Starting October 28

[CarolMarie]

Is anyone else starting this day? Would love to have as much support as possible. Thank you. 

[W30Redo]

I can start on the 28th. 

[Sullivan94547]

Also starting on the 28th.  Looking forward to the support and accountability. Just enough time to complete the W30 before T-day!  

[SheaRostan]

@Sullivan94547, @W30Redo, @CarolMarie  We are here to help and support you!  You can do this!

[KTH1010]

I am too! I was going to do one last month but didn't; I simply wasn't prepared. This will mean we end the day before thanksgiving, right?
 

[richelleanne]

I'll start tomorrow too with you all! I could use some accountability! 

[MadMax61]

Hello all - I'm starting on the 29th, so I'll be almost on the same timeline as those of you starting on the 28th.  This will be my first time - how about you all? 

[Sullivan94547]

Happy W30 Day 1 (to those of us starting 10/28).  Looking forward to honoring this commitment to myself again (this will be my second successful W30... already planning on success with no option for slips)!

[kirbz]

Happy Day 1 to all of you! I plan to start today as well. This will be my fourth Whole30. 

I love recipe sharing, so I'll be sharing a lot of my favorites and would love for you to share too! For breakfast, I'm starting with one of my favorites from Paleo Running Momma: https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/breakfast-egg-roll-bowl-paleo-whole30/. 

What are everyone's goals? Mine is long-term health. I love the outdoors and hope to be that awesome 80-year-old lady out on the trails someday! I don't think I can live without my mountains and I know I need to eat better now to ensure I can love them forever. 

[KTH1010]

Hi, Kirbz! this is my 4th whole30, too! for me it's all about mood and energy. Sleep would be a nice bonus, too. I'm a chronic insomniac - it takes me at least an hour to fall asleep every night without fail (been like that since I was a kid) and when I get woken in the night by the baby or one of my kids, I often am awake for a couple hours. It's just brutal! I have 4 young kids who need me at my best and I'm tired of being moody and irritable. I always feel SO MUCH BETTER when I'm doing the whole30.

 

Thanks for sharing recipes! I don't need too much variety day-to-day, just a few go-to favorites. 

 

I live in the PNW and love the gorgeous outdoors... my mom is almost 70 and has more energy and less aches and pains than most people I know who are my age. So I want to be like my mom when I grow up, too!

[millera8130]

I started yesterday too! This is my first Whole 30 :)

[Coffeelover99]

Hi All! Welcome to Day 2, or maybe 1. Yesterday I started my 4th round of Whole 30, with my first being in April 2017, then January 2018 and 2019. Over the past two and half years I've made big changes in my life, and I know the program has been a strong influence. I wish I could say I've been able to sustain better judgement in food and drink habits in the interim months, but I'm still a work in progress. Each round has provided physical, emotional and mental benefits, with the latter having the most influence. Each cycle has proved that I have the power to make changes and do what I thought was not possible. Notably, I learned during cycle 1 that I like dairy more than it likes me, and cutting it out allowed me to train for a marathon in 2017 which was not possible before. Most importantly, I learned  that doing what's right for my body, and not just what's easy, is worth it.  Again, although I'm still a work in progress, I've taken a much more active role in my life rather than passively watching it pass by. Goals for me this round are focusing on habits that will allow for more consistency after 30 days is up, reread Food Freedom Forever so I can feel good when I'm not on Whole30 and participate in this forum to help motivate others. Congratulations to everyone for being a part of this!

[kirbz]

ROUND 4, Day 1: Monday, October 28  

Meal 1: ~2 cups breakfast eggroll in a bowl with sausage

Meal 2: large grilled chicken breast served over cauliflower rice with a generous portion of Primal Kitchen Teriyaki sauce; ½ avocado

Exercise (1 hour, 10 minutes): vinyasa yoga (84 average HR; 118 max HR) 

Meal 3: blueberry RxBar  

Water Intake: ~60 oz 

Steps: 7,572

Symptoms/NSVs:

• none

Thoughts/Reflections: Here’s to another round!As with my last round, my focus will continue to be long-term sustainability. So, this will not be a perfect Whole30 and that’s okay.

I also want to drink more water this round and to be more consistent with my day-to-day activity. I did lots of big activities on my last round, but wasn’t so great with the day-to-day activity. So, I think I’ll also try for 10,000 steps a day and 100 oz of water, though those goals will have to start on Day 2 because I didn’t make either of them today!

[kirbz]

Oops, sorry, I meant to post that in my personal log! LOL, you can all ignore my detailed diary of Day 1!

Anywho, it looks like we have a great group, with some new folks and some veterans! I find these forums so valuable and I hope we can support each other through this journey! 

@KTH1010 I can't imagine how difficult insomnia is, especially with young children, so I wish you the very best! And how inspiring to have your mom as an example to look up to! My mom is the kindest, most gentle person I know, but she doesn't understand health and has never known how to take care of herself so she's kind of the opposite example for me. I don't want to end up like her (in terms of health). 

@Coffeelover99 I can definitely relate to the work in progress idea! I'm also starting my fourth round and wish my eating in between were better. But I'm here and I'm trying. One thing I definitely focused on for Round 3 and will continue focusing on for this round is sustainability. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I tried to make my first two rounds as perfect as possible. But now I just focus on eating in a way that I think is sustainable for the long term. That helped a lot and I'm hopeful for the future! 

[KTH1010]

Kirbz, it's actually nice to see your day 1 details  Yeah, my mom is one of those rare people who just eats very intuitively and slowly and never (like - ever) eats to stuff feelings, etc. She had a horrible childhood and got an ulcer when she was only 11 from the constant anxiety, so I think that probably made food not very comforting from an early age for her Fortunately she's found a great husband and partner in my dad, and has struck a great balance in her life now. She's outrageously active, energetic, and healthy - so it can be done!

How are you feeling today? I am very crabby and exhausted, but I think that's all the sleep deprivation more than anything. I think I should quit caffeine (been saying this to myself for the last 7+ years...) but it's one habit that I just can't seem to shake. really hoping to get there this time. I know it seems insane to quit caffeine when I wake with the baby and other kids so much, but with the added insomnia challenge it seems the only thing that might help!

[kirbz]

@KTH1010 I'm doing alright today. Through three rounds of Whole30, I've found that I'm not immediately sensitive to foods. I rarely have any sort of negative reaction, even when I go from 45 days of Whole30 to a McDonald's Big Mac and fries (yes, I've done that). I'm just not very sensitive. My reactions are generally cumulative over days or even weeks.

With that, I don't tend to have any symptoms when I start Whole30, my feelings and experiences don't match the timeline at all, and I don't experience some of the NSVs like Tiger Blood (though that last one may also be due to the fact that I sometimes under-eat on Whole30 because it's just such a pain to make all that food). 

So yeah, I'm doing alright! LOL. Just plugging along! 

Good luck with the caffeine! Fortunately, I never got addicted but I imagine it would be hard, especially with a baby and kids and waking up all night and insomnia! 

[KTH1010]

@kirbz, yeah I don't seem to have any actual food issues or sensitivities whatsoever, I just have very volatile blood sugar (have since I was a kid!) and eliminating grains and added sugars of all kinds really give me the steady stream of energy I need. even dates are fine for me, if I don't eat them alone. I notice the higher the fat I consume, the better I do. As is so often recommended - especially for breastfeeding moms! I do get the tiger blood for SURE when I manage to eat enough, so at least that part is encouraging. How much fat do you manage to eat with your meals? I will straight up swallow a tbsp or 2 of coconut oil when I can. like scoop it into my mouth and swallow with a gulp of water, like it's a vitamin...ha!

[kirbz]

I don't have food sensitivities but I definitely do feel a cumulative effect when I eat this way. My joints hurt less. I don't get a 3:00 p.m. sleepy slump. My fitness endurance improves. My heart rate goes down. They're all fairly subtle, but I definitely benefit from eating this way! Though I have always wondered if I would feel just as good eating healthy, but not Paleo... I tend to either eat Whole30 or a truly sad diet of Lucky Charms, Mac N Cheese, and ice cream. LOL. 

I also have some creative ways to get fat into my meals too! I'll do coconut flakes sometimes. Or olives. Or I'll just grab some random vegetables and dip them in ranch dressing so I get some oil in  the dressing. I don't think I could do straight up coconut oil but it might be worth considering. Mostly, I have a TON of ghee! I love me some ghee! 

[Sullivan94547]

W30 day 3 has dawned.  Feeling focused and motivated... a nice way to start the day.  

Yesterday was quite the day at work.  ~10 hours of meetings, and then 2-3 hours of work to complete the absolutely-must-do deliverables.  The point for me isn't about the amount of time at work, but about the effects of a stressful environment.  As the day went on, and my to-do list was growing, I knew for certain that my stress levels were rising.  What surprised me, however, was late in the afternoon I had thoughts of giving up, turning to carbs and old habits that I'm working so hard to change.  I'm grateful that I was aware at some level of what was going on and I poked my stress-induced sugar dragon with a stick and told it to go away.  NSV!!!

[kirbz]

@Sullivan94547 Congratulations on making it through a difficult work day! That's super intense and definitely an NSV that you could recognize what you were feeling and move past it! Woo woo! 

I'm doing a backpacking trip this weekend so it'll be interesting to see how things go. I've done backpacking on Whole before, but the food was so bland and terrible and it didn't really feel like it fueled me all that well. I'm going to try some different things this time around. I have a lot more options because it'll be cold. First, I think I'm going to take a fresh lettuce sandwich and hard boiled egg for lunch the first day. I'll have turkey and bacon and sprouts and spicy mayo and pickles. I might make some homemade plantain chips too. I'll probably have a normal freeze fried backpacking dinner, which will suck, but it'll be fine. For breakfast, I found egg crystals and potato flakes so I might make eggs and potatoes with fresh ghee and maybe an avocado (did I mention that I'm NOT a light backpacker). I really just want to try fresher foods for backpacking.

I'll be honest, my commitment is being tested here because I really just want to take cheese, salami, and crackers! Anyone have any other ideas for me?   

[Coffeelover99]

Good Morning everyone, we made it to day 6! How did the week go for you? For me, it was an odd week with travel, irregular work schedule, and of course halloween activities. I had to wing it in having easy to go non-perishables available - nuts and fruit, and be very careful with eating out but I did it! However, I'm really looking forward to being able to go to the grocery store this weekend, plan out and prep my meal plan for the week. Although not having a plan can be risky, it was a great opportunity to strengthen my ability to seek out alternatives when good options are not plentiful. With my schedule this week, I only exercised one day, but I'm not going to feel guilty and instead I'm going to appreciate that I had 5 solid days of treating my body well through what I did and didn't eat. I had a headache off and on this week, but otherwise felt good. Finally, I loved not having to think about halloween candy. There was no temptation because I'm not eating it right now. 

[kirbz]

How is everyone doing? We're officially done with our first week! Congratulations!

I did a backpacking trip this weekend (15 miles over two days) and it was beautiful. I can't believe it's November and the weather is still holding in the backcountry, but I'm super grateful! I'll be doing another backpacking trip next weekend! I was able to stay compliant and was actually fairly happy with what I ate. Yay for me! 

[Coffeelover99]

Kirbz, have fun backpacking and thanks for the on the go meal ideas. Hope everyone had a great week and feels strong on day 12. I've been keeping a meal journal and just posted to the forum. Enjoy the weekend!