fighting with my thoughts

[Babsie95]

I am a few days from finishing my second whole 30.  It has been very successful.  I love how I feel,sleep etc...  I also love what and how I am eating. The issue I am struggling with is my desire, not craving, for all the foods I shouldn't eat. I could live without them, don't crave them but I WANT them. I miss white carbs like rice and white potatoes. I don't snack on whole 30 nor desire to I am not hungry, but somehow I miss snacking I want to do it because I like it. I like snack foods and the act of snacking. I don't know why I am struggling with this or what to do about it. I am not sure what I want to do about it.  I have a feeling that I will do 3-4 whole 30's every year becasue I like them and it works for me but is it all that bad to go back to eating enjoyable junk in between?  I don't know...just thoughts I guess. Any feedback is appreciated

[Tom Denham]

I eat white rice and white potatoes when I eat out without any qualms (note, not while doing a Whole30). I get white potatoes in my farm box every once in a while and cook with them without qualms. However, I never buy rice or white potatoes at the store for use at home. I use sweet potato or rutabagas for carbs if I need them. 

 

Snacking is not ideal for your digestion and hormonal rhythms. And using food as entertainment in the form of snacks is almost certainly a slippery slope for problems in your relationship with food. It might help if you read through It Starts With Food again and let some of what you can learn there sink deeper into your thoughts. 

[MeadowLily]

I think it's a travesty to go back to the same old ways and foods that brought us here in the first place.   Why would we go through all of this healing process to undo it and then revert back and forth like yo-yos.   It saddens me to even think about it.

 

How does giving into cravings untrain the brain, unwag the dog or slap a coat of paint on a house that's falling down.   If we're trying to build our internal house from the foundation up - why tear it all apart ever so many days.

 

For some of us, this is a life preserver and I don't want to be caught out in the rough seas without a raft.

 

My husband and I are in complete agreement about this process.   We don't believe in listening to the body (except for pain, broken bones, etc.)...we're only talking about cravings right now.   The cycle of cravings.

 

We believe the body's cravings need to be put under subjection to whatever belief you have here...the spirit man, your higher functioning self, intelligence - brain.  Cravings are usually a deception, brought on by years of chasing after the things you believe will fill up some void.   They lead you down the path that will bring you right back to square one, right here...fixing what the cravings have done to you.

 

The satisifaction is temporary.   But the process you go through to undo the damage takes months and months.  I'm becoming stronger at putting those cravings under subjection to my higher self, my spirit.

[Mariana]

Here's my take on it...

 

I have been Paleo for almost 3 years ("strict" for the first 2+). Up until Paleo I was always a snacker or grazer. I often did not like eating real meals, and would just eat "easy things" like crackers and cheese, toast, dried fruit, etc. What I learned from going Paleo is that some of my habits were that eating so many carbs was creating the cravings themselves.

 

Now that I am trying a Whole 30 in order to get back to strict paleo again (I felt amazing for and extended period for the first time in my life!), I have had some insights.

 

1) some of my cravings are just "entertainment" or deeply ingrained habits.

 

2) When I don't eat enough food and the right macros (enough protein generally) I tend to want to snack.

EG: I lost my apptetite about 4-5 days ago and have no desire to eat meals (unheard of for me!). I have noticed I do want to snack though, which I have resisted for the most part (I did have a handful of almons the othe day). The lack of good nutrition (enough protein, etc) is causing my body to be hungry, even if my brain says I am not, and so I am craving nuts and "easy" yummy stuff.

 

3) There can be emotional reasons to eat. Some people use food/eating to comfort themselves. Often a habit started early on in our lives.

 

If snacking is something you want to stop, I suggest considering whether any of the reasons I found for myself are applicable to you. Also analyzing what you are eating, journaling (for emotion or other reasons) are all helpful.

 

Be a researcher of yourself and you might have some of your own insights. For me, knowing the WHY has been very helpful to stopping behaviors I want to change.

 

Hope this helps!

Ally

[Babsie95]

thanks for the replies.  It all makes sense and I don't actually intend to race back to bad eating.  I am not even struggling with craving but with desire. I fully intend to make conscious choices some probably won't be the healthiest but I will make the choice not just on emotion or desire. I just wish I didn't even have the thoughts of when the 30 is over then i can eat...

[theheywhohaa]

Aw,

Some people have a sugar dragon, sounds like you've got a snackety crack dragon. Meadowlily said a mouthful. And knowing where you are at with your internal bargaining is a step toward controlling that impulse. Good luck pal,

R 

[HolliAdrienne]

i think i have both a sugar and a snackety crack dragon! LOL. I love it, it's so true. I just want to eat when I am not hungry, and now on day 30 most of that has stopped. I don't give in. 

[ShannonM816]

thanks for the replies.  It all makes sense and I don't actually intend to race back to bad eating.  I am not even struggling with craving but with desire. I fully intend to make conscious choices some probably won't be the healthiest but I will make the choice not just on emotion or desire. I just wish I didn't even have the thoughts of when the 30 is over then i can eat...

 

This article was written tongue-in-cheek (at least, I'm pretty sure it was), but it kind of hit close to home for me. I wonder if maybe it's sort of what you're describing. 

 

Logically, I know I feel better when I stick to W30 eating. I know giving in to cravings is not healthy, I know emotional eating is not healthy. Just because I know these things, doesn't mean I don't sometimes feel like throwing a full-on, toddler style temper tantrum about not being able to eat french toast for breakfast. I know why I don't eat it -- if I ate a big plate of french toast covered in maple syrup first thing in the morning, I'd spend the rest of the day fighting to stay awake, feeling like crap, and wondering why in the world I'd done that. Even knowing that (from experience  ), there are still days that it's all I can do to quiet that demanding inner toddler and go fix myself some eggs and veggies. 

 

For you, it sounds like maybe it's not so much the sweet stuff as the snacky stuff, but I think the basic principle is similar. It's what you're used to. It's comfortable (and maybe comforting). And really, change, even change that you want to make, is kind of stressful. I think it's totally understandable that, even if you really do want to make a change to be healthy and logically know that's the best thing for you, there's a part of you that isn't quite ready to accept it just yet. I think all any of us can do is keep doing the best we can, and if we slip into old habits, get ourselves back on track as quickly as we can.