Moving right along!

[jen c]

ramonax, I hope you're feeling better after the pizza and bread.  Don't worry, you'll get back on track and we'll be here to support you.  And isn't it great to come home and have your little one so happy to see you again?!?  I'm glad to hear that all went well. 

 

ksea, culinary school would be amazing!  You have a real gift for cooking that I wish we could all taste in person!  I hope your baby will grow up to enjoy time in the kitchen with you and will inherit your great skills.  Kudos for being able to eat only the turkey.  I feel like this has enabled each of us to get a clearer perspective on putting aside immediate and short-term gratification for better long-term consequences. 

 

katie, your thesis sounds really interesting!  Personality types are fascinating to study, especially for those of us who lean to the analytical side to begin with.  I'm glad you've found such a great restaurant to eat at.  Portland is full of foodies and I'm sure there must be a Paleo restaurant around somewhere.  I'll have to start searching to see what I can find. 

[katieblue]

Hey Jen!! Nice to hear from you again! I totally get the wheat putting you through the ringer for a few days... it's crazy how much it can affect you. And sorry for the train noise, but glad you're feeling back on track now! And glad your Olive Garden experience went well! I think it must be great for your kids to see the other side of the food restrictions, it will probably make for a lot of personal growth for them (and for you, really, who are we kidding?). But for them to have that kind of perspective and understanding will really make them prepared for going out into the world.

Don't let the stress get to be too much (although now that we know you're an INTJ, I can totally understand the overload!!), you will adjust and it will start to get second nature. And the library will love you for all the donations. Lol. In the meantime, sticking to compliant recipes should make it easy to adjust, because you know they'll be safe!

 

I can't believe that you and your husband are two more INTJs. There has GOT to be something to the theory that we are more attracted to something like the Whole30, because I honestly have never met so many in one place before.

That being said, I have to look into the high sensitivity thing because that's new to me! I read Quiet while researching for my thesis, but there is more and more material out there as awareness grows. You definitely don't sound snobbish or anything; we just process things differently and it's absolutely good to be able to interact here on our own terms. That's one thing I've found great about doing my grad school online; I can allocate time as I want to (of course, the less time, the more difficult that gets), but I get to do it at my own pace and I'm not forced to actually have a conversation with anyone. But sometimes a post on the discussion boards there - or even these ones - is exhausting!

Also! Do you mean you're in Portland, OR or Portland, ME?

[jen c]

I'm near Portland, OR.  The paleo movement is really big here, but I've assumed that any restaurant would use lots of nuts, so haven't looked for any yet.  Even if I can't take the kids to one, I could still go for an adult-only meal now and then. 

 

Books on high sensitivity:

The Highly Sensitive Person by Dr. Elaine Aron

The Highly Sensitive Child by Dr. Elaine Aron  (this one's my favorite)

The Power of Sensitivity by Ted Zeff

 

In a nutshell, highly sensitives process more information to a greater depth than the average person.  And because of their brains functioning like that, they tend to become overwhelmed and overstimulated much more easily than the average person.  They take in lots and lots of detail in the world around them often leading to feeling overloaded.  It's something that involves the entire nervous system and is how the person is hard-wired.  Highly sensitives tend to be introverts, have more allergies, sensitivities to medications, chemicals, etc.  Learning about it explained so much about myself, my dad, my kids, etc.  It's genetic and these authors help to show the positive aspects as well as learning how to cope with the negatives.  If you check into it, let me know.  I'd be interested in what you think. 

[katieblue]

Oh, that's really cool, that the paleo thing is so big by you! I've never been out there, but I have a trip to Portland, ME planned for June, so I was just curious.

I know that the restaurant by me doesn't really use nuts in anything... I don't think I've had a dish yet where they used nuts. Different burgers with different veggie toppings, salads with compliant dressings, ribs with veggies, Bolognese sauce with zucchini noodles, sweet potato curry soup, grilled tuna guacamole tacos in lettuce wraps... I don't think there were nuts in any of them!

 

That highly sensitive thing is ringing like a bell to me, so I will DEFINITELY look into it. I feel like it could just help me to better understand myself (because let me tell you, overwhelmed is my middle name, hence all the anxiety). Thanks for the insight!

[KalinaM]

Hello everyone! I'm back from my vacation from real life and the internet. Please forgive me right now as I have so much catching up to do with all the posts I've missed, but this post is going to be a selfish one....

I have a HUGE new NSV! I'm pregnant! This is so amazing, you really have no idea.... My husband and I have been trying to have a baby for over 7 years now. We've seen doctors, has procedures done, I've had surgery. I was only ever pregnant once with medical intervention and it ended in an early miscarriage. NEVER in my life have I had a positive pregnancy test from trying "the old fashioned way" until this weekend!!! I am in shock at this miracle that has been given to me. I truly credit the whole 30 with this miracle baby. Still in disbelief after seven years of "no" and so so so so so excited!

CG! We'll be buddies!

[Ramonax]

OMG! Congratulations. I am so excited for you Kalina! What great news! How far along are you? DETAILS!!!

[KalinaM]

OMG! Congratulations. I am so excited for you Kalina! What great news! How far along are you? DETAILS!!!

Thanks Ramona! I'm estimating I'm 5 weeks and 5 days. My LMP was March 10 and after my next period was a week late, I took a pregnancy test to see what the heck was going on (never thought it would be positive after seven years worth of negatives!) And lo and behold, SUPER dark test line. My OB made me an appointment for may 2. According to online due date calculators, I'm due December 15.

[galaxigrl]

katie: I hear you on being cooked out!  Although, I do think it's getting easier as time goes on.  And Charleston does need a Paleo restaurant .  How did your cabbage rolls turn out?  Did you follow the directions for boiling the whole head of cabbage and then peeling one off at a time?  I tried doing that, and then I got frustrated and ended up taking the cabbage out of the water, peeling off the number of leaves I needed, and putting them separately back in the water.  I'm definitely going to do that next time.  Much easier!

 

ksea: That is such a sweet story about your husband's grandparents!  Grandparents are the best!  Has your scoby gotten any better?  For the ginger pineapple pork, my husband isn't a fan of liquid smoke.  Is there something that would be a good substitute, or just leave it out?  I think it's awesome that you went to culinary school!  I'm sure what you learned in 10 months has been much more useful in life than most of what I learned in 4 years of college.

 

jen c: I'm sorry you have to adjust to more dietary restrictions.  That sounds like it would be pretty difficult to cook in your household.  I hope the adjustment is quick and painless!

 

Kalina: CONGRATULATIONS!  What wonderful news!  I can't even imagine the struggle you've gone through with 7 years of trying.  Praying for everything to go very smoothly this time around!

 

I've become kind of frustrated with my weight/results.  I feel like I've been doing pretty well with sticking to mostly W30 eating, and I even worked out a few times last week, but it seems like every time I weigh myself, it seems to go up a little.  I know we're not supposed to be tied to the scale, and I don't feel that I am, but I really don't see any physical results period.  My clothes mostly fit the same, weight is going up, didn't see much of a difference in the before/after pics I took.  I know I'm just being a Debbie Downer right now, but I felt like I could do that here.  I know this will pass, but it's frustrating to feel like you're eating well and exercising, and then to feel like your stomach is as big as ever and not see any changes on the scale.  Ugh.  It also doesn't help that I never really did feel less tired or like I had more energy, which would make the non-physical results easier to handle.  Like my husband said, don't get discouraged.  I'm going to keep telling myself that .   

[katieblue]

Omgosh Kalina, that is the BEST news!!! SOOOO excited for you!!! Congratulations!!!!

Galaxigrl, the rolls were amazing like last time - and I made double everything this time so we can keep eating them! I like your method of boiling the leaves individually, that would save a LOT of time! I also left most of the head intact after making the initial round, and then yesterday for lunch I just peeled off another leaf and put it together and microwaved it and that worked out fine too, so I don't even know if they need to be boiled individually!

I hear you on being frustrated, we're on day 19 of our second round and I still feel like I'm gaining, too. Maybe we just need more time more strictly following it. Maybe our bodies don't need or want to lose weight? Maybe we have other food intolerances making it impossible? Not sure, i feel like there could be any number of reasons... But I'm with your husband! You're making big steps to take care of yourself and that's what counts. Even if it happens slowly, good things WILL be happening!! Think of all the NSV's you came up with and good foods you discovered.

[ksea]

KalinaM - Congratulations!     What wonderful news!!!  Hope you had a fun, relaxing vacation!

 

katieblue - Thanks for the brisket recipe!  

My little guy is 5 1/2 months old now.  He's starting to sit up by himself and I'm going to see if he wants to start eating real food next month!  He is extremely interested in us when we eat.  I usually carry him in the pack when I'm cooking, and he's always arching around to see what I'm doing.  I should carry him face out more often while we're in the kitchen, I just worry about little hands flailing around.  I hope he'll love to cook as much as I do.  One of my favorite TV shows is Masterchef Junior, my husband and I can't believe the talent those young kids have!!

 

It makes total sense how INTJs would be attracted to something like Whole30!  Jen c, I love how you had that conservation with your kids about food restrictions!  Thanks for the book recommendations, definitely going to look into those!  I know I lean towards the more sensitive side, and one of my little brothers is highly sensitive.  For example he doesn't wear any clothes that aren't super silky feeling, and really really dislikes being around a bunch of people.  I also know what you mean about not wanting to sound snobbish, it's kind of frustrating how often people who don't know me very well misunderstand me that way!

 

galaxigrl - It looks like my scoby is growing, but slowly!  It's starting to get opaque and thicker around the edges.  I'll let it go a couple more weeks and see what happens.  It's in a pretty cool spot in my kitchen.  I would move it to a warmer area, but then it would get sunlight on it, which I don't think is so good for it.  

You could totally leave out the liquid smoke from that pork recipe!  I was going for a Hawaiian kalua pork inspired thing, so if you still want that smokey flavor you could add some smoked paprika, cumin, or some chopped up chipotle peppers in adobo if you like a little spice too!  There's also some terrific smoked salts out there.  I think if you are going to add liquid smoke then it's better to start off small and add more to taste.  A little goes a long way sometimes, especially depending on the brand!  

I'm sorry you two are feeling frustrated!  I've been doing a lot of thinking about the long term advantages to eating this way.  There's a lot of studies now looking at the link between diet and various thing like Alzheimer's, which runs in my father's side of the family.  I want to try supporting a healthy micro biome in my body for the long run.  I've been reading Brain Maker by David Perlmutter, MD, and it even talks about how chlorinated water can upset the beneficial organisms inside our gut!

[katieblue]

Ooh, if he's already interested in food, maybe he'll take after his mom! And someday be one of us! Haha. I've never seen the show, but I definitely think there is something that you either intuitively have, or you don't, when it comes to cooking. Kind of like musical talent. You can practice and get better, but if you don't have that sense for it, it's just never going to be second nature to you. But I think with a mom as into it as you are, he's going to be so immersed in it, he'll probably be a natural!

What's his name? (And I realize, too, that I don't necessarily even know everyone's names on this board, I just revert to screen names! Lol).

 

I'm going to do some research on Whole30 and temperament types, now. I'm going to stalk the boards and see if I can evaluate what everyone's letters are. Haha. I would venture there would be mostly introverts seeking out an online board... 

 

That's sort of scary, about the chlorinated water, because isn't all of it at least slightly chlorinated? But if you really think about the things we consume and what they can do to us on a daily basis, I feel like I personally would never come out from under a rock haha.

It's funny you point out the link between diet and - well, just about everything. It was my last day at my second job today and I work at a chiropractor's office, so they are very forward thinking as far as health/diet. They had a video playing in which adopted children in a study all developed the same health problems as their adoptive parents, even though there was no biological link. So it all had to do with lifestyle/diet. There is DEFINITELY a lot of benefit to the psychological aspect of this, I know that much, but there are probably 3000000 great physical benefits we aren't even aware of yet.

 

I had a big NSV tonight, everybody!! So last time I baked a cake was the carrot cake for Easter, and I totally housed, like, half the frosting while I was putting it together. Well, tomorrow is my last day in the children's department (I start my FT circulation job on Thursday!!), it's also my coworker's birthday, and my other coworker is getting married this weekend, so I made a batch of red velvet cupcakes. They're full of gluten and sugar and butter so I obviously won't be eating any of them, but I wanted to do something nice for them on my last day because even though I'll be in the same building, I won't see them nearly as much. So I baked them AND frosted them without having even a single lick of frosting!! And it was cream cheese frosting, which, as is evident from the carrot cake debacle, is my total favorite. But I held strong! I think it's the last proof I needed to know I function best as an abstainer, not a moderator. But I'm so proud, I think this is the first time I ever managed that!! I just hope that they turned out okay since I couldn't taste test the frosting and had to rely on Rob's commentary to get it right!

[KalinaM]

Congrats on the NSV, Katie! Those cupcakes sound delicious.

[CGinDC]

Congratulations Kalina! We have two Whole 30 babies on the way! I'm 7 weeks 6 days, due December 1. How are you feeling so far? I am actually feeling fine, and every time I read that nausea is a sign of a healthy pregnancy I get a little worried that I really haven't had any issues with it. But it's still early...this could all change tomorrow. My next appointment is May 5, and they'll do blood work to determine the sex! Crazy that's how they can make the determination these days.

 

I've had some eczema flare ups on my legs and I think it's either from lime or wheat. I haven't been good about remaining compliant but it's really starting to drive me nuts. I'm not as tired as I was feeling over the last few weeks so I'm getting back into the kitchen more - time to take control over our meals a little more.

[galaxigrl]

katie & ksea: Thanks for the encouragement!  I know there are a lot of NSVs, and I know I need to stop being so focused on the physical changes.  I'll get there .  I feel much better about things today.  I do wish it were easier to eat out on W30.  I love going out with my friends to dinner, and it makes it hard to stick to W30, especially when you're not going to an American restaurant where you can have a burger and salad.  Tonight, we're going to an upscale Chinese-type restaurant that I haven't been to in a long time.  I think it's going to be difficult, but I'm going to try to stay as W30-compliant as possible.  

 

ksea: Thanks for the tips on other things to add to the pork.  My husband comes from a family of pork butt smokers - his dad's side of the family own a pretty well knows BBQ joint in North Carolina, so he's a snob about smoking meat.  If it hasn't sat on a cooker for 10 hours, then he doesn't want any other smoke flavors added.  But I think he's go for the chipotle or the smoked paprika or chili powder.  And I didn't even think about smoked salts.  I think we may have some of those!

 

katie: Congrats on not eating the icing!!!  That is a HUGE NSV for you!  Hope your last day goes well!

 

CGinDC: I wouldn't worry about not feeling sick.  I would be praising the Lord!  Ha ha.  Seriously, though, I know many women who did not have morning sickness and had a totally healthy baby.  I think the tie between morning sickness and healthy babies is just something people tell women who feel like s$it to make them feel better.  I don't know how old you are, but I'm assuming maybe over 35, since you're having bloodwork that will tell you the sex of the baby.  Do you have doctors and everyone else in the medical field constantly saying you're "advanced maternal age."  EVERYONE told me that (I was 37 when I had my son), and it was SOOO annoying!

[katieblue]

Ahh CG are you going to find out the sex yourself or wait and be surprised??

 

Thank you ladies!!

Galaxigrl, I know at a Chinese restaurant I usually just get steamed veggies and some type of meat, it's not really exciting but it's compliant! If you want to be 100% compliant you can bring your own sauce to put on them, maybe coconut aminos or something, because all the Chinese sauces have sugar, soy, and probably some glutenous thickener.

 

I am SO jealous that your husband is so well versed in the smoking of the meats! My boyfriend has a friend who has multiple smokers and we went to so many BBQs at their place last summer and everything was to die for!! I think BBQ food is probably my favorite in the world, give me pulled pork or baby back ribs any day!

[galaxigrl]

katie: That's a good call for Chinese food.  This place doesn't have your typical Chinese type food items.  Here's the menu.  I do see that it says they have GF options available.  Maybe I will inquire into those.  It won't get me quite W30-compliant, but it should get me close.  Chinese food usually doesn't have dairy, so I might end up eating soy, some sugar, and legumes, but I'm ok with that.  My husband's pulled pork is really, really good.  He just doesn't make it that often, since it takes a whole day.  We are going to NC in a few weeks, and we're going to stop at the restaurant for dinner.  I'm looking forward to it!

[katieblue]

Holy wow, that looks like some delicious food!! I think Som Thum, Eggplant Xo, Thit Bo or Yu looks like they might be close to compliant, maybe only added sugar and soy in those? But I guess you'd have to ask some questions - it's good they have GF options! I think the world is getting a little more aware of the reality of gluten evil!

 

You'll have to let me know when your hubby is smoking pork shoulder again so I can plan my trip to Charleston accordingly.

Are you vacationing to NC, or just a day trip?

[CGinDC]

Galaxigirl: Yes, I am "advanced maternal age" at 37. Luckily my OB hasn't made a big deal out of it - one of the benefits of living in a city where older mothers are very common. DC is so career driven, I don't know many women here who have had a child before 35. He gave me the standard talk about risk factors and options for screening but didn't seem overly concerned.

[ksea]

katie - Way to go resisting the cream cheese frosting!  Hope you have a fun day at work.  Congrats on starting your new job tomorrow! 

My son's name is Gregorio, which is a family name on my hubby's side.  He wanted to go with Gregory, because he has an uncommon name too and was worried about teasing during childhood.  I convinced him to embrace the family name, and if our son wants to go by Gregory or Greg when he gets older, it can be his choice.  My name is actually spelled Casey, but my husband named his boat k-sea, so I like using that   I know for sure that if we ever move, it'll be somewhere next to the ocean.  There's something extremely calming about it to me.

I think pretty much all municipal water is chlorinated, except those few places that are using things like ozonation to disinfect water.  While chlorination has done a ton of good guarding against all sorts of water-bourne diseases, I totally believe that it could kill off the good organisms in/on us too.  I've even read some stuff that says taking a bath or shower in chlorinated water is harmful too.  I've been using a pur water filter for a few years now, but I'm going to look into one for my shower too.  It's crazy to think of how many things have changed in the recent history of humans, and there's not much known about long term effects of it all.  There was a recent article in Scientific American Mind about the brain-diet connection, and the importance of the microbiome, that was really interesting.  It also talked about DHA, a type of omega-3 fatty acid found in shellfish and cold water fish.  I'm interested to see how far science advanced in understanding the body/brain going forward, it's so complex!

 

galaxigrl - I totally understand how your husband would feel that way about smoked meats vs. smoke flavor!!!  One of my dreams is to take a road trip across the south and try all the different types of BBQ!   I'm getting ready to set up a smoke house in my yard so I can smoke a bunch of fish this summer, and I want to play around with smoking meats too.  Sausages, brisket, and bacon are on my want-to-try-making list, although I might have to add pork shoulder and ribs to it as well.  But I would love to eat real BBQ that's made by people with a lifetime of experience!

Hope you have a good night out!  I haven't gone out to eat yet (there aren't a ton of options in my small town anyway!) but I know I'll be asking a bunch of questions when I do.  I'll be sure to tip good if I'm annoying to the wait staff, some of them like to complain way too much when they go back to the kitchen! 

 

CGinDC - That's great you have a little more energy and haven't been nauseous!  My skin got unusually sensitive while I was pregnant, I had some heat rash and got a sunburn for the first time in my life.  When people would say I was glowing, I would usually respond with, "It's because I'm sweating like a beast!"

[jen c]

Kalina - congratulations!!  That is the best NSV ever and I'm so happy for you!  Keep us posted on how you're feeling and know that good thoughts are being sent your way.  :)

 

CG - don't worry about not feeling "sick enough".  I agree with galaxigrl and think morning sickness is overrated.  I never got sick with any of mine but man oh man, I wanted to smell. all. the. cooking. beef.  It was heavenly.  I had no idea they could determine the gender so early now.  We didn't find out ahead of time, figuring we weren't sending it back, so what did it matter.  Lol. I'm sorry your eczema has flared and hope you find the source soon. 

 

katie - congrats on resisting the frosting!  After making birthday cake last weekend, I know just how hard that is and give you a high five for staying strong.  Good luck with your new job tomorrow!! 

 

galaxigrl & ksea - I'm dreaming of a weekend retreat filled with galaxigrl's family smoked pork and ksea's amazing recipes . . . can you imagine?!? 

 

After last week's wheat blah, I decided to keep this week mostly clean.  There's been a little soy and sugar as minor ingredients in beef jerky and in chocolate.  The first week after our official finish, I had difficulty saying no when chocolate was readily available.  So instead of keeping it in the house, I decided I'd only buy it rarely.  I had some today, but can't say I savored it.  It was just kind of meh.  I think that's a good NSV but it's weird to think chocolate is meh.  Anyone else experience this? 

 

Next plan:  reintro oats on Saturday and then beans mid-week next week.  Begin new W30 on May 1. 

[katieblue]

Ksea, Gregorio is actually a really cool name! I'm sure he will probably want to go by Greg at some point, when he gets "cool", but I'm sure he'll appreciate its uniqueness also. And that's so romantic that your husband named the boat k-sea!! I definitely see why you'd want to go by that. ::mush::

I knew that consuming chlorinated water had some downsides, but I hadn't read about the shower aspect, also! I'll have to look into that myself. There definitely is SO much still to learn and understand, and it's crazy to see how many things we used to think we knew, we were actually wrong about, science-wise. It makes you wonder if fifty years down the road, we'll find out the things we're learning now are actually not true, either. (Someday when I'm not inundated with grad school work, I will be researching like a fiend and you might see me protesting things on TV! )

 

jen, that's awesome that you want to launch another round!! I don't think I'll be continuing an official Whole 30 through May, as we have a bunch of events coming up and outings and there are some foods I'm looking forward to as "worth it" in some regards. But I'll definitely pop in and keep up and cheer you on!! And glad you're feeling better after your wheat battle!

 

And thanks for all the congratulations on the frosting!! I had another NSV Wednesday night; my boyfriend and I went to Cave again (it's becoming our date night, at least while I'm Whole30!) but I was starting to feel really depressed about it being my last day with my old department and coworkers. I wanted to order dessert so bad, and even though they're Paleo and technically compliant, I know it's not allowed on the Whole30, and I would be letting myself down. So I did, but then I was getting more depressed and wanting to just eat everything. It was that old mindset of, "Well, you didn't really want this job, but you HAD to take this job, because you NEED the benefits, and you had to leave the job that you liked a lot to do it, because you don't deserve to have nice things that you like. You deserve to be miserable and work your ass off all the time. You don't deserve to feel good, either. You should ruin your clean eating and Whole 30." I even opened up the fridge when I went home and looked at what was in there. I had some leftover frosting I had saved as per my boyfriend's request. AND I DIDN'T DO IT!! I didn't eat anything, not even snacky nuts or anything technically compliant. I've really revolutionized my thinking and habits and this makes me so happy!!!

[galaxigrl]

Dinner on Wednesday night was amazing (until we got to the last plate, which was basically a fishy tasting fettuccine alfredo).  But the rest of it was so good!  I wanted to order the GF entrees, but it was a place where you just share everything, so I just went along with my friends, and we all ate the same stuff.  I did resist a second glass of wine, and I didn't feel totally stuffed afterwards, but I woke up at 1 am with the worst stomach ache and was up on and off all night with it.  I think maybe the food was just too rich for my tastes these days.  I ended up taking yesterday off work and feel much better today.  When am I going to learn????  Ha ha.  I'm going to Savannah from tomorrow late morning through Sunday afternoon for a friend's birthday, so we'll see how I do.  

 

Last night I was part of a fashion show!  It was a benefit for the women's shelter at a local homeless shelter put on by LuLaRoe consultants.  Are y'all familiar with LuLaRoe clothing?  It's so cute and comfy!  I just found out about it a few months ago and already have 8 pieces!  It's addictive!  

 

katie: How was your first day at the new job?

[katieblue]

So glad that you had such a good time on Wednesday!! I'm sorry that it hurt you, though, especially enough to make you take off work. I really do wonder if you have a sensitivity for something.

Ahhh I'm so jealous you're going to my favorite place on earth!!! Talk about rich comfort food!! Savannah had the best food I've ever had in my life. I came back 3 pounds heavier after 5 days!! Lol!

 

The fashion show sounds awesome, too! I have never heard of that clothing line but I will definitely take a look. It must have been fun!!

 

I don't want to get negative, so I don't really want to get too into detail about the job, haha. But thank you for asking and I will keep hoping that it gets better with time! At least I have some security now and in less than a year I can start applying for librarian jobs - so it's only temporary.

[katieblue]

Ksea, can you believe it's already day 23?! One week left after today!! AND I have your gingered pork shoulder in the crock pot for tonight!! We're having it with curried sweet potato salad and roasted cauliflower. I'm super excited!!

 

My allergies are SO terrible right now. My head is killing me. I went to bed at 7pm last night because the pain was making me nauseous and I just feel so out of sorts. I was hoping my allergies wouldn't be so bad this year because of a reduction if inflammation from eating better. But I do suspect the high FODMAP foods may be making it difficult... I don't know why I don't just stop eating them, I keep buying them! I wonder if I'm trying to self-sabotage. I've been known to do that.

 

How is everyone else!?

[KalinaM]

Wow I can't believe day 23 already for Katie and ksea! Go girls! You've got this! I've been trying to get back into post vacation back to work mode. It's been challenging and I've not been eating whole30 ish at all! I'm off the weekend and plan to at least plan dinner thank make leftovers for lunches that are either whole 30 or include nongluten grains as I've found I really don't have a problem with them!

Thanks for all the congratulations, everyone! I'm still in disbelief myself. CG, I'm feeling OK except I'm getting tired earlier in the day. But honestly I don't know if that's pregnancy or the fact I've been eating junky the last week! I'm 36, so I'm considered older too. Oh well!

Galaxigirl glad your dinner went well! I've never heard of lularue, I'll have to look it up!