Starting February 20

[MargaretAM]

@JenniferPasoFino Thank you for sharing your story.  Your medical crisis sounds terrifying and I understand about PTSD and how it can wreak havoc in a life. 

I'm also appreciating and relating to all of the other stories here.  Thankfully, I am fairly medically sound at this point in my life. But it wasn't always that way. I had chronic fatigue about 15 years ago and it was the most difficult thing I have gone through. I have a lot of admiration for those of you who are here for medical/health reasons.

[MargaretAM]

DAY 12 and DAY 13

Catching up from yesterday. Felt like I had "turned a corner" in the morning. Felt good energy and a contented, hopeful mood.  I sort of lost it again in the afternoon - getting fatigued and feeling the "blah" that so many others are talking about.  Went to the grocery store and felt like all I saw were all the desserts (my personal trigger) everyone was buying. It actually got kind of humorous after a while.  

I am noticing that I am sleeping much more soundly. This is an incredible NSV for me as I have been a horrible lifelong insomniac. I have yet to bounce out of bed in the morning but good sleep counts for so much!

[brandyontherun]

So many great lunch ideas, thanks everyone.  Maybe I need to start making bigger dinners- leftovers for lunch would be awesome.  

I'm on day 14 today.

Prior to starting this, I was having major energy crashes by 2pm everyday... it was one of the key reasons I started whole30, I'm sick of being tired. Two weeks in and I'm noticing this afternoon energy slump is declining!!  Woohoo!  I remember going to the doc about this and being so frustrated when all my bloodwork came back normal and he told me "it's probably just life."  I'm still feeling pretty tired, but I'm hoping to see more NSV in this area, with the ultimate goal being stable, sustained energy throughout the day.

Last couple days my sugar cravings have been through the roof.  It came on suddenly and seems to get stronger daily.  Anyone else having sugar cravings at this point?

 

Also, is anyone thinking about extending their whole 30? If so, how long?  I'm enjoying this process and feel like 30 days isn't enough to learn all there potentially is to learn.  

 

[Kelley Flees]

@brandyontherun I agree 100% that 30 will not be enough. It's like the first 30 you are just learning. I think at least 60 days and then I will add some things back and see how they affect me. Then again, I enjoy this so much. I'm not sure I  want to add anything. Life before was such a struggle. I find it super easy now. Is is against the norm, sure. I say normal is overrated. I have to do what I feel is best for me.

[*Aurora*]

@brandyontherun and @Kelley Flees - I too plan to keep going! I'm not feeling ready to do the reintroduction phase quite yet and I feel like I still have a ways to go in reaching my goals.  I still struggle with hormonal acne (you'd think at 40 this would be over?!) but I think it's getting better.  Also, I feel my clothes fitting better, but I know I have more to go... 

Today, someone came over with a small tray of desserts for my family... and on it, my all time favourite- a Nanaimo bar.  I didn't have any of the treats and although I may have looked longingly at that Nanaimo bar for a second, I really didn't feel I needed it and am proud of myself for staying the course!  

My parents are coming for dinner tomorrow, here is the main dish I'm serving:

http://www.eatyourselfskinny.com/baked-chicken-fajita-roll-ups/

I've made them before and they're delicious!  Don't be afraid of the prep, it isn't as bad as you think.  

[TryingOver]

@brandyontherun @Kelley Flees and @*Aurora* I am also planning on going beyond 30 days, with one exception. I'm going to be reintroducing legumes and doing the vegetarian version of Whole30 next. I'm not sure if I'll reintroduce them right after 30 days or if I'll do 60 days and then reintroduce legumes. Obviously, if I have issues with legumes during reintroduction that plan will change. 

@*Aurora* Those look delicious! 

My cousin had a birthday gathering yesterday with pizza and ice cream cake. My husband and I had already eaten dinner (Chicken Makhani: http://www.peanutbutterrunner.com/slow-cooker-butter-chicken-paleo-whole30/) and brought compliant kombucha as a sweet treat to sip on while everyone had cake. I got asked 3 times if I wanted ice cream cake (and was I really sure I couldn't have just a small slice). I stuck to the plan and enjoyed my kombucha and time with family. That was a huge NSV for me. 

Next weekend a friend is hosting a Scentsy party and I need to bring a snack to share. Does anyone have any ideas of good, shareable snacks? 

 

[ShellyM]

@brandyontherun @Kelley Flees @*Aurora* @TryingOver you are inspirational!  I am thinking about what I need to do to get through the next few days and you are already planning 31-60!  It's great that you already know this is wring for you and it is something you can do.

I went to a potluck dinner this evening.  I knew there would be beef stew.  I brought 2 different salads to be sure I would have enough to eat.  I stayed with the plan, despite cheese and crackers, cheesy sausage snacks, chocolate whiskey cake and cookies.  I tried to stay away from the table with all the food except when I filled my plate with salads and delicious beef stew.  I conquered Day 14! 

[ShellyM]

Pork bellies! My husband has had a craving for bacon (after all, who doesn't crave bacon!) but I haven't been able to find compliant bacon. I know I can get it online but it wasn't that serious a craving.  Yesterday I went shopping at the Asian supermarket (Hmart). They have the best produce dept of any supermarket in the 'hood.  I saw a package of sliced pork bellies and realized this is bacon in its pre-processed form.  This morning we just fried them up just as you would bacon.  It's not as flavorful as bacon (duh no sugar or salt or smoke) but it was delicious in its own simplistic way.  A Sunday breakfast addition victory! 

[Kelley Flees]

@ShellyM compliant bacon is at Wholefoods if there's one near you. Trust me if you can go you will be amazed at how much options there are available. I know I was. 

[ShellyM]

43 minutes ago, Kelley Flees said:

@ShellyM compliant bacon is at Wholefoods if there's one near you. Trust me if you can go you will be amazed at how much options there are available. I know I was. 

Will send Dear Husband when his craving reaches shopping threshold! 

[KatKat]

@brandyontherun@Kelley Flees@*Aurora*  Yes!!!  I am so happy with this program.  I plan on doing another round in April.  Unfortunately I cant continue it past the initial 30 days since I'm going to Chicago for the first time and I must get some pizza!  I am in love with this plan.  I feel full, energized, and happy.  I've done the BB programs, but I was always starving since we are only allowed a small amount of fat per day; that's why I was so skeptical with this program.  I am glad I gave this a try!  I am also considering buying the Well Fed cookbooks, by the time my first round is done I would have cooked almost all the recipes in the W30 cookbook.

@TryingOver vegetarian version would be so interesting!

@ShellyM I found W30 bacon at Harris Teeter.  Haven't cooked it yet since 'Im not sure how a serving would look like.

Day 15! Woop woop.

[Allison1022]

Yay for Day 15!  The half-way point!  

Another NSV this weekend.  My husband and i were in a class for 7 hours on Saturday.  They had the big bowl of candy again and it was going to be over lunch.  For the morning session, I wasn't even slightly tempted by the candy.  Over lunch break, my husband let me know that he was giving up.  He'd had it.  So, he got fast food for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon munching on the candy.  He was really only doing it to support me, so I wasn't particularly surprised.  French Fries were a major weakness for the old me.  His only tempted me a little bit.  I ate my tuna pouch, olives, and cherry tomatos (because of course they didn't have a refrigerator or microwave available) and was content.  I was craving all sorts of things when we got home that afternoon, but I was able to eat some cashews and push the thougths away.  

I'm a little nervous now that I am doing this all alone, but I'm feeling motivated by all the NSVs.  And I also cheated just a bit by weighing myself on Friday.  I'm [edited by moderator].  It's got me thinking about what to do as we approach Day 30.  I'm probably going to at least do the long reintroduction.    

[MargaretAM]

DAY 15

Whoa, we made it to Day 15!  I, for one, feel that a huge NSV is the commitment and follow-through this has taken.  Yea us!

@Allison1022: you SO have this without your hubby doing it.  You are not alone - we are all here with you!

@KatKat and others: I am also thinking about life past this 30 days.  I have a weekend away with my husband the weekend after we end.  We will be celebrating his birthday.  I am likely to have a glass of wine or two but otherwise keep myself in compliance.  Same thing with a business trip I take the following weekend.  Post that, I may return for another W30 or may look at reintroduction and decide from there.  I'm trying not to make too many decisions right now.  A lot can change in 15 days!

Speaking of which, a NSV is how well I am sleeping.  8-10 hours straight through a night.  I haven't slept like that since childhood.  On the other hand, I am definitely not bounding out of bed in the morning and I am hitting a slump in the afternoon still.  Really focusing on eating enough including fats, protein and some starchy veg's and hoping it will just take some more time.

I am also wanting to step on the scale. Truth be told, I am not overweight right now and the the scale probably wouldn't move much.  But it would still be demotivating for me if it didn't move, or if it went up. So it is not worth it to me to break this rule. 

Random thoughts this morning. Wishing you all a great Monday and Day 15.  Let's rock this together for the next 15 days!!!

[JenniferPasoFino]

I am seriously considering another 30-60 if there is a group willing to keep going.   I will however have a couple celebratory glasses of wine on evening 31!! 

[xfrapgirl]

@Allison1022 - sorry to hear about your husband dropping out.  That is a bummer.  But you can definitely do this!  I mean, just look ... you conquered your cravings on Saturday while being surrounded by a fast food eating and candy guzzling husband (sitting next to you, I'm assuming!).  Well done!!  That right there should prove to you that YOU'VE GOT THIS!!

@MargaretAM - Ha!  That's the same for me with regard to the scale (well, actually ... I DO have weight to lose but still...).  I don't want to step on the scale and see no progress.  It would be demotivating.  Because seriously, there are all other types of NSV for this thing ... but if I'm being honest, weight loss is a biggie for me!

Day 15.  How awesome are we?!  I am feeling a bit more energy, a bit lighter (come onnnnnn, weightloss!!! :)), and still determined to stick with this.  Wish the good night's sleep would kick in for me .... I haven't found that yet.  But, still two weeks to go so let's see what else improves!

Happy Monday, everyone!

Linda

[DotinTO]

I don't know, man. Maybe I was expecting too much, but at this point I don't feel any better than before I started, really. Well, some IBS symptoms have definitely improved (others have replaced them, however), but in terms of everything else -- all the NSVs that you guys are starting to post about -- I've got nothing. If anything, my acne has gotten worse, my clothes feel tighter, and I certainly don't feel like I have more energy. 

I plan to keep going past 30 days, as I'm hoping my body is just taking longer to adjust and heal than the average person's. I will be adding back in a few things slowly, however (there will be a glass of wine with my name on it on day 31!), but I don't want to add any of what I suspect are the main big baddies for me (dairy, legumes, soy, wheat/gluten) back into my diet until I feel like I've reached a state that is a good, healthy starting point, so I'll actually be able to tell when something doesn't work for me. 

I'm glad so many of you are feeling great on this program. I'm feeling rather discouraged that I'm not seeing the benefits I had hoped to by this half-way point. On the bright side, I don't really miss sugar. I'm still getting cravings, but they pass and I think after all is said and done I'll be able to manage them better and not give in to every temptation that's put in front of me.  

[TryingOver]

@DotinTO I know how discouraging it can be, but if you have existing IBS you may take longer to see the benefits. I'm dealing with some GI issues myself (waiting on a colonscopy for a final diagnosis) and while I feel a bit better on Whole30, I'm still in constant pain, having the same symptoms, fatigued, etc. It is part of why I'm planning on extending beyond 30 days. I know my body is not healthy right now, and I know that it is going to take a lot more than 30 days of eating better and taking care of myself to get healthy. And, although the timeline helps, you may still be adjusting to the dietary changes and having bloating, etc. which could explain the tighter clothes. 

I wish you luck and hope that you can keep pushing though!

[Jeanster47]

Hi everyone!

It's been so long since I've posted--things have been so busy, especially with all the cooking I've been doing! Also, has anyone else been exhausted? It's hard to tell whether my energy levels have been low because of whole30 or other things going on!

I started doing whole30 to work on my hunger cues as well. I've noticed I've done a lot more mindful eating in these last 15 days. I get hungry for meal time and so I don't want to scarf everything down. I really take the time to enjoy the taste and smell of my food.

I also wanted to stop eating late at night. I was getting into the bad habit of mindlessly snacking after dinner was over. This has still been a struggle for me! I'll have dinner at 6, but I'm hungry by 10 so I'll make a mini-meal. I'm wondering if this is too late to eat if I'm going to bed at 11 or 12. An example of this mini-meal was on Saturday night I had a sweet potato, a hard boiled egg and some jicama. Should I just be having two things (protein + fat or fat + vegetable)?

Also, I've never felt fatter. I'm wondering when the bloating goes down, or am I eating too much?????

Happy halfway point everyone!!

[YvonneB]

@JenniferPasoFino I definitely want to keep going!! We should keep this group for everyone who wants to do days 31-60.

I'm glad everyone seems to be in a better place with the program now. I was worrying for a while because all I keep thinking about is food and having anxiety that the right foods won't be available, and I was stressing because the whole point of doing this was to try to not stress about food. But I thought about it and figured that when you're changing your lifelong behaviours it's going to take a while before you stop having to really think about what foods you're eating and for it to become a new habit. Well done everyone for staying on track! 

[YvonneB]

@DotinTO sorry you're having a hard time but remember we're only half way! Still 2 more weeks to go so plenty of time for things to improve. Also @TryingOver is right, if you've had problems for a long time or like the book says if you've had a diet saturated in non-compliant foods then results can take longer. 

Keep going!!! And I hope you see some positive changes soon

[MButcher]

Ok, confession to make: this weekend I had a couple of meals that probably weren't 100% compliant. However, I'm considering those meals some major NSVs. Why? Because I often fall into an all-or-nothing mentality. But this weekend I didn't. I stuck to the plan as closely as possible without bringing my own food (which would have been very rude in the circumstances), even though the fish was probably baked in non-compliant oil and the beef stew probably had some flour in the broth. But they were both delicious, nourishing choices that allowed me to focus on the people, not the food. I also passed up my grandma's biscuits, pumpkin bread, and cinnamon rolls, which, if your grandma's cooking is half as good as mine, you know is a difficult thing to do. But I knew I was making healthy choices, was satisfied, and enjoyed myself. Honestly, I enjoyed myself more than if I would have given in to every craving and felt bloated and guilty afterwards. So instead of beating myself up about going a bit off-plan, I want to celebrate making good choices in less-than-optimal circumstances. More such circumstances will definitely come up before my Whole30's over, and I want to do the best I can without just avoiding social situations altogether (which I'm often tempted to do) and remember how good it feels not to give up.

I went on a bike ride on Saturday with my dad and brother, enjoying the beautiful weather we're having here! We rode nearly 20 miles, and I am not a biker. So I was quite sore that night and into the next day! I also had a great workout today - I used the same or more weight than I have before on every exercise, which felt fantastic.

To those of you who are planning on continuing afterwards - I think I'll stick around, not to continue past 30 days, but to do my reintros. I'm planning on doing them properly this time, something I didn't do last time, and plan to finish them up by Easter. Then I'll probably aim for an 80/20-ish plan going forward.

One problem I'm still having: I've been having a bit of an afternoon slump lately. I think I'll try eating my starchy veggies at lunch tomorrow instead of breakfast and making that meal a bit bigger and see if that helps. Although probably the main thing I need is sleep, so I guess I'll bid you all goodnight and congrats on making it halfway there!

[jmcbn]

55 minutes ago, MButcher said:

I'm planning on doing them properly this time, something I didn't do last time

Unfortunately, having eatenn some off plan foods your gut re-set has been re-set and you may not get 'true' results. At the very least you should wait 30 days since eaten gluten before trialling gluten as it's known to be a huge gut irritant.

Re the afternoon slump I'd suggest saving any starches until meal 3 when the body will be more receptible to it - there is lenty of anecdotal evidence that this will also help with sleep.

[jmcbn]

23 hours ago, Allison1022 said:

And I also cheated just a bit by weighing myself on Friday

Not weighing is as much a rule as not drinking alcohol, or not eating dairy.

I have edited your post to remove any mention of weight as this can encourage others to weigh too and their results may or may not be similar to yours.

Remember that weight-loss is not the goal here, nor is it linear ladies, and what you weigh today is highly unlikely to be what you will weigh tomorrow, or the day after or a week from now as MANY things can effect the number on that scale (sodium, stress, sleep, muscle loss/gain, hydration, hormones etc). That number will not tell you how much good you are doing for your body eating this way, how much your family & friends love you, how helpful & kind you are, how good you are at your job etc - and whether that number is up or down it changes NONE of those things...

[jmcbn]

18 hours ago, DotinTO said:

I don't know, man. Maybe I was expecting too much, but at this point I don't feel any better than before I started, really. Well, some IBS symptoms have definitely improved (others have replaced them, however), but in terms of everything else -- all the NSVs that you guys are starting to post about -- I've got nothing. If anything, my acne has gotten worse, my clothes feel tighter, and I certainly don't feel like I have more energy. 

If you'd like us to take a look at your meals to see if anything jumps out that might be causing acne, bloat, or lack of energy please feel free to post a few days worth of your food log here or in the troubleshooting forum and we can take a look - sometimes all it takes to feel better is a little change to the composition of your meals, or it could be that you are sensitive to something you're eating more of than usual...

[jmcbn]

10 hours ago, Jeanster47 said:

I also wanted to stop eating late at night. I was getting into the bad habit of mindlessly snacking after dinner was over. This has still been a struggle for me! I'll have dinner at 6, but I'm hungry by 10 so I'll make a mini-meal. I'm wondering if this is too late to eat if I'm going to bed at 11 or 12. An example of this mini-meal was on Saturday night I had a sweet potato, a hard boiled egg and some jicama. Should I just be having two things (protein + fat or fat + vegetable)?

Also, I've never felt fatter. I'm wondering when the bloating goes down, or am I eating too much?????

What does your schedule look like? And what are you eating throughout the day? It could be that you need that mini meal, or it could be that with some tweaks to your meals you could reduce that evening hunger and make it through without it...