bekahellen Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I am on Day 8 and feeling very normal. I have felt fine every day so far except a slight headache on day 2. I am following all the rules (only mistake I made was realizing that my "fresh from the deli" turkey had dextrose in it, yuck). Anyways, I am thinking about stopping right before Easter, which would make it 21 or 22 days I think. Several reasons: 1. I am a poor college student and meat is expensive and I am tired of eggs. 2. Easter (really every holiday) is a big deal in my family and I don't want to be a killjoy. 3. I am making this decision to cut back to 21 days very consciously, and not giving into a craving (which I have had none of so far, weird). Honestly, I would still be extremely proud of myself for completing 21 days. Heck, I was proud of myself for finishing day 1. I've never stuck to an eating plan for more than a day or so until now. I don't believe I would be selling myself short. I view 21 days of Whole eating as a huge accomplishment for me since I have never completed much of anything, healthwise. I am just getting stressed out by the cost of meat (and almond butter...) and really can't afford to do this much longer. Does it really matter if I adjust the timeline a little, as long as I set my own goal and stick to it wholeheartedly? Thoughts? P.S. I do NOT plan to binge on Easter, nor any day thereafter. I have really felt good eating Paleo and want to continue to do so loosely, I just want (and need, financially) a little more flexibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina R Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I am no an expert. Are you planning on doing reintro of the non compliant foods? That can take another two weeks which would push you past Easter. If this is your first whole30 I would do all 30 days. If you want to quit then I would do another whole30 when you don't have any holidays or birthdays in the middle. I think that is why January works well for most people. I postponed my whole30 to start after my anniversary because I knew I would want to have a glass of wine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bekahellen Posted April 4, 2014 Author Share Posted April 4, 2014 Where is a guide on reintoduction of foods? I definitely want to see if gluten and dairy are culprits. I am planning on doing another Whole30 in the future, possibly this summer when I live with my parents (so they can foot the bill) or once I graduate and start working full time next spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina R Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Here is the reintro protocol. http://whole30.com/step-two-finished/. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bekahellen Posted April 4, 2014 Author Share Posted April 4, 2014 Thanks! Could I switch up the order a little, like starting with dairy instead of legumes (as long as gluten-containing grains are last)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondjoyless Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Everybody makes their own choices. In my Whole30, I'm allowed occasional soy sauce for sashimi dipping. It's YOUR Whole30, not anyone else's. Do what's right for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina R Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Bekahellen, yes you can change the order of the re-intro after your whole30. Just make sure you have at least two compliant days in between. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Does it really matter if I adjust the timeline a little, as long as I set my own goal and stick to it wholeheartedly? Thoughts? Everybody makes their own choices. In my Whole30, I'm allowed occasional soy sauce for sashimi dipping. It's YOUR Whole30, not anyone else's. Do what's right for you. Yes, It matters. Everybody makes their own choices, and hey, whole30+ soy sauce IS indeed better than the standard american diet, but it is NOT a whole30. That's the thing. This plan is designed a certain way with a certain set of rules based on research. That research says you need 30 days without these gut irritants to get to a point where you can test and know how these foods effect you. Following the plan is not required for anyone and you are free to do whatever you want and to make your own rules, but if you want to say you did a whole30, then you have to follow all the rules for a full 30 days. I don't want to make anyone feel bad or guilty about whatever choices they make: they are yours to make 100%, BUT I do want to encourage everyone who choses to do the whole30 to give the plan a real chance to work, which means following ALL the rules for a full 30 days. You can never predict which one of the rules might be the one that makes the biggest difference for you, but they are all there for a reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Incredibly well-said, MissMary. A Whole30 is a Whole30 because of the rules. Otherwise, it's just 30 days of paleo. Still a good choice, but not a Whole30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondjoyless Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 That research says you need 30 days without these gut irritants to get to a point where you can test and know how these foods effect you. Actually, I haven't seen *any* research that indicates that 30 days is a magic number. It seems to be as good a guess as any, but It Starts with Food was surprisingly lacking in citations. If someone (Dallas, Melissa, or another moderator?) would like to point me to a peer-reviewed journal article stating that 30 days of complete abstinence is a critical aspect of gut recovery, I would be delighted to read it. Also (and this is more personal/emotional), telling someone that they're "not doing a Whole30" because they decide, a priori, to make an extremely minor modification to the plan can be quite undermining and discouraging. It invalidates the hard work and commitment involved in following 99.9% of the rules. Supportiveness means meeting people where they're at. Edited to add: I am not aiming to be confrontational or a "troublemaker" in any way. I believe that rigid adherence to the rules is very useful from a psychological perspective. The decisions are made for you, so there's no back-and-forth, "should-I-shouldn't-I." However, I am also a scientist, and I think it's important to remember that the vast majority of the Whole30 rules are "best guesses" based on (at times) scant research. I suspect that anyone who has seriously read the nutritional science literature (and who doesn't have a dog in the fight, if you'll pardon the horrible metaphor) will agree with this. That isn't to say that the rules aren't valid and worth following; I think they are. However, it does mean that we can't simply say "science says" you can't have half an ounce of soy sauce once every two weeks. FWIW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 First, I appreciate your respectful tone. We are happy to discuss this stuff when folks come at the conversation from such a position. It's important to point out here that 30 days isn't a magic number- it's a minimum number. We feel like most people will begin to see positive changes by that point. There are substantial references in ISWF. They are listed in the back of the book (not in text) because of the tone and voice of the book. I'd encourage you to search those out. As far as personal additions to the program: whether or not they are scientifically significant is irrelevant. And I don't say that to belittle or diminish anyone's efforts - anyone here can tell you I'm the diplomatic moderator But the Whole30 is set program with specific guidelines. If you don't follow them, you're not doing a Whole30 as written. It's modified. Now, if that's okay with you, then it's okay. You aren't going to lose life points for not doing a Whole30. But at the same time, you can't expect credit from the community for doing something you didn't do. You wouldn't complete 127 credit hours of a 130 hour degree and then take credit for completing the program, right? Same concept here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondjoyless Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Given that, it seems like this forum may not be helpful for me. I'm a pretty black-and-white person (one of the reasons the Whole30 appealed to me), so if I'm "not doing a Whole30" because of a miniscule, planned-in-advance modification, my inclination is to quit altogether. I don't want to quit altogether, though. I want to see this thing through. So maybe I just need to stay away from sites where I'm being told that, despite my tremendous effort and progress, I'm not doing it right. This isn't a plea for understanding or an effort to get recruited back into the fold, I just find it helpful to share my process. I welcome any thoughts on the matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Given that, it seems like this forum may not be helpful for me. I'm a pretty black-and-white person (one of the reasons the Whole30 appealed to me), so if I'm "not doing a Whole30" because of a miniscule, planned-in-advance modification, my inclination is to quit altogether. Given that you are a "black-and-white" person, I find it extremely odd that you would be so attached to this modification (soy sauce for dipping sashimi). Couldn't you give that up for 30 days, just in case it matters? For what it's worth, know that "not doing the whole30" isn't necessarily a bad thing. I am "not doing a whole30" more often than I am doing one, because I trust myself to make choices and sometimes those choices aren't following whole30 guidelines. Sometimes it is worth it to me to eat something off plan, and that's perfectly fine. I just don't claim to be "doing a whole30" at the same time as I make those choices. Does that make sense? Doing a whole30 gave me the information I needed to make good choices outside of the context of the strict rules of the plan, and I do believe that had I made my own rules during those 30 days, I wouldn't have that information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Precisely. You are making an excellent choice for yourself by taking on these principles for however long you continue them, and no one is suggesting that you quit or even stop posting here. Many folks here are not in the midst of a Whole30 and are great contributers to the community and we absolutely welcome you to stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondjoyless Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Thanks for the thoughtful replies. I would give it up, except I had some a few days ago and starting over won't work for me (psychological hurdle). I'm leaving it out from here on out, though. (And who knows, maybe at the end I'll extend it to a Whole45 to do it "right"). How about, "I'm doing a modified Whole30?" I'd feel pretty good about saying that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 That's a great choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bekahellen Posted April 7, 2014 Author Share Posted April 7, 2014 Love the thoughtful discussion! I'll say I'm doing a "Whole21" since besides the shortened length I am following all of the rules 100%. And in the future I definitely plan to do a full 30 days. My circumstances just make it difficult at this point in my life. And on another note, I'm on day 11 and feeling awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bekahellen Posted April 7, 2014 Author Share Posted April 7, 2014 Actually, I haven't seen *any* research that indicates that 30 days is a magic number. I haven't done extensive research on the matter, but I have seen many articles that suggest numerous timelines. The only thing consistent I found is that they are almost all at least 14 days of abstinence before reintroduction. So I think 21 will be sufficient for that purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Carmosino Beougher Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Everybody makes their own choices. In my Whole30, I'm allowed occasional soy sauce for sashimi dipping. It's YOUR Whole30, not anyone else's. Do what's right for you. Have you thought about using coconut aminos instead of soy sauce? It's compliant and IMO, tastes better. We have a sushi place that's our regular spot and they're used to me pulling the bottle out of my purse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.