Unsure of what to do next...

[jmh]

My first whole 30 is going to end on the 22nd. I have no idea what to do next. I really don't want to reintroduce any food back in. I'm not sure if I could eat this strict my entire life but I will never go back to the way I was eating before. I am totally freaked out that if I open a food door a little I might kick it down and run right through. I have thought about alternating between Paleo and whole 30 monthly but I have also seen people who have done a whole 45 and whole 100. Any thoughts from people who have done a whole 45 and/or 100. How hard is it? Is there a down side to it? Is there anyone who has just eaten this way for years?? I want to keep going but I am afraid that it might be too much to ask of my willpower. I keep thinking about what I am going to do and maybe if I just make it a whole 45 or 100 then I won't have to think about what I am going to do so much.

[Suzy1]

Hi JMH,

I did a Whole 45 recently had a couple of days break and went straight back into Whole 30 program as I found the benefits far outweighed chocolate etc.

Just make sure if you do Paleo you don't introduce to many paleofied treats. Also re intro as per ISWF to see if you have any adverse reactions to dairy etc. You may like to continue until something so yummy comes along you then choose to break it.

Good luck.

Sue

[Tom Denham]

I continued my first Whole30 for about 4 months. My first off-plan food was some cheese cake at a restaurant and it was disappointing. I've never wasted the small amount of off-plan foods I allow myself on cheese cake again.

 

For the past 3 years, I eat Whole30 foods somewhere between 90 and 100 percent of the time. I eat Whole30 perfect at home 100 percent of the time. That means no chocolate, no cream, no sweeteners. There is no room for such things in my house. When I am out with friends in their homes or in restaurants, I do the best that I can, but will indulge in anything that looks good or that my friends swear is wonderful. By the end of an average week, I have eaten somewhere between 0 and 4 servings of something off plan. 

[Colleen Roy]

I actually find eating whole30 compliant is easier than not. It is too stressful for me to think about recipes and ingredients that I don't keep in the house anymore. So, like Tom, I tend to eat on plan at home and will indulge when I am out or at a friends house for a meal. There really isn't anything easier than cooking good protein and yummy vegetables....

[JJB]

I highly recommend doing the standard reintros as outlined in the book (although on any schedule/in any order you want). It's a great learning experience. Beyond that, it kind of depends on what your triggers are. I did my W30 in January, and I'm just starting to accept that there is no place in my life for sugar, wheat, or diet soda in moderation (the core of my pre-W30 diet!). As soon as I allow them on any kind of recurring schedule, I quickly get out of control and then the mind-games are hard to get out of. It's depressing for sure...but less so once I'm away from the foods for a few weeks. My plan is to continue following W30 rules fairly strictly except for true special occasions, plus I won't be worrying about trace amounts of sugar or bad cooking oils when I eat at restaurants 2-3 times per month.

[ABS32013]

Totally agree with being careful about introducing a bunch of Paleo-ified treats.  I went down that path and it led to a bit of a reawakening of the sugar dragon (e.g., feeling I "needed" something sweet after dinner).  Also, like Tom, I've found that many indulgences haven't lived up to the hype in my own mind (and man is it annoying to get all bloated over something that wasn't even that tasty!).

 

I was dangling off the wagon for a few weeks, but now I'm back to eating mostly on-plan and feeling so much better.  Not to toot my own horn, but my food tastes so much better than what is generally out there.  That said, I love ice cream, and it's summer.  So, I'm going to enjoy some ice cream once in a while, especially if I've done something active to "earn" it.  Then I'm going to go back to eating my meat, veg, etc.

[jmh]

Thank you all so much! I have really been stressing out about this. I feel so much better about what to do next. Also thanks on the heads up about the paleofied treats. That is the kind of thing I was worried about. The first 8 days were so hard for me I almost feel like if I let some stuff back in I will want it all back. I like the idea of my home being whole 30 for me and having something slightly off for special occasions. My husband and kids don't follow the plan so there will always be temptations but I think if I give myself the "eating whole30 at home" rule I can follow that because we rarely eat out. If I get off track I can just do another whole 30:)

[cayenne]

I have been going at this paln since early April-over 3 months and I have just allowed myself occas 1/2 glass of wine mayb 2-3 times a week. Otherwise I stay pretty compliant even out to eat/ friends cook out last weekend. I just told them basically what I ate and they were fine with it. They did add soysauce to portobello mushrooms(oopps) but I had no reaction and it didn't slide me down the slope. I have been struggling with commercials of icecream though-the Blizzards and the Sonic ones with all the whipped cream!

I have thought I am due for a "cheat day" but then I changed my mind as I don't cheat anymore:) I control what I want and if I want it, it isn't cheating! Just haven't found something off plan that is worthy yet.....

[JJB]

Yeah, I'm going to do my best to get away from the "cheat" mentality. I will decide to have a 'cheat meal' later in the week, and then I'll talk myself into a whole cheat day, and before I know it, it's blown up into a cheat weekend. Best if I just don't make plans to eat crap at all!

[notacommittee]

I am totally freaked out that if I open a food door a little I might kick it down and run right through.

 

I was terrified of this, too. What I found useful was separating junk food from non-W30 real food. The W30 program is a fantastic elimination diet but since it is an elimination diet, it cuts out a lot of foods that could be perfectly fine for many people, e.g. white potatoes and honey. Yes, it's good to cut them out for 30 days to see if you react poorly to them, but if you don't, there isn't much reason to keep avoiding them just because.

 

So from a practical perspective for me, this means that I reintroduced legumes, had 0 issues of any kind, and now eat lentils daily because they're cheap and filling, and I don't have to worry about ethical issues like I do with animal foods. They don't hit that "kick it down and run right through" button for me because they're still real food (binging on lentil soup is hard, even for me, and I'm a champion of disordered eating), so the psychological junk food thing isn't there. Same for white potatoes.

 

This makes healthy food much more sustainable for me since I can eat a wider variety of foods, without waking my junk food demons every time I try to eat something "in moderation" and get yet another painful reminder of why moderation doesn't work for me. Because I've accepted lentils and white potatoes as healthy parts of my diet, there's no guilt, no stress or deprivation of trying to "moderate" them, etc.