Day 16 and 10% motivation

[V.G. Clairisch]

Okay. I hit what I felt was Tiger Blood a week ago. I was all jazzed, I was still having cravings but they were totally ignorable, my inflammation was done, energy up, I felt fantastic. All that good stuff is still true, but I am so freaking tired. I just want to eat normal food. I can make better food choices, but I want to be able to eat like usual. The only reason I'm still doing this is because I've made myself accountable to tons of people. When I think about doing this for another two weeks, it doesn't feel doable because I've already done it for 16 days, it feels like I'm punishing myself for being fat. Help!

[ShannonM816]

Most people do hit a point where they're kind of burned out in their 30 days. You've experienced some benefits, try to focus on those as you keep going.

If you're feeling punished, maybe you could try some different foods. Is there a recipe or two you want to try that looks really good? Or maybe something you might not normally have, like steak or a salmon fillet? For me, steak tends to be my go-to treat when I want a meal that feels a little more special, with baked or roasted sweet potato, a nice salad, and grilled or sauteed zucchini or yellow squash. Maybe that doesn't do anything for you, but if there's a meal that would feel fancy or special, try that. Maybe it's even as simple as using nice dishes, or having sparkling water in a fancy wine glass.

Non-food stuff can be good too -- treat yourself to a bubble bath, a new magazine, a new journal to write in, some little something just to reward yourself for staying with it this long. The whole "It's not hard" thing is a nice sentiment, but at times, whole30 can be hard. It can be a huge change from what you're used to, and it's definitely not convenient if you aren't used to cooking from scratch all the time. If there's a restaurant near you where you could get a compliant meal, sometimes it's worth it to go out for a meal just to get a break from cooking and washing dishes.

Basically, hang in there. It'll get better again, you're just going through a rough patch, and that's pretty normal. Don't let this derail all the hard work you've put into this already.