I keep having to restart....

[SarahKT]

I feel like I have a serious problem. I know I have a sugar addiction and that I easily fall victim to my trigger foods....but I can't believe how many times I've had to re-start my whole30. I really do want to do this. I don't know why I cave. It's emotional/psychological, I'm sure. Somewhere between days 3 and 7 I just lose control. I have told myself that I must keep going. I will do this as many times as it takes to put a full 30 days together.

 

Usually my problems begin in the mid-afternoon, when I get tired and I miss being able to grab a quick snack of crackers or granola. I don't have those in the house, but I do find myself in my kids' snack stash....

 

I have found Larabars that are Whole30 compliant, so I am packing those, but they just don't have the same appeal...not crunchy enough. 

 

Has anyone else out there had this experience? Any advice is welcome.

 

I know I can do this. I need to do this. But I think a part of me has decided that I'm not going to do this. How do I find and conquer that negative force inside?

 

[Guest]

There was a Whole9 blog post about self-efficacy recently.  Click on "9 blog" above and it should appear.  Maybe reading it will be useful to you.

 

Best of luck this time.  I used to graze - I ate 7 times a day to keep from actually feeling hungry and having blood sugar issues.  That almost completely went away with Whole30 and my blood sugar control was better than at any other time in my life.  Occasionally, my food needs are a little more than my expectation and I do need a snack.  When I do, I have leftovers with all of the things on the template or I have some olives.  Are your meals satisfying to you?  Do they follow the meal template?  Maybe some mindfulness while you sit and eat and contemplate the good nourishment...  You could reflect back to that when you feel like a crunchy snack.

 

It's a good thing Larabars aren't doing it for you as they aren't really part of the plan and it is easy to get off track with them.  Keep one around for a real emergency since the ingredients are compliant, but go for a mini-meal if you are truly hungry.  Try distraction tactics if you just have the munchies (there is also a blog post about dessert demons which may help you).

 

I learned some of what helped me from the daily e-mails.  There is also a link to those above.  Excellent for setting up and following through with a successful Whole30.

[Emily T]

Don't get discouraged. Anyone can do this.

 

Three months ago, I gave up smoking after 12 years cold turkey. It took me a few false starts, and I was feeling the way you are now. Why do I keep relapsing? Why do I keep doing something I do not want to do? What is wrong with me?

 

I was so discouraged and felt like such a failure. But then I read Allen Carr's 'Quit Smoking Now' book over two days. I have not smoked since. There have been a couple moments when I thought, I would love a cigarette right now. But never one moment where I thought, I can't do this. I NEED a cigarette. I don't care that its bad, I need it. Since I read the book, on May 18, I have been smoke free and happy about it. Not irritable, without gaining weight. 

 

The laws of addiction are pretty transferrable from one substance to the next. Sugary food is not cigarette smoking, but it sure as hell ain't healthy. So I am going to try and pass along some of the wisdom from the book in hopes it helps you. 

 

The truth is, you are telling yourself you enjoy eating this stuff, but you really don't. If you enjoyed it, would you be here trying to quit? No! You hate that you eating it. So the first thing to do is to stop thinking about it as an "easy snack." Maybe grabbing crackers is "easy" - but so is grabbing carrots, or cashews. Think about everything you think you like or enjoy about the snack you are getting. Now think deeper. Is it really easy? Is it really cheaper? The long term health effects of grabbing the crackers sure won't be easy or cheap.

 

Or are you rather just grabbing the crackers because they taste good? Do they really taste good? I think they taste like they were made in a factory and injected with sugar and fat. But chopped up red pepper is sweet and delicious. Cashews are crunchy and delicious. There are hundreds of ideas for snacks that taste BETTER than crackers, granola, cookies, etc.

 

Maybe you don't think they will taste as good. And thats a legitimate concern. However, its mostly because you are used to tasting crappy food! Once you break the cycle of eating food that is bad for you, food that is good for you begins to taste better and provide more satiety (fullness). 

 

So the thing I am trying to say is, think about the real reason you want to eat ______, and deconstruct that. You need to remind yourself why _____ is actually not good, delicious, healthy, etc. 

 

You also should try and change your attitude about the whole process. Don't focus on what you cannot do. Focus on the fact that in a very short time (30 DAYS! Thats nothing!) you will be FREE of your sugar addiction and FREE to go through life without relying on all the processed crap people put in their bodies. I dont know why you are doing the whole30 but maybe you have some health problems. You are now going to be FREE from those problems! Maybe you want more energy - you will now have it! This is not deprivation - this is an exciting process. 

 

The point is, if you go into it being mopey and expecting cravings to come and being bummed about missing your favorite food, then you will have cravings come and be depressed until you shovel it in your mouth. I should know. I suffered through five days without a smoke, angry and cynical and ended up chain smoking six in a row. Two weeks later it happened again. Once I changed my attitude ("I am SO EXCITED to quit smoking! Thank GOD I am a non smoker! I never have to smell like cigarettes again! I can breathe! WOOHOO!") quitting was SO SO SO EASY. It was mindblowing how easy. My roommate smokes and there are always cigarettes around and it does not even cross my mind anymore. 

 

Thats a lot of text. I hope some of it might be helpful. It really changed my life to read his book. Even though its about smoking you might find it helpful. I think he has one about weight loss that might work too. 

[SarahKT]

Nico and Emily,

 

Thank you so much for your thoughtful and very helpful replies! Nico, you hit the nail right on the head about needing distraction. My munchies are definitely emotional/psychological, and I need to get to the bottom of that and find other ways to cope. I will read the post you suggested. Also, I signed up for the daily emails, and I've restarted them every time I've slipped. I will keep doing that until I successfully make it 30 days, and I will do it! Thankfully, there doesn't seem to be a limit on the number of subscription restarts allowed....

 

Emily, you are right, too, about the attitude piece. I manage that great attitude and excitement when I start, and then at some point I weaken and turn negative again. I will look for those books. I quit smoking years ago. It was helpful for me to read your post, because I hadn't noticed before, but this has been a lot like that experience. I had so, so many failed attempts to quit, and it made me feel so ashamed every time, but now I can never imagine smoking again! (I quit 15 years ago, by the way. That was the final & successful attempt, and I haven't had a puff since.) I'll get there with this, too....

 

And your advice about how to think about what I'm craving is also right on....The "foods without brakes" really don't taste as good, and they don't help me feel as good. So I need to really think about what I want to eat. Whenever I'm really thinking, I don't want the junk. I just want the real food. 

 

I'm so glad that I reached out here, because this has been hugely helpful. I also keep rereading "It Starts with Food" along with some of the titles that are referenced in that book, and that helps me, too. It makes so much sense, and I am determined to prove to myself that I can do this!

[Emily T]

SarahKT, I'm SO glad that you found it helpful. Good for you for kicking smoking!!!! Once you finish the 30, you're one step closer to the healthy and HAPPY person you want to be! 

 

Keep us updated on your progress!

[SarahKT]

Emily, Congratulations to you, too, on kicking the smoking habit! It feels so good, doesn't it? I can't even imagine going back. Someday I'll say the same thing about my eating habits.....

 

Here's a quote from It Starts with Food that I plan to copy out and hang up on my mirror or fridge: "Is it just fine that some of the foods you eat are controlling your behaviors, making you crave things you don't really want to eat, and proving impossible to resist even when you really, truly try?" (page 88). That so accurately describes my situation!