HELP!!

[Newbie 59]

I am having a hard time keeping this up. I am good for a few days and then I go back to my bad food choices - m,ainly cheese and chips!!  What can I do? 

[ShannonM816]

What I would suggest is to take a few days or a week and do some planning and reflection. There are lots of planning tips here: https://whole30.com/prepare/ -- pay attention especially to the part about coming up with if/then statements. It can also be helpful to write down why you are doing whole30.  This could include very specific things, like a particular pain you have, some acne or eczema or psoriasis you hope may clear up, or it could be things like having more energy, improved workouts, or even a sense of accomplishment for making a commitment to yourself and following through on it. Keep this list somewhere that you can refer to it when you're tired or frustrated or thinking about stopping so you can remember why you're doing this.

In addition, think about why you have stopped in the past and what could have prevented that. When you stopped whole30, was there a reason?

Were you hungry? Review the meal planning template and be sure you were eating enough.

Were you bored with your food? Find some recipes to try, or even take extra time before you really get started again to try some recipes with a goal of finding some you know you like so you're not just trying new recipes the whole time and hoping you like them.

Were you overwhelmed by all the cooking? Find some easy meals to fall back on -- scrambled eggs with spinach or zucchini or peppers and onions with a side of avocado; a can of tuna mixed with mayo or avocado or olive oil, dumped on a big pile of salad vegetables; or a burger patty or two (I keep frozen ones one hand all the time) with a bag of frozen steamable vegetables cooked and mixed with whatever salad dressing or sauce you have on hand. 

Figure out why you stopped before, and plan how to deal with that.