Renee

We can blame the media for twisted body image, but society (friends, family, acquaintances and even us, sometimes) needs to take some of the blame. I feel very discouraged seeing how a unhealthy relationship to food starts at such a young age.

(Off topic) Kristeen - have you always been a mod and I never noticed, or did you get promoted and I didn't see the memo (if that's the case, congrats! )??!! (On topic) It's very hard to say whether the Whole30 program is hard or not, or if you should finish it at all cost, or not... For me, the Whole30 is not that hard because I've been (on and off) paleo for more than a year, and I'm not very stressed most days (very thankful for that!). That being said, if you're coming from a Standard American Diet (lots of grains, refined fats, not that much veggies and fast food couples of times/month), you will propably have a hard time going cold turkey. If you're at a point in your life where things are putting a lot on stress on you, you will find Whole30 hard. Choosing to continue and finish the whole30, or choosing to stop and focus on other aspects of tyour life is something only you can decide. Keep in mind that if you decide to stop in order to reduce stress in your life, and prepare another attempt, it is NOT failure. I wouldn't want your results not meeting your expectations because stress sabotaged your Whole30. Another option would be to start with an easier program, like the 21-day sugar detox, and eventually, do a Whole30. On the other hand, if you can take it one day at the time and finish strong, head up with a newfound understanding of your mind and body, DO IT! Is there anything you can do to "de-clutter" you life of stress? Would you have anytime to include maybe 2 yoga practices/week? Do you think you could meditate 15minutes 2-3x/week? Can you book 1 hour twice/week to prepare food/chop veggies (huge time saver!). Do you have a list of meals that you LOVE and that are quick to prepare? Good luck whatever you do and remember that falling of the W30 is not a failure, it's just another chance to get it right the next time (whether it's the next day, next month or in a year)

I think you already know the answer to this: The psychological aspect of the Whole30 is just as important as eating the right foods: you realize how you use food as a coping method, and how you respond to having restrictions. A lot of people don't deal really well with restrictions. Wanting nothing more than rebel against "rules" (you can't eat that) is very common. For that reason, I believe that you need to be 100% on board when starting a W30. Consider a shift in your attitude: instead of thinking "I can't eat this and that... I can't eat paleo cookies", try thinking "I could eat this and that, and that paleo cookie, but I don't want to because I am focusing 100% on my health for 30 days". And overall, try not to think about your W30 too much. I know it's easier said than done, but always thinking about food (and fearing to eat something non compliant by accident) will cause a lot of stress. Make it fun, too! You could have a weekly cooking contest (you each cook a meal on different days and try to make the best recipe you can find), or make a weekly potluck, etc.

Let's see... Both clarified butter and ghee are free of dairy. The difference is that when you make clarified butter, you heat the butter until the milk solids raise to the surface. To make ghee, the milk solids come to the surface, but you continue heating until they brown and sink. The taste is slightly different and clarified butter will look and taste more like regular butter, but it doesn't have any dairy. As for the "100% natural" but not organic... I've been there before and I don't think it affected my results. It's just that non-organic clarified butter won't have the benefits from organic, grass-fed clarified butter. So you don't need to restart or add days to your Whole30, but instead consider making your own clarified butter from grass-fed source. Info here: http://balancedbites...utter-ghee.html

ALL the meat I eat at home is organic, free-range, local and humanely raised. I, too, went through a vegetarian phase (I didn't eat well, mind you, I just didn't eat meat), so I am very sensitive when it comes to raising farm animals and slaughtering them. However, I feel better encouraging local farmers who raise their animal well. I feel that my money makes a bigger difference when I buy organic local meat, than not buying meat at all and buying Monsanto food. I choose to spend a bit more on high-quality meat. However, I know that restaurants value cost efficiency over quality and ethics. For that reason, I often opt for fish/sea food when I'm at the restaurant. Mussels are one of the best options because they are one of the most sustainable food (even if non organic), and their nervous system is much different that ours and doesn't detect pain (it's still unclear what fish can feel). When you're eating out, you could also eat your protein before going to the restaurant (or after), and choosing a vegetarian entrée (like a salad).

How about boneless thighs? I love thighs, but I'll admit I prefer eating chicken breasts because it's just "easier". If it's a taste issue, it won't fix it, but sometimes, I just like to be able to cut and eat, without having to go around the bones. Anyway, you can use chicken breasts in most recipes that call for thighs.

SOUPS! I boil/steam veggies. Add homemade broth, spices. Blend. Eat. Also works great for fruit purée (Bake some apples until they soften. Blend. Eat). Or fruit coulis (blend berries, add a bit of water for consistency)

Perfect example of how people would rather spend money on a quick fix (i.e. drugs or, in this case, washing mashine) than working on the actual cause.

That's also what I often say. Also works great in restaurants, so they don't go OCD with the cleaning procedure, but also know it's important not to include certain ingredients in your meal.

I know you probably don't want to hear this, but using food (sugar and sweet-tasting foods) as way to celebrate and treat yourself kind of goes against the Whole30 spirit. That being said, I'm not saying you shouldn't eat anything special on your birthday. Just that celebration shouldn't mean "dessert". Like Ann said, think out of the box. Look into a delicious (Whole30 compliant) recipe that you've never tried (because it calls for ingredients you don't have/takes time/looks intimidating/is expensive to make/etc.) and cook it (or better: have someone cook for you!) You could also serve no-sugar added Kombucha in champagne flutes (it's bubbly, and bubbles=happy) Or you could also paleo-ize this Meat Cake! As delicious as that raw cake looks, the use of honey makes it a no-go for the Whole30 (I'll admit that I pinned it for future reference, because it looks AH-MAY-ZING).

Oooooooooor, how about you do pretty much anything (listen to music, walk, do a load of laundry...) for twenty minutes. That usually works too. Just saying...

It makes me angry/sad to see that pretty much everything touted as "healthy" are pushed by the corn/wheat lobby to ignorant/ill-informed government employees, and that everything related to health and nutrition is driven by profit before anything else.

Reading ingredients - not just nutritional value - is SUPER important. You're so right, sugar is everywhere (You might look at your salt for dextrose while you're at it!). When you see sugar in the ingredients, even if nutritional value say 0g carbs, it's still out. It usually means that sugar has been used in processing the food and Whole30 is about whole, unprocessed foods. Also, FDA laws allow companies to write 0 if there is less than a gram of carbs per portion. Most companies take advantage of this and reduce their portions in order to get just under 1g. Evil marketing! For the bacon, you might have more chances at a local organic butcher. If their bacon has sugar, you might be able to get a customized batch.

MyWar, you seem to have tons of ideas (some of which I might borrow ) I completed a Whole45 last november, but I haven't actually got myself a reward. By the time I was done (Dec. 15), things were pretty crazy with the holidays around the corner (i.e. no money to spend on myself). This time might be different though. I shop quite often, so clothes and shoes are not that special to me. Instead, I will probably get a massage, a facial, or a mani/pedi. Something relaxing, just about me and that makes me feel good after.

If vegetables are not "basic things" I wonder what is! And working out while starving your body of much needed vitamins and mineral sounds like a failure waiting to happen!! But then again, MANY people think that they can cancel out bad food by exercising... Yeah right.