Totally Confused

[tye8277]

Helps me!!! Next week I start my first Whole30 journey and I want to do it right...yet I have a few questions here. First and most important to me is supplements. I bought Dr. Mark Hyman's book The Blood Sugar Solution and subscribe to his newsletter...great informative information, however, he definitely recommends vitamins..not just a multi, but quite a few (expensive) vitamins. And I happen to take quite a few that are recommended by him. Multi vitamin/mineral, DHA/EFA,Super B complex, probiotic, digestive enzymes, grapeseed/reservatrol, turmeric, taurine, lipolic acid, zinc, calcium/magnesium/d3...quite the list...question is...should I even be taking these while doing the whole30? Should I even be taking these at all? Some Dr's say a big YES...some say a big NO...CONFUSING. What's a girl to do? (or boy)

And second question, what happens after the 30 days? I've read about people being on thier second, third, even 7th "round"?!?!? Do you just continue on after 30 days for another 30 days? Do you slowly reintroduce the foods that were eliminated, obviously not the processed junk, but certain grains, legumes or even dairy? Basically, I want to know what to expect AFTER 30 days...thanks all for any help you can offer, and I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more questions from me, and hopefully some positive input as well.

Oh yeah...exersice...yes? no? what, when, how....

[Michele Larocque]

Hi Tye

I strongly recommend getting a copy of "It Starts with Food." Most, if not all of the questions you've asked are addressed. It's a great read and has lots of resources.

Michele

[Colleen Roy]

Have you read It Starts With Food? I highly recommend getting that-it outlines the whole30 program and what to do after you finish. I can't reference my copy right now, as a third friend has borrowed it! I do believe it does not recommend any supplements other than magnesium citrate, but I might be wrong.

Yes, you slowly reintroduce food back to see how you respond after the 30 days. And if you are currently exercising, keep doing it! Your energy in the first few weeks might be wonky, but there's no reason not to exercise-you'll be eating plenty of food to sustain it!

Good luck!

[Tom Denham]

When you are eating a variety of real, whole foods exclusively, you do not need most supplements or vitamins. For a few supplements that might be of value, see these articles by the Whole9... http://whole9life.com/2010/08/whole9-supplement-evaluation-checklist/ and

http://whole9life.com/2010/09/supplements-part-ii/. I stopped taking most supplements after I started eating this way, including supplemental vitamins.

You can eat the Whole30 way for the rest of your life. I never reintroduced any non-plan foods after my first experience in 2010. However, I am not always strict and sometimes eat off plan foods when I am eating away from home. I don't know how much I go off plan, but my guess is less than 5 percent.

Some people do add favorite foods back into their diet if they tolerate them well. That is why we talk about reintroducing foods one at a time after your 30 days... to see how you do. If your good feelings and results reverse when you reintroduce something, you know that doing so is expensive to you and you may decide to leave that food alone.

Exercise is a good thing, but not a necessary part of doing a Whole30.

[CaseyD]

That's a lot of vitamins. I'm of the mindset that there's something wrong if you have to take your nutrition in pill form. Granted, I know that our food is sometimes (or often) grown in less than stellar soil, but I still think it is ridiculous if you have to take a dozen pills a day to be healthy. I'm sure you'll get some better answers on this topic, but I'll tell you my attitude on this. Take it or leave it.

I don't take vitamins. Not even a multi. I'm not against taking a multivitamin or any other vitamins MY doctor recommends I should be on (which there are none at this time), but I just don't. I eat a variety of produce and quality meats/bone broths instead. I feel healthy. I don't have any issues that I feel need to be addressed. It's just that simple to me.

On your second question, that depends on the person. I think the ultimate goal for a lot of people doing Whole30 is to make the transition into eating paleo. Some don't need to go back and discover how wheat, dairy, soy or sugar make them feel, and some do. The point of the reintroduction of foods afterward is to show you how these foods you eliminated affect you. For example, you may do a Whole30 and think "holy crap, why would I ever want to insert wheat/sugar into my diet again now that I got over the cravings?" But, you may not be convinced that dairy, rice, or soy ever did you any harm, so you carefully and intelligently experiment with those foods while leaving out things you just don't want in your diet anymore. Or, you may not be convinced of anything, and need to carefully and intelligently experiment with everything you had cut out. That's the point of an elimination diet (which is ultimately what the Whole30 is). This is why the decision is up to you. What do YOU want to happen after the 30 days?

Some need more than 30 days before they are prepared to make a decision and that's why some people will do Whole60s, etc. They just need more distance and time from those foods they eliminated before they can know what the right thing to do next is. Some of us came here with the goal of living paleo as cleanly as possible (I am one of those). So we use the Whole30 as a push to get us closer or permanently to that goal.

And, as for exercise, yes. Do it (so long as you are medically cleared to). Find something you love and do it. Get outside. Do things that get your heart rate up a couple times a week, lift some heavy things or do some body weight exercises (there are tons of resources online for this stuff), walk at a normal pace a lot, sprint sometimes. Just get out there and move your body. I'm sure someone will give you a better answer, but if you're new to exercise then the best place to start is to just find something you like to do and start doing it. Make sure you respect your body and give it rest/recovery. No 30-day "I'm going to workout hard every single day" crap.

Good luck! The Whole30 changes a lot of lives, including mine, so you're in a good place!

[jhmomi]

Check the Whole30 Resources for info too. Most of the questions and concerns people have about the program are addressed in at least one one of the articles. Scroll down the page to the sections "Staying Whole30 compliant", "Troubleshooting your Whole30" and "Life After Your Whole30". Perhaps you will find these articles helpful. I know I did. I especially love the "Carrot Train to Crazytown" Article.

http://whole9life.com/resources/

[Tom Denham]

tye8277 - Please do not post the same question in multiple forums. I am merging all three of your posts into the supplement section.

[Suzy]

Just wanted to chime in and say that human beings have only started supplementing with man-made vitamins since the early 20th century. I think mankind has survived pretty well without them for millions of years before that! I know we want to optimize our health, but I think if we just stick to local, mostly organic, and pastured food, we will be doing our bodies and our communities lots of good.

As an aside, it would be great if the world slowly came over to the Paleo side. We could grow vegetables and raise chickens instead of buying GMO corn and stripping the topsoil of the beautiful micro organisms and nutrients. Just sayin.

[jhmomi]

Just wanted to chime in and say that human beings have only started supplementing with man-made vitamins since the early 20th century. I think mankind has survived pretty well without them for millions of years before that! I know we want to optimize our health, but I think if we just stick to local, mostly organic, and pastured food, we will be doing our bodies and our communities lots of good.

As an aside, it would be great if the world slowly came over to the Paleo side. We could grow vegetables and raise chickens instead of buying GMO corn and stripping the topsoil of the beautiful micro organisms and nutrients. Just sayin.

Your post reminds me of some of Robb Wolf's comments about supplements in "The Paleo Solution" and I paraphrase him often. Here is what he says in the book,

"If I go into detail about a ton of supplements, fewer of you will actually do the plan in the book because you will try to supplement your way through a crap diet, no exercise, and inadequate sleep."

"It is unlikely that any supplement or drug will benefit you more than Paleo nutrition, a little exercise, and a good night's sleep. I know, it's not very sexy, but it's the truth."

[tye8277]

tye8277 - Please do not post the same question in multiple forums. I am merging all three of your posts into the supplement section.

Got it...wasn't sure which to post it in with so many questions.

Thanks all for your help and advise...it helped alot. I think that the problem comes from too much information overload. I will just try the 30 days with no supplements at all, and go from there. I guess it's all about listening to what MY body needs and wants. It makes sense to start from a clear point, and build from there. Not to be cliche, but Rome wasn't built in a day...and I expect that this will be a process with many learning curves. Looking forward to the journey. Thanks again.