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.

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!

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.

Recently I had lunch with my boss. I had been explaining why grains could be potentially bad for people. Then our plates arrived. B: How is it that you will eat a potato but bread and pasta you won't eat and consider them bad for you? M: Easy. A potato is a vegetable. Vegetables on average don't bother me. Clearly he thought in his mind that I was doing some form of Atkins..... Although truth be told I have never totally explained what a whole 30 was. I have always told him that I eat mostly whole unprocessed foods which focuses on protein, vegetables and fruit, and healthy fats.

MM - as cayenne mentions above - it is completely up to you after you do your elimination. I know my particular relationship with dairy is mine, and mine alone. I suffered for many years from an embarrassing painful skin condition that I developed in my early teens. I had no idea what caused it. I just thought it was an unhappy part of my life. And as time passed the skin condition got worse, and more aggressive. Most days I was in agony. Dr's prescribed creams that really didn't help. Or they gave me instructions to "clean myself better". It came to the point where I didn't bother consult the medical community anymore as they couldn't help me. So I suffered in silence. 3 years ago I finished my first whole 30. I had many positive NSV's. Then I did re-intro's and I discovered that my beloved dairy was the culprit for my pain. I will have a skin reaction to cheese within 4 to 6 hours of eating it. Milk and yogurt will cause me to bloat, and I will be visiting the washroom often (record is 7 times in one morning) It was one that I did play suspect over the years, but allergy tests were inconclusive. But dairy - unless it is really, Really, REALLY special - is just plain not worth it to me. I wish I would get a minor bloat and that is it. To me then it be worth it then too. But all I am saying from my own non-sciencey standpoint is that you never know how you will feel until afterwards and you do the re-intros.

Wow Noelle - you and I are sugar twins - Combine sugar with soy - I become just a plain miserable, mean, short tempered tyrant. Depression soon kicks in afterwards. To think that was my normal for many years..... Cheese - within 4 to 6 hours of consuming cheese I have an Hidraenitis Suppurativa reaction Any other dairy - upset stomach, and basically extreme evacuation mode within the hour of consumption. Evacuation process has been know to last for 24 hours or more. Gluten Grains - if item has a high fat content reaction is minor. If no fat content - it will feel like I swallowed a bowling ball. However I noticed a correlation between grain consumption and intensity of menstrual migraines. Also notice head scales, and roseacea flare after consuming gluten. Gluten free grains - gassy, bloating, odd combination of constipation and explosive diarrhea (sorry for the TMI) Rice - constipation for a minimum of 48 hours. Legumes - same as Gluten Free grains I am also sensitive to a lot of AIP foods Raw tomatoes or peppers - I get a psoriasis flare. Cooked seems to be ok Nuts - the usual bloating and digestive distress. And they mess up my sleep Eggs - within a half hour my knee and hip are aching. The quality of eggs make the difference here. Cage free eggs are better (but still cause joint tenderness) Also correlation between eggs and eczema. Dropping dairy helped significantly, however still had eczema pretty badly on my hands. It has since completely cleared.

Acne can be a symptom of your hormones adjusting - but it also can be a symptom of others things too. Foods that seem to affect skin: Nuts, (and nut butters as mentioned above) tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, potatoes, and eggs. Also crappy oils will affect your skin as well.(poor quality oils are not really on plan - but I thought I would throw that out there just as an FYI). I also have issues with pork giving me some pretty big and powerful pimples - so I have to watch my consumption of pork and make sure that all pork consumed has been well cooked. So if you are eating ANY of the above in large vast quantities - it might be time to scale back and see what happens.

Smile and nodding helps People pity me a lot. I get a lot of "I feel so bad for you, you can't have X" My reply is always is: "Don't feel bad for me, I feel the best that I have ever felt in my life! X makes me feel less than sublime, so why would I want it?" I used argue, discuss, engage, but now I find the best route of action is just to quietly eat the way I eat. Do I feel judged or judgey at times? Sure I do. But it all comes down to something making me more healthy or less healthy.

This was a couple of years ago where I went to a restaurant (I believe they are a chain of restaurants in Western Canada) where they specify that they have a gluten free menu options. So I ordered a bunless burger and a salad which had a variety of nuts, seeds etc. added to the salad. The waitress then argued with me that if I was gluten and dairy sensitive I should order the salad without the nuts. I told her that unless the nuts and seeds were coated with flour, that they should be fine. She looked at me strange at that point - like I didn't know what I was talking about. I had no real issue with the waitress herself - after all not everyone is aware of what a gluten sensitivity is. However, I was slightly appalled that a restaurant that market's itself as GF - doesn't take the time to explain to the staff what GF actually is.....

Here's a bit of a perspective for you. Eating is supposed to be enjoyment - right? When we sit down for a meal - we want to enjoy what we are eating. And no one here is going to argue with this. However the way I look at pre and post workout meals are different. With pre, and post meals I look as food as fuel - not enjoyment. I'm going to eat what is going to fuel me and keep me going for now. So for me, I put the enjoyment of the meal on the back burner. Because sometimes pre and post workout meals are just odd combos at weird times. it's definitely a shift in mindset.

How about the name Sabrina for the new baby?

Sorry I wanted to clarify by saying dried fruit.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Think about cutting out the fruit and the nuts.for a bit. They have been know to cause a lot of diggestive distress for many (including me) Also remember raw veggies (aka salads) some people have some diggestive issues. For instance my body cannot break down raw carrots. They come out the same way they went in (Sorry for my TMI). That doesn't mean I don't eat salads or raw carrots. I do - just not everyday. I also find I have to consume a huge salad (think entire salad bowl) in order to keep satiated for hours.

I'm currently in mourning as I had to throw baby and mother out because of fruit flies and fuzzy blue mould - I was not a happy camper last night. Out to buy some plain GT's and start over.....

I also noted that although your fat consumption is relatively on the low side. This is really an important factor when you are breast feeding. I notice your morning meal contains them, but most of the time the rest of meals do not. Unless of course you are forgetting to mention them.