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Accidental Cheating Anxiety Dreams?


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So, I am on day 9 and everything seems to be going great. I am really enjoying the program. I love all the new recipes I've been trying. BUT on day 1 and then twice last night, I had "accidental cheating nightmares."

 

The most vivid one went like this: my boyfriend and I were eating dinner at my cousins and she served us beanie weenies (WHO EVEN EATS THOSE ANYMORE?!). I had my beanie weenies without beans, knowing that beans were not compliant. Only after the meal did I realized, there's probably a lot of processed stuff and unhealthy junk added. And then, in the dream, I had a total, visceral freak out. The other 2 dreams I've had weren't quite as vivid but all involved a food that was complaint in one way but SO obviously not in another (i.e., gluten free brownies) and only after eating did I realize they weren't compliant. I know that I am not stupid enough to make quite this obvious of a mistake in real life, but I always wake up really unsettled.

 

I know that, according to the timeline, I may have dreams about indulging or have dream cravings, but none of these dreams are about cravings. In none of the dreams am I like, Oh my gosh, this food is so good! It's always just a regular ole meal and I'm trying to be compliant. But something happens, and I make a mistake and it ruins everything.

 

Has anyone else experienced dreams like this? I assume it stems from a combination of things 1-my fear of failure (I have similar dreams about non-whole30 things, like accidentally missing a deadline). 2- I wonder if I am reading the message boards too much where people do something small wrong and everyone immediately tells them that they have to start over 3-Oh, and did I mention I am a perfectionist?

 

Any tips for reducing anxiety dreams?

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This is pretty normal, really.  Looking back at my blog for my first Whole 30, I found I'd written this on Day 7:

 

I did have the weirdest dream last night. I dreamt that I decided I MUST HAVE sweet tea (I don't normally sweeten my tea, so I don't know what that was about). Anyway, I very carefully measured out a small amount of sugar, like half a teaspoon or something, some amount that I had deemed to okay, and made my iced tea, and drank it, and then had a piece of cake (not even chocolate! it was like apple cinnamon or something, not at all what I'd choose if I were choosing to go off plan), and then just started freaking out because I'm not allowed to have that stuff for another 23 days, and I was convinced I'd just really messed up and ruined my whole30 plan and was going to have to start over. But I didn't seem bothered by any of this until after I very calmly drank the tea and ate the cake. It was just weird.
 
So, yeah, I don't know why it happens, and it does seem really bizarre to me, but nothing to worry about. Hopefully by the end of your W30, you'll have stopped having them. 
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You are not alone in experiencing these dreams. I posted this on a different thread on Day 29 of my W30:

 

So far on this Whole30 I've dreamed:

 

- That I drank champage and ate a big bag of corn nuts.

- That I gorged on some sort of junk food (chips?) and it made me feel like total crap.

- That I was drinking a beer. Drank one, poured a second, then realized what I was doing and tried to pour it out. Then it turned into pink lemonade. Then I remembered that I had drank lemon lime Gatorade the day before (yuck).

- That I was devouring a vanilla cake with frosting - in the dream I realized it was an ice cream cake and it was melting and we were trying to eat it before it melted.

- Just last night I dreamed that I was trying to find something to eat at a restaurant and wound up eating carrot soup that I realized had soy sauce in it. And in my dream I was so upset about having to restart on Day 28.

 

It's always a relief to wake up...

 

In my experience they reach their peak about halfway through the 30 days. My dreams have subsided now, my W30 is over but I'm still being pretty strict. I think your brain gets used to it after awhile, but they may not go away completely.

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About two weeks into my first W30+, I began having nightly dreams about eating an entire bag of some type of Hershey's chocolate. I always woke in a panic and would get up to check my kitchen to make sure I didn't have any candy, or candy remnants floating around - the dreams were that real. This too shall pass. :-)

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  • 2 months later...

I did a search for "dreams" this morning because I just have today and tomorrow left in my first whole30 and I dreamt last night that I was eating Oreos in bed.  They tasted just like cardboard though and I was extremely upset because after I'd eaten them (and not even enjoyed them) I realized that it was a break to my whole 30 and I'd ruined it with only two days left to go.  My husband was sleeping beside me and I wanted to hide the evidence before he got up, but I also realized that even if he didn't know I knew and I was very relieved when I woke up and knew it was only a dream (or a nightmare, some might say). 

 

This is not the first time, but I am nearing the end of my whole30 and they seem to be getting more frequent rather than less.  Anxiety about what happens when it's over?  I am feeling so much better these days, but I also still miss some of my old favorites and wonder if I can have them "in moderation".  I was a member of OA for many years and was told over and over that I cannot trust myself to have just one bite.  Here I am being taught that it's a choice.  I like that, but I'm still not sure I trust myself.  I think these dreams are a part of processing that??  

 

Glad to know I'm not the only one with this issue.  

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