kirbz

Aw you're welcome! I truly wish you the very best! And I'm glad you loved the Wild Zora meals! I also love them! The Chicken Caldera Curry is my favorite and I can eat it for two meals a day! LOL. And yes to the veggies!

My first reaction is to tell you to trust your body to answer this question! I realize this is a departure from traditional diet culture where there's supposed to be a one-size-fits-all answer. What I love most about Whole30 is that it's a personal experiment. It acknowledges that everyone is different and tasks you to know your own body and figure it out for yourself. So, how does a meal that size make you feel? Does it keep you full for 4-5 hours between meals? Do you feel lethargic or overly full after a meal that size? Do you feel energized? If your body is having a good reaction, then it's a properly sized meal for you! That being said, I am also highly active with mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, and climbing and my breakfasts are often enormous. I'll sometimes eat a whole small sweet potato and a whole small russet potato mixed as a hash, with three eggs and two slices of bacon and a glass of orange juice on the side! And I feel great after eating it! I even tend to lose weight when doing Whole30. So yeah, use the Meal Template as a guide and trust your own body to tell you what is right and not right. You will have your own personal context that is not shared by anyone else here on the Forum so nobody can give you a better answer than you can!

It sounds like the general recommendation is to start over. If you Google "Whole 30 colonoscopy" there are a number of previous threads and most people seem to have the best experience when they restart or add on extra days to their Whole30. I wish you the very best with your Whole30 journey and with the colonoscopy!

Firstly, this is not a hard rule so you don't have to start over. Dates are compliant, so unless you're using them to recreate baked goods or treats (which is explicitly against the rules), then you haven't broken any rules and don't have to start over. However, it is a recommendation to not use dates to recreate your favorite sugary coffee creamer. So I'd look at your context. Do you need something sweet in your coffee in the mornings? Did the almond milk recreate that experience for you? If you're using it as a crutch because you need to make your coffee more sweet or because you need something sweet in the morning, then I'd probably ditch it. If you've been propping up sugar cravings and feel like this might take something away from your program, perhaps start over. If not, I think you're doing just fine and should continue on!

@DEW I have the Whole30 Slow Cooker cookbook so I counted for you and there are 32 Instant Pot recipes in it. :-) So this would be an option for reliable Instant Pot recipes if you want an actual cookbook. That being said, there are lots of recipe bloggers that have free Instant Pot recipes online. Here are some of my favorites (though I can't vouch for the Instant Pot recipes because I don't have one): Paleo Running Momma: https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/?s=instant+pot Nom Nom Paleo: https://nomnompaleo.com/post/125878339293/my-top-paleo-pressure-cookerinstant-pot-recipes

Hi there and welcome to Whole30! To be honest, I very rarely eat fruit on Whole30. So you don't have to incorporate it at all if it doesn't make sense for you. That being said, yes, you should try to eat fruit with meals. The idea is to avoid a sugar spike that would accompany eating it on its own and to not prop up your sugar cravings. When I do eat fruit, it's pineapple in a stir fry or apple in a breakfast hash or maybe a handful of blueberries with my eggs in the morning. When snacking, if needed, you should try to make it a mini meal with a small portion of protein plus fat and/or veggies. So, a hardboiled egg and some carrot sticks. Or some deli turkey and guacamole. Something more like that. As for staying full, I find that fat is critical. Do you eat one or more plated fats with each meal (cooking oil doesn't usually count because most of that stays in the pan)? If not, I highly encourage you to add some fat and that may help you feel full longer without increasing the volume of what you're eating very much. For me personally, I also find that eating at least two servings of starchy vegetables (e.g., potatoes, beets, carrots, parsnip, butternut squash, etc.) helps me have more energy and stay fuller. I hope this helps! I wish you the very best!

Oh, and here are two new recipes I want to try. I'm going to log them here so I don't forget about them. I'll probably try the chili soon but the Fish & Chips will have to wait until cod comes in my next Butcher Box. Pumpkin Turkey Chili: https://www.maryswholelife.com/instant-pot-pumpkin-turkey-chili/ Whole30 Fish & Chips: https://www.maryswholelife.com/whole30-fish-chips/ Has anyone tried any recipes from Mary's Whole Life? She's new to me but these both look delicious so I look forward to trying them!

@ShadowInTheKitchen and @MadyVanilla Thank you for your encouragement and kind words! I thoroughly enjoy going through this journey with you. I read both of your food logs and can definitely relate to so much of what you say. It's nice to be able to share an experience like this.

Alright, here I am again. Back to Whole30 for the next three weeks. Because, well, I went completely off the rails for the last 14 days. My family came into town and while I knew I would eat some off-plan foods and a dessert or two, it became much, much bigger than that real quick. I quite literally convinced myself that it was a good idea to eat peanut butter rice krispie treats for dinner one night and then had Rocky Road ice cream for dessert. My thought process was something along the lines of "well, I'm going to go back to Whole30 soon, so I really want to eat these things I love before I can't have them anymore so why bother with the extra calories of a proper meal?" Oh. Dear. This is why I can't do real life. But, honestly, I'm not sure I'm even mad. I'm kinda of ... bemused. I've adopted an approach of leading with curiosity in my life and so I'm just that. Curious. WTF do I do this? I really hope I can figure that out so I can stop doing this to myself. In the meantime, here I am. Back again and looking forward to it!

Here's an article that may be helpful: https://whole30.com/good-food-good-enough/.

I hope a moderator can confirm but I think the men's one is okay. The brown rice chelate reference is in the lines for Zinc and Manganese. I haven't ever heard of Whole30 caring where the zinc or the manganese came from, but I'm not entirely sure... The women's one is not because it contains soy flour and fermented soy. No soy on Whole30. That being said, in general, I don't believe it's recommended that you take a multi-vitamin on Whole30 (unless doctor prescribed or something) because you will be eating such a wide variety of whole, natural foods including lots of vegetables.

Here you go: Healthy Chicken Alfredo with Spaghetti Squash: https://40aprons.com/healthy-chicken-alfredo-whole30-paleo/ Spinach and Artichoke Twice Baked Potatoes: https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/twice-baked-potatoes-paleo-whole30-vegan/ Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes: https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/twice-baked-sweet-potatoes-paleo/ Pork Lo Mein with Sweet Potato Noodles: https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/paleo-pork-lo-mein-whole30/ In general, Mel Joulwan, Paleo Running Momma, and 40Aprons are my favorite recipe bloggers! In particular, check out 40Apron's Chic-fil-A chicken nuggets and her In N Out burgers! So. Good.

@Krystle0806 Happy upcoming Birthday to you! And congratulations on choosing to start! I don't take any medication but I'll just say that I eat a lot of potatoes and starchy vegetables when I do Whole30. Like, sometimes three meals a day. In general, you're encouraged to eat at least a fist-sized serving of starchy vegetables each day (e.g., white potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnip, winter squashes such as butternut and spaghetti, carrots, rutabaga, beets). I usually do this twice a day and sometimes three times. It's what makes me feel my best and I'm pretty active so I don't feel bad about it. I'm not sure how many carbs this translates to, but hopefully these types of vegetables will be sufficient for your medication! Oh, and let me know if you want me to share some of my favorite recipes that incorporate starchy vegetables! I love sharing recipes!

Hi there! I do lots of backpacking while on Whole30! Here is a list I've been maintaining on pre-made, freeze-dried backpacking meals. They are very pricey, but they're convenient, light weight, and won't spoil. Both Heather's Choice and Wild Zora can be found at your local REI! https://forum.whole30.com/topic/54278-whole30-approved-freeze-dried-meal/ I also typically bring some freeze-dried potatoes and a small bag with salted ghee for some extra carbs. Sometimes I'll do this for breakfast with some eggs. OvaEasy egg crystals just require water (and can be found at REI). They aren't fantastic but they aren't terrible and it makes for a good, hearty breakfast. For snacks, I usually do bags of olives, bags of tuna in olive oil, Wild Zora meat and veggie bars, nuts, coconut flakes, snack packs of coconut butter, etc. Let me know if you want specific recommendations on snacks!

I hear you mention a number of fats and snacks that you don't like... Outside of that, what don't you like? A good portion of what you're eating on Whole30 is meat and vegetables. Do you like chicken, fish, beef, lamb, or pork? Do you like starchy vegetables like potato, sweet potato, carrots, beets, or winter squashes? Do you like other vegetables like greens, asparagus, zucchini, etc? If you like a variety of meats and vegetables, I think you have a strong start! You'll definitely want to find some fats that you like because those will be critical to your success. For me personally, they are super important for staying full and for energy. Ideally, if you're structuring your meals according to the template, you shouldn't need snacks. And hopefully you're able to gain better control over your cravings and minimize snacking. If you tell us some of the things that you do like, perhaps that will help? I have lots of recipes I love, but I don't know if you'll like them unless I know a little but more about what you do like. And I am curious whether you have the time and energy to cook? I genuinely love the food I eat on Whole30 but it does take time. I don't love Whole30 convenience foods so I tend to most love the stuff I make from scratch...