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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?

Howdy Whole30! My husband and I are making this journey together, which makes for a great support system. We are on day 24 as of today. But the last couple of days I've just been dragging. Thankfully I'm on my vacation but was hoping for a bit more energy for the activities I was hoping to enjoy. But I haven't done much of anything! I'm hoping to turn the corner here soon. I've upped my carbs and fat a bit hoping that will help. Also started using a multivitamin. Anyway, we are glad to walk this journey with so many others!

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...

Going good. Did 1st recipe, Spinach Frittata. Too good for breakfast. A bag of spinach is healthier than I ever eat. Great taste. My wife enjoyed it to. I'm the pioneer on this diet. Maybe she'll try it. She's liking me cooking. Grilling salmon on George Forman grill, Cod too. Next I'll try strip steak & baked potato. Bone weariness of recent times is gone. Craving for sugar is gone. Didn't know artificial sweeteners increased appetite so much. I'm thinking of staying on this after 30 days.

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

So I have been extremely tired throughout the day since day 11. I'm now on day 16. I do have a 6 month old and 6 other children who sometimes wake me up at night, but it's never made me feel this fatigued before. Is this something that will go away? I've been waiting it out for 5 days now, thinking it would go away. I would totally take naps during the day being a SAHM and everything, but I just can't fit it in most of the time! :-( My usual day: BF- 2 eggs with chopped onion and peppers or squash + avocado and a fruit or yams AM Snack, fruit Lunch- leftovers from dinner (meat with veggies) PM Snack- Nuts & raisins Dinner- last night was butternut squash soup with chicken pieces. (YUM!) I had 2 bowls.

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?

Hello Everyone! I am a 25 yr old female who attempted my first whole30 in January of this year, but only wound up making it to day 19 because of some mistakes I made following the guidelines. I chose to do the whole 30 because I suspected some food allergies and intolerances. In 19 days I saw so many improvements in areas I had no clue I could ever see a change in! I was in complete disbelief! Severe sciatica, swelling, joint pain and immobility had vanished! My swollen face was returning to how I used to look years ago! And my massively bloated pregnant looking stomach had miraculously slimmed down and flattened out more than it ever had! I am a total believer in this program and can't wait to do it again! I just need a little advice with some issues I had the first time around. I also did paleo for 2 months after my whole 30 and it helped immensely. I plan to complete a whole 30 and then continue with a paleo diet afterward. Here are the issues I had: Extreme fatigue if I missed a meal - I believe I just need to eat larger meals that fully follow the meal template (protein, veggies & fat). Last time around I didn't always follow the template and some of my meals were way too small, so I'm chalking it up to that. Any other suggestions? Diahreah for the entire 19 days - I've always had pretty bad constipation issues my whole life, so this was surprising. I am normally pretty on top of eating enough fiber so I don't think it was my body adjusting to a fiber increase. I believe I may have celiac or some sort of wheat/dairy intolerance, so this could've just been my body adjusting and starting to heal. Anyone else experience this? I seem to have issues with consuming too many eggs, and eliminating them for a few days helped a bit. Food boredom - I know the food boredom can be a common side effect towards second half of w30, what did you do to overcome this? I get almost nauseated by certain foods at this point, it drives me nuts! My game plan for next time is to write a list with a ton of compliant recipes I want to try, as well as having some of my favorites premade and frozen. Food logging- I like to keep a food log. Not so much for calories or following specific macros, but to have a reference I can use to compare my symptoms with. It helps me to gauge what works/ what doesn't. I'm a certified holistic nutritionist and I am totally guilty of being obsessed with the cause and effect side of things. I know food logging goes against the spirit of whole 30, and it's also a pain in the rear in many ways, but I really want to be able to look back at what I ate on specific days and see how certain foods effected my medical symptoms. Has anyone logged during whole30? Or decided to forgo logging and loved the freedom from it? I want to skip it entirely as I did during my first attempt but I almost wished I had logged to try and pinpoint what could've caused my digestive issues. And finally - stress and timing. My first attempt was during a stressful time right before a big move, and sandwiched between lots of social obligations that involved food. I have an upcoming 6 week window without any birthdays, weddings, parties or etc, but I am still in a very hectic spot in life right now with a lot of stressors. I know that it will be an additional challenge to complete a w30 during this level of stress, but I feel like I need to do this for my health and I really want to make it work. Has anyone else complete a w30 during a stressful period of life? What tips do you have for managing stress while w30ing? thank you all in advance and sorry my post got so long!

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.

Hi there! I'm new to W30, 7 days into my first (and hopefully only) one. I feel like I'm 4 hours into an 18 hr flight and my brain is telling me "DON'T LOOK AT THE TIME!". I also hate flying. So, I'm trying to take it day by day and in truth I am finding it a little easier as time goes on. In fact, it's a little bit easier than I expected if I don't think about how long I have left! Anyways, I'm hear to learn about my emotional relationship with food, what triggers me to reach for fatty sugary foods mainly. I have a few small and occasional health concerns that I am also be curious to see if W30 can affect: v mild alopecia; aches and pains sometimes; fatigue sometimes; the occasional bout of IBS and some headaches. So far, the aches and pains are a little milder. Alopecia will take longer to judge. I'm starting to feel more energised as well. I would prefer to do something vegetarian as I'm not used to eating this much meat. But for 30 days I think I can handle it. And that's me! I'd be interested if anyone else has had experience treating alopecia with W30... K x

I started Whole30 because I've been battling severe fatigue for many months now and my doctor ruled out most physiological causes. We were at the point where my doctor informed me that my diagnosis was likely going to be chronic fatigue syndrome and since (due to other medical issues) I can't take the medications for CFS I would have to see a psychiatrist. My fatigue was extreme. I woke up, pulled on clothes, went to work (no breakfast or a meal shake because I didn't have the energy to cook), worked (because I'm the sole source of income and have no choice), got home and climbed into bed. Lunch was either a meal shake or a sandwich from a deli by my office (again, no energy to cook or pack a lunch) and I would eat dinner in bed (whatever my husband cooked or ordered). On the weekends, I wouldn't get out of bed. Without my two day rests on the weekend I don't think I could have gone to work during the week. I had tried eating healthfully and starting exercise programs, but the fatigue was too extreme. I'm still fighting fatigue and am nowhere near my energy levels before the fatigue started, but today, day 20, (where three weeks ago I would have spent the whole day in bed), I went to the gym and swam laps for 45 minutes. I am sore and tired, but this is a huge NSV for me. This is my first exercise other than walking when required in months.

TOM starting visiting me yesterday.. So far I've been doing well with handling my cravings but I do tend to get hungrier between 2PM-3PM and later in the evening. I expected this because I have my regular day job heading a marketing department, a beautiful family at-home (son & hubby) and have multiple side projects (I do marketing for some of my own client's on the side and do some work for some friends and family). I typically get between 3-4 hours of sleep a night and 7-9 hours on the weekends. Assuming I'm correct and I may not be, my body needs more calories to stay awake for such long periods of time. Well the day before yesterday I was even more tired then usual, I read the timeline and it seemed to make sense. Little did I know TOM was just around the corner. Typically I get aggressive cramps, feel even more fatigued and have a headache the day of until maybe the 2nd or 3rd day. I also crave salty foods BADLY! Guess what? This time it was a bit different. I have much milder cramps My headache only lasted the first day of TOM's visit I'm not as fatigued as I typically am during this "Time of the Month" NO CRAVINGS I cannot believe that I'm only a few days in and I have seen a dramatic change in my cravings. I'm not sure if it's actually Whole30, my pumped-up will power, my "I CAN DO IT" mindset or pure coincidence but one thing is for certain, "I'm stoked" that i have zero cravings still. I cannot remember the last time I had no salt cravings during this time. Either way this dramatic change occurred, I'm still giving it up to Whole30 because w/o it my mindset wouldn't have been so strong and I wouldn't be eating such healthy, clean food! I'm ever more excited to continue on this amazing journey!

Dear Community/Moderators/Success Stories, I'm on Day 30 and should be on top of the world but am in tears instead. I have been following the program religiously for 30 days, sticking to the meal template, increasing my physical activity, even having my birthday party at my house SO I COULD STAY ON THE PROGRAM ON MY BIRTHDAY! I just turned 46 so am in perimenopause, had two periods in a two week span while on Whole30, suffered vicious pms for both of those periods and STILL managed to stay strong and compliant. I knew it would take me longer to see the full benefits due to my hormonal and health issues, so I planned for a Whole45 and would even do a Whole60 except I have a two-week work trip in June that will make that impossible. I was starting to see progress, slowly but surely, had a few days here and there when I felt better, and then on Friday (my bday) I felt really great! I was so excited! I thought finally, on Day 25, I was starting to feel that great Tiger Blood everyone was talking about. Then woke up Saturday morning with a UTI, feeling just awful. Started a 7-day course of antibiotics that day and have felt pretty crappy ever since. Fatigued, hard to get out of bed, and really depressed. The change in mood was one of the first and best NSV's I experienced, as I have struggled with depression my whole life, and the mood swings during perimenopause have been awful. So to lose that progress and momentum in steadier and better mood just feels soul crushing (sorry to be overly dramatic, but there you go. Part and parcel of my challenge). Having read the forums a lot, I know there are some people who have faced similar challenges. In my head, I know that this is probably because of the antibiotics and I will probably feel better once I'm off them. In my heart, I am just crushed that on Day 30 I feel this bad. It feels like all of this hard work is for nothing. I KNOW this is not true, and keep reminding myself that when I went to the doc in a box on Saturday, my blood pressure was down 20 POINTS!!! (from 120/80 to 100/70) That is incredible, right?! But please, I think I just need some support, an e-hug, and some shared experiences from others who have seen great results that took longer to achieve. Thanks, Whole30 community! You are very appreciated!