lexes42

Plus another reason why many 'bad for you' diets work short term and ruin your metabolism long term is that you get so sick of your options you eat less and less in quantity. This is something you really want to avoid on the whole30... so it means you really have to research and get creative with trying new stuff. I never thought I liked cabbage, but have found new ways to cook it and went through a phase of eating it every day. I love sweet potatos... but I'm starting to avoid them... so I'm experimenting with other winter squash so i don't go off them altogether.

Not a mod - but I wouldn't do that (wait till you're hungry). I am a big believer in following your bodies cues for hunger and fullness... but your body doesn't know how to tell you that after 10 days when you've eaten SAD for many years. I was never interested in breakfast - just finished 40 days and only a handful of them did I look forward to eating my breakfast. But I am a serious carb addict... so I would have eaten a bagel in a second if that was a choice. The appetite suppressant effect of the protein and fat plus the cravings for anything other than what was compliant... made me uninterested in my meals on various days. Even later days like 28! Nonetheless, i cooked and usually found a way to eat a regular (or slightly smaller) meal. I don't believe in forcing yourself to eat when you're not hungry. But I do think if you want your hormones / blood sugar to habituate to 3 meals a day without bingeing, snacking, crashing or craving... you have to coax it along by feeding it on the schedule. We do it with babies and pets and with our sleep schedule too. So go ahead and make a compliant meal. If you can't finish it, save it as you may need it for a mini meal or pre/post workout snack. Again I wouldn't FORCE yourself to eat. But simple 'disinterest' or no tummy growling (when it's been 4+ hours since your last meal) is just an effect of your body wanting to wait for the easier sugar carb fest it believes you will go back to soon Just my opinion

From living in London for many years I got used to the idea that food is expensive. Cheap food - and getting used to it being so - is partly what has got us into this condition as a culture (imho). In this country we have now gotten 'used' to the fact that gas (petrol) is expensive. You have to adjust the whole of your budget based on the priorities. I am freaked out by how much I spent this month on the whole30, but I also know that I can relatively quickly adjust and get better at spending less now that i've established the essentials. Soon (I hope!) the fact that my eating out budget (coffee and lunches mostly) has dwindled to nearly nothing will help rebalance the budget. I also recommend keepign an old fashioned 'price book'. Where I live there is a HUGE selection of food vendors before you even get to the farmers markets - which are always more expensive but I like the warm and fuzzy feeling of buying from the farm - (DC metro area - Safeway, Giant, WF, Shoppers, Wegmans, TJ, Costco... and on and on and on) and prices vary widely on all shelf products. I live in a very small apartment with a very small kitchen so warehouse type bulk buying isn't my thing - plus i"m convinced it makes me buy more on impulse (a years supply of body lotion - you bet!) and isn't 'always' the least expensive per unit. Discovering that I could get Coconut Aminos, Oil, and Milk at Wegmans cheaper then I could on the internet (without buying a vat that I cannot put anywhere in my kitchen) was a huge win - and worth the longer drive to get there. I just plan a 'wegmans run' the way other people shop the warehouses.