Any Whole30 survivors?!

[PinkCustard]

I'm currently reading the Whole30 book and gearing myself up to start it next week, despite feeling a little apprehensive about being able to stick to it. Are there any survivors out there? Did it 'change your life' like the book claims??

Really hoping for some positive reviews, but equally interested in hearing about failures too...

Hi Pink Custard

I didnt read the book but just followed the principle online. I didn't quite make it to 30 days there was a birthday to make cake for ... .

I also didn't do three meals without snacks, which is a shame as I think that is one of the crucial bits for changing bad habits. I am eating more healthily now though and have introduced new foods to my diet such as beetroot, fennel, lamb, offal, more fish (particularly mackerel) etc. I am trying to follow primal guidelines similar to those on marks daily apple at the moment but would like to do whole 30 again to see if I can follow it to the letter!

Good idea to plan ahead stock up (also hard boil some eggs cook some meat for cold cuts, freeze some soups) and if practical get the foods that are likely to throw you off course out of the house. It might be worth trying to introduce and cut out some of the foods/ habits now so you dont feel the withdrawl symptoms as much next week.

Hope it goes well!

Agree with giraffes....don't try to start from scratch on day 1, if you've not been low carbing already. Get rid of things gradually over a week or two and then start Whole30.

Thanks, yes I'm cutting out alcohol and caffeine already, but really need to work on my sugar consumption! My plan is to gradually improve my eating over this week and then launch myself into it next Sunday!! I am finding though that I'm developing a bad habit of eating all of fave things 'whilst I can' with the result that I'm feeling rubbish after a particularly unhealthy weekend

This looks good for inspiration nom nom whole 30

Ooh thanks, I'll have a proper look through later, but it looks good. I'm now wondering whether to start with LC/Paleo first, and work upto Whole30..?

Ooh thanks, I'll have a proper look through later, but it looks good. I'm now wondering whether to start with LC/Paleo first, and work upto Whole30..?

Actually, ignore that (even though I said it twice!),I'm going to commit to the Whole30 and give it a proper go! I'll report back next week once I've got started...

Yeah stick with whole 30 and work from there, that way you can still have sweet potato, squash, fruit and nuts as an element in your meals etc

Right, no more putting it off - I'm starting tomorrow!!! Better get meal planning and put a shopping list together...

Survived day 1 - just. Craving sugar like mad but have made it through a kids' birthday party still in 1 piece! Am expecting to feel like sh*t tomorrow...

Well done! I did one in July, my body really changed shape, it was ace. I found the first week tough but then I have M.E. Stick with it, it's only a short period of time and it really does change people's lives.

Having done one I'm not one of those people who is going to do one every now and again. It's too strict. I want to eat, for example, dairy and puddings (current favourite is blended frozen banana with dark chocolate occasionally) and today for lunch I had some amazing cauliflower bread. I enjoy my food, I'm not well and things are tough enough as they are without restricting myself hugely. So I'm now on the Paleo diet, I allow myself the occasional slip, but very happy that I did the Whole 30 to get myself on the right track.

Good luck, hope it helps you!

I must confess I'm really struggling!!! I'm totally miserable and am desperate for something nice to eat I'm even wondering whether to start a bit smaller e.g. just give up grains to start with, then progress from there..??!

I've been low carbing a few weeks. But I confess I can't be bothered with Whole30. I like a coffee with cream in in the morning, I have had the odd cheat at a birthday party, the odd saturday night glass of wine.

I've still lost weight, I still feel 100 times better than on a carb-filled diet, I still don't crave carbs the vast majority of the time. I am only prepared to eat carbs if they are amazing....so the local-ish homemade amazing gelato place tempts me, the bought birthday cake at a kids party this afternoon doesn't at all.

Maybe I'd feel even better on Whole30, I don't know. But the noticeable benefit of doing as much as I have will do me for now.

Whether you're doing it 'properly' or not I'd still recommend the recipes on www.nomnompaleo.com - some really good stuff there.

Thanks pootlebug, I don't actually want to lose weight but I do want to feel healthier. I'm in the process of having tests done for gluten issues, which is what started me on the idea of paleo, and then Whole30. I'm now wondering if I should start with gluten & see how I feel...think whole 30 is proving a bit drastic for me! Will try to survive tonight & make a decision tomorrow...

It is really hard pinkcustard :( But your a quarter of the way through thats amazing well done! Just do whatever makes sense but I would say if you can keep away from wheat and processed food that is the main thing. Guess it would be worse to struggle on then give up and just give up on all the principles.

I had been low carbing for a while first but still couldn't quite make it 30 days, i also misunderstood and had butter, I also had snacks of nuts and fruit....
So obviously I would be a hypocrite to urge you to keep at it if you dont want to. I can't help but think I would like to do one 100 % properly though.

There is an interesting page on Rob wolfe about seven shades of paleo; one of the shades (80/20) is that you eat whole 30 for 5 days then on the weekends have dairy, paleo treats, snacks, honey etc. That quite appeals to me. To be honest I am a bit WTF paleo at the mo but still feel less crappy than on total grain overload.

PinkCustard have you had the tests done yet - for the celiacs test you need to have been eating gluten for 6 weeks leading up to the test. Rawcoconutmacaroon knows lots about wheat intolerances - app you can get false negatives on these tests and lots of people would benefit from cutting grains.

Yes I've had the blood test, just waiting for the results. Am feeling the whole hog is a bit hardcore for me but definitely want to incorporate some elements, like no grains. I'm not totally convinced about no dairy actually, & can't envisage a life without wine really...

Dairy doesnt stop me gaining weight but I did feel a bit less bunged up without it. I didnt notice anything else from cutting it out - I was convinced it would make my facial redness decrease by cutting it out but not really.

You could think about just going primal [http://www.marksdailyapple.com/welcome-to-marks-daily-apple/#axzz2gDclxnyF] and post on the pale primal thread

I did a whole30 back in April of this year and felt AMAZING. I genuinely thought that quitting my regular bottle(s) of red wine would be really difficult but in fact, after the first 2 days I didn't even think about it.

What I found really helped me to get over any "cravings" was cutting out as much sugar as possible. So I spent the first week or so avoiding pretty much all fruit with the exception of a few berries. This really helped to slay the sugar dragon and meant that I didn't have any cravings at all. By the time I got to the third week, I started adding in a fresh green juice most days just so I was getting the benefit of fruit.

At the end of my 34 days (I was reluctant to come off whole30 because I felt so good!) I was down 15lbs, looked lean and felt brilliant. I then went to New York with DH and toddler and found wine, pizza, cheesecake and everything else I shouldn't have.

I'm currently 14 weeks pregnant and after a shocking 8 weeks of constant nausea that could only be assuaged by chocolate digestives, risottos and toast with marmite, going up 4lbs (I started this pregnancy 10lbs heavier than when I ended my whole30 due to stupid eating) and feeling horrendously bloated and generally unattractive (no bump, just podge!) I have gone back to paleo/whole30 last weekend. I'm not being particularly strict in terms of cutting out all sugar, am eating slightly more fruit, but I already feel much better.

Wow, well done. Unfortunately I caved at the weekend and indulged in pizza, wine and chocolate!! but I am now committed to going gluten free as a first measure, and will limit other things on a more gradual basis. Thanks for all your advice everyone x