Jump to content

do I have to start over?


3monkeys

Recommended Posts

I've had 2 good Whole30 days, or so I thought. I bought some Boars Head roast beef yesterday and ate it for lunch, thinking it was okay because they claim no nitrates/nitrites or fillers and there was no sugar on the nutrition facts list. But I was reading on the forum this morning and saw some comments that they're probably not compliant. I called the customer service #, but of course it's not open on a Saturday.

I know it's only day 3, but I just feel completely dejected at the idea of having to start over because of some stupid lunch meat I bought so I wouldn't have to stand at the stove for every single meal of the day.

Advice please.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Look at the ingredients list. You would need to confirm the ingredients of the exact product you had (looks like they have different types of roast beef).

 

Nitrates/nitrites are allowed on a Whole30.

 

Sugar or sweetener, while not allowed, would not require a restart: we'd just tell you not to eat it again for the rest of your Whole30.

 

Gluten, carrageenan, soy, MSG or sulfites do require a restart, as these disrupt the gut. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, looks like I've blown it. I bought the no-salt-added roast beef. On the website, it says their regular all-natural beef has no MSG added. The no-salt-added doesn't have that listed, so I take that to mean there's probably MSG.

I am so angry. Every bit of effort I made for the last two days is for NOTHING. I grocery shopped yesterday with horrible abdominal cramps because I was so determined to have good food on hand. For NOTHING. On top of that, lunchtime is in a little over an hour, and I need something I don't have to cook because we're having a birthday party today.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest WholeStanley

How can two whole days of feeding yourself good food and putting more thought into what you choose to put into your body be for nothing? Every day counts, I know the 30 seems a large mountain to climb when you're just starting out but i promise when you do get to do thirty you'll probably do an extra two days without even noticing it! Good luck! Xx

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, looks like I've blown it. I bought the no-salt-added roast beef. On the website, it says their regular all-natural beef has no MSG added. The no-salt-added doesn't have that listed, so I take that to mean there's probably MSG.

I am so angry. Every bit of effort I made for the last two days is for NOTHING. I grocery shopped yesterday with horrible abdominal cramps because I was so determined to have good food on hand. For NOTHING. On top of that, lunchtime is in a little over an hour, and I need something I don't have to cook because we're having a birthday party today.

 

I wouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly on MSG being in the product.

And the two days weren't for naught, as WholeStanley said.

Continue with 100% Whole30 eating, hold off on having more of that roast beef for now. Call Boar's Head customer service on Monday, and find out for sure what the ingredients are on the product you had.  Worst case scenario, you end up doing the equivalent of a Whole32.

 

As you have discovered, it's very tricky to find compliant deli meats. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, intellectually I know it's not for nothing. I am feeling better, my sleep patterns are already turned around from reducing my caffeine intake (I now only drink enough unsweetened iced tea to keep withdrawal headaches away), and I am really enjoying my food.

However, not weighing is really really driving me cuckoo, more so even than not drinking Diet Coke. I am counting down to that weigh-in. I am looking forward to bragging on FB about completing a Whole30 and losing weight. Yes, that is immature, but that is what keeps me going.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am feeling better, my sleep patterns are already turned around from reducing my caffeine intake (I now only drink enough unsweetened iced tea to keep withdrawal headaches away), and I am really enjoying my food.

You are only 2 days in, you may or may not have been snacking on some non-compliant deli meat, and you can already make the above statement.

 

By the end of 30 days, you will have a list like this and then some.  If you haven't already, I encourage you --right now-- to make a list of every little symptom you have going on in your body when you are starting your Whole 30.  Start at the top of your head, and go all the way down to your toes.  REALLY think about it.  Itchy scalp?  Warts?  Heart palpitations?  Moods?  I mean everything you can think of.

 

Go back to this list at the end of your Whole 30 -- before you step on the scale -- and see how many things you can cross off that list.  What if you can cross off... say, over half of them?  (This was my experience, for sure.)  Wouldn't that be an awesome turnaround in just 30 days?  I mean, we have been abusing our bodies for _____ YEARS, right?

 

So what will happen if the scale is the same?  How will you feel if it's more?  Will this automatically make your Whole 30 a failure?  {NO.}  Will you brag on facebook about how you did a Whole 30 and you feel so much better, your sleep is improved, you are drinking less caffeine, and you are really enjoying your food?  I hope you would.

 

I just hate to see folks get SO hung up on that number on the scale.  If you are working out and building muscle at all, then that number matters even less.  

 

Anyway, as far as your deli meat goes -- don't sweat it!  You are only 2 days in, and I would say almost everyone has little things like this in the beginning they have to learn.  Even if you decide to start over and do 32 days -- that is just 2 extra days of excellent nutrition.  You should be feeling so great by that point that you don't want to quit anyway.  ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am not thinking of an end point really. None of the forbidden foods need to be in my diet ever, given my health issues, so re-introduction of dairy or grains is not on my radar.

But as to weight loss? I have to lose weight, no two ways about it. It's not the number on the scale, it's how I look in the mirror. I hate it. I am 60 pounds overweight, and it shows in all the wrong places. The scale simply quantifies it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest WholeStanley

I totally get the need to quantify weight loss, I just don't think the scale is your most reliable option. Can i suggest a different method? Chose an item of clothing from your wardrobe, maybe something that's a little tight for you now, and put it on and really think about/make note of how it fits, where does it feel tight, etc. Use this as your point of reference and repeat the process on day 30 (you can do it during your whole30 as well if you like - just stay of the scale), I find this a much better measurement of weight loss or a change in body composition. Sure getting on the scales and seeing a different number is ok, but suddenly fitting into your favourite jeans from 4 years ago or having to go shopping because all your work clothes look too baggy - now that's the real buzz! And the thing you'll want to show off about on Facebook believe me xxx

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't let some roast beef get the better of you. You have already done the hardest part in my opinion and that is making a commitment and actually starting. Give yourself a pat on the back for that and I totally get the posting on FB, so if you haven't already, post that you started the Whole30, make it your cover photo, and tell everyone you are doing it. That in itself will make people very proud of you.

 

You'll get better at this, it gets easier. I am on day 8 and going into my second week was so much easier than going into my first week. I was a lot more comfortable shopping for groceries last night than I was last week. You can do this!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Update: I never found out about the meat, just told my husband to eat it, lol. Then after all that angst, I ate some cashews at church on Sunday. I took two bites and suddenly realized they were canned, and nearly all canned nuts have MSG. Monday and Tuesday have been compliant, but we're leaving town on Thursday. Traveling with my kids is stressful enough without worrying about hidden ingredients in my food. I'm going to eat meat and vegetables like I'm supposed to, but without worrying about what they're cooked in or whatever, and start the 30 days again on Sunday.

The good news is that I'm free to weigh until then, haha. The scale is moving, though the clothes haven't started feeling different yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Update: I never found out about the meat, just told my husband to eat it, lol. Then after all that angst, I ate some cashews at church on Sunday. I took two bites and suddenly realized they were canned, and nearly all canned nuts have MSG. Monday and Tuesday have been compliant, but we're leaving town on Thursday. Traveling with my kids is stressful enough without worrying about hidden ingredients in my food. I'm going to eat meat and vegetables like I'm supposed to, but without worrying about what they're cooked in or whatever, and start the 30 days again on Sunday.

The good news is that I'm free to weigh until then, haha. The scale is moving, though the clothes haven't started feeling different yet.

:lol:    :D   :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

Update: I never found out about the meat, just told my husband to eat it, lol. Then after all that angst, I ate some cashews at church on Sunday. I took two bites and suddenly realized they were canned, and nearly all canned nuts have MSG. Monday and Tuesday have been compliant, but we're leaving town on Thursday. Traveling with my kids is stressful enough without worrying about hidden ingredients in my food. I'm going to eat meat and vegetables like I'm supposed to, but without worrying about what they're cooked in or whatever, and start the 30 days again on Sunday.

The good news is that I'm free to weigh until then, haha. The scale is moving, though the clothes haven't started feeling different yet.

 

My aunt, who struggles with her weight constantly, once asked me "How much weight have you lost since you started running?"

 

I replied "The most I ever weighed was probably only six pounds more than I weigh now, but I am slimmer now and I went from a size 10 to a size 6."

 

You know what she said then?

 

"Six pounds... that's not very much."

 

Would you rather be a couple of sizes smaller, or about the same size as you are now, but weigh less on a scale?

 

Don't let that number define you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Update: I never found out about the meat, just told my husband to eat it, lol. Then after all that angst, I ate some cashews at church on Sunday. I took two bites and suddenly realized they were canned, and nearly all canned nuts have MSG. Monday and Tuesday have been compliant, but we're leaving town on Thursday. Traveling with my kids is stressful enough without worrying about hidden ingredients in my food. I'm going to eat meat and vegetables like I'm supposed to, but without worrying about what they're cooked in or whatever, and start the 30 days again on Sunday.

The good news is that I'm free to weigh until then, haha. The scale is moving, though the clothes haven't started feeling different yet.

 

I think you have a good plan, I think you should enjoy your vacation too without having to worry about finding compliant food. Try to eat healthier choices when you can, and that will help you along the way. Good plan to start over when you get back. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I totally get the need to quantify weight loss, I just don't think the scale is your most reliable option. Can i suggest a different method? Chose an item of clothing from your wardrobe, maybe something that's a little tight for you now, and put it on and really think about/make note of how it fits, where does it feel tight, etc. Use this as your point of reference and repeat the process on day 30 (you can do it during your whole30 as well if you like - just stay of the scale), I find this a much better measurement of weight loss or a change in body composition. Sure getting on the scales and seeing a different number is ok, but suddenly fitting into your favourite jeans from 4 years ago or having to go shopping because all your work clothes look too baggy - now that's the real buzz! And the thing you'll want to show off about on Facebook believe me xxx

 

I love the idea of a piece of clothing as a measuring tool! However, I would caution you against trying it on multiple times during your Whole30. It's just another means of measurement, and my concern is that the piece of clothing becomes your new scale, you judge your daily success by it's fit, and you'll adjust your new portion sizes, food groups, etc based on its fit.  Try it on once at the beginning, and again at the end, and let the program take it's course. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...