April Whole 30 group

[kat2021]

Day 5 and doing very well so far. Sleeping really good this week - I've been drinking so much water and herbal tea I usually have to get up once during the night to go to the bathroom. Used to be I'd have a hard time falling back to sleep when this happened, but no problems this week! I'm going to my sister's house this weekend, but we've got a lot of food packed for the visit. I have celiac and can't usually eat anything there anyway, so she's used to me bringing my own food.

It's great to hear everyone else's stories!

[sethb01]

A little late, but jumping in with you guys starting day 1 tomorrow. Just finished my first whole30 a week ago. Since stopping I have started back into my former addictions to peanut butter, sugar, and little things here and there. I have felt absolutely awful, and have seen the enormous contrast between living life on the whole30 and hating life off of it. Time to get my life back.

[Hannah Woods]

Yep a little late too but startin my first whole 30 on Monday! Looking forward to it x

[jodea]

Already having anxiety dreams about accidentally eating something off plan!

[Jasmine Snyder]

Day 4 was crazy busy! I managed to drag a few of my co-workers out to the nearby river valley for a walk and a hike up some stairs (60-70 steps with a 30 metre break and a final 40 step slog). We all had a good time laughing and avoiding any work talk, though I was still sore from yoga the night before. After work I had to go meet my physiotherapist, and ended up sweaty and loaded with happy hormones by the end as she had me doing agility work on a trampoline to build up my crummy knee.

Needless to say, I was tired, starving and craving nothing so much as a chocolate milkshake by the time I ran my chores and headed home at 8. So glad I had prepared my dinner plate in advance and just had to heat it up. Steamy broccoli slaw, spicy vinegar dressing, a few slices of uncured ham and a load of home-made hot mustard.

Afterwards I gave in to my exhaustion and slept for 10 hours. Feeling 10X better today

[Jenny Meer Hodges]

I'm starting April 8th!! Excited! Nervous!

[jochi1543]

I tried this recipe for coconut porridge this morning to break up the monotony of eggs: http://thewholesomehome.com/?p=471 The ingredients are compliant, but I think it may be too much like trying to recreate oatmeal to be truly in the spirit of the Whole30. It was tasty and satisfying and I think it works as a once in a while thing.

I wouldn't mind trying that, I've been off grains save for a cheat meal (very seldom something with grains) for close to a year now, so it's not really something I see as a "temptation." Just something different to try. Thanks for the link!

[Jenna Marie]

I ate out for the first time today (day 5). Went to a barbecue place and I ordered 1/2 BBQ Chicken with the BBQ sauce on the side. I ate the chicken and didn't touch the sauce...didn't even want it! Thats about the best I could do. I just hope I was compliant. I believe I was, but I'm just not sure how the chicken was cooked.

[Dfroehlich]

So excited to say that I survived the week! I did have a lot of trouble with lethargy the last couple of days and slept like a rock last night.

I am very worried about getting through this weekend. My daughter does power tumbling so we will be spending the next day and a half in the gym at a meet at which I will be assisting with several activities so no regular eating times like during the week. I have stocked up on lots of approved snack foods though so hopefully I can resist the lure of the walking tacos at the concession stand!

PS. My kids loved the homemade sausage recipe I found back on page three...thanks so much for sharing!

[Marceline P Smith]

Hi all,

I've been eating Paleo since January 16, 2012 and maintained it strictly for about 6 months. I went off of it last summer with some gluten-free foods, and chocolate and binge eating (mostly Paleo, but still overeating). I had a good reset for about 9 weeks in September when I led a Paleo Challenge at my CrossFit gym, but then the holiday season came and I gave in to more of the same (legume-based GF foods, granola, and more chocolate). I've been long convinced that gluten and dairy don't agree with me, and now I'm nearly positive that I'm particularly sensitive to sugar. I've started this, my second Whole30 as of April 1st to slay the sugar dragon. I love Paleo food, I love feeling good, and I love the community I've found because of CrossFit and eating Paleo. Gluten was a tough vice to give up and I never thought I could, but I was able to see that it did/does me NO good, and that's been enough to keep me on the wagon. I want to reach the same peace with sugar, so I'm committed to 30 days clean eating.

I'm already noticing some great effects - I'm down 3lbs since April 1 and my waist is visibly shrinking. My midsection showed the most gain in the last couple of months, and my vanity wouldn't tolerate it. Buff biceps and a bloated belly?? No thanks. I know that tummy puff represents less than optimal health and translates to poor performance.

I'm noticing a new, not so nice thing though - my cycle started early (sorry gents) and I have more than a few pimples. I'm pretty sure this is a by-product of the detox I know I'm undergoing, so I'm trying not to let it bug me. Hormonally-speaking I know my body is making some major adjustments because I was heavy into the nut, chocolate, and fruit consumption right up until March 31st. I'll just ride out this wave because I believe it will get better. It will...right?

[eastofmain]

Day 5 of my first W30 and feeling pretty good. Today was the first day I have had cravings which took me by surprise. I have been having a mango popsicle (made only of mangoes) after dinner but I think I need to break that if I want to break my bad habits otherwise my popsicle will go back to being something worse! I'm having a difficult time keeping my calories up (I'm tracking b/c I'm still breast feeding).

[Jenna Marie]

Does anyone know if there is a Whole30 facebook group where we can all come together. Like this forum, but I find facebook is easier to manage.

[jochi1543]

Been getting kind of tired of vegetables lately - I'm generally not a huge vegetable fan. I have quite a few greens I bought on Monday, so I really need to start plowing through them before they go bad. With that thought, breakfast just didn't sound that appealing. Eggs and bacon sounded much more tempting than sauteed spinach....in the end, I pan-fried some lamb sausage, then used the same pan with the leftover fat in it to stir-fry some mushrooms and spinach. Wow! So savory! Ended up really enjoying my breakfast. And now I feel good for eating my veggies (yes, I'm 2).

[annabel]

Been getting kind of tired of vegetables lately - I'm generally not a huge vegetable fan. I have quite a few greens I bought on Monday, so I really need to start plowing through them before they go bad. With that thought, breakfast just didn't sound that appealing. Eggs and bacon sounded much more tempting than sauteed spinach....in the end, I pan-fried some lamb sausage, then used the same pan with the leftover fat in it to stir-fry some mushrooms and spinach. Wow! So savory! Ended up really enjoying my breakfast. And now I feel good for eating my veggies (yes, I'm 2).

I think I'm only allowed to have bacon or sausage if there are lots of veggies on the plate. That's definitely one of my favourite breakfasts, but with a few cherry tomatoes added in. And I don't even bother cooking the spinach if I have egg yolk.

Mostly done with Day 6 and feeling really good. I did have dreams last night about eating non-compliant food

[Michelle13]

Middle of day 3. Have been transitioning to a no snack day (used to grab a piece of fruit or a handful of almonds whenever I even felt hungry). Yesterday I did it. Today, almost broke down and had a mid-morning snack but did not succumb. Went from a bit hungry to ravenous at exactly 12:25pm as I was starting to prepare lunch (ground beef, carrots, broccoli, coconut milk, curry powder stir fry). Snapped at my husband who was trying to ask me something. Had to apologize after I ate. Other than that, I've been feeling fairly good. Going to a party tonight. I'm going to eat dinner before and bring some bubbly water. Really trying to stick with this when I'm not in my own house.

[suzaloo]

Has anyone experienced the crazy food dreams yet? I slept for 11 hours last night and had a huge number of crazy dreams where I ate a cupcake, ice cream cone and spaghetti with marinara sauce! In the dreams I would eat it without thinking and then And after each one I would feel guilty and think "oh no! I have to start over on my whole 30"

Needless to say, i was super relieved when I woke up!

[jochi1543]

No weird food dreams, but lots of weird dreams, period! I've been craving-free so far. I know what you mean, though, after I had my weightloss surgery I was on a very restrictive diet (clear fluids for 10 days, full fluids for 10 days, and pureed/soft foods for another 10), and I constantly kept having nightmares about binging and blowing my staples and sutures. I don't think the weird effect that anesthetics have on your brain helped, either.

[Carol Jonker Markusse]

Sorry for the multiple responses. I'm on my phone but wanted to respond to your thoughts about fruit. Eating something sweet (grapes) to satisfy a sweet craving won't help you kick a sugar habit. You want fat and protein. If you are eating grapes when you want something sweet, you are keeping yourself that dopamine cycle described in ISWF. Crave, surge of good feelings, eat, surge of more good feelings, brain wired for more sweet cravings.

The only way to beat sweet cravings is to starve them out completely. If you are really craving a lot of fruit I think, judging by what I've read on the forum and my own experiences trying to quit sugar, you might want to lay off the fruit for a few days or at least only eat it with a meal. It's not suggested to eat fruit on its own during a W30 really at all.

So when the cravings get bad, eat a piece of grass-fed meat with some veg--the same thing you'd eat for a meal but in smaller proportions. And chuck the Easter candy! I let my kids eat their small baskets and told my husband he had 12 hours to get his toffee out of he house.

Excellent. Thank you for the info.

[Tina44]

Hi all! I am a little late but saw your group and wondered if I could utilize you guys for support. I am on day 1 today, April6 th. this will be my third whole 30. I just know that I do much better with support and a place to ask advice/experience and questions. Before I go on and on... You guys can let me know if it's ok that I jump in:)

Thanks,

[hillwalker]

report from the hills of cumbria ..first what's worked: packing lunch for the long day traveling (by train, paris to london to kirkby stephen) AND picnic lunches hiking ... dehydrated beetroot, carrots, daikon, rutabaga, sweet potato, cucumber (this last simply salted), beef jerky .. bringing along cans of coconut milk (and an empty jar for the extra - our b&b hosts have then brought me little pitcher with tea!)(also a tiny jar to bring some in backpack for picnic teatime!) .. coconut 'chips' (and again, a tiny nalgene container to take some for picnic) .. olives .. parma ham .. small jars of basil or olive puree, and for mid afternoon I'd made one-for-each-day macadamia nut/coconut chip/mulberry packets (can't find lara bars in paris)

breakfasts (for me necessarily eggless) have been fine enough: bacon (which would be our canadian bacon), mushrooms, and tomatoes .. fresh fruit .. tea with coconut milk .. (though funny how I miss my greens!)

but dinners have been a challenge: while everyone's gone out of their way to help (our hosts getting menus from the pub, marked with what's gluten/egg/dairy free) and I've tried to choose simplest, most "transparent" dishes, something isn't settling well. probably my fault, since I haven't had the heart to say no seed oils (I guess I've met my limit for "special requests"!)

however, the biggest (and unexpected) challenge?! our hosts surprised me with a gluten/dairy/egg-free birthday cake! (ingredients carefully noted on card) .. what would you have done?! well .. I decided (operative word!) to accept it as a go-with-the-flow moment - and ate my small piece with our picnic later on, having hiked in the snow up to the Nine Standards, cairns marking the watershed divide in the Pennines .. a beautiful blue sky day! but .. oh the consequences of that one small piece (sigh) - swollen eyelids, swollen hands (can't even make a fist) .. you'd think one could be given a pass for not hurting someone else's feelings!

so it's another day 1 ...

anyway, it was a beautiful birthday and the hiking has been wonderful!

hi Tina! by all means come along with us!

[jodea]

Hillwalker, you're doing so well! Keep it up!

I'm going to vent, I'm afraid. Day 7 starts and no issues being compliant this week but I've been unwell since Wednesday and still don't feel like I'm recovering. It's some kind of head cold, but the main symptom is exhaustion. Despite taking Wednesday afternoon and the whole of Thursday off work, and working from home Friday, I'm still nowhere near back to normal. It's now taken over my weekend and I won't be going on my planned clothes shopping trip to Brighton today 😢.

I don't think being on the whole 30 has had any negative impact but does anyone have any tips for what more I can do other than rest, rest, rest? I'm so bored and fed up! I miss walks and exercise!

Sorry, moan over!

[annabel]

It's rubbish being sick.

I'd get outside, either just to sit in the back garden or take a short walk. A bit of fresh air and sun(?) might help to improve your mood or at least serve as a distraction from being poorly.

[jodea]

Thanks Annabel. I hate being all mopey! I overdid it yesterday and got excited by the sunshine and went on a half hour walk. Too much!

Today my boyfriend is taking me out in the car for a bit of fresh air and I'll see how I go, and I may well pop out in the garden later for a bit. Trying to get the balance between helping my mind and my body!

[Jenna Marie]

Has anyone tried Tahini? I just bought it. Wanted to try something new. I've never used it and have no clue where to start. Ideas??

[cayenne]

Hi all, I am new als well ans started today so I aHHi all, I am new here as well! I started today in the hopes of losing about 15 pounds and get joint pain way down so I can run again-just found out I have wicked arthritis in my hip and had to stop running. I was supposed to do a half marathon next weekend the a half ironman in June but that may not happen as I am having trouble walking. So today it starts. I have been on Weight Watchers a long time and will miss the Truvia/greek yogurt/cheese the most. Otherwise, I eat pretty healthy. Question for the athletes......what do you use to fuel long workouts ie 50-75 mile rides? I am taking banana/some almonds today. I thought about all the Larabars I have stocked up but I know that isn't good. I certainly don't want to bonk halfway through the ride! Everyone, have a good week!