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Hello, This isn't so much of a question, more of just an observation. I have been using birth control (intra-vaginal ring, not a pill) for about 6 months, and it's taken a while to get regular periods on this type of BC (not really sure why - maybe because it's more localized than the pill?). Anyway, I started Whole30 on Jan. 3rd and have basically been on my period ever since, and I am not "supposed" to start until next week. I've read lots of posts about hormonal weirdness during Whole30, but I can't seem to get the better of my tiredness, and I think it might be tied to the same hormonal weirdness that's causing my period issues. Does anyone else feel this way? How do you combat the tiredness? As a side note, I know that I'm not anywhere close to anemic, but it's sort of how I'm feeling right now. Any tips or suggestions? Thanks in advance! Rachel H.

Hello. I would like to share my experience with Whole30 and see if anyone is feeling the same as me. I have been compliant, however I have had a smoothie (with added fats) sometimes because I've been too sick to eat. I mostly had them in the first 2 weeks then stopped. Then I had one about 2 days ago as I was ill and could barely eat. I started whole30 as I have very severe fatigue and issues with dizziness and motion sickness. I had no digestive issues other than little episodes of gas like anyone, and I tended towards being a little constipated at times. Since day 4 of whole30, my digestion has been a mess and it gets worse and worse. The last few days have been 24 hour diarrhoea and stabbing abdominal pain like trapped gas. The diarrhea doesn't relieve it. Sometimes I go 5x a day. Also as far as my symptoms I started whole30 for, they are even worse. I am so exhausted I cry every single day and feel like my life will never regain any normality. I can barely go for a walk and work is torture. I was overweigjt but fairly fit before whole30 and could walk and jog. But I did have long term fatigue but I didn't feel like I was dying like this. I have been tested for lots of things and my iron dropped a bit and my thyroid stimulating hormone is a bit low indicating my thyroid is over functioning, but my thyroid hormone levels are fine and negative autoantibodies. I am seeing my GP, a naturopath, acupuncture, psychologist. Before this I had never even paid for a massage, but I feel I am having an extreme health crisis. I'm contemplating quitting my job and not getting out of bed anymore. I have no idea what is happening to me. The digestive issues have been the cherry on top and I fear they won't stop when I stop whole30. I've never had digestive problems like this. As I said, my meals have not been always perfect template (smoothies, sometimes skipping meals) as I'm so ill and doing what I can to survive at this point. I also do rotating roster shift work which makes my whole life hard and is part of my fatigue issues. But I try to follow recommendations otherwise and am eating plenty of veg, appropriate protein and plenty of fat from avocado, olive oil, home made mayo. I have stopped eating ghee, nut butter 2 days ago, as I never ate nuts before, very rarely. I've stopped having eggs apart from the bit of raw egg in my mayo. I was having a lot before, but I ate a lot of eggs in my regular duet too. I still eat 3 serves of fruit instead of the recommended 2, because my tummy wants fruit and plain foods, not fatty rich foods. Example of my common meals lately would be minced chicken breast and zucchini burger patty with roast potato/pumpkin, a salad and home made mayo. Or mackerel fish with pan fried potato hash brown patties (grated white or sweet potato) and a salad with mayo and a bit of hot sauce. Or beef chow mein style - cooked with cabbage, carrot, curry powder, garlic etc on top of sweet potato noodles. Always compliant ingredients and seasonings. I make all my own food. I never had an issue with hot sauces, curry powder or anything lije that before and mainly eat modified versions of what I ate before. Only other thing that's increased on the diet for me is root vegetables like potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, squash and extra use of garlic/onion powder for flavour. Whole30 has been such a bad experience, I feel like I'm having a physical breakdown. Has anyone else felt this and did you find the cause?

Hi! I was eating what I considered a fairly healthy diet before whole 30. Bread + Pasta were defineitly my weakness though and a bit of a sweet tooth. I am 27y / 103lb / active (workout atleast 2x a week) and walk about 15k steps per day. On the whole 30 program i find my self feeling extremely fatigued (though I feel I’m eating more than before) with muscle pain and a total lack of interest in working out, i just want to go home and lay down after work. A typical food day: breakfast: 1/2 sweet potato, two eggs cooked in coconut oil or ghee, spinach sautéed, 1 avocado. Black coffee (my breakfasts all contain a mix of these ingredients served different ways) with the occasional addition of a banana who almond butter or cooked apples) Lunch: soup (2cups) containing (carrot, sweet potato, russet potato, celery, sausage, collard greens + spinach) plus one piece of fruit (peach, banana, cherries with almond butter) seltzer / regular water dinner: collard wraps (2) with spicy ground turkey, peppers, carrots, cucumber, purple+green cabbage. Seltzer / regular water Or zoodles with ground turkey + compliant marinara and a vegetable (cauliflower) But generally some form of veggie+ meat mix. Im just unsure why I’m feeling so sluggish and unmotivated! uploaded a bunch of my meals for size reference

I'm on day 18 and still experiencing extreme fatigue. It is worse than when I began the whole 30. I've reviewed the advice on this forum and found that many people recommended eating more carb dense veggies so I incorporated more sweet potatoes into my diet. The additional sweet potatoes made no difference in my energy level so I've tried just eating them at night as some on this forum have recommended. I still am so fatigued and I especially feel the fatigue in my muscles. Below are a couple sample days of what I've been eating so If anyone has suggestions on what I should do to improve energy levels I would greatly appreciate it. Also I get about 8 hours of sleep a night. Breakfast 3 eggs and handful of spinach 1 cucumber and handful of carrots snack 1 sweet potato Lunch About 2 cups grass fed ground meat 1 Sautéed zucchini and 1 cup of tomatoes Snack 6oz chicken thighs Dinner 6oz chicken thighs 1 cup sautéed carrots, 1 cup Kale, ½ cup tomato, 1 sweet potato Breakfast 3 eggs and 1 sweet potato Snack ½ cup tomato, 1 cup carrots Lunch About two cups ground turkey, 1 cup eggplant, 1 cup tomato Dinner 6oz Sauteed Tilapia 4 cups sautéed broccoli and cauliflower with basil/parsley pesto sauce (no cheese)

R1D13 - Besides a girl scout cookie habit and pizza most Friday nights, I have always been a relatively healthy eater. I have a low BMI and work out 4 - 5 times/week. I decided to try Whole 30 because I've felt sluggish lately and wanted to feel the "tiger blood" feeling I've read about. I did have a physical first, and the only thing that came up was a B12 deficiency, so I've been on a supplement for months. Since about day 3, I am MORE tired that I have ever been. I actually had to lay down on the slopes yesterday in the middle of a ski day...not because I was hungover - obviously (ha!) I'm following the book to a T, other than no snacking. I will have some fruit/nuts mid afternoon with a shot of espresso, just to try to make it through the day. Is there light at the end of this tunnel?

Hi all! This is my first post on the forum. I am 10 days into my W30. I was a little nervous coming in as I am recently pescatarian (after about 10 years as a vegetarian, and several of those spent as vegan). I have done some elimination diets in the past but have always struggled with feeling like my body was lacking or missing something. I have quite a few gut issues as well as auto immune-related conditions (anxiety, asthma, heartburn, ibs, graves disease *in remission* to name a few)...I have often felt like a lot of my health issues were directly related to my gut health as every other aspect is 100% unremarkable on paper. According to labs and tests I am one of the healthiest women alive, but inside I feel like I am dying / falling apart. It was upon my acupuncturist's recommendation that I give the Whole 30 a try. As an aside I have been gluten free for coming up on 4 years now, I went GF in an attempt to help my thyroid and the switch was the reason that my levels normalized and have been normal for about 3 years now! With that said, when I switched to GF I started ironically (or maybe not so ironic) eating a TON more carbs (mostly in the form of brown rice and sugar in processed foods.) My days before Whole 30 included shrimp, hummus, oats, gluten free bread, amys tv dinners, fruit and peanut butter - I also probably had pizza about once a week. I considered myself to eat "fairly healthy" but in retrospect it probably was not a very balanced diet with very little protein. The first week I dealt with a LOT of spaciness, often feeling like I'm in a dream, not really here and VERY anxious. I was able to push through a little bit of this but mildly exerting myself. Starting around day 3 I started experiencing bouts of light headedness, one day, starting to grey out and seriously thinking I was going to faint. I have been feeling like I am eating enough - and not really getting very hungry between meals - the only times I have snacked have been when I am having intense afternoon slumps. I normally exercise 3-4 days a week but have only worked out once since starting this because I just don't have the energy and feel so sick and light-headed when I have tried to exert myself much. By Day 5 or 6, the spaciness and brain fog had lifted slightly but then I started getting horrible crashes in the afternoon between about 2 PM and 7 PM. On a few of these days I have had some increased energy starting around 8 or 9 PM and lasting through until bedtime. I feel pretty relaxed at bedtime but then have woken with horrible anxiety or starts for most of the nights I have been on the W30. My blood pressure and blood sugar have remained normal/stable although today when I was feeling particularly tired and light-headed, I took it and it was 110/61 which is the lowest its been in a while. I mostly just wanted to share my experience as well as the food I have been eating to see if I am on track and need to eat more and/or different types of foods to maintain energy and mood. I am not sure at this point what is W30 and what is anxiety but I have been feeling pretty damn crappy, weak, tired, anxious and light headed for a week now. The most frustrating part is that I actually felt way better before I started doing this but am trying to stick it out until the end as I really want to see what good this could do my body, specifically my gut health. I just don't want to do it at the cost of hurting my health more. As a pescatarian I am pretty maxed out on eggs and fish and ways to get creative. I don't know if anyone else has concerns about mercury but eating seafood every single day and sometimes twice a day does make me a little nervous. Since my only sources of protein are really nuts, fish and eggs, I burn out pretty quickly. Any feedback and/or recommendations are greatly appreciated. Thank you! Monday: Breakfast - 2 scrambled eggs with guacamole and 1 1/2 c coconut chia pudding with sautéed bananas and pureed almond meal Snack - Cherry Pie Lara Bar Lunch - shrimp curry (coconut milk, spices and coconut amigos as sauce) - with red onion, zucchini, red bell pepper, carrots and portabella as veggies Snack - Electrolyte "smoothie" - 1 c kale, 1 banana and 1 c cashew malk Dinner - blistered shishito peppers cooked in olive oil with lime and basil, 2 hard boiled egg whites, spinach and kale salad with small amounts egg yellow and white, celery, raw shisito peppers with oil and vinegar dressing Tuesday: Breakfast - 2 scrambled eggs, 1/2 c hashbowns, 1/2 avocado, 4 or 5 cherry tomatoes and 1/2 banana Lunch - salmon and avocado salad with lemon, green onions, tomatoes, parsley & baked sweet potato "fries" Snack - Electrolyte "smoothie" - 1 c kale, 1 banana and 1 c cashew malk Dinner - egg quiche (piece about 5"l x 4"w) with white onions, mushrooms, spinach, pumpkin & crab dip (crab, w30 approved mayo, red peppers, jalapeños, green onions) with some plantains (fried in coconut oil) Snack - 2 coconut rolled dates with 1 tsp each almond butter Wednesday: Breakfast - leftover egg quiche (piece about 5"l x 4"w), 1/2 avocado, 1/2 banana Lunch - leftover egg quiche (piece about 5"l x 4"w), 1 medium sized tomato, handful macadamia nuts, handful cherries Post-Workout Snack - 3/4 sweet potato with 2 tablespoons almond butter and cinnamon Dinner - We are going to make grilled shrimp with butternut squash noodles, cashew cream sauce and sautéed spinach or zucchini)

Hey all, I’m on day 21 of Whole 30 and struggling with a few issues. Background: I’ve had horrible constipation issues since my 20 month old was 1 month old. My midwives had me taking 4-5 calcium/magnesium supplements per day that were giving me very soft/loose stools all through pregnancy. I stopped them when my daughter was 1 month old because I feared calcium supplementation would throw off other vitamins/minerals in my body. (Lots of info online about it, but I don’t have specific links.) When I stopped taking them, I started experiencing horrible constipation. I just had zero urge to go whatsoever. When I would finally go, the stools were huge and hard. They tore me open and brought me to tears. 3 months later I cut out dairy with no change. About 7 months after that I went paleo with very minimal improvement. In December I completely let loose and was eating anything and everything with no significant reaction to anything. I’ve been Paleo for about 9 months now (aside from the December mayhem) and this is my first whole30. I wasn’t getting any relief about 2 weeks in, so I started taking alcohol free Swedish bitters, adding sauerkraut to my diet (about 1/4c throughout the day) and a probiotic supplement at night. I drink kombucha but I worry about the sugar dragon so only once in a while right now. I also take magnesium malate during the day and magnesium glycinate at night along with triphala powder. I’m still not going regularly but when I do go, the stools are difficult to pass and “sandy,” like lots of small particles floating around that do not look like undigested food. I also have unbearably foul gas in the afternoon but mostly in the evening. It seriously could clear a neighborhood. I wasn’t having this gas before whole30. Im also ridiculously exhausted. I stay home with my child and do childcare and there are times when all I can do is lay on the couch. Walking up the stairs is impossible. Not always though, sometimes I get bursts of energy that I can’t explain or connect to any certain food or meal. I am 5’5 and 117 lbs. I have pretty small hands (1”x3”x4”) and I do my best to follow the meal template but I’m wondering if I need to add or subtract something. I’m also still nursing my 20 month old about 3-4 times per day and all through the night. I do maybe 20 minutes of cardio exercise 4 days a week and although I said above sometimes I can’t get off the couch, I am far from sedentary due to having to look after the children. I’ve lowered my fodmap intake but not completely eliminated. Here is a typical day: breakfast (7am): 3 eggs, 3/4c hash browns, 1c kale all cooked in ghee lunch (11am): 1 can of salmon mixed with mayo and herbs, mixed greens (~4c), fried plantain lunch (2pm): 1 chicken breast, 1c potatoes, 1c kale (potatoes and kale cooked in ghee or coconut oil) Dinner (6pm): 2 slices of meatloaf, 1.5c chard, 1.5c roasted beets (again all cooked in ghee or coconut oil) i go to bed at 10 and wake up at 6:30 or 7 every day (though sleep is interrupted due to nursing) I use at least 2T of cooking oil at every meal but I don’t add any additional fat. My meals often seem pretty heavy and oily. I usually have a healthy appetite before each meal, but I’m not starving between or anything. I’ve read about enzymes and hcl but hesitant to use them because I know your body can stop making them and that concerns me. If anyone has any other insight I would be so appreciative!!

Hi, i am currently on day 13. Around day 5 I started feeling badly, especially after excercising. I added more carbs, protein and fat (frankly over-eating) to try to feel better but it didn't help. By day 8 I was just laying in bed all day and exhausted with muscle fatigue from walking a 1/4 mile (I typically RUN 10 miles a week); I was feeing out of body and dizzy; and my brain was quite foggy--driving felt dangerous and I felt as if I might "forget" to get out of my car. I went to the doctor and my BP was down 30 points from my normal (was 100/70 and is usually 130/70). My blood work all came back fine. They advised me to add more salt and to stop exercising. I regained energy for a few days but now I am starting to feel the same. I am a 41 year-old female, 5' 8" and 150 pounds. My typical breakfast is 2 eggs, 1/2 a large potato mixed with onions and 10 kalamata olives and cooked in ghee and topped with more ghee, 1/2 grapefruit, and a banana. A typical lunch is 2 cups of amount of Cuban Piccadillo (ground beef, green olives, peppers, raisins and capers) over half a large pan-fried yam. I have a larabar bar or nuts and a piece of fruit as a late afternoon snack (I am very active). A typical dinner would be 1/3 pound pan-fried chicken with copius amounts of broccoli drizzled in olive oil. Since my doctor visit I have been heavily salting everything and even eating several dill pickles a day. I am having trouble hanging on and functioning. What can I change to feel better? Thank you for reading my long post! -Aimée

Hello all I'm at the end of day 5 and am struggling so bad. I'm so tired and achy. My tummy is extremely upset with IBS and I've had constant diarrhoea and nausea. I just can't face food at all and am giving half my meals away. I have Autoimmune problems so not sure if also flaring which is exacerbating things. I realised at first it was probably that I had upped my fruit, especially to quell sugar cravings so I've cut it out. I thought I was winning then tonight it's been so bad again. I have a sneaky suspicion I have an intolerance of eggs. I really don't want to give up and most of the time am ok. Help me please with things to try and protein sources. vicki

I'm on day 25 and I feel terrible. My headaches have returned with a vengeance, I'm tired all the time, my anxiety is through the roof, I've lost my appetite entirely, and I've lost all motivation to get things done (which is a huge problem because I'm self-employed). I can't believe that I'm feeling this awful when I'm so close to day 30. I was supposed to start feeling the "tiger blood" at least a week ago. I didn't have these issues before I started this round. I've tracked a couple days of my calorie intake just to be sure that my problems aren't being caused by insufficient calorie intake. Despite my lack of appetite, I've been able to force myself to eat about 2200 calories per day, which has been enough to maintain my weight. In a normal day, I usually have 4-6 servings of fruit and 6-10 servings of vegetables. My macronutrient breakdown is about 20% protein, 40% fat, and 40% carbohydrates. Other info that might be helpful: This is my second round of Whole 30. I did one 6 months ago and felt so amazing afterwards that I decided I want to do it twice per year to keep myself on track. I have a neurological condition that required surgery 5 years ago. I've had almost no symptoms since then. I kept up with clean eating after my first round of Whole 30, but I reintroduced sprouted wheat bread and became less strict with occasionally eating out (once per month maximum). I exercise 5 times per week: HIIT/strength training combo workouts M/W/F, light recovery cardio or yoga T/Th. This is more exercise than I did during my first round. I'm a 21 year old female, 5'3 and 115 lbs. I've stayed the same weight since I started, which is good because weight loss is not a goal of mine. I've practiced intermittent fasting for over a year now. I use the LeanGains 16/8 protocol. Before starting this round my diet was not great because I had been on the road for 9 days. Lots of sugar from sweetened dried fruit in trail mix, not enough fruits or veggies, and occasional fast food. Has anyone else experienced this? Does anyone have any idea about what might be causing it or how to make it better?

I have been having the same problem! I am on Day 19 and other than the initial migraine on day 2, I hadn't had any headaches at all until recently. I have had the same headache from morning to night when I go to sleep since Day 17 (started at night on day 16). Here is an idea of what I have been eating: breakfast: 1 serving of breakfast casserole. (Casserole serves 8 and uses 1 lb ground beef, 14 eggs, 2 potatoes, red bell pepper, and onion) lunch: palm sized portion of baked chicken, handful of diced potatoes, and a heaping handful of green beans dinner: palm sized portion of pork chop tenderloin and the rest of the plate is filled with steamed veggies (assortment of broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, and water chestnuts) alternate dinner: palm sized portion of pork chop tenderloin mixed into bowl of spinach salad with carrots and tomatoes Occasionally when I get home from work, I can't help but munch on some fruit. These little snacks are either half a can of diced pineapples (in 100% pineapple juice) or 6 strawberries or 20 grapes or 1 plum. I never mix the fruit so those are the quantities and the one time I eat fruit. I will also sometimes have a closed handful of almonds or pecans every now and then to get in a healthy fat. Sleep wise I have been going to bed at 10 PM and waking up at 6:45 AM with a few times of restlessness throughout the night. I wake up enough to know I'm awake but I usually fall right back asleep. I have been drinking 120 fl. oz of water per day (especially when I started getting the headaches) and I weighed 160 when I started so I know I'm drinking plenty of water. I have been wanting to begin a workout routine, but because of the headaches I haven't started yet. I live a pretty sedentary lifestyle as well. I have been reading books more frequently, but I haven't been working my brain any more than I normally would when I'm in school. I don't understand what the headaches could be coming from and I have yet to feel that tiger blood nor have I noticed any NSVs so far or noticed any change in my body in the mirror. I'm starting to get worried that maybe I'm doing some part of the Whole 30 incorrectly without realizing it...

Hi! I'm on day 10 and I'm feeling extremely fatigued. This kind of fatigue is what got me started on the program. Before I started I was eating pretty healthily and exercising, but I always felt bad. On Whole30 I never got the 'hangover' phase. Instead, I got a ton of energy in the beginning, but now I'm starting to feel fatigued again. I sleep 8-9 hours on a regular schedule and exercise regularly. When I'm fatigued like this I can barely drag through a workout and end up taking an afternoon nap just to get through. Sometimes I get a resurgence late at night. Here's what I ate today: Breakfast: 2 slices of bacon, 2 eggs, 1 cup cooked chard, 1 cup sliced Korean melon and coffee with coconut milk. Lunch: lettuce wrapped ground buffalo with onions (about a 1/2-3/4 cup of filling) with guacamole, salsa and carrots Snack (I was too hungry to make it to dinner) : half a banana with almond butter and sunflower seeds, almond milk latte Dinner: BBQ Ribs made with compliant BBQ Sauce, 2 cups sugar snap peas I also drank 2 cups of homemade kombucha watered down with seltzer water. My instagram @amyfitfit has pictures if you have any questions of portions! Any advice?? Thank you!!

Hi there, Unfortunately, I'm having a whole host of problems, and could use some help deciphering the causes. Firstly, whenever I start a healthy regimen, I always experience constipation. In this case, it's accompanied with a round, painfully distended, bloated stomach. I'm resisting weighing myself every day because I feel so uncomfortably fat! On top of that, I am super ridiculously tired, hungry all day at work, and really moody. I'm posting about this on the women's forum because, after a 6 mth hiatus, I also just got back on the pill (which I'd previously been on for many years- mostly for hormone control- I'm on my third week back). Trying to figure out which symptoms pertain to what...I am definitely not feeling any "tiger blood" on this Whole 30 (I was on a month with cheats and started strictly April 1). Wondering especially if the hunger is coming from the birth control and the bloating is due to FODMAP intolerance.. I don't know what else it could be. Sample Day: 9am- coffee, chia seed pudding made with coconut milk, 6 almonds, berries, cinnamon OR quiche made with sweet potato crust, chicken sausage, onion, pepper, spinach 10:30am- orange 12pm- salad with homemade mustard dressing, pepper, cucumber, tomato, 4-5oz chicken OR dinner leftovers 1pm- apple 3pm- 12-15 almonds 7pm- turkey burger, sweet potato with onion and artichoke, roasted Brussels sprouts and carrots OR salmon with garlic cauliflower rice, roasted broccoli late night- sometimes another piece of fruit (trying to stop this behavior), black decaf tea Please help if you are able! Thanks, Lauren

I'm on my first Whole30, Day 15 (with husband). While I've definitely felt benefits, I'm sort of over it at this point, and wondering if I'm going to be able to muster the motivation to make it the last half. I'm tired, over all the meal prep and would kill for a bit of brie and glass of wine. Sort of hoping to feel the Tiger Blood at this point, but not feeling it. Is this normal? Thanks in advance, Julie

Hi All. I'm on Day 11 and feeling discouraged. When I started, I immediately lost some puffiness in my face, waist, and hips, but I seemed to have leveled out and don't think I'm losing any more weight (though I'm not weighing myself). I'm tired, irritable (I was very short with my partner this morning ) and also still missing pasta, bread, and sweets. Up until yesterday morning I was having consistent diarrhea. I'm feeling some non-scale benefits of the program, even ones I haven't read about: bad breath seems to be gone; I stay fuller longer; I'm not as reliant on coffee in the morning; skin inflammation seems to have gone down-- these are all great things! But what I really want is to no longer have bread/pasta/sugar cravings and to experience this tiger blood energy I keep reading about. Is it simply too soon for that to happen, or am I doing something wrong? Here's my typical day (everything is homemade, so I know it's compliant because I check labels very carefully): Breakfast is usually eggs and sweet potato hash browns with black coffee and either a few strawberries or a couple of fresh pineapple slices. Lunch or dinner has been one of the following in the last four days: spinach salad with avocado and two hard-boiled eggs or steak; homemade meat marinara with zucchini or butternut squash noodles; grilled calamari with steamed broccoli; steak with green beans and 1/2 sweet potato. Anything I cook on the stove (except steak) has olive oil. Sometimes I add a couple strawberries or a slice of pineapple to lunch or dinner. If I can't make it to dinner because I'm hungry, shaky, or have a late meeting, I'll do a snack of an apple with almond butter. If I'm hungry at bedtime I'll have a banana with almond butter. Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi everyone - I am on day 4 and this is my second Whole 30. My first one was several years ago so I may not be remembering everything correctly but I feel like I was pretty in line with the "schedule" of side effects experienced by most. This time it seems different. I did not experience the "hangover" days (which I am not complaining about!) and now I'm not really wanting to "kill all the things". I was a little irritable yesterday but nothing major. It may have been mainly because I am so tired!! I feel like I'm walking around in a bit of a fog and I just want to crawl into bed. Is anyone else feeling like this? Is it normal? I am journaling my food so I can see what I'm really eating and it helps keep me on track; I don't want to write down a non-compliant food so I can't eat it! I'm not sure if I'm not eating enough? I feel full and actually pretty bloated today which I think may be a result of dinner last night. When did regular potatoes become compliant and why did they? The first time I did a Whole 30 it was sweet potatoes only. Last night I made the mexican twice baked potato recipe form the Whole 30 cookbook. It was delish! But I was SO full afterward and this morning I was so so swollen, I couldn't even get my wedding ring on. I've been bloated all day. I had thought about doing the autoimmune version since I do have Celiac disease but taking out tomatoes, eggs and potatoes seems even more limiting. However after dinner last night I'm thinking maybe I really shouldn't eat potatoes. So now I just feel fat and bloated while I walk around in a fog at work and want to sleep. Any tips or input?

Hi, I am a 2 time breast cancer survivor. The most recent was diagnosed January of 2014. I had 12 months of intensive chemo which was finished in March 2015. I, also, had 30 days of intensive radiation among surgeries. I started my Whole 30 on April 10. I was addicted to Stevia and quit all Stevia one week before I started the Whole 30 as to not completely shock my system. I have done really really good. I have not cheated at all!! I no longer take in any forms of sugar except for fruit, dried mango and dates. I have fruit every day but the mango and dates are not daily. I feel my new crutch is sweet potatoes!! I eat a whole big sweet potato every day split between 3 meals. I do snack on fruit or veggies as going more than 4 hours without food is difficult for me. I usually have a snack 2 hours before dinner. I find that I am, also, eating more nuts. I eat about 2 tablespoons of almond butter a day. If I don't eat almond butter then I eat 2 handfuls of walnuts usually in tuna or in a chicken salad with my homemade mayo. I eat a ton of veggies; raw, steamed and baked. I drink over a gallon of water a day. I do hot power yoga 5 days a week. Some of the yoga is with weights. Yoga is my peace an serenity as it got me through all the chemo and radiation. Even when I was very sick during chemo I went to yoga even is just resting in savasana for half the class. I am sleeping at least 8 hours a day. Some days 10 hours. Today is day 27 and I still am feeling lethargic. I do feel better than day 1 but do not feel the way you describe in the daily messages as it seems I should have had much more energy by now. I don't plan on going off the whole 30 any time soon as I feel that continuing is probably best for me at this point. Is there anything I should be doing differently? Any suggestions would be very welcomed as I am doing everything within my power to feel like I use to pre-cancer treatment.

I did the Whole30 eating lots of good cauliflower,cabbage,broccoli,spinach and kale and got more and more tired and cold. After I finished, I found out by accident that all those veg and more are goitrogenic vegetables -- they interfere with the thyroid so if you have low thyroid like I do and even if you are on medication for it, it, they can still make you hypothyroid. So now I am off whole30 I am feeling better. So be warned and look up goitrogenic online and find out what to avoid. I find that it makes the range of veg on Whole30 too limiting, so I am just not doing another.

So I began this Whole30 journey thinking the only way I could go was up. I was a carb-addicted monster with very bad eating habits and overweight. I'll cut to the chase. Tomorrow is day 25, and I'm feeling like utter crap. The last few days I've had no energy, been headachy, feeling grouchy, and have really seen no further changes in clothes, skin, etc since the first week. I am following my whole30 TO THE LETTER. Also, I am getting full before my meal is done, but finish it anyway because I'm afraid of not getting enough protein, fat, or veggies. I drink 3-4 liters of water a day. Today's meals, since it was a very typical day: Meal 1: 3 hardboiled eggs, one whole avocado, half an apple. Meal 2: Home made grass fed beef stew. 1 large "hand" sized portion of stew beef with a cup of carrots inside, as well as mushrooms and onions, all in homemade broth. 1 whole baked sweet potato on the side with ghee on it and the other half of my breakfast apple. Meal 3: tuna and hard boiled egg salad with approved mayo. On a bed of lettuce with two cups of carrots on the side. Glass of cranberry kombucha. I have zero energy. I am headachy. My mood is terrible and down in the dumps. And, as I said, I really don't see any changes to body composition etc. I am SOOOO close to the end. I was already committed to a Whole60 because of how bad my habits were before this, but I wanted to feel better, not just as bad if not worse!!! Someone please help!

I am on Day 18, and have been following the program religiously. I check all labels, and I am careful to get the suggested amounts of protein, fat, vegies, etc. I may be getting just a bit more fruit than I should, but not much. And I drink lots and lots of water. My problem is that I am so tired all the time! Minimal physical activity just flattens me -- I want to go back to bed, though I get more than enough sleep. I'm waiting for that tiger blood, but frankly, at this point I'd settle for kitten blood. I realize that I have a lot to overcome, because of my decades of abusing my body. I am 56 years old and 90 pounds overweight. I have done many diet programs in the past, and they work well for a while, but eventually the cravings win and I return to my old unhealthy ways of eating. This is the first program that really seems to have changed my brain when it comes to food! I don't feel deprived and I don't think about food or my cravings all the time -- this is miraculous for me! Also, my chronically inflamed muscles have improved dramatically and my psoriasis is gone! Wow! But I am Just. So. Tired. One other factor that may be important: I have been a caffeine junky all my adult life. I mean hard-core. In my twenties, I drank 15-20 cups of coffee a day, but at age 27, I went cold-turkey and was caffeine-free for a few years. I have not had a drop of coffee since, but I did drift back to Diet Coke, and for the past ten to fifteen years, I have been drinking four to five litres of it a day. I started weaning off of the Diet Coke a few days before starting the Whole30, to reduce the shock to my system, and since the first week or so, I don't even really crave it any more. That's another miracle, because I do love it so. I don't ever want to go back to it, because I can't be moderate. I'm glad my DC withdrawal went so well, but is it possible that my years of abuse have taken their toll? Will it get better? If it's a matter of just staying with it and being patient, I'm okay with that.

I am on day 13 of the whole30 and although I have experienced amazing results concerning by gastritis, acid reflux, and IBS, I am still experiencing a significant amount of fatigue. This includes difficulty getting out of bed in the morning and “brain-fog” all day. More alarming however, is that I fatigue very rapidly during exercise. My muscles weaken very quickly and I experience a very rapid heart rate. Because of my commute, I end up walking about 4 miles per day, 2 miles on the way to work and 2 miles on the way home. I also work on the 8th floor so I try to take the stairs most of the time. Before starting the whole30, I was also exercising 4-5 times a week, mostly interval weight training with some cardio. However, after starting the whole30, I’ve just been too tired to workout during the week anymore. I’ve looked through the forum to see what others have said on this topic previously, and most suggest eating more starchy vegetables and making sure you get enough fat. Plus I’m drinking about 1.5-2 liters of water a day. I feel like I’ve been doing all of that and I actually think I’m consuming more calories on the whole30 than I was before I started. I haven’t weighed myself because I know the focus is on health and not weight loss, but I’m sort of freaked out I’m gaining weight. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to improve this? I do take melatonin as a sleep aid because I suffer from SSRI related insomnia, and have considered stop taking the melatonin to see if this would help with the fatigue, but I’m also nervous about not getting enough sleep (I get about 8-9 per night). Does it just take your body a while to fully convert from carb-derived energy to fat-derived-energy? Is this something I’m just going to have to push through? I’ve included my typical meal plan for a day in case I’m missing something. Any advice would be most appreciated. Breakfast: 2 cups coffee with splash of coconut milk Cup of bone broth Two fried eggs in clarified butter Lunch: 3 cups romaine lettuce 1 sliced avocado 5 pieces bacon 1 cup sliced carrots Homemade balsamic vinaigrette (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, compliant spicy mustard, spices Apple 2 cups green tea Dinner: Chicken thighs Sautéed vegetables in coconut oil (sweet potatoes, carrots, onion, green peppers, zucchini, garlic) Coconut milk and curry spices Cauliflower rice

Hello! before this whole30, i was healthy, happy, ambitious, passionate, and if anything, people would tell me I had too much energy. Now, i'm moody, foggy, dispassionate, lethargic, not to mention my body has consistently grown in size these past few weeks. I haven't had enough energy to do the things I love - dance, yoga, ride my bike, be with friends, etc. Beyond physical activities, I lack the mental energy to do my job (writing), and I feel the need to nap, and put my head down midday bc I'm so fatigued. I figure hey, this is all new territory, okay, I'll go with the low energy flow. but even friends are pointing out I seem a little out of it. just today i tried to do qi gong - which is just simple energy work - and was so tired. the people in the class were twice my age! I forgot my phone, then my bike helmet, then i realized i left my wallet at home and couldn't buy the ingredients for the chocolate chilli i was hoping to make tomorrow. I think this is what it's like to be depressed. i have come to believe that either not eating sugar etc. has brought to the surface some underlying condition, or whole30 is just not right for me. the other thought is that maybe I have a blood sugar level problem, and i need to return to a more intuitive eating style consistent with how I was before - smaller meals throughout the day in order to maintain consistent energy levels. take the same three big meals i eat now, and just space them out throughout the day. is that possible? recommended? I've been sticking pretty consistently to the template, my questionable behavior pattern is that sometimes I wait too long to eat. I'm at Day 25, and I plan on finishing out the whole30 (should i even?) but feeling pretty blue about the whole thing. any guidance would be much appreciated. thank you. EDIT: one thing is also radically different -- I used to eat an apple and nuts almost every day. At least some kind of fruit around midday. I haven't been eating much fruit on W30 except some grapes here and there. but i do consistently eat starchy veggies like sweet potatoes, beets, and the like.

Tuesday morning I felt energetic and great, then partway through the day I started slumping big-time. I became absolutely exhausted and depressed by the time I went home at 7:30pm, almost to the point of tears. I cooked and ate a compliant dinner, then binged on some cashew butter. I was also exhausted on Wednesday and almost didn't make it in to work. What's going on? Why am I so dang tired? Anything I can do to make it through the rest of the day? Here's what I was eating the last two days: W2D9M1 3 eggs in pork belly fat, spinach, mushrooms W2D9M2 grilled chicken salad - baby spinach, thin grilled chicken breast, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, blueberries, EVOO & balsamic vinegar, large sweet potato w/ghee & cinnamon W2D9M3 thin grilled chicken breast, mushrooms in EVOO, butternut squash, fresh raspberries with coconut milk & coconut flakes W2D9S1 TJ Kale Chips, Zesty Nacho, 1 serving W2D10M1 3 eggs, spinach, mushrooms, and heirloom tomatoes in EVOO; coffee with coconut milk W2D10M2 grilled chicken salad - baby spinach, thin grilled chicken breast, mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, Kalamata olives, EVOO & balsamic vinegar W2D10M3 sugar snap peas, almond butter Master Recipe ground turkey with sweet potato (with coconut oil/, onions, tomato paste, & poultry seasoning) W2D10S1 (too much) almond butter

I'm 46, male, 5'10, a cyclist, and weighed 160 lb at the start of my Whole30 (152 on day 40). I hit an energy wall on day 14, after low intensity playing outside with my son. I just wanted to go inside and rest. I assumed that was "normal" for that stage, so didn't make any changes. But this type of reaction has persisted, so I decided to extend my Whole40 to see if I would get through this. A few more recent examples: Day 35: Went bowling with 2 others and bowled 2 games. I was exhausted from bowling! Day 38: Did 1 set of 50 push-ups before meal 1 (probably took 75-90 seconds). After the meal, was starting my PT exercises and wanted to go back to bed! Am I doing something wrong, or do I just need to keep going a while longer until I get my energy back? On the cycling side, I have only been doing short rides (60-90 minutes) during my Whole30, partly because I didn't want to overdo it, but also because I'm recovering from an injury. I've noticed that on some of the rides, I feel like a slug for at least half the ride, but feel fine for the final part of the ride. Day 39 was one such ride, where there was a slight headwind on my way out, and I felt like I was going to die. My times were the worst ever. When I would push it hard for 15-20 strokes to make it through a stale green light, it felt like I could hardly keep going after that. After I turned around, though, at around the 35-38 minute mark, I started feeling better and had best or second-best times in many sections on the way back. I wouldn't say that I had gobs of energy, but I was able to ride at a higher sustained pace. I haven't tracked my food daily over these last 40 days, but I can give you what I've had for the last 2+ days, plus a sampling of foods I've had the rest of the time. Most of my food has come from the Well Fed and Well Fed 2 recipes. Day 38 Meal 3 Large helping Well Fed 2 Italian Pork Roast 1 C Cauliflower "Rice" Pilaf (no actual rice in there) sm serving fruit salad Day 39 Meal 1 (finished maybe 15 minutes pre-ride): 1/3 of a large sweet potato, julienned and cooked in gobs of ghee (2-3T?) 2 eggs, fried in ghee 1 med banana Meal 2 LARGE helping Italian Pork Roast (LOTS of fat in there) 3/4 C Roasted Carrots 3/4 C Cauliflower Rice Pilaf Snack 1/4 C Pork Roast 1 C mixed blackberries and blueberries 9-10 raw almonds Meal 3 Large helping Well Fed Chicken Nanking (chicken, green beans, sweet potato)Late Snack 1/2 C Pork Roast handful of almonds handful of pistachios handful of dried cranberries (GAH! These had added sugar! My first slip.) Day 40 Meal 1 2 C Pork roast 1 C Spaghetti Squash 3/4 of a banana 1 large strawberry Meal 2 3 1/2 C Chicken Nanking (chicken, green beans, sweet potato) 1 large banana Snack 7 StrawberriesMeal 3 Two 1" pork meatballs Well Fed Country captain chicken (3/4 of an extra large chicken breast; 3/4 C veggies and sauce (bell peppers, onion, green onion, chicken broth, sm amt of raisins, sugar free bacon, almonds, coconut oil) 1.5 C spinach salad with chicken, egg, cashews, avocado, onion, dressed with olive oil, lemon juice Over the rest of the 38 days, I've eaten a variety of pork, beef, lamb, chicken, eggs, and veggies like roasted carrots and cauliflower, spaghetti squash, spinach salads, lettuce salads, lettuce wraps, onion, and lots of avocado. Cooking (and roasting) is mostly with coconut oil or ghee.

I am on day 7 of whole 30 and have really struggled since day 5 with light headedness, foggy-ness and hard to focus, some dizziness and fatigue. The first five days I don't believe I ate enough food and still exercised as normal (nearly fainted on day 5 after a hard workout) so day 6 and day 7 I was very conscious about eating MUCH more. I also started adding salt to foods on day 6 because I read on another forum that it could help the fog. I'm adding in more fats too and made sure to buy fattier meats to have this week (ground beef, steak) instead of chicken breast like last week. I'm also eating 2-3 fruits a day. I still do not see improvements and am VERY concerned. Trying to live a normal life while feeling like I'm going to faint is extremely alarming. I have been on my period this past week so I'm wondering if I'm iron deficient (my iron level usually comes back as normal but on the lower end). I have always been a very healthy eater and been very active (with the exception of bingeing over the holidays right before starting whole 30). However, I always started my morning with oatmeal or wheat cereal. I believe that has higher iron contents than the eggs, turkey bacon and potato I have for breakfast now. I'm thinking of seeing a doctor to test my iron and blood sugar because I can't continue like this. Anyone have any suggestions or ideas as to what may be going on? How else can I add iron into my diet? Should I take iron supplements or a women's multivitamin?