MMC Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 This topic is probably addressed elsewhere, but I have a question about fruit for dessert. I keep reading that this is a habit I need to break. Since I have been on Whole 30 I have been eating a cup of frozen grapes after dinner in front of the TV with a La Croix. Tell me why this is bad--fear of Sugar Dragon? need for something sweet following meals? is it bad to have this much sugar a couple of hours before bed? I have not been having sugar cravings the rest of the day and doesn't seem to trigger a pantry raid. But I admit that I used to do a lot of snacking after dinner. I see this as a compliant compromise that is sustainable (do I sound defensive or what?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SugarcubeOD Posted August 25, 2017 Moderators Share Posted August 25, 2017 13 minutes ago, MMC said: This topic is probably addressed elsewhere, but I have a question about fruit for dessert. I keep reading that this is a habit I need to break. Since I have been on Whole 30 I have been eating a cup of frozen grapes after dinner in front of the TV with a La Croix. Tell me why this is bad--fear of Sugar Dragon? need for something sweet following meals? is it bad to have this much sugar a couple of hours before bed? I have not been having sugar cravings the rest of the day and doesn't seem to trigger a pantry raid. But I admit that I used to do a lot of snacking after dinner. I see this as a compliant compromise that is sustainable (do I sound defensive or what?) Okay this is technically compliant and you're not breaking the rules, however we want you to change your habits with food and altho frozen grapes are just food, they still stand in for the hand to mouth snacking and 'dessert' idea that we want you to work on getting under control. You won't really know if this has been keeping your sugar dragon alive until you remove it and see what happens. I bet very much that you start having bigger cravings and that you get grumpy about it... I would really encourage you to leave this off for your Whole30 and really deal with getting the Sugar Dragon under control and being more mindful about what you eat. Plus, we want you eating 3 meals a day and ending before bed for optimal fat adaptation and digestion so really, there are lots of great reasons for not doing it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ShannonM816 Posted August 25, 2017 Moderators Share Posted August 25, 2017 Well, maybe a teeny bit defensive -- which is fine, but any time on Whole30 we say, you'd really be better off without (whatever), and you say, but it's a healthy alternative, or but it's not hurting anything, I'd really encourage you to think about that. If there's something that you on some level are saying you can't/really strongly don't want to give up for 30 days, that thing has some kind of hold on you. Do you want to control what you eat, or do you want what you eat to control you? Aside from that there's a couple of things going on here. One is breaking that habit of needing something sweet after meals. Right now it's grapes, but as long as you keep having something sweet after dinner, and you keep that habit alive, it's that much easier to go back to cookies or candy or whatever instead of grapes. If you just don't eat after dinner, you completely break that habit, making it less likely that at some point in the future, when you're somewhere and there's cookies or candy or whatever available, that you'll have those instead. You'll be out of the habit of having anything after dinner, and it'll be easier to just say, no, I don't need anything. The other thing I see here is mindless eating in front of the TV. You're watching your show, there's food there in your hand -- are you hungry the whole time you're eating those grapes? Would you be just as satisfied with a grape or two, rather than the whole cup? Are you enjoying the taste of each grape, or do you look down at some point and realize they're all gone, and think, huh, I thought I still had a few left? To me, fruit is never necessary on Whole30 -- it's always something extra, a thing you have because you enjoy it (and that's fine, I don't believe most people need to cut out fruit completely, though I know some people do so). But if you're sitting there and not even really realizing you're eating them, you're not really enjoying them, are you? (It's a little different, but see this article about the one bite rule for kind of how I'm looking at this here.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMC Posted August 25, 2017 Author Share Posted August 25, 2017 1 hour ago, SugarcubeOD said: Okay this is technically compliant and you're not breaking the rules, however we want you to change your habits with food and altho frozen grapes are just food, they still stand in for the hand to mouth snacking and 'dessert' idea that we want you to work on getting under control. You won't really know if this has been keeping your sugar dragon alive until you remove it and see what happens. I bet very much that you start having bigger cravings and that you get grumpy about it... I would really encourage you to leave this off for your Whole30 and really deal with getting the Sugar Dragon under control and being more mindful about what you eat. Plus, we want you eating 3 meals a day and ending before bed for optimal fat adaptation and digestion so really, there are lots of great reasons for not doing it... 1 hour ago, ShannonM816 said: Well, maybe a teeny bit defensive -- which is fine, but any time on Whole30 we say, you'd really be better off without (whatever), and you say, but it's a healthy alternative, or but it's not hurting anything, I'd really encourage you to think about that. If there's something that you on some level are saying you can't/really strongly don't want to give up for 30 days, that thing has some kind of hold on you. Do you want to control what you eat, or do you want what you eat to control you? Aside from that there's a couple of things going on here. One is breaking that habit of needing something sweet after meals. Right now it's grapes, but as long as you keep having something sweet after dinner, and you keep that habit alive, it's that much easier to go back to cookies or candy or whatever instead of grapes. If you just don't eat after dinner, you completely break that habit, making it less likely that at some point in the future, when you're somewhere and there's cookies or candy or whatever available, that you'll have those instead. You'll be out of the habit of having anything after dinner, and it'll be easier to just say, no, I don't need anything. The other thing I see here is mindless eating in front of the TV. You're watching your show, there's food there in your hand -- are you hungry the whole time you're eating those grapes? Would you be just as satisfied with a grape or two, rather than the whole cup? Are you enjoying the taste of each grape, or do you look down at some point and realize they're all gone, and think, huh, I thought I still had a few left? To me, fruit is never necessary on Whole30 -- it's always something extra, a thing you have because you enjoy it (and that's fine, I don't believe most people need to cut out fruit completely, though I know some people do so). But if you're sitting there and not even really realizing you're eating them, you're not really enjoying them, are you? (It's a little different, but see this article about the one bite rule for kind of how I'm looking at this here.) 1 hour ago, SugarcubeOD said: Okay this is technically compliant and you're not breaking the rules, however we want you to change your habits with food and altho frozen grapes are just food, they still stand in for the hand to mouth snacking and 'dessert' idea that we want you to work on getting under control. You won't really know if this has been keeping your sugar dragon alive until you remove it and see what happens. I bet very much that you start having bigger cravings and that you get grumpy about it... I would really encourage you to leave this off for your Whole30 and really deal with getting the Sugar Dragon under control and being more mindful about what you eat. Plus, we want you eating 3 meals a day and ending before bed for optimal fat adaptation and digestion so really, there are lots of great reasons for not doing it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMC Posted August 25, 2017 Author Share Posted August 25, 2017 Ok, thanks. I'm sure the root of the problem is my need for a food "treat" at the end of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SugarcubeOD Posted August 25, 2017 Moderators Share Posted August 25, 2017 4 minutes ago, MMC said: Ok, thanks. I'm sure the root of the problem is my need for a food "treat" at the end of the day. Ya, in that case, the only way to change that 'need' (really a want) is to stop doing the behavior... just subbing grapes for something less healthy doesn't teach you that you don't actually need a food treat. If you need a treat, which is totally okay, how about a bubble bath, read a book, make some tea, go for a walk, paint your nails. There are ways to treat ourselves that are better coping mechanisms than food Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcyW Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 @ShannonM816 and @SugarcubeOD these are really helpful answers. I appreciate and learned from them since I am trying to break my snacking behavior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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