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I completed my whole 30 several months ago and have very slowly reintroduced foods. I have no desire to eat dairy, grains, or legumes, but have reintroduced them at different times over a few months to see how my body reacts. I seem to tolerate small amounts of all the undesirable foods, but definitely have some unwanted symptoms. The biggest symptom I have noticed is headaches, not full on migraines, but just enough to really make me uncomfortable. I gave myself a free pass on Thanksgiving to eat whatever I felt like eating and of course ended up with stomach pains and headaches. I am still debating on whether or not it was even worth it! My question is, if I know I am going to eat foods that are going to give me unwanted "pains," is there something I can do beforehand to lesson it? Any supplements, exercise, etc? Since food is a huge thing for most around the holidays, and I can't prepare all the food myself for 30 people, I know I am going to be faced with the decision to eat or not eat. And I much prefer to eat since the other 363 days I eat clean!

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

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Hmmm .... I question whether it's that black and white all or nothing.

I've been gluten-free for 7 years. After completing my Whole30 this June, I'm also off dairy, legumes and grains. 

I've never been faced with a decision to eat or not eat.  Most people who know me well and would be hosting me know my food sensitivities.

The advice I would give you: if you're going somewhere where you think your options will be limited, eat before, and/or bring a dish you know you can eat.

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I think that Chris makes a great point: one of the beauties of eating this way is that there are always things on the table (well, almost always) to eat that are compliant.  At our Thanksgiving we had turkey, of course, roasted brussel sprouts with pancetta, broccoli, sweet potatoes--all of which were compliant for me, even though I was the only one at the table eating whole 30.

 

For me, the trickier thing isn't finding food to eat; it is making choices that are good for me when faced with a lot of food possibilities, including things that I'd be better off not eating. One strategy that seems to help is to make a decision about what I'll eat beforehand and I rarely go to anyone's house starving so that I can make better choices. Sometimes I eat things that aren't compliant, but that is a choice, and generally not due to a lack of compliant food to eat.

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What bibliofile said (we had brussle sprouts with pancetta too!). We did our own Thanksgiving, just the two of us, and it was gluten free (except for the bakery bought pumpkin pie crust). There is plenty to eat at most Thanksgiving tables that would be compliant.

 

It would be best if you could identify what upset your stomach so that item could be avoided in the future.

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Thanks for the comments! I should maybe clarify, when I said to eat or not to eat, it mainly meant to non compliant foods. I can always find something to eat no matter where I eat, but I know that the traditional dressing that is served with turkey is something that I enjoy eating. In my every day life, I definitely plan ahead and eat before or take things I need with me. The holidays are just a different animal to me, especially when you are with your family that has 30+ people eating. I have a handle on the willpower and the knowledge about what to eat and what not to eat, was more just wondering if there was something that could limit the side effects of the choices of eating non paleo foods.

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Thanks for the comments! I should maybe clarify, when I said to eat or not to eat, it mainly meant to non compliant foods. I can always find something to eat no matter where I eat, but I know that the traditional dressing that is served with turkey is something that I enjoy eating. In my every day life, I definitely plan ahead and eat before or take things I need with me. The holidays are just a different animal to me, especially when you are with your family that has 30+ people eating. I have a handle on the willpower and the knowledge about what to eat and what not to eat, was more just wondering if there was something that could limit the side effects of the choices of eating non paleo foods.

My experience, a little more than a year into this journey, is exactly the opposite.  I have many more problems eating off-plan than I did when I just had a Whole30 or two under my belt.  The difference is so dramatic that I notice it almost immediately, and the list of symptoms is long and growing.

 

I, too, ate partially off-plan on Thanksgiving, and it's just today, 6 days later, that I can see the total-body swelling diminishing and I can feel the itchy incipient hives quieting down.  Last year on Thanksgiving I ate crap all day and felt fine the next day.

 

I think the body just gets really used to eating great food, and doesn't like going back to the ick.  I direct a heavy sigh at Caribou Coffee mochas...

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Thanks for the comments! I should maybe clarify, when I said to eat or not to eat, it mainly meant to non compliant foods. I can always find something to eat no matter where I eat, but I know that the traditional dressing that is served with turkey is something that I enjoy eating. In my every day life, I definitely plan ahead and eat before or take things I need with me. The holidays are just a different animal to me, especially when you are with your family that has 30+ people eating. I have a handle on the willpower and the knowledge about what to eat and what not to eat, was more just wondering if there was something that could limit the side effects of the choices of eating non paleo foods.

I feel the only way around this is to not eat the foods that make you feel poorly. Or have just a bite or two to limit the consequences.

EDIT: This Whole30 holiday prep guide, published yesterday, may help you as well: http://www.whole9life.com/2013/12/whole9-holiday-prep-guide/

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well, it is day 5 of a food fest that started when we drove 14+ hours to Michigan to get a little sweet puppy-then drove right back. The next several mornings, I started back to W30 then caved at the end of the day mostly because I am tired:) and not feeling well, and haven't worked out in 5 days. It all goes hand in hand for me-eating well, feeling better, working out. So I have had a few days of none of that and it is showing. I start back in earnest tomorrow-gotta get through Christmas, the gym will be open and the puppy seems to be doing well for the most part. I can honestly say, this has been the longest stretch off road since April-I had not been off road for more than 3-4 meals since then. I can really tell the difference in my body and mind. I am a crabby, flabby, lazy bi#&% and I don't like myself very much.

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Thanks for the comments! I should maybe clarify, when I said to eat or not to eat, it mainly meant to non compliant foods. I can always find something to eat no matter where I eat, but I know that the traditional dressing that is served with turkey is something that I enjoy eating. In my every day life, I definitely plan ahead and eat before or take things I need with me. The holidays are just a different animal to me, especially when you are with your family that has 30+ people eating. I have a handle on the willpower and the knowledge about what to eat and what not to eat, was more just wondering if there was something that could limit the side effects of the choices of eating non paleo foods.

Maybe try an antihistimine after the offending meal.

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This makes me think of some friends I've got who went GF a couple of years ago, but during a cross-country move ordered a pizza because they were flat-out exhausted and had limited options. 

 

They felt noticably physically uncomfortable for a couple of days after.  Digestive ick, body aches, etc. 

 

I'm not sure it matters why they didn't feel well -- neither has a clinical diagnosis of gluten issues -- but the way they felt after reinforced for them how much better they feel when they eat GF.  Yeah, sometimes they do pick up and eat a thing that isn't GF, but there's usually an extenuating circumstance (limited other options, special occasion, etc.) that's worth the price of admission.

 

It's your choice to eat what you're going to eat.  Special occasions seem to be an acceptable reason in this community for off-roading, but within the boundaries of safety.  If you think there's an allergen involved, antihistamines can help take the edge off, but be careful with this.  Some allergies can intensify/change unpredictably.  I'd also suggest extra good hydration, and eating clean at other meals to try and mitigate the effect. 

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Well unless I missed someone's post, in which case I apologize, it seems like gluten is likely the offending culprit, in all cases?

 

Though you will certainly not have enough digestive enzymes present to digest foods you haven't eaten in a while, gluten seems like a large part of this picture. That, plus lactose and casein (dairy).

 

I suppose (hypothetically) that taking a probiotic could lessen the effects of 'off roading', as well as making gluten-free choices (as Robb Wolf would suggest). Alpha lipoic acid will certainly reduce carb cravings if taken after a bad binge.

 

Here is an excellent study showing that meals consisting of high amounts of carbohydrates (what almost EVERYONE refers to as 'off roading' - usually coupled with a high fat source of food, i.e. a donut) provide less satiety, and higher amounts of ghrelin (your 'feed me' hormone) as a result: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19820013

 

The OB children reported higher hunger and lower satiety after the high-carbohydrate meal.

 

You'll see that that study also includes peptide YY, and that lower amounts were present after high carb meals. This also goes without saying that your insulin, glucose and glucagon take crazy highs and lows after a meal, or days, of eating like this.

 

Exercise will certainly help with endorphin release, but the science of this simply says that you will feel bad, to some degree, when re-introducing foods, especially ones known to be gut irritating and blood-sugar/insulin-spiking.

 

Hopefully this helps :)

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