Carlaccini

Hi There! Welcome! I look forward to seeing your progress on this journey. As a person who was struggling with depression (undiagnosed - so no meds), anxiety and extreme moodiness prior to my first whole 30 - this for me was a game changer - even though it was not the sole reason why I pursued the whole 30. Truthfully I was in denial for years, and I didn't fully realize how bad it was until well after first my whole 30. I have noticed through the years (my first whole 30 was August of 2012) that certain foods for me trigger extreme moods and depression. For me personally I am extremely sensitive to corn and soy for this. Sugar usually lights the flame but the corn and soy provide the ammunition. But for you it could be completely different. But from what I understand, soy and sugar are apparently pretty common mood disrupters. So happy to see you give this a try. I totally recommend keeping your carbs in check. I find I have a happy place - too little and I'm in a bit of mess mentally and too much I am tired and lethargic. So you will need to play around to see what works best for you. Start with a fist sized portion of starchy veggie (think any root vegetable) and go from there. I came from a SAD way of eating that was tilting to be light on meat, almost vegetarian but not quite. The first 3 days of my whole 30 I craved red meat. (Probably because I found out later that my Vitamin B levels were crazy low - apparently I don't absorb B12 well). My advice is that your body will kind of tell you what it needs most of if you stop and listen to it rather than listen what the media tells you what you should and shouldn't eat. I had no real ethical concerns (although I completely understand the ethical argument as animals from the factory farmed system are not respected as animals) I just didn't *like* meat. (or so I was raised by the media to believe). So my suggestion here, if you can afford it, and if you can make it a priority, buy meat, poultry, fish from a ethical source. One that has respected the animal and raised it to be a happy, healthy animal. Basically in accordance to how it should be raised - outdoors, eating grass, wandering around in a field. Just my thought.

Yep. Both are okay.

As for the nut pod - maybe ease up a little on them. Any nut milk or coconut milk serving should be around a 1/4 cup/ serving - unless you are pregnant or breast feeding. But nuts do have a tendency of causing some digestive issues so maybe keep it to 1/4 a day???

Hi Mona, Please, please, please do not beat yourself up over this. Never do you beat yourself over a food choice. Even a non compliant one. Larabar's are one of those technically compliant items that don't really do you any favours. They don't break your whole 30, but you are feeding a sugar dragon - so no favours. So this is just a learning experience that you need not repeat. Carry onto day 2.

Hi CIAI This is one of those very grey areas that do cause a lot of controversy within the community. And I understand why. It has to do with your relationship with that thing that you are being asked to give up. And I get it. Let's say you have an addiction to coffee creamer - it's sweet, it's rich and its frothy. Yummy right? So one of the things that many people try to recreate on a whole 30 is their old foods that they have an addiction to. A date and almond milk is technically compliant right? Yep totally is. But mixing this together and putting it in your coffee is recreating an old favourite. Sweet - check. Rich - check. Frothy - yep if done with an immersion blender. But what you may not realize is that this is doing nothing for healing your relationship with food or your addiction to coffee creamer. Now I would agree with you it is a better choice than coffee creamer - but tell me why you have to recreate it? What is the real reason? I know you want to enjoy your coffee and you don't enjoy it black. I get it. But then why do you drink coffee? Do you drink it for the caffeine hit or because you really enjoy it? I asked a similar question many moons ago when I did my first whole 30. I was asking if I could make and eat paleo bread. I argued that I used it merely as a vehicle to get protein and fat into my mouth. I was asked why I needed it so badly that I could not live without it. And the truth was - I could live without it - I just didn't want to. I enjoyed baked goods too much and the thought of living without a baked good - even a rather tasteless one - scared me. So my suggestion is to examine why you feel you need it so badly. Best of luck to you!

I would personally recommend reading It Start's with Food first. Then maybe go with The Whole 30 book (I know you did not mention that) it contains recipes as well as information.

Yes that is exactly what I was thinking. Thank you for correcting me!

Try unsweetened Coconut Water. It is pretty good at replacing electrolytes. I recently used it for a hiking trip and it helped a lot.

Hi There Paola If you are interested in the Science and the why to choose to do a whole 30 - I highly recommend reading It Starts with Food first. If you want to jump in but be prepared to know what to expect as a day by day situation - then read Day by Day. Food Freedom Forever is more for those who are in the midst of a whole 30 or have completed a Whole 30 and want to know how to move forward after doing a whole 30 without living a life of complete restriction. Best of Luck! C.

Hi Jodi - Welcome!!!! I to am a migraine sufferer - and they are terrible. Eating Whole 30 style definitely did me a lot of good and I was able to reduce/eliminate/control my migraines simply by what I eat. I still get them (as I don't eat whole 30 or Paleo all of the time as part of my riding my own bike) but the frequency, duration and intensity has diminished substantially. A couple of things that may help you off the bat that many migraine sufferer's are deficient in is Magnesium, Vitamins B6 &12 and Vitamin D. But since I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, I would recommend getting your Vitamin D and B levels tested before starting to take supplements. Magnesium is hard to take to much as your body will just start getting rid of it and you might have diarrhea when you are taking too much Magnesium. The brand that is mentioned around these parts is Natural Calm Unflavoured. Some other stuff to delve into - Many people who have a histamine intolerance also have migraines as migraines are a symptom of histamine intolerance. Shopping list here https://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-shopping-list-histamine.pdf However before you shoot off in that direction - do a regular whole 30 first - see how it goes, then if you feel you need more help with the situation take on the low histamine version. Don't go from eating SAD to low histamine - that would be too restrictive too fast and it would kind of suck. Please, please, please make sure you eat enough. This is very important. Follow the meal template here: https://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-meal-planning.pdf Also don't be afraid of starchy veggies. I recommend starting off with one fist sized portion of root vegetable daily. Sometimes you will need more. When you are having a migraine and don't feel like eating because of the nausea - try to get something down - anything. Usually eggs (about the only time I will eat eggs) and sweet potatoes are my go to, along with ginger kombucha. They all help. Find the compliant foods that most appeal to you during this time, and eat them. And sometimes I will eat this 3 times a day cause that's all I want - and that's OK. I am doing my best with what is going on. Best of luck - You're in the right place.

Hi There, We help guide you to a decision but ultimately you are the only one who is able to answer this question. So lets' fast forward to day 31 - have you decided to slow roll your reintros or do an actual introduction? Personally I would recommend an actual one by one re-introduction before diving off a cliff into brownie land. Once you have figured out if you have reactions to things ie: sugar, grains, dairy, and possibly soy (if you are using prepackaged brownie mix) then you are able to make an educated answer on if the brownie is worth it to you or not. You could come to the conclusion that it is - great then you get to choose how often you choose to eat brownies. There is no judgement on how many times a week. You get to choose if it is worth it once a week or once a month, or perhaps once every 6 months. Completely up to you. You could come to the conclusion that your old brownie batter is not worth it - but you would still like to enjoy the experience of eating a brownie let's find a new recipe based on my new requirements. The beauty about the whole 30 it puts you in the drivers seat. You get to make the decision based on your reaction.

Boiled eggs and olives are good pre work out and cooked lean protein like chicken breast or canned tuna in water are good post. You could also add a starchy veg like cubed and roasted sweet potatoes as part of your post workout.

Hi Nurse Jenn! I will start by asking you what are your meals looking like? What are you eating - please be very specific. As a life long eczema sufferer there are some things that will cause a flare up for me - tomatoes, peppers, and eggs are all culprits. Also if you are using ghee as your main fat source - it could present a problem. Cheers, Carla

Hey There! I've never been a big drinker (except my 20's - that was a bit different), it appeals to me occasionally, but seldom. But my boyfriend would celebrate the fact that I would indeed drink - think a loud exclamation - of a whoohoo! She's having a drink! Now she's going to have fun! I wouldn't say much to him really, just politely nod and smile (usually it was around company). But then..... he would then see the after effect of the alcohol the next day. I would be miserable, cranky, anger easily and very, very short, on top of feeling like the proverbial bag of sh*t. So quite literally I was no fun. So now when I do imbibe - it's maybe twice, 3 times a year??? I usually get a comment of - you're having a drink? Cause he knows - it totally affects me and my mood.

I would also work on embracing the body she has right now - as it is. Basically along the lines of "It's not perfect - but it's mine - and I need to respect it" - Respect means no negative self talk and basically eating good nourishing food and just working with what's she's got for now. It learning to appreciate what her body is capable of as opposed to what it looks like. This is something I wish I had very much while growing up. Best of luck to the both of you!