How much do you off-road?

[Nicole M]

I finished my first W30 earlier this week, and am starting re-introduction. I have discovered, as I had previously suspected, that I do not have any issues with dairy. I have started eating cheese and greek yogurt again.

I ate Oatmeal this morning with coconut milk, a touch of maple syrup, raisins and blueberries, and so far everything seems a-ok.

I have also cheated with several Hershey's kisses, and a couple Oreos over the last couple days, which leads me to my question.... how often do you guys "off-road"? I feel like I am probably pushing the limits, but I have been able to eat a little cheat each day and not go overboard with it. I feel like maybe I am just testing myself, but am stuck with the question of "how much is too much?".

Thoughts?

[Tom Denham]

The answer to how much is too much is individual. And recognizing when things have gone too far can take a while. It would help if you got a stomach ache whenever you ate something off-plan or ate too much of it, but many times what happens is that you discover after a few weeks that you are not sleeping as well as you did before, that your energy level is a little more sluggish, etc.

My personal eating plan is to eat only healthy foods most of the time, but to enjoy off-plan foods when they are especially appealing or when they are much more convenient, like when I am traveling. How that works in practice is that I don't worry about what is in sauces when I eat at restaurants 2 or 3 times per week and I will eat pie if a friend tells me it is great. And I had the special at a Greek restaurant recently that included grains and dairy. Overall, I figure I eat Whole30-compliant about 90 to 95 percent of the time.

[missmary]

I don't really off-road much at all. Basically the difference between Whole30 and not, for me, is having a glass of wine or a cocktail when I'm out with friends (although that appeals less and less as I realize how it makes me feel!), not worring about a small amount of sugar in a food (like good quality bacon), accepting the occasional gluten-free treat--again sugar (rare), and not logging my food here

If I didn't have a strong reaction to soy, gluten, and dairy, I might be more casual about it, but honestly, I find I need to follow these guidelines if I want to feel my best.

[kshacklett]

I'm trying to embrace the whole9 advice from ISWF of not eating things because they are simply there. Last weekend I indulged in a lemon bar that a friend made - from a new, awesome recipe that involved pureeing the entire lemon. This was not something I was going to come across any old time - nor something I had the desire to make. Plus, I love lemon bars. For me, oreos and hershey kisses would have been mindless food, likely that I picked up for free in the break room, since it doesn't really occur to me to buy them. I'm actually thinking of typing up the passage from the book and putting it on my wall at work so I remember it.

[msmirnio]

Off-roading is my real 2013 resolution. After my first Whole30 in November I went totally ballistic and lost control; my main goal for my recent Whole30 (ended last month) was creating a plan to live a Whole9 life without suffering or over-indulging. Here's why I'm trying to do:

1) Alcohol - drink at social events, special occasions and if dinner is a real sit-down-at-the-table-use-napkins-no-tv dinner. Go 1:1 with water ( <---gets difficult as your resolve weakens)

2) Treats - like kshacklett said above, don't even consider grabbing anything shiny and convenient in your breakroom/office pantry/ bowl of fake candy on someone's desk, those things are there because people think it's better to pawn them off instead of throw them in the trash, so essentially they'd prefer YOUR BODY to be that trashcan (though they're probably not doing that maliciously/on purpose). I use this question to help: "If I saw this treat during a Whole30 would I purposely come back to it after I was done?" Non-homemade or gourmet foods usually don't pass. Unless you're IN LOVE with some gross processed thing and you would rather eat a mouthful of bees than go your life without it again (for me that's oatmeal cream pies), then treat that thing as a gourmet dish and dig in carefully and thoughtfully.

I've been eating 1-2 oz dark chocolate (over 70%) a few nights a week (ok every night this week). Also, preparing "paleo treats" is super rewarding; just plan to portion is out/hide it/give it away so you don't have 2 dozen almond-flour chocolate chip cookies staring at your face for the next week.

3) Non-compliant foods - Go for it, but as a small part of or side to your main, healthy meal. This morning I ate SYPO pancakes with nuts sans maple syrup/toppings, with a side of green beans, mixed bell peppers and a little oz of chicken. At restaurants try a new sauce or get dessert to accompany your compliant order. The best part about not being on the Whole30, IMHO, is that you get to not freak out about ingredients at restaurants. Which to me is like a daily treat

How much is too much can be measured by how you feel and look. If your sleep is getting wack, if your skin is breaking out (consistently), if your energy is low or if you can't find those rose-colored-Whole30 sunglasses at least occasionally, you've gone too far.

[Marci0393]

I am glad you asked this. I was wondering about the same thing. I have one week left on my first W30 and I have been pondering re-introduction.

I have felt great on the W30, but I never really felt that bad off of it. I don't think I have many (if any) food sensitivities. I have never had problems with digestion or cognition (the “fogâ€) that I am aware of. My health issues are being overweight (by 20-30lbs), possible insulin resistance and borderline high cholesterol.

The main benefits for me have been killing my cravings and cutting out my food with no breaks. This makes it hard for me because I almost wish I would have a painful physical reaction when I eat something that is not the best for my health. I am afraid that when I start re-introduction, I am going to have to try and recognize my problem areas without blatant “DON'T EAT THAT!†signals from my body. Eating foods with no breaks and foods that invoke the sugar dragon make me feel good, not bad. I am worried I won't always recognize what is bad for me right away. Right now I am just planning on staying away from sugar, processed foods and refined carbs and having other non-compliant foods in moderation.

[Lynn Kilpatrick]

I feel like the Whole30 was easy compared to coming off of it. I feel like it would be easier (in theory) to stay on it, but that's not realistic for me. I am a very social person, and I like to hang out with friends and have a glass of wine. I also love chocolate. So those are my big challenges.

What advice do you have?

My plan is basically to try to do remain gluten, dairy & sugar free as much as I can. And to maybe have a drink or two once or twice a week.

The problem is that two glasses of wine turns into four and then the next day I eat crazy because the alcohol has messed up my blood sugar (I am hypoglycemic). I know the easy thing would be to say no drinking, but again, that doesn't feel realistic to me. Partly because my husband still drinks, though mostly beer, which isn't tempting to me.

I don't know if it is realistic, but one idea I had was to not buy wine and have it in the house. If I want a glass, have one when I go out with a friend or with my husband, but don't buy bottles and have them at home. Or to only have cocktails at home, because for some reason I find it easier to only have one of those.

Any other suggestions for off-roading without going totally insane?

[JJB]

I'm just dipping my toes in the off-roading pool and already the familiar overeating/guilt cycle are re-emerging. It's small stuff (i.e. 2 squares of dark chocolate when I planned on only having one), but I'm afraid of where it's headed. I felt much more comfortable with the black and white W30 rules. I'm using up some old supplements that have soy in them (seriously...is there a fish oil option with high levels of DHA/EPA w/out soy that doesn't cost a fortune??), but otherwise I'm thinking I need to try to stay away from off-roading for the time being. I don't think my mind is in the right place yet.

[Jennifer1991]

JJB- What you said about being comfortable with the black and white rules really resonated with me! I can totally relate to that. I have found being off the W30 a lot harder than actually being on it. I'm battling with these guilty feelings when I do have an latte once or twice a week, or some chocolate. My mind immediately jumps to the "Oh, you failed. May as well fail some more." and then I reach for more chocolate! I have been off the W30 for nearly 2 weeks now and it has definitely been a rollercoaster. Some days have been better than others! My meals are mostly compliant apart from the occasional sauce that has been made with sunflower oil, or I have a real craving for vegetable chips that are also made with sunflower oil. Trying to really focus now and brush off those guilty feelings. A square or two of chocolate is fine, but the guilt that comes after it and then that leading to over indulging is not.

[Callan]

Jennifer, are we the same person? Going through veeery similar things!

[caitlin]

So happy for this thread! I'm a little over a week into reintroduction and I'm feeling ilke garbage. We ordered Indian takeout for the snowstorm on Friday, and that combined with way too much wine led into a very noncompliant hangover on Saturday. I'm trying to dig myself out of the rubble, but it's hard not to feel like a failure!

I'm back to strict compliance today, and will try my best to stick to it this week (heading to Atlantic City for a quick getaway, could be trouble). Things were easier when I could just say no!

I want out of the cycle of overeating/guilt, but I don't know that the answer is to dive right back into another whole 30. I'm trying to look at it one day at a time, but it's definitely not easy.

[Flynn]

I try to off road a little bit every day, otherwise I get too caught up in my own food issues, black and white thinking, unrealistic expectations and feelings of failure which eventually result in some kind of guilt/overeating/binge episode like I used to do back when I was fat. I refuse to do to that to myself anymore

[Colleen Roy]

I have found that it's just easier (for me) to stay whole30 compliant as much as possible. I know that I feel better when I eat this way and I know that I feel like crap when I don't. So, I just keep asking myself "do I want to feel like crap for a few days?" And yes, if I go off-road too much by over-indulging in alcohol or ice cream, I do feel like crap for a few days-not just one.

We are going to start another whole30 on March 2nd. Like I said-I have tried to stay compliant as much as possible, but the further I get from the first complete whole30 we did in July, the harder that gets and the end results are just not worth it-for me anyway! We've attempted whole30's since July to get back on track, but have failed and only managed a whole10 or 15-or most pathetically, a whole5 at one point. So sad! Looking forward to getting back on track again.

[Tom Denham]

I met someone I introduced to the Whole30 at my favorite Korean restaurant recently. She was much more careful than me and, after questioning the waiter, avoided several things I ate. The reason was that I can eat almost anything off plan without suffering an immediate consequence and don't suffer at all if I don't eat a lot of off-plan foods. She, however, knows immediately when she consumes soy. She reported that she no longer has to use asthma medicine since going Whole30 and that nothing is worth going back to how it was for her before. 

[sstrayer]

I finished my first W30 two weeks ago.  Have felt so great.  I'm at my goal weight (5'3" and 111 pounds) and no health issues.  So far, my "going forward" post W30 plan is going to be eating W30 (but relaxing the "no sugar added rule") MOST of the time (95%), avoiding dairy, grains, legumes, but allowing myself a glass of wine and/or a piece of high quality, delicious dark chocolate several times a week.  So far, the dark chocolate hasn't made me crave more sugar and so this plan seems to be working so far.  And I just LOVE a glass of wine and dark chooclate and so it's totally worth it to me.  And then on special occasions, I will probably allow myself a delicious treat like for dessert at a nice restaurant, every now and then or when on vacation.  So far, that's my plan and we'll see how it works!  I also plan to do another STRICT W30 once a year (next June) or sooner if my eating habits worsen over time.   

[ladyshanny]

I will eat conventional cake or a cupcake about once or twice a year.  Ice cream maybe 4-5 times over the whole summer. Alcohol about once a week, if that.  The longer I go eating Whole30 compliant meals three times a day (I think I'm at 2 or 3 years now), the less garbage ever seems to be worth it.  And the longer I go without that garbage, the bigger the "off-roads" seem.  What I mean is that at the beginning I would consider two or three off-roads per week as an acceptable limit and now if I off-road two or three instances in a month I feel I've overdone it.  

 

I do have significant and negative reactions to most off plan foods anyway so soy, dairy and gluten are rarely worth it which means my off-roading options are fairly limited to begin with.

[sstrayer]

Ladyshanny--- that's a great point!  Perhaps the longer I do this, the less and less I'll feel like off-roading with the wine/dark chocolate and the bigger those "off-roads" will seem because they are less and less frequent.  That would be great if that's what happens!