Feeling Discouraged

[boyercs]

I am on day 11, starting 4/9/18. I am feeling very unsure about everything whole30. I don’t feel great, but I don’t feel bad. I have more energy, but my sleep has been worse. It seems like all we do is go to the grocery store because we are running out of food or ingredients despite my meticulous meal planning, doubling recipes, etc. I am wondering how this is a practicle lifestyle seeing as how much food we are eating. I am trying to stay positive, but just having a lot of doubts. I have seen progress since last week, I am able to go between meals without wanting a snack, after dinner cravings are manegable, and we have tried some delicious new recipes from the whole30 cookbook. I have been feeling so back and forth if this is all worth it. Surely I’m not the first person to feel this way? 

[ShannonM816]

If this is a big change from how you were preparing food before, it can take some time to get used to, but the meal planning will get easier.

What you might try is keeping some frozen stuff on hand -- frozen vegetables, burger patties, chicken -- so that as you get later in the week you can just fix those, rather than going back to the store. By a couple of weeks in you should have a better feel for how much you're eating too -- it can seem like a lot of food, especially a lot of vegetables, but you will actually eat all of it. 

There are lots of "how to stock your pantry" type of blog posts out there, look for paleo or Whole30 specific ones, but don't just rush out and blindly buy everything they say. Consider what they recommend and how you could use those items, and then get the things that will let you have non-perishable food on hand for times when something goes wrong and due to lack of planning or a random bad cooking day you find yourself searching for something quick and easy. Tuna, salmon, olives, some canned veggies, pickles, olive oil, a couple of kinds of vinegar for dressings, and a few favorite spices or spice blends will go a long way toward putting a meal together in a hurry, or allowing you to change up a recipe when you realize you forgot an ingredient or something went bad faster than expected.

There are a couple of helpful posts linked on this page:  https://meljoulwan.com/paleo-101/  -- look for Great Ingredients: No Recipe Required for some ideas for easy to put together meals, Stocking Up for a little more about guesstimating how much food you might need for a week, and The Method Behind My Madness for a helpful way to plan and cook for a week at a time.

 

[samalope]

There is definitely a learning curve! I know I meal planned really strictly the first Whole30 and I was in and out of the store throughout the week.

Eventually you will find there are some easy recipes that you just have stuff for - like Shannon said, frozen stuff is great.

One of my go-to items if I am in a hurry is 3 fried eggs + canned green beans and a frozen veggie.

Apple Gate All Beef Hotdogs + canned/frozen veggies are also a great go-to meal.

You should definitely at least complete the 30 days and evaluate from there. It is an interesting process to look back and reflect upon.