gothope77

@Kat49 I buy Nick's sticks in bulk from Amazon. They are compliant and they're really good. They get cheaper the more you buy so I go ahead and buy 25 of them for $69.99. I like all the flavors. Many RX bars are also compliant having protein, fat and carbs in them also but they can be considered a no-no know if you use them for snacking. They are for emergency on the go only. Those are also cheaper on Amazon. They even have Whole30 assortment box. But again, use those with caution. They are really good and could easily become a problem if you're a snacker. Hang in there and keep your resolve! It gets easier.

I guess I'm "easing into it" this time around having cut out all sugar over the past 4 days, but officially starting my 3rd W30 April 1! I did a life-changing Whole 90 2 years ago, (did awesome for about 16 months;) I did another Whole 30 this past January after over-indulging through the holidays, then went off some crazy sugar deep-end since then, so I need to reign it in before it gets crazy-er. @mermaidstar8101 said they gained 20# in the past few months. I'm right behind you. I've gained at least 10 since Christmas, but 15# since October. No Bueno! I know that journaling and giving thanks before each meal really helped me the first time around so will definitely be doing that again. Wishing everyone the absolute best!

Yesterday I made what I thought was my compliant Maverick bacon only to find out that Maverick now makes another product...applewood "maple." After finishing my first piece it dawned on me that it tasted different. It had sugar listed as an ingredient. I've been buying and eating Maverick bacon (the compliant one,) for 2 years! I had no idea they made another product so I never looked at the ingredients or packaging. So...I'm starting over April 1. I'm still "candy-free" which is the good news. Anyway. It's encouraging to see everyone doing well.

@Kat49 Congrats on day 5! And I totally get what you said about the WW treats. I did the same thing for years. Keep up the great work!

Day 2 without sugar. WAY better than day 1. Pressing on!

Thanks. I know it's worth it.

Hi Kat49, I thought I sent a comment this morning from my phone but can't find it. I'm not familiar with using the forum. I appreciate your reply to my rant last week. I started another W30 today. Had a great breakfast and lunch, and like clockwork, I started craving candy shortly after lunch for no particular reason. It was a really easy day at work. I made it home without stopping to get anything (I do home health so I'm in my car driving around a LOT.) When I got home I found out that the computer software we use for work was updated, and that it updated with MORE WORK to do! I was extremely frustrated trying to figure it out, and I mean it....I felt like a junky needing a fix! I've never experienced this before! I thought so many times I would get in my car and go to the store for candy! This is blowing my mind. I've never felt this out of control before. I was in a horrible mood all evening. I did cave and have a Nick's Stick (compliant beef jerky stick,) while trying to figure out my computer stuff. Anyway, it was a really rough start. But I made it. My first time around I was so happy and proud of myself (after the first few weeks....those first weeks were rough but not this rough.) Anyway, day 1 in the books. I do hope you have success and you make it through the 30 days at least. It is one of the most meaningful and eye opening experiences I've ever had. I've been in fitness or health business (I'm a physical therapist assistant) since 1983 off and on, and nothing compares. It's worth it. I got off track, for sure, but if I feel half as good as I did this time last year, I will never come back "here" again....no candy, cake or treat is worth it. My first Whole 30 cured a chronic shoulder pain that I'd had for over 3 years (I never looked for that to happen and was shocked when it did), cleared up my complexion, cured diverticulitis, decreased hot flashes, improved sleep, cured chronic throat clearing, and I lost 13.5#. I eventually lost 30# and a bunch of inches over about 4 months, and never counted a single gram of fat, or points! And I only worked out a little (2-3x a week and not hard.) I just finished Food Freedom Forever. I highly recommend reading it when you're through or while you're still on your W30. I know from experience that soy, dairy, beans, rice and corn do not adversely affect me. Nor do I crave them. Bread/wheat makes me full and bloated and causes me to need to clear my throat a lot after I eat it. Sugar....makes me a miserable slave! I actually think I could get by with a reset (sugar/gluten only) and probably have very desirable results. But I decided to go all or nothing again, at least for a while. Regarding your comments about finding compliant foods, you will, and then you will keep them handy and know where to get them. Some things I love and they now have at my local grocery store are coconut aminos (think stir-fry,) ghee (baked potatoes and everything you would put butter on,) home made mayo is the best (use the immersion blender method...so much easier!) I never found a ketchup recipe that I liked so I did without it. Still do! Mel Joulwen's Fire Cracker Tuna is eaten here every week! Home made chicken salad too...just add garlic, celery, apples or grapes and even macadamia nuts. So good. I eat black olives by the handful. I don't love many veggies. This part is hard for me. I found spaghetti squash was a great alternative to pasta for spaghetti! Finding compliant sauce is hard but Rao's makes one and so does Paul Newman (but only 1.) I gave up coffee for 60 days but now drink it black or with Nutpods. I buy things from Amazon and from Thrivemarket.com. Paleo wraps are good when you get tired of romaine lettuce wraps. Applegate makes compliant hotdogs. Maverick and Pederson's makes bacon but can be difficult to find. Def read the ingredients, not the nutrition info. Many things say 0 sugars but then have cane sugar or dextrose in the ingredients. Encouraging others strengthens my resolve. I have to remember I'm human...we all are. I don't drink, smoke or gamble, so food is my go-to for stress relief and comfort. Like I said, I do hope you have great success with this and feel better than ever. Thanks again for chiming in on my post. And I'm happy to help if I can. Blessings! Barb:-)

Hi, I'm Barb and I was a Whole 30 success story back in 2015. I dId my first W90 in Jan 2015, and kept eating mostly W30 or paleo for almost 15 months. Jan 1, 2016 I felt like a million bucks after having gone through the holidays without a single binge (the usual suspects through the holidays....candy and desserts...) and went into the new year not feeling hopeless or needing to lose weight for the first time in over a decade. To make a long story short since Oct. 2016 I've been binge eating candy (a big bag almost daily,) or eating 2 donuts daily and feeling tired, lethargic, bloated and miserable, and have gained back over half of the 30# I had lost. I did another Whole 30 this January 2017 successfully...sort of. I did allow Larabar snacks almost daily when coming home from work...a.very common time to snack, I know. But otherwise did it to a Tee. Once again I feel hopeless and defeated. Daily I'm eating a W30 breakfast and lunch, and vowing NOT to stop and buy candy, only to stop and buy not 1 bag of candy but sometimes 2. I eat the whole thing before going home and thinking...praying, I won't do it again tomorrow only to wake up the next day to do it again. I know this isn't exclusive to me but feel like such a loser anyway. I'm 56 years old and so afraid of this being my life from now on. I am a Physical therapist assistant and see what happens when you lead an unhealthy lifestyle. And I felt so freaking good, emotionally and physically, when I ate clean! It makes no sense to know better and not do better, but sometimes I feel completely powerless. Thank God I'm healthy but I won't be for long if I keep this stupidity up. How do you know when it's the sugar dragon or if it's an eating disorder? (I don't throw up, and am mostly afraid to weigh.)

Hi, I'm 9 months in and it changed my life! I had a major sweet and bread tooth that I never dreamed I could tame. But I have! I was pretty strict Whole 30 for 60 days (starting Jan. 23rd.) Then added some Paleo treats here and there and stopped asking restaurants to alter my food. I just made better choices, like skipping the bread, chips and tortillas. I have been primarily Paleo since finishing 60 days. I have lost 30# since January and barely have to think about what I eat now. I was NOT a cook. We ate out a LOT! But now I cook at least 6 days a week, pack a lunch 5 days a week and have gotten pretty good at it. It's a lot more work to eat healthy! But I lost my bloat, lost chronic shoulder pain (a nice surprise,) lost my sugar demon, and gave up counting calories and Points! Hang in there!!! It's worth it. And don't jump right back into old habits on day 31. I've read so many stories of people doing that and it's diet suicide. Consider it a new way of life and gradually experiment with things you love or enjoy a treat now and then at events that hold special meaning. It's worth it!!! Good luck!

Just popping in to say I'm still going strong since January 23rd! Someone mentioned putting before/after photos so I did. I have lost a total of 30# since January 23rd and would say I'm still about 85% compliant or Paleo. I've gone "off road" with some paleo desserts, and I'm not asking the staff at restaurants to alter my meals out. I have learned that "Paleo" or not, I cannot keep desserts handy in my house. I will graze on them. Cooking has become easier. I was just so used to NOT cooking that it was a very daunting task the first few months. The Whole 30 literally changed my relationship with food and is the first "diet" (I know it's not a diet but you know what I mean,) that ever lasted beyond the weight loss. I only weigh weekly just to make sure I'm on track. But I never count calories or try to exercise my way thin. I recently joined a local gym and they asked what my goals were. For the very first time in over 30 years the goal had nothing to do with weight loss! WOO HOO!!!! I checked the "Overall health and well being" box! I have inspired several friends and relatives to do the Whole 30 and they too have done well with it…some changing their lives also. Eternally grateful to The Whole 30!!!!

I'm 54 years young. I posted my success story on here when I finished the Whole 30. But then I decided I needed to do a Whole 60 and am now on day 65 and going strong. A brief recap….after the first week, a chronic ache/pain that I've had for at least 2 years in my right shoulder was gone and is still gone! This was the biggest surprise…I never expected that to happen. I've also had night sweats and insomnia off and on (more on than off,) for at least 5 or more years, and that has reduced to almost nonexistent (and I'm weaning myself off estrogen now because of doing so well;) I've also dealt with nearly constant constipation for longer than I can remember and that too, is 98% better. (I still need to drink more water.) I was the proverbial carb addict, craving surgery foods and have no "stop" button when eating them. And I was a confirmed "veggie hater." I no longer crave sweets….I don't crave much of anything anymore! And I've learned to like veggies and have tried a few new ones. And fruit is like the sweetest dessert. Truly a miracle! I lost 13.5# the first 30 days and have since lost a total of 19.5# and over 20 inches! (from 161 to 141.5#.) I honestly never felt hungry and am still amazed by the amount and kinds of foods I can eat and still lose weight, and all without having to count a single calorie or point! I have been fat-phobic and avoided red meat, bacon, black olives, etc. for most of my adult life! Then I tried to exercise my weight off, which didn't work. I love the way I feel on most days, and never feeling guilty about my food choices. I never got that "tiger blood" so many people talk about or burst of energy, but my energy levels are so much more steady, and I don't have that afternoon slump I always had before Whole 30. It is a lot of work, especially for someone who doesn't love to cook and who ate out nearly every day in one way or another. I feel like I'm kind of getting in the groove of cooking now but at first I felt like all I did was cook and clean up continuously. But it's worth it. I want to tell everyone I know about this program! If you do it you will never regret it! I'm giving God all the glory but I also am grateful to the Whole 30 and the authors of It Starts With Food. I'm still counting days but this is now a lifestyle change for me. Never going back!

Thank you! I'm on day 45 now and going strong! I plan to continue this way of eating for as long as I can. I'm not ready to reintroduce yet. Not sure I will. May stay at least Paleo. I feel to good to go back!

I just finished my Whole 30 and this is my story… I LOST 13.5# !! I lost a bunch of inches too! My husband lost 12.5#! I'm 54 and a physical therapist assistant in home health. I have not felt bloated or "miserable" after a meal since starting this. Cravings for "something else" after meals are gone; Chronic throat clearing and 2 year old ache in right shoulder gone; no more night sweats, restless legs, insomnia or constipation; And I never counted a single calorie, Points Plus value or fat gram. I just ate good food! And I'm actually becoming a pretty good cook and being much more creative in the kitchen. Heck, I've spent more time in the kitchen in the last 30 days than I have in the last 6 months! MIRACULOUS! But so worth it! Prior to doing the Whole 30 I felt defeated, miserable, hopeless, and and like a phony. I have always been interested in and promoted healthy living and was not living it at all. I was a closet food addict. For most of my adult life I was able to exercise enough and eat healthy enough to maintain a decent weight fluctuating 10 pounds up-and-down. But I would drive through McDonald's every morning for breakfast and be embarrassed because the people at the drive-through knew me. I would eat fast food for lunch and then need "something else" before I got home (usually a candy bar...or 2.) I would vow every evening that I would not do it the next day only to do it the next day, and the cycle continued. I was diagnosed with diverticulitis the week I found a post about the Whole 30 on my Facebook feed. It was truly a God thing! It came at exactly the right time because I had hit an all-time high on my weight and an all-time low emotionally. And I felt like crap! I have learned to love trying new recipes and even tweaking some of my old recipes. I'm typically a "veggie hater" and have tried several new veggies and liked them. And even if I don't love them I've found ways to sneak them into my food so I don't really notice them. Fruit tastes so good to me now. Although the first week was hard (getting organized and learning to shop for the week,) I felt like a new person was living inside me by the 2nd week. I never got a lot more energy but I'm definitely not as tired mid-afternoon and evening as I was before Whole 30. I can't encourage you enough to try it. It's truly a lifestyle change for me, and the best thing I've ever done for myself.

I made homemade mayo and am wondering how long it lasts.