That's me -- starting Feb 7

[illioo]

Hello there,

 

I am very excited to start my Whole30 tomorrow. I have been eating paleo for a while now but still have a lot of problems with my digestive tract and am curious what Whole30 can do for me.

I'm consuming a lot of Stevia, since I've always thought that'd be a healthy and natural choice... Isn't it? Could Stevia be the reason for my bloating, fogginess, constipation, not being able to lose weight, sluggishness etc.? Or is it the Coconut/Almond Milk?

However, I'm eager to start tomorrow, my only concern is black/no coffee since I'm a coffee addict (which also might be the reason for my fatigue?)

Oh, I have another question: I start my work day at 6am, which means bf at the office. Does anyone have some suggestions for a quick and easy office breakfast? If possible FODMAPS free -- but also okay if not since I'm not sure if I need FODMAPS free and that'd be the next thing I'll try after my Whole30 (only if necessary)...

 

Thank you so much for any suggestions in advance, and also thank you to the whole Whole30/Whole9 team for all your efforts.

 

-Britta

[ShannonM816]

Any kind of egg muffin/casserole/frittatta type thing would be easy to take with you, you can put any kind of meat and veggies in it. And they're usually okay eaten cold or reheated.

 

I like soup for breakfast, I'll make a creamy soup with a winter squash (acorn, butternut, kabocha, whichever one(s) you like, even sweet potatoes or carrots would be good), and then top it with some kind of protein, whatever I have on hand, sausage or hamburger or chicken, it's all good. I've even heated it up and thrown in a couple of eggs and let them cook in the hot soup when nothing else sounded good and I just needed to get some protein in it. (A serving of eggs is probably more than two eggs, that was a day when I wasn't feeling well, and that was the best I could manage.) You could either take it in a mug, cold, and reheat it in a microwave, or heat it at home and carry it in a thermos if you don't have a microwae at work.

 

Leftovers of any kind work well too, so you could always just pack those up.

 

If you need more veggies at breakfast, a lot of times I'll make up a breakfast salad -- I got the idea here, but I do mine a little differently, just to focus on more veggies, with just a bit of fruit. I'll chop up a couple of zucchini or yellow squash, some carrots (I cook these slightly so they're just a little softer), some jicama, maybe some peeled cucumber, and some kind of fruit, usually an apple, and then toss it all with some lemon juice. You could add other stuff too, if you like, these are just what I prefer. It's usually enough for a few days, I just have a couple of cups of it with whatever protein I'm having, and if you need to add fat, you could throw in some avocado or some coconut flakes or some coconut milk or even a few nuts if you like, or even some mayo would probably be okay. This would be easy to make up the night before and have ready to go in a bowl in the fridge, so you could grab it and take it with you.

[Tina R]

Congratulations! Regarding coffee there is another forum that has some suggestions that you might want to search for. I use canned coconut milk. Some people blend there coffee and coconut milk, some people blend in ghee, some use cinnamon or cocoa.

 

Your bloating could be from the Carrageenan if it is in your almond milk. Since the whole30 doesn't allow Carrageenan, you should be able to tell if that is causing the problem. I am still bloated after my whole30 so I am still trying to figure out what is causing mine.

 

There are some other forums for breakfast that you might want to search for. Some people make egg and meat muffins so they can grab them in the morning. Another option is to eat leftovers from dinner. I would check out the blogs "The Clothes Make The Girl", "Nom Nom Paleo" and "Stupid Easy Paleo". Good Luck!

[Tom Denham]

The problem with stevia is mainly that fake sugar functions a lot like real sugar in your body. And there is nothing healthy about stevia. It is a processed food with no contribution to nutrition. 

 

Carrageenan in the coconut/almond milk you have been drinking may be responsible for problems in your gut. You have not provided enough information to speculate about fogginess. 

 

Starting work at 6 AM does not mean you cannot eat breakfast at home. My father got up at 4:15 AM every weekday to eat breakfast before he went to work. I thought getting up before 5 AM is what grownups did when I was growing up.

[mrshudson]

I had very similar digestive issues despite being paleo. Giving up stevia was the answer. It was A little hard but I've been stevia free for almost a year. When I tried to reintroduce it at one point it tasted awful, not like I remembered.

I didn't notice as drastic of a difference with giving up almond milk. 

[illioo]

You guys are so nice with all your support and I apologize for the late and also short reply. We have a lot of snow here in Portland and is was a drama getting home from work a longer answer will follow combined with a report about my first day.

[sim1]

Hi illioo, I'm strating again today

All in all my first week went pretty well, excpet for gum, sleep and waffles (even though they were paleo). So I decided to start over again today. I reall want 30 days of 100% clean food. I learned a lot during the first week though. Defenitely will have to have even more emergency food (aka grab and go) prepared because life can get pretty crazy with three little ones and a puppy. Good luck to you and everyone else who's in it or about to be in it!