Day 29

[Preston]

I've been waiting for the magic.  Waiting to feel good.  Well, I'm still waiting.  I felt relatively good the first week.  Stopped up the second week.  The other direction ever since.  If I had to guess, I'd guess it's because I haven't been eating enough fiber (vegetables).  One big benefit I can feel, is I think I've lost considerable weight (I have not weighed!).  By week 3 everyone I saw was commenting that I must be losing weight again! 

I surely can't blame feeling badly on the Whole30.  I've felt less than good since last June when I took Cipro and it wrecked my digestive tract and many other parts of my body.  I've never been the same since.  Suddenly I was lactose intolerant and gluten intolerant at least.  I was hoping the Whole30 would help me. I think it will, but not in 30 days.  I think my system is too damaged to recover in such a short time.  I'll continue on and increase vegetable intake.  I'm looking forward to the reintroduction phase to carefully reintroduce different foods and actually determine their effect on my body.  

P.S.  If you are ever prescribed Cipro (Ciprofloxacin) or Levaquin (Levofloxacin) or any other fluoroquinolone beware!  Read the terrifying side effect list and believe they can happen to you.  They did happen to me and many thousands of other people.  

[Shani_SWP]

Congratulations on making it to day 29! One more day to go! A lot of Whole30'ers choose to extend their Whole30 beyond the 30 days to 45, sometimes, 90, 180, in their journey to heal their gut. Other things that may be helpful are compliant kombucha, kim chee, sauerkraut which are naturally fermented and contain probiotics.

If the poo issues are concerning, please visit your doctor. Do you have any examples of what/how much you have been eating? 

[Preston]

I eat 4 eggs every morning along with a banana usually a couple hours later.  For lunch I usually eat chicken, pork chop, or meatloaf along with some potatoes and broccoli, green beans, or asparagus.  Dinner is usually a similar meal with different protein and vegetable.  I also have been eating a couple mandarin oranges at some point during each day as well.   

[Shani_SWP]

Be sure to follow the Whole30 meal template: https://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-meal-planning.pdf 

I feel you could definitely add some vegetables to your breakfast. Fruit is recommended occasionally, so eat it with your meals, rather than as a snack. If you need a snack, go for a mini-meal with protein, vegetable & fat.

[msidea1967]

Great start, Preston!  In everything that she writes, Melissa always talks about how this is a learning process.

Just some thoughts.  Maybe some of the foods that you are eating are causing you to not feel well, like the eggs or the potatoes, which are part of the nightshade family.  Maybe your portion of vegetables is less than your protein.  Maybe you could benefit from higher fiber fruits and vegetables, like apples and broccoli.

I hope that you feel good about your progress so far.  I'm just starting out, so your story of sticking to it is encouraging. 

Thanks for your post!  

[Preston]

I'm glad it is encouraging to you!  I don't regret doing a Whole30 at all!  It has had major benefits for me that I plan to stick with long term.  It is a learning process for sure!  The first few days were so frustrating to me but I began learning so much.  I've lived my whole life up until this last month eating a terrible diet.  It takes effort and time to change a lifetime of bad habits.  

I think I'll cut back on potatoes and increase the higher fiber fruits and vegetables like you suggest.  That is a good idea. 

Good luck with your Whole30!