Day 27 and craving. It's mental.

[funnylittlestory]

This is my first post, but I've been reading the forums throughout my W30. I've done great. I don't think I've really experienced the whole tiger blood thing, but I feel confident and healthy and proud that I've made it so far. My favorite thing is that I no longer have blood sugar swings. No more ups and downs! Even when I am hungry, I don't feel that frantic hunger where you would eat anything at all. I can always wait until meal time.

 

So why, in the name of all that is good and holy, am I so completely looking forward to everything I "can" eat on Monday? For me it's a permission thing. On the W30 there are rules. It's almost as if I don't have control over it. There are things I can and cannot eat, period. Once the 30 is over, it's back to me to make choices. I don't trust myself to choose my food when I have everything to choose from. I do not want to go back to eating junk. I ate pretty well before W30--probably 70/30 paleo. But over the last few weeks I didn't even really miss the treats I used to eat. Didn't think much about ice cream or pancakes or chocolate chips or oatmeal or anything. Now all of a sudden I have these cravings. Shouldn't they be gone?

 

I know I don't have to eat any of that garbage on day 31. I know that I pick what I put in my body and I can choose to eat like this for as long as I like. But I really am not looking forward to having an internal mental struggle over potato chips for the rest of my life.  When does this go away?

[Roz Griffiths]

Sounds like you're getting "extinction burst" cravings - perfectly normal! Your brain's trying one last ditch attempt to make you change your mind My first whole30 i didn't realise, & planned my reintro schedule while in this mood; it went - dairy=milk chocolate, chocolate milk, chocolate ice cream, gluten=chocolate cookies, non-gluten=chocolate covered rice cakes, legumes=oh who cares about legumes Just so's you don't make the same mistake i did... Stupid brain

[melbournegirl]

For me this went away after my third.... I now have a list of foods I do eat when not whole30 ing... Wine, dark chocolate, potato including plain chips.... The rest I have either found alternatives for or don't taste good enough any more to bother or cause symptoms that are not worth the trouble. Exceptions every now and again when an opportunity arises that I think is worth it but no planned offroading. It's easier for me that way

[Talie1706]

i too have found that Whole30 has changed my tastes, literally.  foods i used to love no longer have that wow factor.  I chose to treat myself to lunch at a well known burger chain, mouth watering in anticipation and it was a disappointment.  Just food that filled a hole and i wish I hadnt bothered.  Learning curve i guess.  Chocolate too, i can only eat good quality, high cocoa content stuff, that cabury's/nestle stuff is just sugar and no longer tastes chocolatey to me, although it did take a few tries to convince myself ....

 

I think the ISWF suggests how to reintroduce foods, maybe if you strictly follow these 'rules' it will help you keep control.  Good luck and well done on your Whole30

[jenna3232]

From experimenting with paleo and Whole30 for over a year, my body seems to prefer being on a paleo, or preferably, whole30 diet. If you have never done paleo or eliminated something from your diet, I bet you will find reintroduction difficult for at least a month. Symptoms were almost immediate. If I ate bread or potatoes, I would feel instantly sluggish or experience indigestion. Dairy would cause instant breakouts. Whereas I felt like a well oiled machine eating paleo, after a month or so of eating whatever I wanted (food with no breaks), I felt like crap. I feel like a big, inflamed, slug of a person!

 

Why am I sharing this? If you're like me, it will take you a few W30s or paleo experiments until this way of eating becomes your preferred diet. Today, when I decide to do a W30, I genuinely look forward to it instead of dread it because its a "diet." I did not feel this way the first go around, before I felt the amazing benefits (what you are feeling right now). With that said, being W30 forever is incredibly hard to do, nor even recommended by Whole9 staff.  So like melbournegirl shared, you need to figure out how to balance your preferred way of eating with the reality that there may be times you can eat off the plan, like eating a friends house or your birthday cake. 

 

For me, I have given myself permission to not worry about my nutrition a couple of times when life has become hectic. After a year of experimenting, I now call W30 my cleanse diet. Its my reset diet. Its my optimal way of eating. Unlike a vegetarian who cannot eat meat due to a unwavering moral reason, paleo/w30 obviously more flexible. Some people don't agree with that statement and that's their right  

 

If you are planning to move on to reintroduction, good luck. If you like the way you feel, then keep eating that way until you don't want to anymore.