New to Whole30 - Start Date 10/1

[bunnyb0999]

Hi all,

My name is Sara,  I'm 27 and I live in Houston, TX. I am very excited to do Whole30. To give a little background, in the past 11 years, I have had some significant health problems. First, my gallbladder turned traitor and decided that gallstones were a really cool thing to create and try to share with me. We, naturally, were in disagreement on the matter and the gallbladder had to go. After that, I developed IBS and that has made life pretty difficult. It's not fun having to know where bathrooms are everywhere you go. Finally, I have had issues with hormonal imbalance and my OBGYN recommended when I went to college that I try the depo prevara shots. I wish I had the experience I have now because I would have never agreed if I had known. The shots activate the hormone that tells you that you're hungry and from that point on, I have had issues with my weight.

Long story short, I am very excited to do Whole30 because of what I have heard from my friends and colleges as to how much better they felt after starting and I hope to live healthier because of it.

A few challenges I know I will have is quitting soda. I get all the withdrawal symptoms: migraine, nasuea, dizziness, the works. How do you all cope with quitting and the withdrawal? Also, I go to a weekly knitting group and they generally go to locations that are not the healthiest. What are your tips for resisting temptation.

Thank you for reading and I hope you all have a bodacious weekend! I hope to get to know you all better :)

[ShannonM816]

3 hours ago, bunnyb0999 said:

A few challenges I know I will have is quitting soda. I get all the withdrawal symptoms: migraine, nasuea, dizziness, the works. How do you all cope with quitting and the withdrawal? Also, I go to a weekly knitting group and they generally go to locations that are not the healthiest. What are your tips for resisting temptation.

For the soda -- drink plenty of water. Aim for 1/2 oz per pound of body weight, so a 120-lb person needs at least 60 oz.  If you need some kind of medicine for any of the symptoms, it's okay to take something, though try not to take more than you really need. If you really need to, you could sub some other caffeine source like coffee or tea and wean off it over the next week or two -- you'll still probably get some symptoms, but they may not be as bad. Typically if you don't substitute something else, the withdrawal symptoms should only last a few days, so if you want to just go for it, you might consider going ahead and giving up caffeine starting now, so at least you'd be two days through the withdrawal part by the time Monday rolls around. 

For the temptation at your knitting group, try eating before you go so you're not hungry. If you know where you're going to be going beforehand, you can research and see if they'll have anything you can have. Many places will have at least a salad that you can order if you feel like you need to have some food in front of you. If the group is up for trying new places, you could even research and find some places that you could eat at and ask if they'd be willing to try them so maybe at least some weeks this month you can eat with them.  It wouldn't be a bad idea to have something with you in case you do get hungry -- a pack of olives, some cut up vegetables, compliant jerky or Epic bar.