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Hello all! First and foremost I hope that you are all having a lovely week so far. :) I am a 25 year old male. I recently started the Whole30 program in pursuit of getting rid of my cystic acne that's located primarily on my forehead, temples and back. Also, small blemishes on my chin area that are constant but not cystic in nature most times. A little bit of a backstory here - I took Antibiotics (Bactrim DS) for acne for about FOUR years.. which is, 4 years too long imo but I was younger and didn't care about the consequences mainly because I didn't KNOW about the consequences - I just recently got off the antibiotics around October of last year. Needless to say, my digestion was not doing so good for a grip there. Either constipated or having BAD diarrhea. Which leads me here; because I am trying to RESOLVE the acne issue (which I believe stems from my gut issues) I want to take a natural approach to this. So far, I'm having pretty great success with my digestion becoming normal and on a cycle again which I believe is a great step in the right direction but my skin doesn't seem to be changing much quite yet :/ I suppose my question is one of experiencing - has anyone set out to do a Whole 30 for their skin health as the primary focus? If so, what was your experience? I know we will all be different but I need a little encouragement. Thank you all so much in advance!

I know it's a common problem on W30 but it's making me a bit crazy. So, I've just finished day 9 of my first (and prob last) Whole 30. Prior to this, I've always eaten basically well, including all grains, legumes and dairy, but never enough vegetables or fruit, and way too much sugar. I had sugar in tea and coffee, frequent chocolate, and lots of biscuits and sweet treats! So I'm doing this to reset my diet and get rid of my sugar cravings once and for all. Normally, my digestion is very good, and although I did get bloated after a carb heavy meal such as pasta, once I took steps to reduce my sugar consumption and eat more veggies, my stomach would flatten within a couple of days. I have no medical issues at all. My challenges are that I have a one year old and I'm a working single mum, so I find it hard to get out to exercise unless it's pushing a pram around the streets. Now, I'm having problems I've never had before! Bloated always, a bit better in the mornings but worse at night, just as if I'd eaten a big refined carb meal. Gas (ugh). Bunged up for the first 5 days, then intermittent runs since then. And now, pale, floaty poo, making me think that I'm not digesting fat properly. It's NOT FAIR! I'm 100% compliant with the regime with no cheats or technicalities. Here is a sample of what I'm eating, what I had today (I'm getting lots of variety too with different meals every day, all cooked from scratch, including red meat, poultry, eggs and fish, many different veggies). 1. Scrambled eggs x 2, mushrooms sautéed in ghee, grilled tomato, baby spinach leaves and 1/3 poached chicken breast, plus 10 cashews. Mug herbal tea 2. Big bowl chicken and veg soup with homemade stock and 2/3 added poached chicken breast, 1 banana (veg in soup was sweet potato, carrot, zucchini and spring onion) Long black coffee Hard boiled egg and 6 cashews for emergency snack (don't usually snack but felt hollow today) 3. Roast lamb with roasted sweet potato, carrot, pumpkin and steamed broccoli, gravy made from pulsed leftover roast veg, pan juices and balsamic vinegar I usually have a couple tablespoons of coconut butter with an apple or a handful of berries after dinner, but didn't tonight as had already had banana for lunch. Plenty of water, at least 2 liters a day. The advice I'm reading on the forums for digestive issues seems to be to take enzymes and to add a probiotic. If this way of eating is so fabulous, why should I need supplementation to help my body do what it's always done well before (when I was eating "dirty")? Is it possible that some people's guts are just not suited to this regime, or rather, this regime is not one size fits all! I am starting to worry that a high animal protein/high fat diet could be causing lasting harm to my digestive tract. I don't want to turn into one of the many, many people who can't eat grains or legumes or dairy foods without getting stomach aches! Is this regime possibly going to cause me a problem where previously none existed?

I'm trying to avoid drinking water with meals to help my digestive issues. I haven't noticed in any of the books what that timing looks like. An hour on either side of meals? 30 minutes?