ladyshanny

HI @JaniceP - you absolutely CAN do it! Folks with auto-immune conditions can sometimes benefit from an extended Whole30 so if you get to 30 days and feel that you want to continue or haven't really felt miraculously different, know that this is common. 30 days is really a small amount of time and those w/ underlying conditions can take a bit longer to feel better. Best wishes to you and your husband!

Hi @wholemamaCHI - yes, many people do eat rice and beans and you can too - just not during Whole30. It's just 30 days that we ask people to put those aside and then freely reintroduce them at the end and see how you do.

Best of luck, @luluUK ! Although there are a lot of convenience and pre-made foods in the US vs what we have available in Canada or the UK, you don't actually need any of them to do the program. Veggies, proteins and fats are all that is required.

Nope, beverages are fine at any time. We do recommend that you are moderate about the amount of caffeine and stop drinking caffeinated beverages well before bedtime to limit sleep disruption.

If you know what is in the foods you really want to consume, then you could use those for reintro, providing that they are not combined (eg, dairy + gluten). I totally understand the "worth it" of traditional foods, we all do. You just need weigh whether those foods this year are more or less important than your Whole30 commitment to yourself including a proper and complete reintroduction. I'm not saying do or don't eat them because only you can decide that - but really consider whether your true enjoyment of the day will be impacted by your decision to pass on the stuffing/pie/apple cider/sausage roll/whatever. I'm just sitting here trying to remember the last 5 Christmases and whether I did or did not have tortiere (traditional french meat pie) with my dinner. It only gets made at Christmas and It's always there but I can't specifically remember if I ate it each year. I love it tremendously, but the memories that surface are our grandson's first Christmas, the first Christmas in our new house, our second grandson's first Christmas etc. Not the pie. Some years it's been worth it and some it hasn't and the enjoyment of the holidays aren't impacted by whether it crossed my lips or not.

Hi @Kristen Cochran - glad that you're feeling great! Olive oil is fine (read ingredients to make sure it's not cut w/ another oil). There are better cooking fats to use if you are using higher heat though. Olive oil has a fairly low smoke point so switching to something with a higher smoke point like ghee or avocado oil is more recommended for cooking. I don't know of any other reason it wouldn't be recommended. On our shopping list, EVOO is considered one of the best. https://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-shopping-list.pdf

Hmmm, sorry that you're struggling with sleep, that feels awful! I don't see anything that stands out except you could do away with the juice and replace nut/fruit snacks with protein & fat. I can't see it making that much difference, mind you. Are you making it 4-5 hours between meals? Eating pre and post workout food in addition to your meals? How far off Whole30 were you between rounds? Sleep disruption can be a hormonal issue. Are you on or near your period?

This is a smart, smart way of doing it. Honestly, the closer you can get to Whole30 before you actually start, the better off your transition will be.

Nope, sorry. No legumes of any sort.

Hi @HeidiM - congrats for making the decision to do this. Folks coming from a really heavy carb/sugar background do tend to struggle a bit. Although it seems harder and counterintuitive, your best bet is to stay away from the fruit heavy things like smoothies. See comments below from the Whole30 website. Regarding the coffee, we do have people who prefer it sweet but have come to find that different brewing methods (ie, cold brew, pour over, french press etc) and higher quality coffee beans make a huge difference. Lots of cream and sugar converts here that now drink it black. Finally, for the cravings - physically it takes about 7-10 days to start feeling better but mentally and emotionally it's a longer path. Eating fruits or larabars or equally sweet things in place of whatever sweets you would normally eat is just going to prolong your adjustment and may leave you in the same sugar-cravings boat at the end of your 30 days. The way through sugar cravings is to starve them out. Eat protein and fat when you absolutely can't get past a craving. Eat enough at your meals that you are satisfied for 4-5 hours. Drink water, salt your food, get good rest and take it easy on yourself. You may feel like crap at first. It'll pass! Smoothies: We’d rather you didn’t This is a very popular question, with a very unpopular answer. Smoothies (generally made using lots of fruit) are technically compliant on your Whole30, but we strongly recommend against it. Food that you drink sends different satiety signals to your brain than food that you chew. So when you drink your meal, your brain isn’t getting the feedback it needs to tell your body that it’s had enough of what it needs. Plus, smoothies are generally really fruit-heavy, and starting your day off with a liquid sugar-bomb sets you up for cravings, hunger, and volatile energy levels throughout the day. In summary, we’d rather you just eat the food, and skip the smoothie.

You may wish to compose your meals in a way that you are at to comfortably make it 4-5 hours between, thus negating the need for snacks.

We recommend that people eat enough at their meals that it gets them 4-5 hours in between, thus negating the need for snacking. If you have longer between meals or know you'll be out for the day, we recommend you prioritize protein and fat or protein and veggies. Eating just fruit or veggies wont sustain you like protein and fat will. Drink water whenever you like. Regarding the laxatives, we have no specific guidance on those. Make sure you're drinking enough water (half ounce per pound of bodyweight) and lots of veggies will help.

Can I hear more about this clay pot? My husband and I cook almost exclusively on stoneware which we feel makes overall better food. But we don't have any stone POTS. I'm intrigued!

Isn't it funny how people pass out candy (Halloween - brightly colored wrappers - innocuous little sizes) to make people "happy"?

Hi @Chinaski82 - congrats on finishing! This is the first time I've ever heard about getting cold after eating, but I did a quick google search "cold after eating" and scanned through a couple interesting articles and it doesn't seem that uncommon. I'll be interested to see if anyone here on the forum has ever experienced the same!