littleg

I'm finally pregnant!!! 
Before going into this I had completely given up trying. While only actively trying to conceive for about 8 months, I had really become discouraged. I wanted a change in my life as far as weight and food management goes, so I gave this a try. I ended my Whole30 on Tuesday February 5th. I dropped 15lbs, felt better, had more energy, was healthier, and two days later also got a positive pregnancy test!!!
They said the Whole30 would change my life and it did in the best way imaginable. I 100% believe that what this whole eating did for me was make my body a better place for a baby to grow. 
Thank you Whole30!!!!

I think a good strategy is always about foods that make you feel good and let you do the things you enjoy doing.  We have a 2 year old so he isn't asking yet why we eat the foods we do but we already talk to him about eating food for energy to play and foods that make your belly feel good.  For older kids I think it is important to spin the positive - so more about the foods you are including (vs excluding).  I'm eating meats and vegetables to help me get stronger.  I'm eating fruits and vegetables to get important vitamins and minerals... things like that.  

I don't know who published it but there is research to believe that there are "abstainers" and "moderators" (as mentioned above).  Both will generally do poorly if they chose the opposite method (which is why roomie won't do a W30 again).  I don't have a difficult roomie with an ongoing issue like this but I think the answer to "how I can get this subject dropped once and for all?" is to say to her - hey, I'm an adult, your way won't work for me, so drop it, ok?  
The other thing to keep in mind is that the W30 isn't meant to be a revolution with a totally obvious short-term physical transformation... it is about changing the way you view food.  Sometimes including where it comes from, how it was raised, etc.  A lot of mindfulness that I think often gets lost in trying to lose weight in 30 days.  And, in my - totally-bought-in-to-W30 view of the world - *not* eating Lean Cuisines is a heck of a lot more important for lifelong health than not matching her trajectory for weight loss.  I am a binge eater and may be one forever.  But that does not diminish the "right-ness" of W30 - it has more to do with neural changes in my brain that I think are just very hard to undo... There is TONS of research out there on addictive brains and how they are different from non-addictive brains.  You could look up some of that stuff.   Here is one I saw recently in a waiting room
 
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/09/the-addicted-brain/

I'm giving W30 another go in January, after another disastrous holiday eating season...
Thanks for sending over that interview, definitely looking forward to reading through it. I still haven't decided if I'm going to try the higher carb or low carb variety; for some reason I can't seem to decide well between the two with all of the conflicting information out there.
Re: sugar cravings, for me it's not so much that the cravings exist all the time, but sugar is my "no brakes" food, as in I can be totally fine with no pie, but then once I have once slice of pie I'm certainly going to eat the whole pie (and then feel physically ill after that, as well as mentally frustrated). So for me it's getting back to the mindset of "eat full, hearty / healthy meals" of W30 rather than keeping up the snacking / grazing well after dinner is done. I definitely need to work on mindful eating habits, the number of times I eat out of a container (versus setting a plate), eat standing up (versus at the table), etc....clearly something to target this month.
Hopefully the next 30 days will really help me figure this out! Definitely appreciate your personal insight, to be honest I'm not sure if the 30 days of restriction will be good or bad for me for the reasons you mentioned, and maybe the nightly chocolate is the right path forward, but excited to take the time to figure it out!

That article was great! Thanks for sharing, hopefully I can apply that "moderation mindset" to my training & nutrition.

Have you tried a middle ground for carb intake?  LCHF and keto are both super low.  And your current diet is super high.  Maybe somewhere in the middle could work for you?  So that way you'd only have to eat 2 lbs of sweet potatoes a day   I just put 200 g (which is only 7 oz) of boiled green plantains into Cronometer.  That is 62g of carbs.  Fry those suckers up in some coconut oil and if you have some metabolic flexibility perhaps you'd find that meals with mod/high carb and fat like that would manage to keep you out of feeling-like-crap land but also help you reach your health goals?

That's helpful @littleg, I definitely can fall into "food extremism" tendencies, which was one of my main reasons for a Whole30 (way moreso than losing weight). Appreciate the advice.

I just cook everything down more  If I make a stew or recipe with meat, once the meat is cooked through I take it out and just cook down the sauce.  Things are only runny because of excess water - so cook off the water.

@hmg1993 I was a chronic logger.  I just stopped.  Cold turkey.  Haven't used it in years.  I didn't gain 100 lbs.  
What makes you log each day?  Do you log before you eat (to help you figure out what/how much to eat) or after (to see how much more you can eat) (<-- that was me) or for some other reason?  How does not logging your food make you feel?  Like if I took away your MFP access for a day or a week?  

Sort of.  We did baby led weaning with our 17m old and we eat 80-90% W30.  If he gets gluten, dairy, etc at my in-laws I don't police it but at home we don't ever have that stuff so he doesn't eat it.  He has yet to have liquid cow's milk (but I do still breast feed).  He's fine  In fact, I'd say he is thriving - but I am biased!

My husband and I (and our 17m old) probably go through 7 dozen eggs a week!  
If you start noticing a supply drop try adding in a bit more carbohydrate - your menus seem a little low (unless those are some giant sweet potatoes!).  And it seems like you've got the hydration under control.  The thirst of breastfeeding is REAL.  I think I was a year PP before could breastfeed without feeling like I had just walked through the desert!  
Keep up the good work - I think this is the best thing a mama can do for herself and her baby  But I'm biased
 

I know that Whole 30 isn't about losing weight, but I hit the 50 pounds of weight loss this morning!!!! About 20 of that has been with 2 rounds of Whole 30.  I feel like I have my life back after struggling my whole life with weight.  I was having a lot of trouble with my eating habits after my second baby about a year ago.  But now I am pre-wedding weight (6years ago) and still going strong! I'm just really excited and so thankful for Whole 30. I have been able to learn healthy food choices and re-train my brain on the foods that I should eat.  And that its ok to spend a little more money on food that is better for me because it will be better for my family in the long run.  I have about 15 more pounds until I meet my goal but I know that is possible with my new lifestyle.  

Happy Tuesday!
 
I’m now 30+ days post-Whole 30 and I literally do not think I have ever felt better. I mean, I am still carrying an extra 25-30 pounds that are slowly coming off, but I KNOW my body is getting healthier by the day. I learned that most dairy and gluten is not what my body needs, and have really only added grains sporadically. My sugar addiction is so far gone that I’ve stuck to black coffee!  I’ve learned that reading labels doesn’t take that long, and saves me from mindless consumption.
My entire relationship with food has changed, and I finally understand how freeing it is. In the past two weeks, I have traveled one weekend, went to a Major League Baseball game, ran a 5K, attended our oldest daughter’s wedding. I decided nachos were worth it at the game, and chose real food the rest of the time. I’ve loosened the strict Whole 30 rules, but not much. I just feel so much better eating this way. 
I didn’t do my Whole 30 to lose weight, but I have lost it steadily. 
I’m running, y’all. Running! 
I am so incredibly thankful for this program, the vast amount of information and support here and in the wide network of fellow freedom seekers. It sounds like an exaggeration, but this has saved me - saved me from myself, saved me from the rollercoaster dieting, saved me from the frustration of chasing one fad after another (shakes, pills, points, etc).
i will be 50 in about a year and a half, and it feels good to just know that I will be the healthiest me at that age instead of where I was headed. 

The recommendation is to start over. How were the skittles "life and death"? 

Sorry to hear you didn't have a good experience... Since you seem to be open to learning about the foods your body does better/worse on - how was W30 different than your pre-W30 diet?  It always seems to strange to me when people say W30 doesn't work for them because W30 is nothing but food.  Real food.  So adding in processed food and feeling improvement seems a little counter-intuitive to me.  BUT some people have unknown sensitivities to eggs, FODMAPS, nightshades, etc and because suddenly people eat a lot more eggs and veggies during a W30 (which should NOT make you sicker in principle) they suddenly don't feel well.   You also ate very low carb (according to the day you posted) which if you are coming from a very high carb diet can take weeks to adjust to.  Fatigue and headaches are totally normal for a transition to very low carb diet.  And one other thing - you said you were drinking water as an appetite suppressant between meals - between the drop in sodium (often happens when people transition to a whole foods diet) and the increased water intake, you may have messed up your electrolyte balance a bit (again, headaches and fatigue would be a normal presentation of this).  I sure hope a bunch of salted bone broth wouldn't have been all you needed to feel better!

@Dragonslayer That is an interesting idea.  I've got the same issue... sometimes I keep binge eating just because I started... not because I really want to keep going!  How stupid is that?!  But the "oh, I'll be good tomorrow" means I have to cram it all in.  Let us know how it goes.  
@hmg1993 Sounds like you've got a good plan in place.  Life is just easier with wine and cheese   I've been finding that it is easier lately to say no to the stuff I really don't agree with (mostly processed foods) because I truly think they are not compatible with health.  But it really isn't a good way to live to say no to the entire W30 list all the time.  I think coming up with rules that really matter to us are the key in the long run.  Like "I don't eat food coloring" or "refined sugar" or "nuts" or whatever.  

@Dragonslayer That is an interesting idea.  I've got the same issue... sometimes I keep binge eating just because I started... not because I really want to keep going!  How stupid is that?!  But the "oh, I'll be good tomorrow" means I have to cram it all in.  Let us know how it goes.  
@hmg1993 Sounds like you've got a good plan in place.  Life is just easier with wine and cheese   I've been finding that it is easier lately to say no to the stuff I really don't agree with (mostly processed foods) because I truly think they are not compatible with health.  But it really isn't a good way to live to say no to the entire W30 list all the time.  I think coming up with rules that really matter to us are the key in the long run.  Like "I don't eat food coloring" or "refined sugar" or "nuts" or whatever.  

@Dragonslayer  As much as I think the integrity of a W30 and all 30 is important,  I do think it's called W30 for a reason in that we're not supposed to go beyond 30 days unless of course we feel like we need the extra days to address cravings.  What I have observed is that after a "perfect" W90 or so,  I got into a cycle of 4 "good days" and then binge .. back and forth.  My view now is that the binges were addressing the restrictions and stress of  meeting the program requirements.  I've relaxed things now to my own rules that enable a little diary (greek yogurt, some cheese), Oatmeal, quinoa, Almond Milk, and overall less label watching.  I still say no to sugar, wheat and nuts (the latter is just because it's zero brakes).  I also gave myself a wine allowance of three glasses a week, which I have yet to use any of but mentally having it there if i want to have a drink with a friend is so much better than feeling that I can't.  This approach seems more doable for me right now and is definitely controlling the binges because I don't have that all or nothing mindset......

Sorry I haven't been around to post much...   I couldn't hear you guys over the crunching of my cricket puffs.   And, man, are my fingers tired from milking all of these cockroaches...   

Made it  Enjoyed a pretty big glass of wine (the "small plate" thing is my go to for alcohol too... and it doesn't work - too many refills  So yesterday I got a big glass, filled it 75% of the way (probably 6-8 oz) and drank that).  Played with the kiddos and just avoided the food.  Got some snarky comments for saying no to giving the baby jello jigglers in the shape of eggs (WHY DO PEOPLE THINK 15 MONTH OLDS NEED RED #40, BLUE # 1, YELLOW #6 AND SUGAR?!) but besides that it was a lovely Easter dinner.  Well that isn't entirely true - I was pretty pissed off about the snarky comments so maybe I ended up in a little bit of a bad mood...
I hope both of you find some success with some weight loss - I've always found that just really sticking to the W30 is what does it - not just the "rules" but the recommendations - meal 1 early and substantial, no snacking, no after dinner "oh its mango and coconut milk and raisins" shit... then the weight comes off.  Never much, but I do usually find myself happy with the results because the body shape changes always seem more substantial than the number on the scale.
I think this is it for candy focused holidays for a while right...?  I can't even imagine what the stores will put into the seasonal aisle now?  Marshmallows I guess for smores?  

Happy weekend everyone!  I'm doing OK following my own version of W30 which is basically 80 percent rules plus a little dairy and oats and quinoa.  So far so good but the major focus now is trying to lose the weight I gained from all of the back and forth binging.  I don't know if you find this but every time is harder because I think somehow your metabolism gets messed up.  Do you think that's right or just theory? Anyway, I slog on because I know that for sure the alternative doesn't work!  Done that.  Hope you all have a lovely Easter or passover or whatever you celebrate.....
 
Dreaming about hot cross buns.  shan't have them though!

Who knows about sluggish GI - lots of reasons.  Too little water could be a big one.  Even 60 oz isn't all that much *especially* in a dry hospital environment.  Poor gut flora could be another.  Have you taken lots of abx over your life?  Do you take a probiotic?  Eat fermented foods?  Those might be worth a shot.  Not moving much obviously can contribute as well but it sounds like between being an RN and walking you probably get lots of movement in.  Hormonal stuff - for 6 months post partum or so I pooped nothing but rabbit pellets no matter what I did and then one day it just stopped.  FODMAPS, SIBO, other acronyms... "poor gut function" can be quite the whack a mole game... 
 I'd try the magnesium and see if it helps.  I take Magnesium Serene - I get it on Amazon.  There are other brands too.  You can dive into the wormhole of which type of Mg to buy (I have) and although citrate doesn't get a thumbs up from every source it has been working for me for years so I stick with it.  Oh, and adding fat can help too - lubes things up it seems  If you ever feel really stuck try melting 2 tbsp of coconut oil and taking it like a shot on an empty stomach - holy bowel emptying... Or maybe these for a more gentle push.  
Nice job on the 8 days!

I made a great ranch pork loin recipe from the blog "Pretend It's a Donut" - she originally shared it on the whole30recipes Instagram page - pretty easy and really delicious!

Do you take Magnesium?  Might help on the poop front.

Congratulations @Dragonslayer on acing the 30!  Your next plan sounds terrific and is a great goal.  You're inspiring me to keep chugging away as my downfall is completely the kitchen graze.  I am trying to nail three meals plus a snack -- but a scheduled healthy one as opposed to sticking my head in the fridge.  And no buying myself nuts because I am hungry.  Nine out of 10 times I am hangry or stressed and stuffing my face is not the answer.  You are absolutely progressing and reminding me that I can do it too.  Thank you so much!