Sorry, I can't do this. Its too hard for me.

[pmorrison]

I started the Whole30 last Thursday.. I have been nausea and no energy. The cooking and preparing the food is very time consuming and we love to eat out and I cant figure out what I can eat on this. Anyone else have the problem I am having.

[jmcbn]

Hey there & welcome to Whole30

I'm sorry to hear you're struggling with this. Can you give us a run down of what you HAVE been eating over the past week so we can maybe help you troubleshoot/tweak?

In terms of time-saving I'd always suggest batch cooking at the weekend, and to opt for a few types of protein (say a whole cooked chicken, a pork shoulder, and slow cooked beef shin for instance) and then have a variety of vegetable dishes prepped that you can serve on the side - my regulars would be an oven tray of mixed roasted veg, a huge pot of braised kale/zucchini, and then I always have salad veg on hand as well as tinned fish, eggs & homemade mayo. That way I can mix & match with little or no prep for every meal.

Are you following the recommended meal template, and drinking enough water - that would be a half an ounce per pound of body weight daily? Are you salting your food? Eating enough in general? Getting adequate sleep? Including at least a post WO meal if you are exercising?

This is not hard. Fighting cancer is hard. Losing a partner is hard. This is just 30 days of eating deliciously good food, and you just need to approach it in the right way & with the right mindset - and that's what we're here to help you do....

[ShannonM816]

Hi, there. I'm sorry to hear this isn't going well for you. Could you list a day or two of what you've eaten, including approximate portion sizes, as well as water intake and exercise?

You definitely shouldn't be nauseous. It's pretty common to be a little tired during the first week or so, but sometimes it can be helped by making some changes to what you're eating.

Food prep is time consuming, but there are some things you can do to make it a bit easier, like doing a weekly cookup on the weekend so you've got a lot of options mostly done for the rest of the week. Here's how that could work: http://meljoulwan.com/2010/01/14/paleo-kitchen-the-method-behind-my-madness/

You might also find these no recipe meal ideas helpful: http://meljoulwan.com/2014/06/25/great-ingredients-recipe-required/

If a weekly cookup doesn't work for you, at least make sure that every time you cook, you make enough extra that you have at least one meal you don't have to actually cook for. Grilling or baking chicken for dinner? Cook as much as you can fit on the grill or in the oven. Had the oven on to make supper? Before you sit down to eat, throw a pan or two of veggies in to roast, they'll be done when you're through with supper and you can put them in the fridge, then reheat them the next day to go with breakfast or lunch.

As for eating out, it is hard. You have to really plan ahead and talk to restaurant staff about things like marinades, seasonings, and cooking oils. It is doable though, if that's something that's important to you.

Why did you decide to do a whole30? What is it you're hoping to get out of this experience? Keep those things in mind to help keep you motivated.

[Doge1117]

You very much can do it. Come back and tell the mods why you wanted to start. I hope you will remember why you wanted to put yourself first. You CAN, CAN, CAN do it. And you owe it to yourself to do so!! 

[praxisproject]

Eating out also isn't something you need to give up, it just takes a little more research.

When you know safe places to eat and what you can order, you can go out as often as you like.

 

Nausea is often not eating enough, so we really need to know what you're eating so we can help

[thinkmama]

You can do it. You have to WANT to do it. And DECIDE to do it. From what you said, you aren't committed to it.  

 

As others said above- Why did you start your Whole30? What do you want to get out of it?

 

You don't want to quit, or else you would have just went on with your life without stopping here first. So hold on to that.

 

You can do it. I don't know you at all, but you most assuredly have done far harder things in your life. 

 

So let us help you, help yourself succeed. You can succeed. You have to decide to commit. And then it's basically done, once that choice is made. You'll make it happen. 

[Xandra]

"I can't figure out what I can eat on this."

Here is what you can eat. Print off this shopping list and post it on your refrigerator and carry a copy in your purse.

http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-shopping-list.pdf

I print this list for every Whole30 I do. If an ingredient is on the list, you can eat it, and if it's not on the list you don't.

How to put together a meal? Follow this template for each meal as closely as you can. It will keep you full. Again, copy on the fridge and copy in your purse.

http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-meal-planning.pdf

Those two pages will set you on the right path, whether eating at home or dining out. Meals don't have to be any more complicated than a roasted chicken and a bag of salad. You can do this.

[ultrarunnergirl]

I'd recommend buying or borrowing a copy of Well Fed cookbook. It is fantastic for throwing together simple, fast yet delicious meals that fit the Whole30 Meal Template perfectly. It really made my first Whole30 so much easier!

 

The author also has a lot of recipes, advice and tips on her website and almost all her stuff is W30 compliant.

[amyfillinger]

It really does get better, my first few days I was MISERABLE but by around day 6 I felt much better!