Nervous

[J Cox]

I will be completing my Whole30 tomorrow and will begin reintroduction on Wednesday. I am concerned about falling back into my old ways yet at the same time it would be nice to have a few of the off plan foods. I am planning on following the sample reintroduction plan. Does anyone have any tips or share my concerns?

[ShannonM816]

You might want to find a copy of the book Food Freedom Forever, which is about figuring out life after Whole30. There are also tips here:  https://whole30.com/step-four-finished/

It would be very unusual for you to do one whole30 and then have everything figured out for the rest of your life. A few people manage that, but most people have some struggles with it. Just try to remember how good you feel at the end of your whole30, and when you feel less good than that, it's time to get yourself back on track. 

[Samvoirefaire]

I am nervous too! My brain has not completely re-wired away from expecting a rewarding / gratifying feeling from sugary treats., I am afraid, even after a very successful 24 days of no sugar.  Something about the long-term sustainability is lacking, without a total ban. I am not sure if the "how good I feel" on Whole30 will be closely enough connected to the effort and willpower I'm putting out.  I don't have a plan yet for my transition, and I cannot imagine detoxing again, and the plan says it's not sustainable, so I am going to have to do even more planning, willpower and effort than ever once the 'ban' is lifted. I need to really think in the next week about my health, what I want to accomplish and my deeper motivations for staying in control of my intake of 'the bad stuff.'  I know I will make it the next 6 days, but then what?

 

I was on autopilot driving through the drive-through for stress relief for so long, now I drive home dreaming of my delightful whole30 meals and my new outlook on my life. I do feel better, have better sleep, have real feelings of satiety after a meal and throughout the day -- I can currently take on the world. What is October going to bring? I am considering getting on the re-intro meal plan just to take out some of the guess-work.

 

I've never even tried anything like Atkins or Paleo before, I was vegan for 2 years, so this is a big switch. I used to be a semi-pro cyclist, and only had to worry about getting enough calories! Prior to having this book handed to me at a dinner party, I was suffering from skin rashes and break-outs, I had put on 10 lbs. since Jan., and my mood was grim. Now I feel better and more stable hormonally. If you are nervous, and I am nervous, there has to be a greater level of support for re-intro - ing people.  Can anyone refer us to some resources?

[NoneOtherThanAmy]

2 hours ago, Samvoirefaire said:

I am nervous too! My brain has not completely re-wired away from expecting a rewarding / gratifying feeling from sugary treats., I am afraid, even after a very successful 24 days of no sugar.  Something about the long-term sustainability is lacking, without a total ban. I am not sure if the "how good I feel" on Whole30 will be closely enough connected to the effort and willpower I'm putting out.  I don't have a plan yet for my transition, and I cannot imagine detoxing again, and the plan says it's not sustainable, so I am going to have to do even more planning, willpower and effort than ever once the 'ban' is lifted. I need to really think in the next week about my health, what I want to accomplish and my deeper motivations for staying in control of my intake of 'the bad stuff.'  I know I will make it the next 6 days, but then what?

 

I was on autopilot driving through the drive-through for stress relief for so long, now I drive home dreaming of my delightful whole30 meals and my new outlook on my life. I do feel better, have better sleep, have real feelings of satiety after a meal and throughout the day -- I can currently take on the world. What is October going to bring? I am considering getting on the re-intro meal plan just to take out some of the guess-work.

 

I've never even tried anything like Atkins or Paleo before, I was vegan for 2 years, so this is a big switch. I used to be a semi-pro cyclist, and only had to worry about getting enough calories! Prior to having this book handed to me at a dinner party, I was suffering from skin rashes and break-outs, I had put on 10 lbs. since Jan., and my mood was grim. Now I feel better and more stable hormonally. If you are nervous, and I am nervous, there has to be a greater level of support for re-intro - ing people.  Can anyone refer us to some resources?

As for resources...check out the book Food Freedom Forever as well as the "Post Whole30" links in Shannon's signature above. I found all of those things to be extremely helpful while I was figuring out my Food Freedom. 

One thing I found interesting is that I also didn't feel like I had conquered my sugar dragon after my first Whole30, but I thought it got better the more I tried on Food Freedom. I think there was something about the switch from the mindset of "you can't have sugar" to "you can have sugar, but do you *really* want it?" that helped me figure it out. I had lots of slips (like the time I ate 5 donuts in 24 hrs and let's not even talk about that package of totally-not-worth-it lemon squares), but they became less frequent as time went on. Each slip I learned something about my cravings and why I ate sugar. For instance, if I'm grocery shopping and my sugar dragon is telling me I CANNOT leave the store without buying something sugary (no specific craving, just sugar!), that actually means I'm hungry and as soon as I eat a Whole30 template meal the craving will go away.

You'll get there! It may take a little trial and error, but you've got this!