rachelmaria33

Do you have access to wild game? Maybe the standard meat that is raised to kill is hard ethically, but would it be less of a struggle if the animal was hunted? I know that's still a shot and sudden stop to life, but if the animal was at least born in nature and allowed to live in a natural setting could that make a difference? I don't know. I am not a vegetarian. I do try to buy grass fed beef and farm fresh eggs, and feel good about those options. My son and father in law hunt so a lot of our meat is wild game. I like it from the aspect of eating meat from an animal that has eaten it's natural diet, but I wonder if these considerations could make a difference? Best of luck on reconciling what your body seems to thrive on with what your heart and mind tell you! Rachel

Searched for Whole30 recipes on pinterest today and found a whole 30 berry crisp. So sick of this . Call it paleo if you want but not only is desert not allowed, but it also had vanilla in it. boo!

You should really get the food freedom forever book! (bought it last night on amazon kindle for $3.99) It talks about staying on the whole 30 forever not being freedom. But on the other hand, as you do your reintroduction you create your own perfect version of healthy eating for YOU. When you do reintroduction you get the amazing benefit of knowing exactly how each individual addition will affect you and it helps you to establish your own baseline of "worth it." You can't decide what is worth it and what is not if you don't know what the actual affect on your system will be. You can certainly reintroduce only what you want to. You can chose not to ever reintroduce dairy, if you don't even like it in the first place, for example. But here is the downside of not going through some form of reintroducing... You stay on whole 30 for 4 months. You feel great, you don't have to fear your bodies response to food, you are completely loving life. Then you are on vacation somewhere unique, you desperately want to try this amazing food that is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It has both dairy and gluten in it. You react horribly. You spend the next 4 days of your vacation feeling awful. Not only is vacation sort of ruined, but you don't know what triggered the episode. Was it dairy, gluten or both? You are now afraid of both because you don't ever want to re-live those 4 days. Wouldn't you wish you'd have taken an average weekend at home to try out one reintroduction and gain the knowledge of how your body reacts to that one specific group? I did my first whole 30 in 2015. I was actually excited for re-introduction because I was so intrigued by the thought of having solid answers for me! Not just a slew of differing opinions. One doctor demonizes beans, another calls them the perfect food. etc. I was so sure I would react to dairy. I was put on goats milk as an infant because I couldn't tolerate it. I have never enjoyed milk and only have cheese now and again. I didn't like the taste of cheese after my whole 30, It tasted like the smell of mold - that's the only way I can describe it, but I didn't react to it. Gluten, on the other hand, bothers me. I have to really want something with gluten for it to be worth it. It's a worse reaction when paired with sugar. So 1 dinner roll won't be nearly as "costly" as a slice of cake. I love having that information. I may still have a slice of cake some days, but if I know enjoying a slice of sourdough bread occasionally will disrupt life far less than a slice of cake, I might just prefer the crispy buttery sourdough. This is a very personal journey. You can take all the time in the world to reintroduce, or decide not to reintroduce much. These are just things to consider as you plug along for the next 19 days to decision time I will also say I have no experience with Hashimoto's. I also am running a marathon in October! I have never done a full before, I have done 5 half's. I usually run 6+ miles with a box of raisins "in case" though I rarely eat them. I am looking at coconut water as a possibility for the longer runs to come too. Congratulations on taking this step towards a healthier you! Rachel

Rachel Nicole, Do you need a pre and or post workout meal? I don't. Sometimes I run first thing in the morning. Sometimes right after I get off work. I actually prefer the first in the morning empty stomach runs. Some people say they "have to" eat something before they run. I don't. I am tired of letting other people dictate my food needs. Try it out, see for yourself. If I run after work I'll eat lunch between 12:00-12:30 and run at 4:00. As long as you are eating enough at your meals you may find you do ok with 3 meals still. For the record I am currently running 5-9 miles 3 times a week. I have done this when training for a half marathon, I just signed up for my first full marathon and am planning on doing the same. I don't have a hard time eating big good fatty meals though, either I am certainly not saying that you have to do this, or that it's right for everyone, but I want to ask you to challenge what you are being told you "need". N=1, right? You are your own experiment of one. I do run with a box of raisins (natural electrolytes! woohoo!) in my pouch - just in case - when I go more than a certain number of miles. I carry water. This is what works for me. I tried nut butters and different concoctions, I had a hard time swallowing and got tired of making. Sheer lazyness caused me to decide to try and go without. For the Marathon I'm looking at trying a coconut water/lemon or lime juice (or watermelon chunks!) salt concoction. Either that or some of these little pre-bottled coconut water kids drink (I told you, lazy!) if the ingredients check out. "vitamins added" Ok, I'll stop blathering on Rachel

johnsjodie, I have jaw issues too, have for years, but I have noticed that I now have more of a "twang" sound when my jaw does a little readjustment instead of a crack or pop. So weird! I also struggle with calf cramps. I've been researching today paleo + leg cramps and came up with multiple possibilities including yours AliciaN. https://chriskresser.com/ask-the-rd-leg-cramping-on-paleo-and-laryngopharyngeal-reflux-lpr/ here is a brief overview "Okay, so I do think this is a really good question because it’s a common problem for people that are new to Paleo, and muscle cramps are generally caused by an imbalance of electrolytes, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, or sodium, and this can be from dietary deficiency, illness, or excessive exercise, which are the most common reasons. " I take magnesium supplements. That seemed to help on my first whole 30, but not this time. I tracked my food for the last couple days in a micro-nutrient app and see that my potassium, magnesium and sodium are great but not my calcium. like 25% of what I need. I am definitely upping my water today and tomorrow to see, but after that I'm going to look for a good calcium supplement.

I wonder if you could use some mashed avocado and almond milk in recipes that call for coconut milk. It would still give them the fat and creaminess of the coconut cream? I made this breakfast bake https://www.wholesomelicious.com/pumpkin-apple-breakfast-bake-paleo-whole30/ and it was such a nice change to eggs and veg. I think with the pumpkin and spices you won't taste avocado.. Just a thought. Glad you are finding some recipes! Rachel

I have never used frozen, but I love to put taco toppings on a baked sweet potato and would definitely add some chopped avocado to that! I often eat a half avocado on it's own next to my eggs and veg in the morning, just sprinkle with salt! I made https://whatgreatgrandmaate.com/paleo-white-chicken-chili/ the other day, totally forgot to add avocado, but I bet it would have been amazing. The soup itself was pretty good, a nice change from what I'd been eating. Nothing too fancy there, but maybe it'll spark and idea.

That's about how I start lauriebug. Love the image though! Definitely easier on second or third go-rounds. Hope you are doing well!

Yes, pressing on! I actually scheduled an appointment with a naturopath who does nutrition counseling (put a friend of mine on a whole 30!) for day 32, so I have even more motivation to stay the course. It actually hasn't been hard this time. I guess I'm resolved to find real answers and healing and that more easily outweighs junk food. My problem area with food would be sweets and when I cut out sugar completely I get over my cravings pretty quickly. I also really enjoy fruit and instead of waking the sugar dragon it actually keeps me from going there. I did try a couple of flavors of rx bars that are compliant with poor results however. I was starving within an hour! - So not for me, or not frequently. Maybe in the future in place of a Toblerone in my Christmas stocking I'll never forget reintroducing cheese on my first go-round. It was like eating the smell of mold. UGH! I had a dairy intolerance as a baby though and supposedly outgrew it in my toddler years. I haven't drunk milk since I was in high school - just don't like it. Or maybe, I didn't like the way it made me feel - but I didn't have the right thought process to formulate that? Who knows. Over the years since my first W30 I have added back in cheese occasionally. I love a good corn tortilla quesadilla, and occasionally yogurt, but that's about it for dairy. Oh, and cheesecake. Yes, cheesecake. Every year on our anniversary I get a huge slice of cheesecake and eat the whole. dang. thing. LOL. Did you have a reaction to cheese, or is it more of a decision to fill your plate with fresher food? Glad you are still here and succeeding! Way to go! Rachel

I started April 26. A little behind you, but there aren't a lot of threads going for sure. How are you doing? Still plugging along? I did my first whole 30 back in 2016 maybe? I've been mostly gluten free since, but I am having some skin issues and want to have a fresh clean slate to start doing some testing with. I'm going to see a naturopath who recommended whole 30 to a friend right after the 30 days, and follow her lead on reintroduction and testing and establishing a health record beyond the traditional doctor. That is added momentum to push forward as I have already scheduled the appointment. Getting food isn't a problem here, at least not more than normal. We are more rural so it's harder to find some things all the time, but supplies are in average stock around me. I don't mind eating many of the same foods day after day. Made a compliant soup Monday, have had it for each dinner this week. Will make something else tomorrow and eat for several days etc. My family isn't doing it with me, but my husband is working towards better health in His own way and there are far fewer temptations at home. I also was mostly gluten free since that first whole 30 and dairy free for 2 weeks before this one, so my reactions are very minimal. I feel quite resolved and eager to start feeling better and have my skin healthy!

Congratulations on graduating! That is a huge accomplishment. This will be a great one too. My day 1 is tomorrow, 7-17. I completed one back in 2015 but I'm pretty far off track! Good luck!