habits you've developed! Best!

hey @Samantha Ribeiro I agree with what sugarcubeOD shared. While smoothies and protein powders are not recommended on Whole30 and strongly discouraged, it is not a hard fast rule. The biggest reason Whole30 encourages real food over drinking our food is that the process of chewing food instead of drinking it helps accomplish a greater level of satiation and keeps us connected to the concept of choosing to consume real whole foods as opposed to quick drinks, fast foods, and not nutrient dense options. The other issue with protein powders is the number of ingredients that are typically found in the ingredient list. After looking into the Sunflower protein powder options, I only found a couple that were pure sunflower seed protein. All the others had quinoa, pea protein, coconut sugars, and monk fruit extract among other things which are all off limits while on a Whole30. It is simply better to rely on whole sources of protein over powders.

Awesome! I know the book will encourage and help a lot! And definitely add an extra 15 days or so to your Whole30 for reintroduction. The more you can begin to mentally prepare yourself for the additional days, the easier it will be to slide right into that process at the end of your Whole30 journey. You will have worked hard, stayed committed, and accomplished so much at the 30 day mark. Reintro will come alongside all your hard work and reinforce your best and healthiest food options for beyond Whole30. Here's an article if interested! https://whole30.com/step-two-finished/

Hey Char! I am not currently doing a Whole30 but love encouraging people who are!! Love that you came back to Whole30 for round 2! I noticed on another line of communication that you've got a great group of people currently doing one as well! Always good to connect with people during a round! Keeps the commitment level up and makes it more fun!

@Tarxx99 congrats on completing your Whole30! It's totally normal to feel nervous when reaching the end of your Whole30! You've worked so hard to get to this point ~ Reintroduction plus reading Food Freedom Forever by Melissa Hartwig Urban will definitely help you more firmly establish and keep your great eating choices in play long term! Food Freedom Forever will give you skills and tools to know how to navigate well those moments where you say yes to treating yourself - Worth It Moments - and knowing when you need to say no and refrain. You've got a lot of great habits in place from doing Whole30. Just keep coming back to your why that lead you to start Whole30 and keep that goal in front of you to inspire and encourage your everyday decisions.

Way to go Char! Is this your first time or is this a multiple round for you?

HI Siegfried! happy day two of your Whole30! Glad to hear you're coming back for round 2 ~ Whole30 is so great for that reset and getting our habits back to a place where we're feeling great! Being that you felt great while on Whole30 and not as great bringing some of those off limit foods back in is telling! Did you do reintroduction last time? If not, I'd definitely recommend doing that to help establish which foods might be problematic for you so you can either keep those out of your diet or limit how much you consume them. Also, I'd encourage you to read Melissa Hartwig's book "Food Freedom Forever" to encourage and equip yourself with the tools to maintain all the hard work you're doing while on Whole30 and help maintain great habits that keep you feeling good and living in your personal Food Freedom.

Hi LindaLu88! I am not a breast cancer survivor and hope others who are will share their personal experience with Whole30 beyond treatments. I did just want to encourage you in your decision ~ I think anytime we choose to eat in a way that reduces inflammation and allows our bodies to simply focus on maximizing the nutrient dense food we're giving it, instead of trying to tackle inflammatory responses, is a win. And that is what Whole30 is all about! And while its not a weight loss program, the majority of people find that when their digestion is healthy and inflammation is under wraps, the body naturally begins to burn and utilize the whole foods for nutrition and energy! Resulting in a whole host of great benefits ~ weight loss being one of them. But more than anything ~ I love that you recognize the connection between Whole30 and feeling good! The power of real whole food and its ability to restore the body is incredible! Keep us posted on your Whole30 journey!