J9er

I find those dried bricks work for hot dishes like a curry, but wouldn't work for ranch dressing or whipped cream. They are almost like a jar of coconut butter - except cheaper and they do have a layer of hard coconut oil that would get melted and mixed in. I stopped buying it because I figured out it's basically coconut butter and I was tempted to eat hunks of it for "dessert". The tetra paks are the same. Just pop in the fridge and the cream will be hard on top. I find with the Arroy D brand I buy there is very little water so unless I am making "whipped cream" I don't bother to separate it.

My first thought was night shades too for the same reasons as Shannon. As a fellow eczema sufferer, quitting night shades was a life saver. For me it wasn't JUST the nightshades but they were a big factor. I also had a big stomach too, and this has decreased dramatically. I cut them out for a few months and now my gut has healed enough that I can eat them in small amounts. I missed them at first, but now I really don't. Definitely give it s try!

@Rochelle Baron I started out doing Mel Jouwan's meal prep too. It's kind of morphed into my own now, but hers is a great place to start. For instance tonight I made a curry for supper. I had huge bags of veggies I bought from Costco. I just went for it and chopped the large container of mushrooms, 3 bell peppers, 2 large onions, 2 huge sweet potatoes, one small head of cabbage, 3 medium zucchini. The rest of the veggies I bought washed/pre cut (also from Costco), broccoli, cauliflower, green beans - I don't always do this but it is a huge time saver and I'm just a household of 1.5. I took the amount of veggies I needed for the curry, and the rest went into containers for me to grab from for the week. It probably took an extra 3 minutes to chop the extra veggies. Tomorrow I'll be having chicken for supper - I'll roast two chickens for sure. Eat off of one and the rest will get eaten probably by the end of the week. I don't do a ton of preprepped protein, but whole chickens, big chuck roasts, and pork shoulders are some good ideas to do lots of for left overs or to feed an army - with minimal effort. Ill be having kale for breakfast in the morning so I'll wash, destem and steam both big bunches I bought today.... you get the picture, whenever I go to chop something, I just chop it all, or a big portion anyways. I seem to spread my prep out over a few days rather than doing it all in one day, and that helps me not dread prep or end up in the kitchen for too long. I have an instant pot pressure cooker (consider getting one, it's great) - I often make a stew or soup in it while I'm cooking another meal on my stovetop, by the time I've eaten supper, that second meal is done, just pop it in the fridge for another day. I don't usually have anything left at the end of the week, but if I do of course it gets frozen. I even freeze raw cut up veggies, they are fine once thrown into a stew or soup. Just date/label every container because frozen foods become mysteries really quickly. It all takes practice, but you will find a groove!

Lots of good advice here. I have found that I have difficulty over purchasing if I'm eating according to the template! The amount of veggies I go through is astounding. I can stuff my produce drawer and by the end of the week I'm scraping bottom if I haven't had to go to the store already. There are 2 of us but my other half travels half the week so it's just me a lot of the time. I also keep some frozen veggies in the freezer for if I run low on fresh and don't make it to the store.

Feed it to someone else in your house first .....that's how I roll

@kirkor ugh, yes! Loved and hated that movie. Hated because it just grossed me out so much watching him poison himself. But it's pretty cool how his body was able to heal once the sugar was out of it....EVERYONE should watch it!

Meal comp looks pretty good to me, but maybe a tad light on the fat. Because you're feeling flat and having lack of focus and with your ADHD history, I would maybe try upping the fats. There are some pretty interesting articles out there about fat and brain function just google 'fat and brain health' and 'fat and ADHD'. Try mixing up your fat sources. And work to add a fat source to every meal over and above what you cook with. The fat you cook with really doesn't amount to much at the end unless you're able to pour what was in the pan over your food. I take a good quality Omega 3 supplement because our Omega 3/6 ratio can be out of balance with today's diet and Omega 3 really is an essential fatty acid for brain function. If you like fish, try adding in wild salmon, tinned sardines or anchovies or herring are also good sources. Not getting enough or good quality of sleep is an issue you might want to work on too. Good sleep hygiene - electronics off an hour before bed, a winding down routine, etc could be of benefit. Adding in a magnesium supplement is another common suggestion to help with sleep, Natural Calm (unflavored) is one used by folks around these boards. Another thought is that yes, things are just are a bit wacky right now, and you may just even out as time goes on as caTones above pointed out. I'm sure the mods will weigh in here too if there's anything else they can think of.

I ate a LOT of plastic crab growing up, and then throughout college ......it was cheap protein. And sugar.....I don't get me started on sugar.....it's crazy how how we can consistently end up eating buckets of sugar without even eating a candy bar or ice cream or anything even remotely "sugary"!!! Days I thought I was being "heathy".....was easily consuming boat loads.

So, bear with me, I'm typing on my phone.... Note, the following are recommendations for the average person doing a Whole30. I did make some extra comments about your situation below. Check out the meal Template. Try to match your meals up with it then best you can. Eat your breakfast within an hour of waking, this will help with hormone alignment. Coffee can act as an appetite suppressant, so have it alongside your meal not before. Eggs, when they are your main protein are as many as you can hold in your hand without dropping them (usually 3 or 4). Yes, you are fruit heavy and "Lara" bar heavy. And this is only going to keep fueling your need for sugar. It may not be refined sugar, but the body doesn't know the difference. The reccomendation is to not let fruit push veggies off your plate. Keeping up on the fruit and bars will cause you to have blood sugar spikes and crashes throughout the day, which could be causing some of that lethargy. Aim for 0-2 pieces of fruit per day alongside meals and really start upping your veggie intake. Salad or or greens chew down to almost nothing, so add in some cooked veggies, really fill up your plate - at each meal. Your fat intake isn't too bad but still a bit on the light side. 1-2 thumbs is the reccomendation, over and above what you're using to cook. You're right on with 1/2 an avocado or a few pieces of bacon, but make sure your adding fat to each meal. If you are matching the meal template you should be able to go 4-5 hours between meals, and not need to snack. If you do need a snack try for a mini-meal composed of protein, fat, veg. Or at least 2 out of those 3 (my go to is chicken with homemade mayo, or olives). It can take some playing around with your meal composition to get it "right", so if you do need to snack, it's ok. I agree with what Georgina said above. I wasn't sure what your intentions were with stopping drinking....and didn't want to assume before, but it sounds like you intend to stay sober. Quitting drinking is NO SMALL POTATOES. It is a a feat in itself and it does add a layer of complexity to a Whole30, and you were questioning whether you shouldn't be doing it or not. I would also agree with finding some sort of support or advice from a professional and/or group who would be able to understand your entire situation. The Whole30 works best if you can follow the recommendations. BUT with the changes you have made, it could be a lot for you to do all of it at once, especially without a support system. I hope you start to feel better soon, and congrats for taking care of yourself. You deserve it.

Wow, 55 days without drinking! Sorry you aren't feeling well. The "detox" part of not drinking should be long over by now as far as I know. There are many possibilities as to why you might be feeling this way. Can you list a few days of what you've been eating including portion sizes so the mods can take a look and see if there's something that may need tweaking?

Are you matching your meals to the template? Getting enough sleep? There are many factors that could cause lack of focus or concentration. If you'd like to list what you've been eating the past couple of days including portion sizes the mods can take a look to see if there's anything that stands out. To me, right off the bat, it sounds like you may not be eating enough or at least missing out on something, but it's impossible to know unless you list what you've been eating.

I personally skim most of the fat from my bone broth once it has cooled and hardened. My bones are usually well sourced, so I use the fat for other cooking uses, like roasting veggies in. But it's totally a personal choice. I just don't really care for the mouthfuls of hot fat - and I'm a fat lover! But it's just not my thing in bone broth. You can drink as much bone broth as you like. You will be getting lots of minerals and the amino acids missing in our modern day diet. It adds to your nutrition and doesn't replace anything, so consider it over and above the template meals you eat.

I have a host of skin related issues. Admittedly acne is not one of them, but I do have experience with the slow response the skin can have to diet change. You do have a week left, and yes lots can happen in a week. But even if it doesn't completely clear up, I would suggest either continuing on to see if it will clear, or doing the reintros to try to pin point what exactly is causing your breakouts. The skin is tricky as it can often be the last thing to clear and any reactions you may have to a food could be delayed so I would suggest a slow deliberate reintro if you go that route. I did 3 rounds of Whole30 over the course of 2 years and have been Whole30-ish the rest of the time. My skin finally cleared but I do continue to have minor struggles with it. It is something you will have to be persistent with, but I just wanted to encourage you not to give up because it can be really discouraging I know.

I love talking teeth! I use one of the more popular "natural" toothpastes and find it does a fine job. I attended a lecture by a dentist and dental hygienist recently. They said that the sweetener you actually want to see in a toothpaste is xylitol. It does not break down like sugar and helps to neutralize mouth pH and prevent decay caused by acid. That and the way you actually brush your teeth - the way the bristles are directed at your gums, length of brushing time and changing your toothbrush MONTHLY will help keep those pearly whites.

Try prunes? They often help me a little in that department. There is conflicting evidence about prune juice actually being effective but some people swear by that too. Pear sauce helps me too. Chop pears into chunks (leave the skins on), steam till soft, blend with a stick blender. Before whole30/paleo I used to eat in on oatmeal, now I like it on pork or in a root veggie soup or just by the spoonful .