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Anyone else doing the Whole30 that has an eating disorder?


Susie Que

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Hi all

I'm 31, 5'10", 155lb. I've had bulimia since I was 12, have tried every type of diet and therapy under the sun and still battle it on an almost daily basis. I started the Whole30 on October 8th and so far it has curbed any urges to binge and purge - wheat sugar and dairy are definite triggers for this and the clear cut rules on just not being allowed these things as opposed to the usual diets where they allow 'cheat' meals or days have made it a lot easier so far.

Would love support and interaction from others with similar issues

The first week of Whole30 I was using fruit to curb the sugar cravings, but then read the email regarding this "feeding the sugar dragon". I was also eating nuts as a snack, and having a smoothie in the morning as opposed to a proper breakfast.

My goals this week are to eat protein, veges and fat at breakfast, even if I'm not really hungry to stop me snacking throughout the morning.

To stop eating snacks, especially fruit and nuts, and try and eat 3 balanced full meals a day.

And also, to find a more inexpensive way to do this and eat well without spending a fortune on groceries as I am at the moment

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Hi Susie Que, first, let me say how impressed I am that you are here, speaking of your story and asking for support. I do not have an eating disorder, but just wanted to tell you that.

Sounds like you are on a good track for you as far as forget about the smoothies (chew your food :) ), recognizing that fruit is simply a substitute for sugar for many people, and those darn nuts..sigh..need I say more? I can't keep them in the house.

As far as how much it costs, were you perhaps also spending a lot on junk foods that you aren't taking into account? Also, I don't know where you live, but I watch for sales and load up proteins that I can freeze when they go on sale. I have my favorite stores email me their weekly flyers. I plan my week by those flyers.

Good luck and I hope someone chimes in that can relate to what you are going through more than I can so you can feel that close support. Even if they don't, what you are speaking of is common to most of us as far as the challenges.

Good luck in your journey..stick with it, you are worth it!

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Thank you so much for your support slw600

I am spending less on eating out, but I've never spent money on junk food unless I was having a binge - have always been really obsessed with nutrition and healthy eating. But will try buying more when there are sales on meat and produce, its just hard with my little freezer in my little apartment! I know it can take a bit of adjusting so I expect my food costs to go down once I get into the rhythm of things and figure out the best places/times to shop etc

To add to my original post

What I want to get out of this -

Sleep well and wake up refreshed

Be leaner, fitter, stronger, and more energized

Clear, glowing skin

Excema on my face gone

I have thrown my scales out - this is a huge thing considering I have weighed myself every day for the past 20 years. I have found this amazing , my mood is not being determined by the number on the scale each morning. I'm still not enjoying the reflection in the mirror at the moment though, I've been carrying 10 extra pounds the last 3 months that don't seem to be going anywhere.

Issues -

I'm not sleeping well at the moment and I'm waking up tired

I have always been into fitness but have been struggling to find the energy lately to do my usual daily yoga classes. I was hoping the Whole30 would help but so far it isn't. Am I doing it wrong, or am I expecting results too soon?

I also suffer from obsessive scratching - its kinda gross but I scratch at my skin a lot and cause little scars. Goes with the obsessiveness of the bulimia I guess. I have always been a very tightly wound high strung nervous easily stressed person. I hope this will go away, having read accounts of people with trichotillomania that has disappeared with the Whole30.

Also - I've been eating a LOT of coconut cream/milk since I started the Whole30. Maybe 1/2 a can a day. Is this ok or should I be scaling it back?

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Definitely don't scale back on the coconut milk unless you are extremely going crazy with fats. Don't think too hard about what hasn't been a benefit, but what has been a benefit. I think the fact that already, it has done away with urges to binge and purge is so very awesome.

Don't think about the 10 lbs you would like to lose. Easier said than done, but give this plan a chance to work and try not to manipulate or think too hard about it.

I don't know if you are doing the plan wrong or not. It sounds like you are doing well, but you may want to post your food logs so a moderator can chime in about that for sure.

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I've found not having scales around has definitely helped take my focus on my weight. And for me doing this Whole30 is not about losing weight - even though I can't help but hope that is a side effect. My objectives are for better health, stop the cravings and not rely on food to deal with emotional issues.

A food log is a great idea

Yesterday I had

Morning - moccachino (coffee & raw cacao with coconut cream & hot water) and a spinach smoothie (spinach, celery, parsley, lemon, pear, apple and kiwi with flax & chia seed)

Lunch - salad of mixed greens, olives, tomatoes, red onion, half avocado with sliced steak & balsamic vinegar

Snacks - 1 banana, berries with coconut cream

Dinner - 2 small Chorizo sausages (contained no sugar or nitrates) & 2 cups of creamy broccoli soup I made myself (onions garlic carrots courgettes broccoli sea salt cayenne herbs & coconut cream).

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I've found not having scales around has definitely helped take my focus on my weight. And for me doing this Whole30 is not about losing weight - even though I can't help but hope that is a side effect. My objectives are more to have better health, stopping the cravings and not relying on food to deal with emotional issues.

A food log is a great idea

Yesterday I had

2 x coffee and raw cacao powder with coconut cream and hot water

Spinach smoothie (spinach, celery, parsley, lemon, pear, apple and kiwi with flax and chia seed)

Lunch - large salad of mixed greens, olives, tomatoes, red onion, half an avocado with sliced steak and raspberry balsamic for dressing

The rest of the day was tough because I was running errands all over town - 2 small Chorizo sausages (contained no sugar or nitrates), 1 banana, berries with coconut cream, and 2 cups of creamy broccoli soup (I made myself with onions garlic carrots courgettes broccoli sea salt cayenne herbs and coconut cream).

I don't want to discourage you, but you need to eat your meals. I see zero protein in your first meal. Have you read the book It Starts With Food or the materials on this site? If that is a typical visual of your meals since the day you began, you really haven't started yet.

Your soup sounds really awesome!!!

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I appreciate any feedback that will help me slw600 so thank you :-) I'll going to start tomorrow off with some eggs

I can't get ISWF at my local bookshops, will order a copy online now. Have read quite a lot of material from the site but obviously I've missed some vital parts

The soup was really awesome, I had some more today!

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Yes, 2-3 eggs for you tomorrow morning is what you should shoot for. :)

You can get ISWF from Amazon with free shipping if you have prime or even have it on your Kindle if you have one.

I am making your soup tomorrow in your honor. You've got this or will get it really soon. :)

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I'm in New Zealand so not sure if I can order off Amazon but will give it a shot!

Do you think its ok to still have my spinach smoothie after my early yoga class, then have breakfast at about 10am? I find that sort of food too full on after yoga, gives me a stomach ache

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Not really. Before a workout, it's best to have fat and protein (Hard Boiled egg works great for me) and then after, a sweet potato or full meal if that works better.

If you read the material, you will see that chewing food is just better for many reasons. Let me see if I can find a Pod Cast that was posted on this site. It's really awesome and covers a lot of things you have spoken about.

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Food diary for yesterday

Breakfast - 2 eggs scrambled with fresh herbs, 1T coconut milk & 2tsp coconut oil. Diced red onion & red capsicum. 2 slices bacon. Half a small avocado

Lunch - roast chicken and large green salad with tomatoes, red onion, olives, olive oil & balsamic vinegar

Dinner - Broccoli soup, roast chicken, large green salad with avocado & toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds

Snack - spinach smoothie, banana, berries and coconut cream

Some feedback on this would be really appreciated

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I think your food log from yesterday looks really good (minus the smoothie :mellow: ). I'm a smoothie girl too and I know how hard it is to give that up but the W30 program really encourages "eating" your food rather than "drinking" it. Although your smoothie is packed full of healthy ingredients I'd say omit it from your day for the duration of the program.

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You are getting good advice; I just caught up from the beginning and wanted to say AWESOME JOB!!! on getting rid of that scale! WAY TO GO!

This is a process; give yourself time and care. You are doing great and your body will thank you for it. :wub:

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Thanks for the feedback guys, its really appreciated :-) Last night I was hungry just before bedtime which is why I had the banana - it was all I could face eating and I can't sleep if I'm hungry. I guess I should have eaten more at dinner time instead?

Re the green smoothies - is this something I should give up just for the Whole30 period? I understand not drinking your food - have given up other smoothies, fresh vege juice and protein shakes. But green drinks are such a great way to get more green vegetables into your body quickly and easily, and blending ruptures the cells in the greens, making the valuable nutrients easy for the body to assimilate. I noticed such a huge difference in my health and skin from drinking these, how on earth can they be a bad thing?

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Thanks for the feedback guys, its really appreciated :-) Last night I was hungry just before bedtime which is why I had the banana - it was all I could face eating and I can't sleep if I'm hungry. I guess I should have eaten more at dinner time instead?

Re the green smoothies - is this something I should give up just for the Whole30 period? I understand not drinking your food - have given up other smoothies, fresh vege juice and protein shakes. But green drinks are such a great way to get more green vegetables into your body quickly and easily, and blending ruptures the cells in the greens, making the valuable nutrients easy for the body to assimilate. I noticed such a huge difference in my health and skin from drinking these, how on earth can they be a bad thing?

I am going to let a moderator chime in on this, but I will just say that it doesn't matter how green your smoothie is. Just set it aside for 30 days and eat meat, veggies and fat with each meal. Just do it for 30 days and see what happens. :)

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Re the green smoothies - is this something I should give up just for the Whole30 period? I understand not drinking your food - have given up other smoothies, fresh vege juice and protein shakes. But green drinks are such a great way to get more green vegetables into your body quickly and easily, and blending ruptures the cells in the greens, making the valuable nutrients easy for the body to assimilate. I noticed such a huge difference in my health and skin from drinking these, how on earth can they be a bad thing?

Your body digests smoothies faster than whole foods, so you get hungry faster after eating a smoothie than you do eating the same food whole. Consequently, eating a smoothie sets you up to either overeat OR to endure hunger needlessly until your next meal. Neither is a good choice. Personally, I think every meal should include green veggies, so I'm with you on how valuable they are. But eating fast (drinking a smoothie) has negative consequences.

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Thanks Tom. I struggle to do what I'm told to without being given valid reasons why it is beneficial, so I really appreciate your input! I have stopped drinking the smoothies, and am aiming to eat three large meals with a balance of protein veges fats each day. So far so good :-)

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Hoping someone can help me. I'm not coping very well, energy levels are very low, am struggling to be able to get through my usual yoga classes and I get quite dizzy and sometimes faint when I stand up. This is not a new thing, I have been like this for about 3 months but so far doing the Whole 30 is not helping at all.

Am also really missing my spinach smoothies. I am eating a big plate of veges each morning with my eggs, but it doesnt make me feel nearly as good.

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Hey Susie, what (how much) are you eating? You may be under eating, or too light on the carbs. Post a typical day?

Are you dehydrated? You may need to salt your food so you can hold onto the fluid that you're drinking

And an additional word on the smoothies: veggies are good, TONS of veggies is NOT tons better. All veggies have a lot of good things in them, we know this, but a lot of raw veggies have bad stuff in them too. Usually it's not a big deal, because it's REALLY hard to eat the required amounts of whole spinach or broccoli or cabbage to accumulate enough of these antinutrients to cause problems, BUT guess what? Blending them makes it a LOT easier.

A naturopath doc I know posted recently about how a number of his clients were having sluggish thyroid symptoms that he traced back to their multiple kale smoothies a day. Spinach's got oxalates that can mess with kidney function in large doses. Etc

It's like hyperdosing vitamins. Some is good, more is not better! Hyper dosing of vitamin C is good until you get to supra-physiological levels and then it can start having negative effects.

Another reason to keep your veggie intake to a level of "what you can EAT, not what you can drink"

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Hi Renee

Here is a typical day - this was yesterday

Breakfast - 3 eggs scrambled with sea salt & parsley, sauteed kale, half avocado,cherry tomatoes, 1 slice of bacon

Lunch - large green salad with roasted sweet potato, chicken and dressing of olive oil and apple cider vinegar

Dinner - Grilled lamb chops, asparagus, green salad, fresh strawberries, toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds

Snacks - a few almonds, apple, kombucha, green tea. 2-3 L of water

Have cut out coffee this week to try and help with my sleeping issues. Am sleeping really lightly, waking up at the slightest noise or motion, and having such vivid dreams I wake up exhausted like I just ran a marathon in my sleep.

I use sea salt on my food

I haven't had a green smoothie for almost a week

Do I need more carbs in all main meals?

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