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Too scared to reintro!


grapefruitlove

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Hello everyone!

 

I need help. I am terrified to do my reintros. I know I have to. It is day 37 and I have yet to reintro anything (except I did have a glass of wine on Saturday at a wedding but that isn't really one of the reintro groups).

 

I am afraid for so many reasons. I am afraid I will react badly. I am afraid I won't react badly enough, thus feeling less weary of those foods overall. I am afraid I will awaken my sugar dragon and all this will be for naught. I am afraid I will gain weight, get pimples, cough myself to sleep and sneeze myself awake all while getting up to go pee 5 times throughout the night.

What do I do? Just get over it and jump right in? Anyone else feel this way?

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Keep in mind that you only need to reintro foods you are interested in incorporating in the future.  Take it slow.  Take just one item you miss and give it a try. The whole30 template is a safety net you can always come back to.  Do reintros at whatever pace feels comfortable.

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Sounds like you need more confidence in knowing that it's you who can decide what you eat and when. Knowledge brings more confidence. If you know how your body will react to different things (by doing the reintro the way it is supposed to be done), then you'll know what you should be eating. And if you fumble a bit, then you'll gently and firmly guide yourself back on track. It's not the end of the world. Expecting total perfection or total failure is neither reasonable nor fair to yourself.

 

Be gentle to yourself and take it slowly. You'll find your way.

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I've never done a reintro and it is going on 4 years for me! I did not eat anything off plan until 4 months after I started the Whole30 because I did not want to take a chance on messing up how good I felt. I eat off-plan foods occasionally now when I am away from home. I suffer a little from some off-plan foods, but nothing big and nothing consistent that I can tell. 

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Wow, Tom! Maybe I don't need to do reintros after all? Or maybe they can wait. I was already gluten free for two years when I started my Whole30. Sugar is hard for me but surprisingly nothing else has been too difficult. I miss cheese and ice cream and pizza occasionally but I am mostly fine.

I have not even thought about legumes, rice, corn, other grains. Maybe there is no need to do grains or legumes until it comes up...I imagine dairy will come sooner rather than later.

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Sounds like you need more confidence in knowing that it's you who can decide what you eat and when. Knowledge brings more confidence. If you know how your body will react to different things (by doing the reintro the way it is supposed to be done), then you'll know what you should be eating. And if you fumble a bit, then you'll gently and firmly guide yourself back on track. It's not the end of the world. Expecting total perfection or total failure is neither reasonable nor fair to yourself.

 

Be gentle to yourself and take it slowly. You'll find your way.

WunderHase, this is great advice, thank you. You are right in that knowledge can help in a situation like this. I will reintro Dairy on Friday and decide how to progress from there.

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Maybe I should add that I am happy to eat Whole30-style all the time. Really, why would I want to eat anything that makes me less healthy. I do eat dairy in sauces at Indian restaurants and even ate pizza 2-3 times this year, but mostly I am a protein and veggies guy and happy to stay on track as much as possible. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm also really nervous about reintro!  I'm actually on day 28 today, so reintro would start Sunday, November 10, BUT... I'm running a half marathon on Sat Nov 16.  Do you think I should hold off on reintro until after my race?  My gut (pun intended?) says it's probably best not to play around with foods that might make me feel gross so close to the race, but I also kinda think I might want to eat a slice of pizza at the finish line/ after party, and that would throw off my reintro.

 

If I were to hold off on reintro and then screw it up by eating a slice of pizza, is there still a way to test out what foods give me a bad reaction by being 100% compliant for another (week?  few days?) and then trying the reintro the right way?

 

After reintro I want to try to generally be eating clean/ paleo/ Whole30 forever, but of course with limited off roading for special occasions/ holidays.

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If you hold off and then eat something with multiple reintro groups at once, wait at least a week (or when symptoms subside - whichever happens second) and then try again more controlled.

 

That being said, don't give yourself permission now to eat pizza. It's not worth how you might feel. Bring ideas/foods that you can eat and tell yourself that you'll reintro once your race is over in a controlled manner by the book. If you REALLY want to "treat yourself" after the race, do ice cream. It's at least only one reintro group (dairy) at once. 

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ldgoldb I would definitely wait until after your race. I'm sure you've been working hard training for it. I wouldn't want to mess that up with an unpleasant reaction to food. It has been taking me several days to a week to get back to "normal" when my system has been upset, since being on w30.

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thanks for the feedback!  I know you're right- I shouldn't give myself permission to eat so poorly after all my hard work.  I'm sure they'll also have bagels and bananas at the finish line, so maybe I'll reintro just bread on Nov 16 so I can do a controlled reintro.

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I have done about the same as Tom. Started in April and really have not been "off" but for a handful of planned meals. A couple of them are post races-international distance triathlon, and the Army Ten miler this month. I stayed true to the plan up to the finish line. No issues with the off roading a meal then getting right back on the wagon. I do have a glass of wine about 3 times a week-only off plan item I treat myself to without issue.

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Cayenne, I'm very glad to hear that you stay mostly on plan but for a few planned meals and wine. I've only just started my W30 but it seems so natural to me. I've thought about not reintroing anything until I come across something that I just can't live without. But mostly just staying on plan! Glad to hear it's possible and still feels good.

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I just finished my first 30 yesterday and I don't think I am ready to reintro just yet.  For starters I am really nervous about eating something and feeling like crap.  I want to reintroduce dairy to some extent but since I don't know how I am going to feel, I don't know if it is worth it.  I think I will keep my training wheels on a few more days.  I don't really care for the other things, but I don't want dairy to be my "gateway drug" to other things that I have worked so hard to eliminate.  LOL

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I'm late on this thread, but glad I found it. I'm on day 19 and already terrified of reintro. I really want to celebrate the accomplishment of finishing with a couple of glasses of wine (and coincidentally I'm going to a party at the end of my 30 days), but I will probably try not to reintroduce the food elements. But I'm also worried that alcohol affects one's judgement, so after a glass all of my willpower may go out the window!

 

If nothing else though, W30 has helped me get control of my comfort eating and finally get control over my diet - and that's so empowering. That's another reason why I'm scared of reintro... I'm scared of being out-of-control again and giving in to cravings and emotional eating habits.

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I'm nervous about reintro also... today is day 28, but I'm going for 40 days. I haven't really had any cravings during this whole time, but I keep thinking of things I "want" after my time is up... which I don't think is good. I'm afraid I'm going to taste the "crack" and be an "addict" again... 

 

Also about reintro.... how do you do it exactly? Is it necessary to eat one item with each of your meals for one day and then wait the 2-3 days before trying another group? So, let's say, eat a little bit of dairy with breakfast, lunch and dinner? or would you just eat one serving sometime during the day?

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The official way would be to eat something from the food group at each meal, e.g. yogurt for breakfast, cheese at lunch & ice cream after dinner, then eat fully whole30 compliant for the next few days.

 

I introduced dairy for a day and felt so heavy and bloated that I think it is going to be a once in a while treat.  I really don't feel compelled to keep trying things after the way I felt after that meal. :(  I have learned that I like feeling lean and healthy and not bloated and heavy. 

 

I would rather eat a paleofied meal of sorts instead of having the real deal.  This to me was a huge revelation since I was sure that I would go back to eating like I did before my Whole 30.  I don't really think about food the same way.  It is a source of fuel and not a source of happiness.  :D  :D  :D

 

 

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If there's anything you suspect you will have a strong reaction to, add it in last, as you may need much more recovery time.

 

Carefully plan your reintros in advance, so you don't accidentally add in multiples at a time (icecream is both dairy & sugar). Consider whether you want to make your own reintros, or have something already made.

 

Some people also may want to sub-divide reintros if they have particular concerns for some groups.

 

Some examples:

I can't tolerate milk (never have been able to), but have less of a reaction to cheese.

I can't tolerate agave or high fructose corn syrup, but don't react to honey or coconut sugar.

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I want to plan out my reintros... for grains, could I include lets say, oats for breakfast, brown rice for lunch, and quinoa for dinner? Or is that a little too open?

 

Sounds perfect - if the oats are gluten-free - that would be a good list for your gluten-free grain reintro day.

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I just finished my first 30 yesterday and I don't think I am ready to reintro just yet.  For starters I am really nervous about eating something and feeling like crap.  I want to reintroduce dairy to some extent but since I don't know how I am going to feel, I don't know if it is worth it.  I think I will keep my training wheels on a few more days.  I don't really care for the other things, but I don't want dairy to be my "gateway drug" to other things that I have worked so hard to eliminate.  LOL

 

This is reasonable. When I did my first 30 day challenge (not Whole30) I was less than 2 weeks away from a race so I waited until after that to do an reintroductions and then I only did dairy. What I would say is plan on a day where you have down time so if you have a reaction it won't be too disruptive and do your dairy introduction. Better to do that than cave at a party or something and feel bad at an inopportune time or introduce multiple things at once by accident.

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  • 2 months later...

It's comforting to know I'm not the only one that's scared to enter into day 31! I'm on day 24 and I do like eating this way, ENJOY on-plan foods, and feel so much better!! But when it's over next weekend, all I can think about is eating at my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant. I am planning on having one or two cheat meals and then going back on the plan throughout the week. I'm worried tasting those tacos and chips will make it harder to stay on the plan, but at the same time I really want to do it...is that bad??

Just reading everyone else's posts has been so encouraging and helpful to me these past 24 days!

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I'm so pleased to have found this thread,

I'm on day 22 of my first whole30 I'm loving it, I'm loving finding heaps of yummy recipes to make and slowly incorporating healthy diet into my husband and children's diet too. As the 30 days draws to an end I'm starting to think about reintroduction phase. I have a hens do on what would be day 32 and then the wedding on day 40, I really don't want to waste the previous 30 days I'm going to drink at the hens do should I stick with strict whole 30 diet so I know the "hangover" is just alcohol not the reintroduction of say dairy? Will this work or will have to complete the 30 days again to get a true "clean slate" for my reintroduction phase?

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