Amura

Skin absorbs whatever you put on it. So it would make sense to require high-quality standars (such as organical, or grass-fed if it's an animal fat). The Whole30 restricts food in order to avoid systemic issues, most of them originated in the gut. Since "food" you put on your skin does not get anywhere near your gut, it does not make any difference at all if it's compliant or not. I suggest you reading It Starts With Food, it explains the reasons why some food must be removed from your diet during the Whole30.

So you skipped both breakfast and lunch? I mean, forgetting one meal might not be the best but is understandable under certain circumstances. But two! I can't even imagine how it's possible! I must say that for me the Whole30 is a 30-days thing because what I'm interested in is the self-experiment. But I don't see that there is any problem in making it a Whole30+. If you are eating wholesome meals and you don't have any problem giving up other foods (which are not essential after all) there is no downside. (Because I'm assuming you would forget your meals even if you were not on the Whole30.)

Enjoying wine, on occasion, in small amounts sounds like something everyboy ought to do, don't you think? And I'm sure you're gonna savour it more than you ever did!

DAY 9 Today after running our usual errands I went out for a walk on my own - instead of going to the cafe and later to the park with the family. I brought all the shopping home (which is all the way up), changed my clothes and decided to go to the top of the small mountain which is back our home. There is very steep ramp and it seemed like a good challenge for brisk walk. While I was walking I realized that I had thought that I should go for a walk on a regular basis, but never actually did... because I was saboutaging myself. I used to think that I should, but also that it was not worth it, it would not change anything. Committing to the Whole30 changed my mindsent - and this is my first NSV. I've found the conviction to actually do something that I'm sure is good for my health and that I've meant to do for a long time. I took a picture. This is my town On the way back, I found some wild berries - very easy to grab too! Usually passers by pick them, but obviously there are not many passersby in this route (which is indeed very steep) so there were plenty of them. My water bottle was already empty (it's sooo hot these days) so I filled it with blackberries to share with all the family for lunch. I felt like a little kid! Meal 1: Omelette (3 eggs, coconut milk), zucchini, sweet potato and confitted onion. Meal 2: bonito in tomato sauce with potatoes. Wild berries and cashews. Meal 3: Green beans, carrot, potatoes and canned tuna. Green olives and cashews. 1 banana. Also drank half a bottle of lemonade, which is about half a lemon, but I doubt that counts.

DAY 8 Meal 1: omelette (3 eggs + 3 tablespoons coconut milk + stock), one large carrot, radishes. Meal 2: A handful cashews (which I ate while cooking), rabbit & mushrooms stew, salad (lettuce, radishes, mango) and fried potatoes. An slice of cantaloupe. Snack: Green tea with ginger. Meal 3: Veggies barbecue (zucchini, carrot, sweet potato, cherry tomatoes) with leftover salmon and garlic mayo. Today I was sleepy again, and also my memory was not bright at all. I mean, I wanted to record my breakfast at midday and it took me veeeery long remembering what I had eaten. I also met a coworker early in the morning, and after spending the whole day trying to remember her name I finally gave up and looked it up - seriously, not remembering the name of a coworker in a place where only 24 people work really worries me! I want to believe that my body is turning fat into sugar to feed my brain, and that it might be a bit inefficient because it's not what it used to do, or something in that line - so perhaps in a day or two it will be gone on its own? Physically I still have loose bowel movements, maybe slightly better. I think I may be overdoing the fats (because I cook everything in olive oil) and perhaps I should not be adding other sources of fat... I don't want to cut down the fats, I think that might lead away from the program, so I'm gonna keep them as they are and see how it evolves. Other than that, well, I felt good. I want to add some walking into my routine, because I don't exercise at all tbh. When today morning we went to the beach, I spent most of the time walking (and talking with my nameless coworker). Later on the afternoon we were visiting my in-laws and I returned walking (it was 40 minutes walk and it was sooo hot that I regretted it!), I'll try to keep it up, because obviously it will help.

DAY 7 Meal 1: omelette (3 eggs + 2 tablespoons coconut milk + stock), green beans, radishes and some confitted onions. A cup of green tea, to help with the sleepyness. Meal 2: grilled salmon, zucchini and carrots. I would usually make some mustard sauce with this, but this time it was garlic mayo. Half a cup of strawberries. Snack: Another cup of green tea. Meal 3: Salad (arugula, tangerine, mango and nuts) with small sardines. A few wild blackberries and one carrot. Another shopping failure. The salad was meant to have some duck prosciuto, but I failed again at reading the label - and at home I saw it has dextrose. Bummer. I really need to learn to read my labels before buying... And the first week is over. I haven't noticed much, to be honest. Too soon to notice any improvement, I suppose, but I haven't noticed any of the frequent side effects either. Well, today my *ehem* bowels movements were much looser than the usual, but it does not seem like diarrhea - I'm just getting adjusted, I guess. And that's it.

@LadyWolf0926 Your son's approach makes sense - I did exactly the same. I learned about the Whole30 right before going for a 5-day trip - staying in a hotel, eating out every meal, etc. We would not return home directly, but we'd spend 4 days visiting family - and staying in their house. It did not seem the right moment. AT ALL. I even posted in this forum for the first time before I returned home. Also you already have a grown-up son, which is quite a different matter I guess I can relate more to @Emma experience. Which I'm glad was so successful, but to be honest I would rather be on the safe side. In a few years he'll be able to make his own choices and if I keep doing the Whole30 he may choose to join, but at this point it feels too soon. But every person knows their own family better than anyone else - that's why we make different choices! Anyway it also helps that we have a quite healthy Mediterranean diet. No pre-cooked meals at all, affordable fresh ingredients, etc. Most of my meals were already compliant but for a few details (I have noticed I use peas sooo often ) so in some sense there is little gain for the little one in this program. I am another matter, because I'm affraid I might be suffering a hormonal imbalance, and a self-experiment may provide invaluable for me. Or so I hope.

But that's A LOT of weight! Wow, it's really really impressive. Really. R-E-A-L-L-Y. I had read some of the testimonials, but to be honest I thought that such weight loss was meant to be achieved after several rounds. 16 pounts in only one month is a HUGE change. Hey, you are gonna need new clothes! I'm definetely following your blog!

DAY 6 Meal 1: Omelette (3 eggs), zucchini, two radishes and some confitted onions. Snack: One small portion of Spanish omelette. (We are enjoying our holidays at home, so we like to go to a cafe for a midmorning cafe. I usually order water though. They always bring some treat, either bread with jam or biscuit or omelette - if compliant I eat it.) Meal 2: Two shish kebabs, little green peppers and large salad (lettuce, avocado, manga, radishes and cashews). I bought some pork shish kebabs (I checked the ingredients) and also some chicken ones (which I assumed were also compliant). My bad, they were not, so I could only eat the pork ones. Snack: Black tea with coconut milk. I did not like it. The coconut flavour is too strong and kills some of the subtle notes of my tea. I guess I'll be using the coconut milk for something else, maybe in the morning omelette? Meal 3: Sauteed green beans, carrots and leftover lam with confitted onion. Plus one hard boiled egg. And one tangerine. I cooked more green beans than I needed, so I have leftovers for tomorrow's breakfast. Today I felt kinda sleepy in the morning. Actually I already felt sleepy yesterday afternoon, but I thought it was because I ate too much meat (not so balanced) and because I travelled by car afterwards (2 hours) in the back sit. I usually don't feel so well in the back seat. Now I'm starting to wonder if this could be the I-just-want-a-nap phase in the timeline. Could be could be. I'm not dead tired, but I'm sleepy indeed.

I'm the cook of the house and I'm making most of the meals compliant. Not all though. My husband would eat whatever I put on the plate. Absolutely not picky at all. Also he's not judgemental at all. When I told him about the Whole30 he answered that he might join me in a few months, if I actually see some results. I replied it was only a month long, and he was honestly surprised about that! So it's not big deal cooking the same for him and me - although he adds some things I'm not eating, such as bread. But no way I'm not forcing it upon our four years-old. I'm doing this on my own, as a personal experiment, but before trying something like that with a little child I would definetely seek medical advice. Specially because he does not like veggies... How old is your son, LadyWolf, if I may ask? And why wait until September 3rd? Do you think you'll be done with the reintroduction by then? Do you mean to do another round with him? That would be cute.

Congratulations LadyWolfe!! You did it! Oh, my, it's so exciting seeing someone finishing their program, even if it was a bit hard sometimes. It really encourages me to follow your path!

Congratulations, Emma! You are so inspiring! Following with Whole30 - and delaying the reintroduction - feels like a good thing to do if you are feeling that better, but I must admit I find it amusing. I would be dying to know how I feel after eating this or that! Actually I think it already excites my imagination, and I'm still on day 5

Congrats on one day more! May I ask, now that you are so close to reintroduction, which foods are you missing the mosts? Do you plan an slow roll reintro (since you seem kinda sorry of your W30 being about to finish) or a faster approach?

Also, only two days to go? Oh, my, reintroduction is nearly there! Go girl!!!!

Indeed I think NSV are a wise way to focus in what's really important. But. You know. Curiosity. Killed. The. Cat. And me.