Day 17 success

[CaseyD]

This is not my first Whole30, so I knew what to expect going into it (tiger blood and clear head ftw). What I didn't expect was to spend most of it with acute illnesses! 
I went through a pretty bad cold/flu(?) right at the beginning of the Whole30 and survived on meat and veggie soups, broth, some coconut water, and a lot of rest (or as much as you get with two kids who are also sick). But, the illness I'm currently battle truly put my Whole30 to the test.
Thanksgiving was a breeze because I basically couldn't eat. I came down with horrible gut pain that landed me at the hospital. It took two visits to figure out I had a stomach infection and an infection of my lymph nodes in my abdomen. For four days I was very hungry but couldn't eat due to the pain (kind of like IBS can get). I found myself snacking on small amounts of soft foods - boiled chicken, baked sweet potato, and what is now my new favorite soup - mushroom, spinach, onion, and salty broth puree. (It actually is kind of amazing). The doc suggested gluten free bread (since I can't eat gluten anyway) or rice, and when I said I don't do grains, he happily suggested many Whole30 approved alternatives. Yes, you can eat soft meats in place of bread on a bland diet. 
I'm on the mend and was able to reintroduce meals of salmon, zucchini and sweet potato today. Not once did I deviate and here I am, Day 17, with tiger blood giving me the right attitude to get through this hard month of illnesses! I just wanted to share that you can do this even if you fall ill. It is tempting to abandon ship and just "treat yourself" as some form of self care, but real self care is feeding your body real foods. 

[RandiW]

Wow, CaseyD, that's intense! Props to you for sticking with it even in the midst of some extreme illness! Hope you're doing much better now.