jen c

I'm glad to hear your digestive issues have improved. Hooray for NSVs like that! As for tiger blood, I'm not feeling it either. My normal diet wasn't super bad before starting this round and it may be like you said - if it's not an extreme change, maybe it's less noticeable. The only foods I had to drop were corn, dairy, oats, and added sugar. Legumes are very rare for me (maybe a few times a year), so I don't think they factor in much. This past week was so busy and my sleep hours and exercise were pretty minimal, so all that could be feeding into my lack of tiger blood too. I've been thinking about my reintroduction plan and will introduce oats first. We have a road trip coming up, followed by a week of church camp, and I don't want to deal with negative food effects by trying to reintroduce things during that time. With all of our allergies, we're taking along as much food as possible, have reservations in places with kitchens, and will also pack our camp stove for roadside meals as needed. Again, because of the allergies, we provide all of the kids' food for church camp, and it'll be easy enough to just take along my own for that week too. I'll try oats first thing though so that I'll know if I can pack some jars of overnight oats for the road trip. All the other reintroductions can wait until later in July.

My cravings are gone. My physical self care went great for the first 10 days but this has been an exceptionally busy week and there hasn't been available time to devote to walking or biking for the last four days. I'll walk to and from work tomorrow, which will give me a good 45 minutes and will get me back on track. Eating has been the easiest part of this W30 so far. My bigger challenge has been on the mental/emotional side as I anticipate reintroductions not going well. I've known for months that corn makes me bloated and feeling blah, but I've tried to ignore it and continued to eat it anyway. I'm quite certain that when I reintroduce it, I won't be able to ignore it any longer, and that's made me feel grumpy and irritable even though reintro's are still two weeks away. It's a reality that I don't want to be, but will need to face up to. Since starting this W30, the bloating and blah feelings are gone and my waist is definitely showing the difference in a good way, but <Sigh>, I'll sure miss enchiladas and quesadillas. Are you finding relief for your digestive woes? Any luck yet with increased energy?

1/3 of the way through . . . how's it going for you? Any luck with increasing your energy?

My first W30 was more than two years ago. Since then, I've never gone back to putting sugar in my coffee or tea and when drinking them at home, I use canned coconut milk as creamer instead of 1/2 & 1/2. Having protein with every meal has stuck strongly too.

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one. I did my first W30 two years ago, then tried and quickly failed twice last year. Since then, my diet has consisted of much more dairy, corn, and chocolate than it has of fresh produce and healthy fats. I'm finishing Day 9 and it's been easier now than my failed attempts last year. Maybe we need to get to that point of utter misery?? Thanks for speaking words of encouragement for others.

Like you, I'm a repeat W30er. I'm nine days in and had forgotten about a couple of social engagements that would fall in this month. I don't know if this will help you, but it helps me to think beyond the moment. I remind myself that the event is only a couple hours out of my life and I'll survive perfectly well even if I don't eat the food that's served. Thinking beyond the immediate helps prevent the food avoidance from being my sole focus of the evening and frees me up to more deeply engage in conversations and whatever else is going on. Best of luck and I hope you have a great time!

I'm sorry your energy levels are low. It can be hard to eat a lot in one sitting and can take some time to find the right adjustment of protein and fat amounts. Are you a coffee or tea drinker? Adding coconut milk as a creamer to either one can add a bit more fat if you drink a cup with your meals. Maybe that would help with your energy? It's hard to believe we're already on day 7 and so far it feels like it's flying by. On day 2 I wanted chocolate SO much, but decided to do some weight reps instead. So far that's been a good strategy for me this past week - in place of having a mid-afternoon snack, I do some toning exercises. I've also decided to make this more than a W30 . . . more than focused on food. Along with my eating, I'm tracking my cardio and strength exercises, yoga and stretching, water intake, and sleep length and quality. Physical self-care is the most common part of my life that ends up on the bottom of the totem pole, and taking this month to really zero in on it and make it a high priority has made this a much more positive experience than my last tries. My week-long W30s last year felt like a burden. This instead, feels life-giving and energizing and I'm anticipating that when 30 days comes, I won't be stopping there.

Hey Kira, two days in . . . how are you doing?

Hi Kira, If you want company, I'll start in today too. I'm a returner which has its positives and negatives. I started my first W30 in Feb 2016, followed by a month of reintroductions, and then a second W30 right after that. We have a lot of food allergies in our house (kids: tree nuts, peanut, dairy, egg, sesame; me: watermelon), and in my month of reintro's, I learned I have a strong intolerance to gluten. I did the second W30 just to give myself time to wrap my head around the reality of eliminating another major food group and reading labels beyond what we already have to do. Here's the good stuff . . . doing W30 was truly life changing. Yes, that's cliche and dramatic sounding, but it really is true. I suffered from headaches 3-5 days per week since my teenage years (I'm 45 now). For 30 years headaches were so commonplace that they were simply part of my normal life! Going gluten-free has eliminated my headaches nearly 100%. I've only had a handful in the past two years and that has been the biggest life changer. Learning of my intolerance and remaining GF has also eliminated all of my bad digestive issues, which prior to W30 were getting really bad on a daily basis: pain, bloating, aches, heartburn, nausea, indigestion, constipation. Like the headaches, those were gone 100%. W30 decreased inflammation so much that my first summer afterward, I had no hayfever or sinus issues even during the peak of allergy season. I slept better, muscle and joint stiffness went away, and I lost 30 lbs in 90 days. Here's the bad stuff . . . this is all on my shoulders. I tried to do a couple of W30s in 2017 but as a returner, found it harder to have the motivation to see it through. My first W30, it was easy to be pumped up and gung-ho to get going, but each of my returning attempts failed beyond the first week because at that point, I said to myself, "I've been reminded how to eat better . . . that's good enough for now." I also tried to go it alone each of those attempts, which added to the ease of ducking out partway through, since I was avoiding having an accountability partner. I now know that I need more than just a reminder to eat better, will be accountable to others, and have the expectation that I WILL see it through to the end. I've been relying on dairy and corn too much in recent months, especially in the form of quesadillas and ice cream, which are foods I need to label as "no brakes" foods. And chocolate - yep, way too much of that too. And coffee with plenty of cream. Sigh. In the last year and a half, I've gained back 20 lbs and my clothes aren't fitting so well anymore. It's time to get serious about this and commit to the Whole 30 days. I'm back to having some heartburn here and there, and I know that the corn makes me feel bloated and uncomfortable. I'm committing to the entire month and am determined to see it through. No excuses. Here's my meal plan for the day: Breakfast: chicken sausage, zucchini, red peppers, tea w/coconut milk. Lunch: cucumber, spinach, pear, avocado, tuna, black coffee. Dinner: diced chicken, sweet potato toast w/avocado & bacon and sunbutter & berries. Good luck with your Day 1! I hope you'll find relief for your stomach/digestive issues. What is your meal plan for today?

Proud of myself today. I was with a gathering of friends and we had a potluck lunch. I took a salad to share: baby spinach, shredded chicken, diced apple, strawberries, blueberries, sunflower seeds, and Tessamae's balsamic dressing. I ate a serving of the salad and some baby carrots and didn't even glance at the dessert table. By 4pm though, I was sooo hungry. Lunch was smaller than it should have been but I stayed compliant, so it was worth it. With a 1 1/2 hour drive home, I wish I'd packed some snacks for the ride. Lesson learned. Picked up pizza for my family and while it baked in the oven, I nuked a large sweet potato. They enjoyed their pizza while I had the sweet potato and some turkey. I'm finishing off with a cup of tea w/coconut milk. Overall, each day has gone pretty well so far. Getting out of the habit of an after dinner dessert is my biggest challenge so far. Chocolate sounds really good right now, but I'm not interested in starting over again from Day 1. Focusing on that makes the chocolate sound slightly less appealing.

Those of you having a rough first week, try to push through it and hang in there. It's a real eye-opener of what all those inflammatory foods do to our systems and it takes some time for the body to adjust and heal. As many have said, having this support forum is so helpful. I hope this will be encouraging to you. Here is what I wrote last March after finishing my first W30: Ok, gals, here's my list of NSVs and SV: - appreciation for food as nourishment - headaches completely eliminated - heartburn only once, after eating pumpkin seeds (heartburn occurred daily pre-W30) - enjoying heartburn-free coffee! - sugar dragon in hibernation - bellyaches, cramps, pain, bubbles, gas, bloating, feeling full too quickly, all eliminated (initial motivation for starting W30) - whole family is eating healthier - sustained and consistent energy levels throughout the day - no afternoon slump - better sleep and more hours of it (except for recent nights I've stayed up waaay too late watching Jane Austen movies!) - an inside feeling of calm - no more brain fog - pride in making good choices and avoiding self-sabotage - 13.7 lbs and 11.75" gone - sinuses are clear - no sign of spring allergies yet (unheard of for me)

Today's menu . . . Breakfast: Aidell's chicken apple sausage; mushrooms, red pepper, spinach, sauteed in olive oil; coffee with coconut milk Lunch: celery sticks filled with tuna mixed w/avocado, onion, garlic, salt, pepper; kombucha tea Dinner: 100% beef hamburger patty, butternut squash, apple slices; tea with coconut milk Quick fix tip: roast a whole butternut squash in your slow cooker. Simply scrub it clean on the outside, put it in the crockpot, cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-5 hours. No need to pierce the skin first. When it's done, a knife will slide right through the skin. When it's cool enough to handle, cut it in half, remove the seeds, scoop the squash out of the skin, and there you go. Drizzle on some coconut oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper . . . oh my, it's good. And couldn't be any simpler to make.

Day 2 is underway. Good luck everyone! You can do this!

Hi Linda, Because one of my kids is anaphylactic, we don't keep eggs in the house, which means my breakfasts are always non-egg. In my previous W30s, I found it helpful to think outside the traditional "breakfast, lunch, and dinner" menus, and started thinking about each as just a "meal". It made it easier to add variety over the 30 days when I focused on all the compliant veggies, protein, and fats available rather than being limited by traditional ideas. If you're looking for traditional breakfast, Aidell's chicken apple sausage is W30 compliant and tastes delicious. Along with sauteed veggies such as zucchini, mushrooms, peppers, etc, it makes a great meal. Aidell's has several flavor varieties, but be sure to read the labels because some of their flavors have added sugars. You can find it at Fred Meyer, New Seasons, Natural Grocers, and probably Whole Foods, but Costco has it for the best price. Another idea is to try to make enough dinner that you'll have leftovers to heat up for breakfast. This can be good for mornings that are a bit more hurried. Hope this was helpful!

Day 1 Breakfast: Pulled pork, zucchini, and red pepper. All sauteed in the pork fat. Coffee with vanilla bean, chai spice, and coconut milk. Homemade chai spice recipe: 1/2 tsp. each cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, ground cloves, 1/8 tsp. black pepper. I sprinkle some into my coffee grounds in my french press, then add the water and brew. Stir in coconut milk. It's so yummy!