Whole30 Round 2 in NoVa (Started April 13)

[mazzystarslight]

Hey! My name is Michelle and I started my second Whole30 with the "Worldwide Whole30 At Home" on April 13 -- it's day 6, and so far so good! I live in Northern Virginia, so I feel like I don't have it as tough as some communities where sustaining a Whole30 diet might be more difficult. My first Whole30 ended March 5 and I did two "Whole5"s since then, while trying to eat Whole30 periodically... I have to say, my "food freedom" was not ideal (I'm thinking of getting the book). I didn't gain that much weight overall but it fluctuated and I felt pretty terrible, which I think might be psychosomatic. I'm hoping to get to a point where I don't need to rely on anything/anyone, like Whole30, to think I need in order to feel okay, but this is working for me right now!

I haven't gone to the grocery story in a week and am used to shopping more frequently, especially on Whole30... this will be a challenge but I think will be doable. My biggest obstacle is my will power, and I've found myself looking at pictures of food I can't eat but am craving... I feel like I should stop this, but I usually don't cave in - it's just torturous.

Anyway, I am excited to embark on this journey again and would love to hear from others, especially who may be experiencing similar things or have any adivce. Thanks for reading 

[Kay47]

Hi!

I'm also doing my second round right now along side the "whole30 at home" community. I love the community support so far, like Melissa Urban's daily instagram live videos. It definitely helps keep me motivated. 

I'm also feeling challenged by grocery shopping less frequently. I think during my first whole30 round I went to the store almost every day! I'm using this as an opportunity now to plan out my meals for the week. I also try to keep compliant freezer food that I can use if I realize I forgot something at the store.

I would highly suggest reading Food Freedom Forever. It's such a good resource for reintroduction and transitioning to food freedom. It gives so many great tools and tips.

Best of luck and happy day 12!!

Kay

[mazzystarslight]

Thanks for your reply! It's always nice to get responses to these things  When was your first one? I was surprised that I think Melissa said this was her first one in the last five years... I've been curious how many times people do it, I know it's totally subjective but I was kinda thinking a few times a year for me. I have been watching her Instagram live videos late, I'm new back on social media and can't figure out how to actually watch them "live" lol.

I went to the grocery store a lot too my first time! I've been reliant on certain staples, like unsweetened apple sauce with walnuts, banana smoothies with unsweetened almond milk and coconut cream, Applegate bacon, Adel's chicken apple sausage, etc. I'm pretty sure they're all W30-friendly (the ingredients are) but sometimes I get confused with the technicalities, like are smoothies okay? Anyway, freezer items are a good idea - I need to get used to that. I probably will read Food Freedom forever before this ends, I end up reverting back to my cheese-fries loving/fast food cravings even if they're smaller portions/less frequent. Happy day 13 to you, too!

[Kay47]

It's so great to connect on here, especially with others doing the "Whole30 at home" right now. When I've been feeling unmotivated or need a distraction from a craving, I hop on the forum and read or reply to posts.

My first round was October last year. I had so many non-scale victories, I couldn't believe all the ways it changed my life. I'm looking forward to reaping more benefits this time around! There are a lot of technicalities that can be hard to navigate. This is what I found about smoothies: "This is a very popular question, with a very unpopular answer. Smoothies (generally made using lots of fruit) are technically compliant on your Whole30, but we strongly recommend against it. Food that you drink sends different satiety signals to your brain than food that you chew. So when you drink your meal, your brain isn’t getting the feedback it needs to tell your body that it’s had enough of what it needs. Plus, smoothies are generally really fruit-heavy, and starting your day off with a liquid sugar-bomb sets you up for cravings, hunger, and volatile energy levels throughout the day. In summary, we’d rather you just eat the food, and skip the smoothie."

I google the technicalities all the time and try to understand/abide by them. But, sometimes good enough is good enough. They say "there is no such thing as a perfect Whole30" for a reason! Hope you're feeling good on day 14 today

Kay

[mazzystarslight]

So great to connect! Your forum strategy is a lot better than mine, which has been looking at foods I can't eat right now online/Instagram -- I'm hoping to kick this soon, I don't cave in it's just tempting!

I read the info on smoothies from another post I made on the "Can I have..." thread; I may try to cut back, but I have only made a few a week with a banana, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, unsweetened coconut cream, and ice, so I feel like mine aren't as sugary as other smoothies with more/different kinds of fruit. Sometimes I forget these technical parts of the book and could utilize Google more, which I mostly use when I'm shopping to see what's recommended at the store I'm going to or if I can have certain ingredients (so many names to remember!). I also got the Food Freedom audio book (so not an audiobook person!) and may try it on my bike ride soon. Happy halfway