Starting May 9

[beecharmer]

It's very quite in here.....how's everybody doing?

Day 28 and these last few days are dragging. It's not the cravings, it's the constant double-checking of labels only to realize just how many non-compliant additives are in things. And I'm bored of my options. Today, I could barely muster enthusiasm for scrambled eggs, but then I realized I was out of ghee so I had to boil them instead, which was annoying even though I generally like boiled eggs. Then for lunch I got some compliant tuna with some homemade mayo, but it wanted mustard. Sadly when I check the label, all our mustards had a wee tiny bit of sugar in them. Sugar!! In mustard!!!

 

On the plus side, after being supportive but only in a "whatever you want to do, it's your thing" kind of way, my partner has shifted to "suck it up, you've come this far and you're not quitting," which is just what I need this last week. As I said, the cravings aren't a problem, but the boredom and annoyance is. Memorial Day was hard because there were a lot of things I couldn't have and I felt deprived. Folks are starting to ask what food I'm most looking forward to with reintroduction, and I'm honestly not sure. My daughter is graduating from 5th grade on the first day of reintro, and she's all excited for me to have cake. I'm thinking, do I really want to blow 30 days of hard work for a slice of cheap Costco cake at an elementary school graduation ceremony? I don't think so. Maybe a small bite someday, but definitely not as one of the first things I try. I might go for a glass of champagne later that day.

 

I haven't weighed myself, but I didn't really weigh myself before, so I'm not sure what that would tell me. My clothes are all a bit looser. I've been having stomach pains this week. Seems to coincide with either raw veggies or fruit. Nothing too painful. Energy is fine, but still no Tiger Blood.

 

So yeah...that's where I'm at. Food boredom but otherwise fine.

[Leigh Anne]

I've missed this forum over the past week. We were sailing and I didn't have cell service most of the time. We were working on the boat, and I had no control of the menu for 7 days! You guys gave me some good pointers, and I went prepared with emergency food. Hard-boiled eggs, almond butter, coconut, Lara bars, and dried cranberries. There was always a salad or roasted vegetables, and always fruit. It was very, very hard to resist all the baked goodies and desserts. Did I mention that this was a trip for 8th-graders? So it was a kid-friendly menu. There were a couple of days where I couldn't eat the main dish at any of the meals. Pancakes, pizza, pasta--you get the idea. The good thing was, since I was working in the galley, I knew what the day's menu would be and could plan what I'd have and when I'd need my stash food.

I did it!!!! Not perfectly (butter, for instance) but it felt like a huge success for me. I mentioned Melissa's Sweet Potato Hash and the chef made it for breakfast on the last morning. That was fantastic. She changed it up a little, omitting the apple and nuts and adding a little mustard. It was fantastic.

When I chose May 9 as my start date, I deliberately picked a time without a lot of special events on the calendar. I never would have done it if I'd known that we'd be going sailing! The food is just too good, and I would have said it would be impossible for me to resist any of it. But then I thought, who is in charge of what goes into my mouth and body? Only me. Is it worth the struggle to see this commitment through? Turns out, the answer is yes!

And--huge bonus--my energy level was great. I worked one of these trips a few years ago, and I would fall into bed exhausted almost to the point of tears. This time I felt much, much stronger. I had to be in the galley by 6 a.m. every day and we'd finish around 7:30 p.m. We did have time to rest in the afternoons usually. But my energy was good the whole time. Yesterday was "turn around". We cleaned up from this trip and got ready for the next one, and that is always a very tiring day. But this morning I felt fantastic again!

27 days done, 3 to go!

[Mishi]

I made hamburgers with sweet potato buns tonight. Dear world, why am I only learning of this combination now?! So good. And with avocados, tomatoes, homemade mayo and some steamed greens...Did I mention sooo good??

Another win from this program are all these meals I now have in my back pocket. When in doubt, I'll toss some sweet potatoes, tomatoes, kale, and tuna in my cart instead of ramen, frozen orange chicken, and 100 calorie packs of nonsense. Live and learn, right?

But seriously folks. Sweet Potato Buns.

[JoniScott]

I havent tried the sweet potato buns, but we sure love burgers on an open faced Portabella! 

My husband and I have done pretty darn good! Weary of dishes and food boredom, but will still go on for a spell.

Our 30 day celebration will consist of going on the scale! Haha! I KNOW we lost weight...but how much? I think I lost 10. Hubby looks about 30. I hope so, because he said he will be very motivated to stick with it if he lost a decent amount.

Hubby plans to start eating 1 meal of whatever he feels like after day 30.

I plan a very slow roll reintroduction. 

Meanwhile... my face is itching like crazy!!!! I did some reading and it explained that when a person is on an elimination diet toxins stored in fat are released through the skin. It may take a while, but eventually the body will find balance again. If you are itchy, hang in there!! I'm gonna try. Its the evidence I need to keep going.

No tiger blood because I have had a debilitating cough/bronchitis for 10 days. Pretty much everyone in my office had it, so I cant blame whole30.

And while I am bored of the food, I am also not interested or craving anything so I shall plod on.

After Wednesday I may be adding some of those Whole30 compliant desserts and pancakes and chips. :-D Pass on some good "cheat" recipes now if you have them!!  

[jolong]

I haven't tried a sweet potato bun either, but I imagine I would enjoy that as I have sweet potatoes all the time. Last night I made some compliant chili and ate that over a sweet potato...delicious!

I haven't had any itching myself, but I pretty much was eating Whole 30ish since I finished my first Whole 30 back in February. I plan another very slow reintroduction, so I will just continue eating this way for the most part.

I also am getting very bored with my food choices. My husband is not doing this with me and last night for dinner I asked if he wanted chili or spaghetti. He didn't want to try the Whole 30 spaghetti because he likes my original recipe so much...which has sugar. And then he's not too keen on the beanless chili, so first he wanted me to wait until I was done with my Whole 30. But I just needed to eat something different!

I had the tiger blood pretty early on, but this last weekend I was just dragging. It was crummy weather and I had no inspiration for even doing housework. I went to my exercise classes Saturday morning, then went home and had a nice breakfast and watched movies for the rest of the afternoon.

Tomorrow night, which happens to be Day 30 (cheer) we will be going to a birthday celebration for a family friend to a local Mexican restaurant. Oh, how I love their margaritas! I am not going to blow all this work on a margarita though. I plan to just have chicken fajitas with a big plate of lettuce, rather than rice and beans. I will just look forward to my glass of red wine on Wednesday night!

[JillyBean3584]

Can't believe that it is day 29!  Had a hard time eating again this weekend.  Fine when it comes to breakfast and dinner but couldn't find the motivation to make myself something for lunch, ended up having a Larabar each time. 

 

I have a wedding dress fitting on Thursday and the last time I tried it on was Day 9 of whole30 so I am interested to see if there are any changes. 

 

I was dragging a little this weekend too but then my energy would come.

 

I am really dragging this morning but I had a really hard time falling asleep last night, think stress.

[JoniScott]

1 more day!! Wow! I should not be so excited since I am making few to nil changes from the Whole30 until the itching lets up (It is much better today) and my energy comes. But just the thought that I CAN eat a few things a little different now buoys my spirit!

My nails are longer, my teeth are whiter, and my clothes are looser. My stomach has been like... the way a stomach should feel for the first time in years!!! Hooray!  

Before Whole30 I was having chronic nausea and vomitting. Kinda scary stuff, actually. It zapped my energy as well. That is why my daughter said "Mom, you HAVE to do this!" I never thought I could give up sugar... but now its like... sugar? ICK! POISON! Haha! I love fruits and salads now, and before I had to force feed them to myself.

There is more that needs healed in my body, but I am thankful for the great support and recipes provided! It is a great community here! 

CONGRATULATIONS ON REACHING DAY 29!!!! 

I am curious how many of us made it???

[Jackaby]

Can't believe we're almost to the end! It's weird how I think about wanting non-compliant foods, but then talk myself out of it, not wanting to potentially mess up the progress that I've made. I remember how awful I felt (and acted) when I was eating and drinking, and I don't know that I can control myself if I were to start again. Since I've never done a Whole30 before, I'll have to take the re-intro portion slowly...

[Muffalish]

The home stretch! I'm definitely feeling the pull to call it good enough, as we were warned in the timeline might happen the last couple of days, but we can do this! The siren call of my scales is loud as well, as is a bag of chips, but I'm determined and will see the 30 days through. This honestly hasn't been my most successful Whole30 and I'm not sure why - and I'm talking nsv - just haven't found my tigert blodd - could be that I just accumulated about 30 hours of overtime int eh last 5 days and am quite reasonable pooped, I imagine I'd be feeling much mmuch worse had I not been in the midst of a whole30, As I mentioned before, I do intend to go for a whole 60 - but have decided to celebrate the first half with a g&t in my backyard I don't mind telling you - then onto the next 30 days. Anyone else here with me? I would really love the support and accountability to help me get through it Shall we just stick to this thread or should we start a new one so as not to annoy anyone? heehee

Thanks all!

[Muffalish]

Can't believe we're almost to the end! It's weird how I think about wanting non-compliant foods, but then talk myself out of it, not wanting to potentially mess up the progress that I've made. I remember how awful I felt (and acted) when I was eating and drinking, and I don't know that I can control myself if I were to start again. Since I've never done a Whole30 before, I'll have to take the re-intro portion slowly...

Jackaby I have done the whole30 a few times and have YET to finsih reintro properly - setting myself up for failure and spiraling right back to my bad habits and feeling like crap in pretty short order. I support you in taking reintro slowly and wish you all the best! I intend to do the same this time (after another round in my case). Go us! Congratulations!

[Chef Mike]

The home stretch! I'm definitely feeling the pull to call it good enough, as we were warned in the timeline might happen the last couple of days, but we can do this! The siren call of my scales is loud as well, as is a bag of chips, but I'm determined and will see the 30 days through. This honestly hasn't been my most successful Whole30 and I'm not sure why - and I'm talking nsv - just haven't found my tigert blodd - could be that I just accumulated about 30 hours of overtime int eh last 5 days and am quite reasonable pooped, I imagine I'd be feeling much mmuch worse had I not been in the midst of a whole30, As I mentioned before, I do intend to go for a whole 60 - but have decided to celebrate the first half with a g&t in my backyard I don't mind telling you - then onto the next 30 days. Anyone else here with me? I would really love the support and accountability to help me get through it Shall we just stick to this thread or should we start a new one so as not to annoy anyone? heehee

Thanks all!

I am doing a 60 also, so we can keep this thread going and anyone who wants to stay with it or pop in and out is welcome.

Glad to see that so many folks stayed with it and have seen the benefits that have brought me back so many times. Sorry to hear about the food boredom, but there is a whole world at your fingertips and resources abound. Keep reading, learning and experimenting, there's more to eating well than you can imagine. No bread included though. Sorry.

 

1 day to go in  this round. Good going everyone.

[Leigh Anne]

Good morning, Day 30!!!!! I'm stressed about weight loss. In the middle of this I was sure I was losing, but in the last few days I've felt bloated and like I haven't lost anything. Weight loss was my main goal, although having more energy was also a priority. Maybe I should stay off the scale a little longer.

Am planning reintro schedule. There are 2 birthday parties this weekend, and there will be tacos and ice cream. I plan to have either legumes or non-gluten grains Wed., then dairy on Sat. I will enjoy the parties in moderation. Because now I know I can! It may take me a week to recover from them, but I'm happy to go back to clean eating for a while before I try adding anything else.

I am curious about my joint pain. Both elbows and wrists were sore when I started this, But that pain has totally disappeared this month. That's big. Increased energy is huge. Real hunger at appropriate times, instead of sugar highs and lows, is also a huge benefit.

I'd love for this thread to continue. We may all take different paths, but I'm sure we'll keep on encouraging and learning from each other.

[JoniScott]

I am going to keep going for awhile. another 15 to 30 days, but in there I will be slowly reintroducing. If this thread keeps going I'll be around for sure!

[Mishi]

I'll be here as well! Faced the scale today...And while weight loss was a hope and not a goal (I really needed to tame my sugar beast), ten pounds have been egged, greened, and coconut-milked away!!

For now, I've decided to continue with the overall guidelines but give myself some leeway in social events.

What I love is that we can "come back" to this so easily. But my goal now is to not stray so far away that I wake up covered in cookie crumbs (dang sugar beast and his stealth attacks).

Thank you, thank you, thank you all for getting me through this 1st Whole30. I never succeeded in any diet/lifestyle change before past 3 days so THIS has been amazing and so worth it. I've learned a lot and look forward to reintro with you all!

[Leigh Anne]

Woohoo! Good for you, Mishi!

[jolong]

Yes, I also confronted the scale this morning, and although I didn't lose as much this round as I did my first round, I can tell you all I feel wonderful! Since doing my first round in January I have lost a total of 26 pounds, which I feel is quite significant and if I continue to eat Whole 30ish I feel I can keep it off. I've been noticing how much stronger I feel during my exercise classes too. When my boot camp teacher mentioned it to me last Saturday morning that gave me a little boost.

So I will also keep checking this thread as I make my way through my slow roll re-entry. I also will be making exceptions for social events, and I have plenty of those coming up. I love my red wine so limiting my consumption at these events will be key for me.

So congratulations to everyone! And good luck to those that are continuing on with a Whole 60! I will probably give that a shot next winter, but I just don't feel that I can continue on with that at this time. Our summers here in northern Wisconsin are just too short and not being able to partake in gatherings with friends and family would be a bummer!

[LO867]

While this is a public forum, I still want to thank each one of you for your candor here. I've followed most of your posts wanting to know what I'm facing in the next couple of days.

My day 30 is tomorrow and I hope to focus on reintroducing food. I am so tempted to go for another 30 days and continue to detox however I'm afraid I wouldn't have time for a good reintroduction. If I do that

[JillyBean3584]

Well!  Sounds like everyone confronted the scale today, ha!  My first round for Whole30 brought me more energy, no longer dread getting out of bed, more confidence, feeling good over all and it also made me 8 pounds lighter.  I feel really good!  I am so proud of myself too, it was a struggle at times but all for the good.  I thought early on that I would get some frozen yogurt when this was all said and done but today I don't "need" to or want to.  I feel too good to ruin it and I don't want to experience a sugar crash or feel like crap.  Crazy, I don't think I would have said that three-four weeks ago, maybe even a week ago!  I won't be doing a whole60 but I might re-introduce things here and there, nothing right now that I am really needs to be re-introduced, so I am just going to see.   I was going to try and post pictures but I can't figure it out.  I will definitely be checking in on this thread!

 

Thank you for all of your support everyone, don't think I would have gotten through it if I didn't hear other peoples struggles were the same as mine Good work everyone!  We should all be very proud of ourselves!

[Leigh Anne]

This has been a great experience. When I first heard about the Whole30, my response was, "No way could I ever do that." I've tried to cut down on sugar before, with very short-lived success. I never thought I could just quit it entirely--for 30 whole days! But I did it!

I've been reading on the reintroduction threads, and here's what I've learned:

A lot of people do a 2nd or 3rd W30 just because they didn't take enough time to do careful reintroductions.

When you learn that a certain food, or food group, makes you feel lousy, it's comparatively easy to give it up.

The general plan is to take 1 day to introduce a food group, and have some at every meal so you get a good "dose" of it. Then see how you feel, with a minimum of 2 days between new food groups. If it makes you feel lousy, don't introduce anything else until you feel better, because if you're feeling bad from one thing and add something else, you won't know whether it's one or both of them causing the trouble.

I decided to start with legumes, because I really miss peanut butter. I had some with a banana this morning. At lunch time I had some hummus and sweet potato chips. (Not Whole30 because they're chips, but the ingredients are compliant--sweet potato, coconut oil, and salt.) So far I feel fine. Back to 100% tomorrow and Friday, then I think I'll try dairy on Saturday. I am going to 2 birthday parties. Pretty sure there will be ice cream. I wonder if it will be worth it.

[Theheartoverflows]

Forgot to log in yesterday! I lost a whopping 4" around my waist. Only exercised 5 times. That's crazy to me! I'm starting round 2 tomorrow. Decided it was worth it to have a tiny cup of frozen yogurt (with toppings) with my kids as a school is out celebration. My twins ate more of it than I did (on purpose), so I had just enough to get a taste of it and satisfy. Holy cow. For hours after, I felt like I had 5 cups of coffee too many. Jittery, felt like my body was in hyper drive, eyes felt likes they were wide. Sugar is not my friend. Actually relieved to go back to Whole30 tomorrow. Aside from the frozen yogurt, I was compliant the rest of the day. When the second round ends on 7/8, I'll do a slow roll intro. For now the plan is small amounts of dairy, rice, honey in paleo baking, and maybe some granola--we'll see how I feel in July. I haven't really missed anything else, which surprised me.

[Chef Mike]

6 more pounds this round! That makes for 22 total this year so far. So much stronger in my runs and walks, so I'm going to add more weights and resistance in this second half. Glad to hear that people have seen the worth of this program, it's been working so well for me this past year. I'll be hear if anyone wants to post through their reintros. 

 

Be careful out there.

[JoniScott]

I thought I had lost more than I did, based on how clothes have been fitting. I only lost 7lbs... if that. But I am ok and I am continuing with Whole30 at least 15 more days with minor changes.. eating out a bit and making Paleo "fun" foods... but I also say "Thanks!" This was a great group to be a part of. I'll be back to see how you all are doing with reintro soon!

[JillyBean3584]

I had a little bit of peanut butter with my apple yesterday and really wasn't feeling it.  Haven't noticed any side affects but I didn't have legumes at every meal so I don't know if I really will from just the amount that I had.  Everything else that I had yesterday was compliant.  Will let you know if I attempt to try something, going to be a couple of days.

[Muffalish]

Alright so full disclosure - I went off the rails yesterday. I think I've mentioned before that I've always had trouble with reintro - so I thought well this time, I won't reintro, I'll just do a whole 60 and see if that helps to stem the binging rather than do a careful reintro. Welp. Since I gave myself permission to have a wee g&t to celebrate 30 days before heading for the next 30, I couldn't put the reins on it. I proceeded to enjoy a bubble tea (avocado mmmm) and 2, TWO!, bagels with cream cheese. I'm not proud. In fact I woke up swollen, bloaty and every joint aching. Wow hey?  I know now that I shouldn't have even considered veering. So plan B - starting again today - but still going to stick to this thread as I'm invested now and find all of your experiences and advice super helpful - hope you don't mind! Can I still call it a whole 60 with a major relapse in the middle? hahaha. 
I did weigh in though and am down 7 pounds - not that important to me but let's be honest, it's nice, but I was feeling good dammit and know that eliminating troublesome foods was really helping. NSV - no menstrual cramps, clear skin, stomache bloat waaaaay down, heartburn eliminated, nails stronger, energy consistent - almost beat the 3 o'clock brick wall that I used to hit every day. For the next 30 days, I'd like to tweak my habits and eat more veggies - try more recipes instead of falling into my meat and veggie in a skillet rut. 
Thanks all!

[Leigh Anne]

Well, if it's any comfort, stories like this are what's keeping me on the straight and narrow. Yesterday I introduced legumes and had a tiny, tiny piece of dark chocolate. (Way better than a g&t to me.) Then I went back to W30 compliance for the next 2 days. But boy, that chocolate has looked into my eyes and he's calling my name.