Immediately felt better

[MaryLou]

Within 24 hours of commencing this diet, I felt so much better my husband and children were commenting on it. The previous day, I went to my physician and she had me fill out a questionairre. She is an MD, but she believes in a holistic approach to health care. I went into the office hoping for an antidepressant but left with the Whole30 Program. My physician stated that I appeared to have too much yeast in my system (based on questionairre). Ok, whatever. I said, fine and dandy, but I am a total wench to my family and this is not how I want my children to remember me. ( At 50, I am in the perimenopausal stage and I have SAD). She told me that she believes that the gut and brain have many of the same chemicals (this is why antidepressants all have some type of GI disturbance). I trust her and besides, I decided that if I didn't feel better in 1 week, I would come back and INSIST on an antidepressant. She warned me that I would feel tired up front and to expect to feel like I had the flu about 2 weeks in - but that would go away after 2-3 days.

I kid you not, I feel great. I've been sleeping very well (except when I forget to pull back on the coffee), my bloated feeling is WAY down, and I am not near as mean. On reflection, I note that any time I have been on a diet limiting carbs (particularly grains), such as Adkins, a Liquid diet, and this one, I feel so much better. I will discuss this with my Doctor at my next appt. next month. My only issue with this diet is trying to get in enough calories, no fast food place is geared for this, I don't know how to cook and this is forcing me to learn, and I miss the sugar rush of snacks. These are such small issues compared to how AWESOME I feel.

[AmyS]

HOOOOOORAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!!

[Emily]

A) It sounds like you have a fantastic doc! I'm impressed! Any change you are in Colorado?

Interesting connection between GI chemicals and brain chemicals... I never made that connection before.

C) AWESOME! Keep it up! Really glad to hear that you are feeling better!

[kb0426]

I LOVE the fact that your doctor recommended this!

As for calories, if you follow the food template, you will get enough.

If you are looking for easy recipes, start here:

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/

Additionally, if you get It Starts with Food, there are many great meal options in there as well.

[Renee]

Like kb0426, I highly recomment the blog The Clothes Make The Girl. She also has a recipe book and all (except one dessert) are Whole30-approved. You can get an electronic version for $15 if I remember correctly.

Also, if you're not used to cooking, start with easy things! Ground meat is perfect for leaning your way in making your meals! Try these combos:

• Ground beef + sweet potato + bell peppers
  
• Ground beef + tomato paste + tomatoes + carrots + celeri
  
• Ground turkey + cranberries (if using dried, they must be sweetened with juice, not sugar) and a salad on the side
  
• Ground pork + apples and salad on the side
  

And stir-frys are also great! I love: chicken breast + scambled egg + brocoli + carrots + coconut aminos (kind of like soy sauce, but much more natural!) for an asian-inspired meal!

I also recommend you to start making your own mayo as soon as you can. This is a super helpful video (http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2012/08/19/mayo-how-to-video/) and you'll find the link for the recipe, but she'll explain everything in the video anyway. Once you have your mayo, you can make dressings! Here's ranch, caesar, and here's a bunch of vinaigrettes and dressings (the last one is out, but the rest are ok, just make sure your mustard contains no sugar of wine)

Last but not least, check out http://beta.primal-palate.com/ and http://nomnompaleo.com/recipeindex. Most of their recipes are Whole30-approved!