Snappy Shark

I LOVE bananas. I don't do a whole lot of fruit when I'm W30ing, but I have come to reallllly enjoy a nice, ripe, yellow banana with my salad a few days a week (especially on days when I do a metcon at CrossFit) in my riding-my-own-bike life. Do I need them? No. Are they as healthy as veggies? No again. Do I have enough self-control to eat one with my three-cups-of-raw-veggies and pulled pork and not go off the deep end on a sugar binge? Yes.

Ahhhh, the "low-carb" and "no-carb" interpretation of W30 drives me nuts! What people *mean* to say (I think) is no REFINED carbohydrates. I frequently encounter people who say things like, "oh, you couldn't eat that because of the carbs" or "bananas aren't paleo"? What?! My rant is completely beside the point of your post - I did actually come here to say congratulations and "good on you"! Glad that you got a positive reaction.

You're the only one who can answer this question! I've been doing this for about nine months and have a couple of Whole30s under my belt. After my first Whole30, I waited about four months (until the Christmas holidays) to test the effects of off-plan foods on my body. Breaking out and reverting back to the depression that I used to experience 90% of the time are NOT worth it for me. But you know how I figured that out? I ate a bunch of cookies and cake. I'm not saying that you should go on an Easter bender with Cadbury cream eggs and Jelly Belly just because you're "allowed" to now, but this is a very personal question that I recommend you explore in your post-W30 life. A lot of folks around here talk about "riding your own bike,", which means taking accountability for your food choices without torturing yourself about it, but also not feeling physically ill for days because you wanted some candy. The only way to get there is to try some things, say, "hey, that doesn't work for me" and move on. Look, you've already demonstrated that you have the willpower to complete this program. That's HUGE! If you get derailed, you know exactly how to get back on track. There's a reason it's not W365. I STILL struggle with this, but I've done enough experimentation to know that a Lara bar and a few extra pieces of fruit in a day are treats that don't totally wreck me. You'll figure it out eventually, too. Good luck, and happy health!

I can't believe that people throw these away! The first time I heard of this was on this forum. Eat your broccoli stalks, everyone! (Or send them to me so I can eat them!)

Sugar and dairy (except butter) make me break out. It's one of those things that I know going into a less-than-optimal food choice and the week I'll spend trying to get my skin back on track usually helps me decide whether what I want to nom on isactually that delicious.

Yup. It dropped WAY down during my first Whole30. It came back a couple of months later, but I remember being quite concerned about it at the time. I've read a bit about low-carb paleo being bad news for women's sex drives, so make sure that you're getting enough starch in your diet. In fact, I still notice a drop in sex drive if I don't consume enough foods like beets, sweet potatoes and squash (I need at LEAST one fist-sized serving of one of these daily). Otherwise, hang in there - this is an emotional and hormonal roller coaster for most of us and your body needs time to heal and re-set.

For what it's worth, my only real SERIOUS off-roading in my post-W30 life was with a plethora of Christmas cookies, bundt cake and s'mores (all in one sitting!) and my stomach was absolutely fine. No bloating, no cramping. However, I spent the next 24 hours sobbing, unable to leave my house or do anything other than feel helpless, crestfallen and depressed (which is scarily reminiscent of my life as a low-fat vegetarian). Similarly, I've found that gluten-free baked goods don't upset my stomach at all (and ONE GF brownie or cookie or whatever doesn't send me into a tantrum like my holiday bender did) , but do cause me to break out with acne and dry patches on my face/arms. We all react to SAD food differently, and it sounds like your HCB experience gave you some valuable information to help you make informed decisions about what foods to eat/avoid in the future. Feel better!

Yuuuup, nuts may not be your friend. I gave up nuts for my second Whole30 and found significant improvements in my digestion/propensity to bloat. 2 handfuls of nuts is quite a bit, especially if your gut does not agree with them! In addition to upping the veggies (coconut-oil-fried green cabbage at breakfast topped with boiled eggs is my most favorite way to start the day), try to limit your nut consumption to every other day - or cut them out entirely!

I pretty much skipped an entire cycle during my first Whole30 - I didn't get my period until 60+ days after the last one (which means I probably just didn't ovulate that month). That was UNHEARD of for me, as I had always been a 28-day cycler (like clockwork) in my previous low-fat/veggie-saurus life. I found my 28-day rhythm again starting with the next cycle, so I believe it was just a transitional thing. I'm in my second Whole30 now and my period was on time, but I think that's because I Whole30-style 95% of the time now, anyway... Anyway, my point is don't worry - your cycle will find itself again!

For what it's worth, I'm in the middle of my second Whole30 (have been eating 90-95% compliant for close to 9 months now) and had a massive eczema outbreak around Day 5. It's only just starting to heal now. I have a history of weird skin sensitivities that I don't think are related to diet. The outbreak coincided with a pretty bad snowstorm and I think that the cold weather and wind was probably the trigger. Whole30 did cure my horrendous cankersores, though! Also, about the nuts - my second W30 has been nut- and caffeine-free. I didn't have enough willpower to try eliminating them in Round 1, but I can now say with certainty that nuts are not a good thing for me to eat. I'd try cutting them out for a week and see how you feel. There are many more nutritious sources of fat than almonds or cashews, especially if you think they're upsetting your stomach. Feel better!

Some musings from a former portion counter/Weight Watcher... I gained weight on my Whole30 (about five months ago at this point) - and I needed to. I was about two steps away from a full-blown eating disorder when I found Dallas and Melissa (thank goodness), and I am still thanking my lucky stars that I'm no longer trying to maintain a caloric deficit while being so proud of myself for squeezing my 5'7" frame into size 4 skinny jeans (which have since found a new home at Goodwill). Anyway. 99% of what I eat is in the spirit of the Whole30. By that, I mean that I still don't count/weigh/track anything and I structure all of my meals after the meal-planning template to the very best of my availability. I cook/meal-prepare the same way that I did when I was on a Whole30, but I don't stress about "sneaky junk" like small amounts of sugars or bad oils when I'm eating out, which is a very rare event anyway. I will also have some (soy-free) dark chocolate on special occasions, a glass of red wine a few times per month. No gluten or dairy (besides butter) under any circumstances. It's nice to be relaxed and comfortable in my eating habits - I don't stress out about what to eat anymore, and in the rare event that I can't construct a meal more or less along the lines of the template I know that the next thing I cook myself will be nutritious and balanced. I'm curious about what you mean when you say that you overate. Are you an athlete? Did you find that you ate more at different times of your cycle (if you're a woman)? Since you mentioned a history of disordered eating, I just wanted to encourage you to ask yourself those questions before you start thinking about Zoning or restricting portions of Whole30-compliant foods, etc. I had a very unhealthy concept of portion sizes prior to finding W30 so it's possible that you're not actually overeating. As a side note, I'm curious about people who gain weight eating Whole30 style. I am a CrossFitter and have gained about 15 pounds since I started doing WODs and eating W30. I know that extra weight is helping me throw barbells around, but I think it took me a while to get over the fact that W30 will not make you thin - it will help your body get to a healthy set point, which for many of us (especially women) will not look like what you can accomplish on a calorie restrictive approach like WW or Zone. Just my two cents. Keep us posted, RevKT, and DON'T STRESS!

Yeah, I don't see how that could be considered anything but SWYPO. Save it for after your Whole30!

I have substituted a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar for red wine when cooking tough cuts of beef with a lot of success...just made pot roast from brisket this weekend and it worked like a charm! The purpose of the wine is flavor, but also (chemically) to acidify the dish. Vinegar usually does the trick (and apple cider vinegar is just the tastiest, in my opinion).

Try coconut milk!

Not related directly to the Crio Bru question, but here's a Slate article I just stumbled across about why Dr. Oz is untrustworthy: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2013/01/can_you_trust_dr_oz_his_medical_advice_often_conflicts_with_the_best_science.html