madness

Oh yes, those are good ones too! I have hit or miss issues with nuts, so I prefer to leave those at home...don't need digestive issues on the trail! But I also usually bring dried fruit as part of lunch. Well, I just got back from a 2 night trip and thought I would share what I took! The short of it: M2: turkey salami with ghee, seaweed, fruit leather M3: pulled pork and mashed potatoes (with olive oil), beet chips M1: scrambled eggs with sundried tomatoes (added olive oil), topped with bacon M2: beef jerky, oily eggplant jerky, fruit leather M3: beef and veggie bowl with olive oil M1: scrambled eggs with sweet potato greens (added olive oil), topped with bacon M2: turkey jerky, green bean snacks, fruit leather The long of it: I make most of my own food. I started doing this originally because I felt like there weren't enough veggies in packaged food for hiking/backpacking. Then I realized how much cheaper it was! And finally, once I discovered Whole30 last year, it only made sense to make my own food. I'm not always 100% strict on a backpacking trip (usually sugar is the thing that slips, especially if I'm using commercially prepared meats), but this trip I was! I took 2 lbs of food for a full two days of meals, plus one more lunch. I knew this was below standard (1.25 lbs of a food day is good for ultralight) but I carry plenty of fat around with me everywhere, so I wasn't too worried. I frequently have low appetite the first 48 hours so just stuck with the meal template for this trip. First day lunch was super vinegary turkey salami from a local shop (which doesn't use sugar!). It's weird...but was expensive and I knew food always tastes better on the trail. I tossed some ghee in the bag for fat. The seaweed was 3 snack sized packages. I could have used 1 more but it wouldn't fit in the bag. The fruit leather was homemade from dribs and drabs we had left over (blackberries, cherries, banana, jack fruit...I think...!). I knew how many servings went into the pot, so I cut the strips to be a Whole30 serving each. Dinner was homemade and dried pulled pork. First time trying this on the trail. It was actually perfectly edible without being rehydrated! The mashed potatoes were commercially made. I drizzled olive oil over all of it. The homemade (and homegrown!) beet chips were super oily too...and delicious! I forgot to add seasoning to them at home, but just salt was perfect. Breakfast the second day was scrambled eggs. I've just started drying my own eggs (from my own chickens ) and am still figuring out the best way to rehydrate and cook. They are fairly different than commercially made stuff (thank goodness! blech...). I mixed in homemade sun-dried tomatoes during cooking and sprinkled bacon on top. Let me talk about bacon for a minute. I cure my own. Supposedly I should be able to take this as-is on the trail. But I cook it and then dehydrate it for a bit. It's more like bacon bits then - nice and crunchy. I've eaten loads of bacon with a first breakfast on the trail (or car camping when I don't feel like cooking it from scratch) and it's never been a problem. Your mileage may vary. Oh, and instant coffee. I buy it bulk and put it in baggies. Lunch was locally made beef jerky, my own eggplant jerky, and the same fruit leather recipe. The eggplant is AMAZING. I found this recipe maybe 5 years ago and I will stuff my face with eggplant now. Who'da thunk it? Slice thin and marinade in ume plum vinegar, olive oil and salt. The original recipe has honey added to it, but I haven't noticed any real difference leaving that out. Then dehydrate. It's really oily at the end and just perfectly chewy and delicious. Love it. I didn't quite finish this meal. Dinner was one-pot beef and veggies. I love this stuff. I brown a pound of ground beef and add to it ~4 packed cups of finely diced (as in, food processor) vegetables. I'll put ANYTHING in it. This one was carrots, zucchini, celery, cabbage and onions. I'll season it with whatever the veggies seem to suggest - sometimes it's taco seasoning, this time it was italian herbs. This is how I get rid of random veggies in the fridge and get my kids to eat all sorts of stuff. I usually serve this for dinner and freeze half for a quick dinner later. Or if I'm making it for backpacking, I'll add 4 servings of shredded potatoes while it's cooking. Then that makes 4 one-pot backpacking meals! Breakfast on the third day was another scramble - this time with sweet potato leaves. This was another first. I had several bunches that didn't sell at market and knew I couldn't use them before I left on my trip...so I dried them! They turned out great in the eggs - the leaves can be slimy but drying them removed that completely. Again, I crumbled bacon on top. This was the first time I've used the bacon beyond the first morning. But no ill effects! And my last lunch wasn't even needed. I made good time finishing up the trail. This is good because I'm leaving for a conference in about an hour and this gives me a meal to take along that I don't even have to worry about refrigeration or cooking for. It was turkey jerky, green bean snacks and the fruit leather. The green beans were a huge disappointment. Followed a recipe online and ended up with something the texture and taste of twigs. They are covered in nutritional yeast which is the only thing that makes them edible. So they are salty, oily, savory twigs... And now I have a few minutes to recover from 35 miles of trail before a 4 hour car ride. At least I'm not driving. Maybe I'll take a nap.

Keep on trucking everyone! I finished my official 30 days...and promptly had cookies and milk on Day 31. And it wasn't even that good. No ill effects, but I'm back on the program. I'm going on a three day backpacking trip tomorrow and I don't wan digestive issues! I'll be out of town until Wednesday...that'll be Day 17 for you guys! Go get 'em!

I had pretty major weight gain after starting an anti-depressant (for anxiety) years ago. I had also had major weight LOSS before starting it, as I couldn't eat much for about 6 weeks prior. So my body was not in a good state at all. But I felt like even eating a "normal" diet, I was gaining. That didn't help with anxiety. If it were me, I would give Whole30 at least 60 days to "work" - that's how long it took me on my first round to see those non-scale victories I was hoping for. I'm on day 29 of round 2, and again, I think I'm going to need more time. My scale number did drop in the first 30 days, but I was more interested in other things. So your body may just be taking the time to get things in order. Stick with it! You certainly aren't doing any harm.

Everybody is doing great! I'm on Day 29...can't believe it. This has gone by so fast for me. I feel like last time it TOOK FOREVER. But I was motivated to keep going. I have so many dinners out (conferences, etc) that I'm not going to push myself to be 100% after the end of the 30 days. But much like last time, I'm taking waaaay longer than most to really reach those NSVs....and that scale victory. So I'll still be around and mostly compliant after 30 days! In fact, next weekend I'm going on a backpacking trip and that will (hopefully) be strict Whole30. My favorite jerky has sugar in it. I'm trying to find an acceptable alternative. But I'll be posting my food from that trip on a thread in the Whole30 for Athletes forum to prove that you can take nutritious food in to the "backcountry" (you can frequently see houses on the trail I'm going on... ). Oh, I wanted to add that I got my kids (age 5 and 7) on a 6.7 mile hike this weekend. That's pushing their longest ever. I didn't keep very close track before our first backpacking trip as a family in March. I used the step count/mile tracker on the iphone after that trip, as well as correlating with the mileages listed on the maps. I calculated 7 miles for one of those days, but can't quite be sure. So this weekend was definitely an accomplishment! I'm trying to get them up to 10 miles a day which will allow us to hike essentially any trail in Texas.

I have psoriasis and am on my second Whole30. Last time (last year), I noticed no difference - good or bad - until about two months in. This time, I had a minor flare of a spot on my face maybe a week in. It cleared up fairly fast. Everyone reacts differently. Are you following the autoimmune protocol as well? I haven't...

For my first round of Whole30 last year, my skin took the absolute longest of any other change. I honestly didn't expect an improvement (I have psoriasis) but did see it after 2 full months on the program. I've read plenty of stories of people seeing their rosacea, acne, dull skin, dry skin, whatever, show marked improvement within mere days of starting. I think those are the outliers and it's much more common for slow progress in that area. Hopefully yours won't take as long as mine, but keep up the good work and stick with it!

@Margot, I have bad insomnia and sleep issues in the first week. Same with NO energy to do any kind of exercise. The first week is rough, as you've seen from what the timeline lays out. But you'll get past it! Easiest breakfast for me is heated up leftovers from last night. I try to make sure there's at least one serving extra from each dinner, if not two. I also keep frozen pre-cooked sausage patties (I make my own from ground pork/beef and spices) and have carrot sticks, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes in the house at all times (my kids adore those veggies...and only those veggies! ). The fridge usually has at least one, if not two, types of mayo dip. Quick breakfast is microwaved (not my favorite way...but it's quick!) sausage and veggies with dip.

I love seeing a strong support group like you guys have. I had it during my first round but I guess I started this round on a less popular day and don't have a thread like this! I'm on Day 25. I really wanted to continue on strict Whole30 for longer but I have a few conferences coming up with food included. I'd like to know what my best options are for those meals. Last time I had no immediate reactions to food and I think it will be the same this time. So after reintroductions, I"ll go back to Whole30 except for those conferences (but make the best choices - last year they had things like steak and potatoes, salmon and roasted vegetables, etc...I'm sure there were non-compliant ingredients, but those were better than the pasta option!) @Lady49er, I promise shopping and meal planning get easier! You'll learn the brands that are compliant and taste good to you. You'll get better at quickly scanning those ingredient lists too. I still check occasionally even on my favorite brands because sometimes they change things up. I used to be the same way as you about meat/bones. I was raised vegetarian and only started eating meat 5 years ago. I could only stomach boneless, skinless chicken breast...but honestly didn't like the flavor (I was pregnant and had an aversion to nearly every vegetarian protein - dairy, eggs, legumes, etc). I realized I liked other meats more but had a hard time dealing with the other "parts". The Whole30 had me eating so much meat last year that I just had to get over it. So today I have two huge bone-in, skin-on ham shanks in my fridge ready to roast to perfection. But I know your struggle! Keep up the good work everyone! I love reading yall's progress.

@Lady49er, I understand the 7 year old on Whole30! Mine is rail thin and already has a limited palate (hates most meat...), so her dad has been pretty forcefully reluctant to try her on strict Whole30. She has chronic stomach aches...but they come and go on months-long cycles. Right now, she isn't having them. They stopped right about the time I started this round of Whole30! But she is still getting compliant breakfast and dinner 90% of the time. She *does* eat eggs, but not every day. Have you read through the tips for kids? You can relax a lot of the suggestions (not the RULES). For instance, she can have paleo-ified foods like "pancakes" and such. There's a banana+egg pancake recipe that both my kids (including the 5 year old egg hater) will scarf down. I also made almond flour crackers for them to take to school for snack. Hmm...just realized both the lunches I packed this morning were 100% compliant. Not the sugary almond bar I sent for snack though... Also, try her favorite dinner foods for breakfast! It's fast and easy to heat up leftovers. My 5 year old will stuff herself with roasted cauliflower and meatballs for breakfast. One of the few meats my 7 yr old consistently likes is medium rare steak. It's not unusual for me to be cooking steak in the morning for her to dip into homemade mayo! EDIT: Have you tried kale chips? My 7 yr old begs for them...you may be pleasantly surprised and she might even eat them for breakfast!

I have psoriasis too. I started my first Whole30 last year when my psoriatic arthritis was flaring up really bad. I've gotten so used to the skin lesions (had them since 6 months old and have tried everything from medications to diet changes to no avail...I have nightmares about the tar baths I was given as a child! ) that it wasn't even on my list of things to "cure" with the Whole30. I've tried other autoimmune diets in the past with no changes. So I figured I would just do the regular Whole30. My arthritis took over 70 days of strict Whole30 to stop being painful. It was around that time that I noticed my skin was clearing up as well. Around 80 days, I switched to an 80% Whole30 diet and stayed that way for most of the next year. My skin (except my scalp :/) is still perfectly clear. I have no lesions on my knees, elbows or eyebrows like I've had for 37 years! My scalp was actually nearly healed at one point in the last year. I'm on round 2 right now. Still just doing the regular version. I'm hoping my scalp will be improved as well. The reason I say this is to just let you know that the Whole30 is powerful. I applaud you/your husband for doing the AIP. I think everyone's body reacts differently. I hope that reintroductions will prove that he can widen his diet considerably and not bring back symptoms. Good luck!

Congratulations!!!! I kept going on the strict Whole30 program until I achieved a few more health goals. I stopped counting but it was somewhere around 80 days. I'm now on my second Whole30, a year later. If I had to do the first one over again, this is what I would have done: Go ahead and do the reintroductions. Do them slowly and really feel how things affect you. Your back pain could be triggered again, so pay close attention! Once you've gone through all those reintroductions, go back to Whole30 for a week or more. Really think about which of those foods you truly missed. Then you can stick to Whole30 except on the occasions when something is really worth it. My symptoms (mainly arthritis) didn't come back for months after reintroducing foods. So I'm stuck still not knowing. I'm going to go through them more systematically this time and pay extra attention. I stuck to 80/20 Whole30 for most of the last year and it worked well. I didn't gain any weight back and the arthritis pain very slowly crept back up. That's what prompted me (plus the motivation to lose more!) to reboot and do a strict Whole30 again. You can always go back to strict Whole30 if you get too off track!

I make mini frittatas. Use a muffin tin and add in whatever veggies you like. Bake them and freeze them. At work, you can microwave them and they usually taste just as good as fresh made. You'll probably still want to add in something fatty. You can try deli meats and veggie sticks and dip. That's my go to, carry around meal if I need one. Any kind of soup. When I had morning sickness, I found soup to be one of the most palatable things. Make a huge batch and freeze it in the portion sizes you want. Just make sure it's got all the right things - protein, veggies and fat. My personal favorite is Thai coconut chicken soups loaded with veggies. Good luck!

If you do like the soup idea, try drizzling in a beaten egg when you heat it up. It gets hidden in the mix and adds protein. Or you can do a blended soup that already has protein (chicken for example). I've personally never liked that, but lots of people do! I *am* a big breakfast eater, but the first week of a Whole30 has me nauseated in the morning too. Just keep trucking along, trying to eat a little bit more (especially protein) eac day. Definitely eat a full template meal as soon as you can, even if it's before official lunch time.

Cooking with young kids! Always a blast. I have a 5 and 7 year old and have always done all the cooking. I can remember the days of them circling my feet while trying to cook. At least they can "help" (which makes things take longer, but keeps them entertained!) these days. They chopped all the cauliflower for dinner last night. But the 5 year old just graduated to the actual metal knives (we use those sharp serrated plastic kid knives), so I had to hover the whole time. I'm big on having things in the freezer. I was before the Whole30 too. I usually have pulled pork, roasted shredded chicken, meatloaf, hamburger patties, and meatballs. I also keep stocked on quick cooking cuts of meat like pork tenderloin, steaks, chicken breasts. For veggies I usually have a couple frozen soups for those nights I just can't do it! Veggies are usually easier for me to whip up last minute. And my family has a farm so the fridge is always overfilled with produce. My energy has been pretty darn good. I had wanted to exercise since day 1 but just couldn't manage on top of the diet change and school starting. But I've added in both running (wow, am I SLOW!) and weight lifting. So I'm "tired" but because I've been really active, rather than just being tired because I have no energy. Feels good! Keep up the good work!

You've probably already gone on your trip, but I thought I would reply just to get the info out there. I've done 2 backpacking trips (both 2 nights) and probably 50 nights of car camping (some stints as long as 6 nights in a row) on Whole30. It's really doable. NOTE: I'm going to talk calories here. I know that's not what the Whole30 is about. It just helps a backpacker plan for which foods have the "most bang for the buck" if you will. I never actually count up the calories for a backpacking trip (I use the template, just a bit bigger!), but I do WEIGH everything, so having these numbers is helpful when planning your pack weight. Hope that makes sense. Backpacking proteins: Caloric density depends on water and fat content of the proteins. Since I pack in all my water, I don't mind some of it coming WITH my food, so all of these are acceptable to me. If you have ample water refill spots and only carry a small amount with you, you may want to skip the first items. Eggs (hard boiled), tuna and salmon foil packs (packed in water), chicken in foil packs, are going to be around 50 cal/oz. I've yet to find tuna or salmon packed in oil in the foil pouches. You can add oil to them on the trail of course though. Salami (or other summer sausages) and jerky are more like 100-120 cal/oz. Dehydrated meats/eggs are even better, more like 150 cal/oz. You can dehydrate the stuff on your own (start with ground beef) or you can purchase it. This gives you the building blocks for all sorts of things like chili, scrambled eggs (with veggies!), beef stew, etc, etc. Backpacking vegetables: Caloric density depends on water content of vegetables. Again, I don't mind some being in the food itself. For me, I go for dehydrated over freeze-dried. The freeze-dried give you a better cal/oz (because of less water), but the freeze-dried stuff is BULKY unless you crumble it all beforehand. For dinners, most of the veggies are included in one-pot meals like loaded chili, beef stew, chicken soup, etc. I pack others for snacks/lunch like sun dried tomatoes, dried veggie chips, etc (READ LABELS if you are purchasing. Lots of oils, some sugar and other unexpected ingredients lurk in these products). Instant mashed potatoes. Can't say it enough. There are brands out there that are literally just potatoes and salt. Best carb for your trip. 120 cal/oz Backpacking fats: Whole30 considers olives to be fats, but they are only about 50 cal/oz. Compare that to most oils at 250 cal/oz!!! I did take the olive foil pouches on one of my trips because my kids love them. Bottle(s) of olive oil, coconut oil, and/or ghee. Hands down, easiest and lightest way to get fats into your meals. Dip your jerky in the ghee (no joke!) and you will be thanking me later. Add coconut oil to chili, olive oil to your fish packet, etc. You can get small, BPA-free, lightweight, plastic backpacking food containers that are absolutely perfect for this.