Do I REALLY have to start over? (And I've read the 6/2014 article)

[RandiKraus]

Hi, newbie here.  Day 17.  Sigh...I thought my husband was simply warming up some previously cooked spaghetti squash in a pan on the stove to add to his dinner tonight.  My 3 year old wanted to try some so he put some of it on her plate.  She didn't like it so I decided to have a couple bites.  That's when my husband mentioned that he had sprinkled a small pile of shredded cheese over the portion of spaghetti squash he had in the pan.  The amount on my daughter's plate was a small portion of that and from that I only had a few bites.  I can't remember how much but certainly very little.  I can't know for sure if any shredded cheese pieces were eaten.  Probably.  I read the article refered in my Topic title and clearly dairy is listed as a food with reset issues.  2.5 weeks in...what do I do?  I just wanted to clarify if a tiny amount is really a tiny amount.  I'll do what I need to.  Thank you for your guidance.  Ironically, I really don't like spaghetti squash either but try to eat it for the nutrition.

[Tom Denham]

If you are sensitive to dairy, even a few crumbs of cheese can make a difference. You might be okay to continue going on, but it is a potential issue. One approach you might take is to plan to stay dairy free for 30 more days, but otherwise consider your Whole30 done in 13 more days. So basically, save reintroducing dairy farther beyond other reintroductions.

 

I never knew I was sensitive to dairy until I had been eating Whole30-style for a while. Finally, I figured out that my sleep quality suffered the night of consuming dairy during the day. No bloating, no stomach distress, no joint pain, just trouble sleeping. I am a light sleeper, so it took me a lot of testing before I recognized that dairy consistently caused trouble. 

[RandiKraus]

Thank you!  So, it's possible that if dairy isn't an issue for my body then it's not going to cause any internal issues.  I obviously don't know that yet but I was assuming all the eliminated foods were irritants on some level or paleo eating wouldn't exist.  If dairy is an issue, will this throw off any potential 'timeline' of improvement?  In other words, should I assume that I may not get some of the typical benefits b/c of this potential reset? 

I apologize for the length of this reply!

So far at day 17, I'm not seeing any obvious changes.  My goal was to do an elimination diet and reset any potential leaky guy.  The other main goal was to increase energy.  I have never had coffee and don't consume caffeine. (I have been off my chocolate chip fix for 2 months prior to this whole30, as well). 

I've read many of your responses and am trying diligently to eat enough.  Definitely at least 2 eggs at breakfast (if I add other protein like shrimp or left over dinner) or 3 eggs if I don't.  About 1/2 an avocado, as well.  And lots of veggies (at least 2 varieties).  Lunch is leftover dinner or a salad (piled with cukes, tomatoes, snow peas, mushrooms, bell pepper) and protein and LOTs of olives (plus some more avocado sometimes).  I saw that raw isn't nearly as much as we think it is so I do try and pile it with lots of veggies.  And I do some lunches as leftovers from dinner so it's not always salad.  Dinner is chicken/turkey/beef (and sometimes fish).  Two variety of veggies and avocado or olives (if I need) plus some of the EVOO from cooking.  I don't stick to just 1 palm always...depends on the meal.  I am stuffed eating each meal...feel like I'm still forcing myself to eat it all and I'm still hungry well before the 4-5 hour mark. I've periodically, given into the hunger and had a mini-meal for a snack with almonds or cashews as my fat.  And it's possible I still need to fill up my plate with more veggies (but I think I'd throw up first before being able to eat it all!).    I only use EVOO for cooking.  I have tried ghee and coconut oil and didn't like the taste of either.  I have a VERY VERY picky palette.  I'm adult, I know what I can and cannot tolerate taste wise.  But...it is limiting.  Sigh.  So, some meals I even add in a fruit (raspberries, granny smith apple, kiwi, strawberries) for some taste and nutrition variety.

Some other personal challenges.  Eating this much in the morning is REALLY hard.  Plus, I know I'm supposed to eat within an hour of getting up.  But that hasn't happened.  Usually it's within an hour 15 minutes to 1.5 hours due to kids, not being an early riser and it's hard enough to eat that much at that point, if I had to do it early I honestly do think I'd throw up.  I'm not clear on what kind of impact this is having on my whole 30 (hormonally speaking).

So 2.5 weeks in and I've seen no changes in tolerating this quantity of food nor benefitting from not being hungry so soon after!

Sleep..working hard at gradually moving my bedtime earlier from midnight or so to around 11:30 to moving it slowly towards 11:00.  Not there yet!  However, I have 2 kids who between the two of them, I'm up in the middle of the night most nights.  Sometimes for only 10 minutes, sometimes more.  Sometimes several times a night.  Plus,  I'm up to use the bathroom.  That is just not going to change right now and it's frustrating to think what kind of impact it's having on my results.  Plus, my younger daughter had a stomache bug for 2 nights during the first week of Whole30...that was fun.  So, sleep wasn't really an option for me those nights.  Not clear on how the Whole 30 takes into consideration real LIFE?

And one other issue that I'm sure is impeding change...I have a urinary frequency condition, so increasing water is just not an option for me to function in life.  So, maybe around 3-8oz glasses a day is what I consume.  Nowhere near the probable 8-10 8oz glasses I'm supposed to.

I had already eliminated gluten and dairy for about a month before starting this program but had added some dairy back right before starting the whole 30 (trying to enjoy some before going all in!) so my body isn't necessarily starting from scratch.

Can you help?  I'm a challenge!!  And thanks for your extra support!!

[ladyshanny]

I think you just need to relax. Honestly.

Your meals sound pretty good, it sounds like you are reading and learning and paying attention to yourself. Learning to eat three meals large enough to keep you going may take awhile, just keep picking away at it. If you need mini-meals go ahead and eat them.

I would suggest you really try and get at least a bit of that first meal in within the first 60 minutes. You're in process of retraining your body, train it to what you eventually want it to be able to do.

You have sleep interruptions which you can't do anything about unless you ship the kids off but do try to get yourself to bed earlier! Create the best environment that you can for yourself (dark, cool, quiet).