A confession--and opinion

[sammousse]

Ok--so I don't mean to incite non-adherence or anything, but wanted to share. . .

 

I'm on Day 15 and I feel great. I've been very strict and adherent to the rules. Seriously monitoring every ingredient and eating just what I should. Consistent and planning and ready for challenges. That is until I got together with a girlfriend I hadn't seen in a while and had an intentional "slip up" with wine (umm, more than a glass or 2 if you must know). Thing is. . . I KNOW the rules say start all over, but I just feel like that would be too demoralizing and might ultimately lead to me giving up the whole deal.

 

So, for those others out there who have take the heretic path that I am--messing up, but continuing on--I wanted to offer some moral support.

 

I DON'T think we should look at one slip up in 2 weeks (especially if it's accidental--though that's not my case) as a pure FAILURE. I don't think that what most of us consider a severe punishment (the restart) is warranted if our Whole30 hearts and minds are otherwise pure. I'm not saying I intend to cheat again, but I'm putting my vote in for a little self love and forgivenss in situations like these.

 

I don't expect any approval by the moderators but imagine there are others out there who are working hard and don't want to feel like failures for one small mistake.

 

Becky

 

p.s. I guess I have to qualify all of this by saying that I eat pretty clean regularly and have done proper elimiation diet processes before and don't really have any serious food sensitivities. I can understand the potential restart requirement for those who really do need 100% pure to figure out significant problems

[Guest Andria]

Hi there, I want to weigh in on this paragraph, in particular:

 

 

I DON'T think we should look at one slip up in 2 weeks (especially if it's accidental--though that's not my case) as a pure FAILURE. I don't think that what most of us consider a severe punishment (the restart) is warranted if our Whole30 hearts and minds are otherwise pure. I'm not saying I intend to cheat again, but I'm putting my vote in for a little self love and forgivenss in situations like these.

 

I think you are missing the point of the Whole30, as well as the intentions of moderators when the suggestion is made to start over after one 'slips-up.'.  The point of the Whole30 is a healthful journey to find out what foods and drinks make us feel the healthiest and which make us feel less healthy.  When you fall off the wagon with something like alcohol, gluten, dairy and soy, a restart is warranted because you will not achieve the benefits you would have had you followed through uninterrupted.   It is not about punishment or failure. It is about completing a program and following the rules of that program to evaluate changes and improvements in your health.  The problem here is that you made an *intentional* choice to have the alcohol.  This was NOT a slip-up.  A slip-up is when you asked the waiter every question in the book, but then come to realize at the end of your meal there was sugar in the salad dressing.

 

It is best that you not mislead others that this is okay.  New followers of a Whole 30 will get the impression that it is ok if they have an alcoholic drink, a cookie, ice cream whatever and continue on their merry way with their Whole30.  It is not fair to mislead these inexperienced followers, because then they will not get the most out of their Whole30.

 

Obviously, you are an adult and can proceed as you like.  But this will not be a Whole30.  Good luck to you.

[GlennR]

I find your description of a re-set as "punishment" really weird -- as if anyone else could make you do it if you didn't want to. Doing a re-set is always your choice, because you want get the most of out of the program.

[shparkle]

Becky, I can definitely understand where you're coming from with the "continue on" attitude you've suggested here. I had a slip-up yesterday night, where I realized there was sour cream in the guac I ordered at a restaurant, after asking if there was dairy in it and being told that no, there wasn't. I was so mad at myself! I did not want to start over! I was on day 6 when this happened.

 

My opinion is... I'm going to make it through the 30 days, and then see how I feel about continuing 6 extra days to make up for the slip-up. Like you, I also don't have any food sensitivities (besides allergies that I am aware of). But yeah, I agree with the others that this could be misleading to people who just started the program.

 

A slip-up is frustrating and restarting can definitely seem like a punishment. But it's only a punishment if you view it that way. I'm looking at it as an option for me, if I feel like it. I think everyone has that choice.

 

I sure do miss wine though, I have to say!! (I miss croissants more, but alas I will get one once my 30/36 days have passed)

[kirkor]

The Whole30 is not just about elimination of food groups to ferret out potential sensitivities. It's also about taking the time to reexamine your psychology around food and food-related activities. In this case, the activity of meeting up with an old friend. The Whole30 would've been a perfect time to see what an interaction with an old friend was like without the consumption of alcohol. Is your friendship one that is only fully enjoyed while sharing wine together? Quite possibly your friendship and your enjoyment of wine have absolutely no impact on each other either way, but now you have lost the opportunity to discover that this go-round.

It's not just about what we put in our mouths; it's about why.

[missmary]

 Like you, I also don't have any food sensitivities (besides allergies that I am aware of). 

 

Until you have eliminated a food for a prolonged period (30 days or more) you can not really know if you have sensitivities or not. I always thought I had environmental allergies, but they went away when I eliminated dairy and gluten (and came raging back when I reintroduced them). 

[Carlaccini]

Hi There,

 

As many forum members and moderators mention above - you are taking this whole 30 and looking at it from the wrong way.  You see it as a form of torture.  And it really, really isn't.  And yes we do understand that you are pretty sure that you don't have any sensitivities.  Then might I pose the question - why are you here?

 

I started my sixth whole 30 to hit a reset button after December - mainly because my December was a wild and crazy month for me emotionally (not because of the holidays) and I went off the deep end a bit.  

 

This past Saturday I was on day 27 of my whole 30.  And I ended it.  I made a choice to end it.  Basically on something that I really didn't want or had any real desire to eat.  The food choice wasn't even special.  Then why did I eat it?  Well, I stopped by my aunt and uncle on my way home from a business trip.  My uncle has a fairly terminal type of cancer.  The simple act of having a coffee and a piece of Christmas raisin bread slathered with margarine in his company is worth it to me.  I don't regret it.  Even though my rosacea on my face flamed up immediately. (crappy soy and seed oils)

 

I started over again immediately.  Not because i'm obsessive or anything like that, but because eating whole 30 style makes me feel better.  And my body deserves this.

 

I guess what I am trying to say is life is all about choices.  And if you think having 2 glasses of wine with a good friend is worth it - than so be it.  But then don't expect the results to be the same than if you would string 30 clean eating days back to back.

[MeadowLily]

Back in the day when I was working through my first Whole 30, the language was much stronger and tougher.   I actually liked it.    Now, when I look back - I really like it and wish that it would come back.   If you cruise the backroads of the forum or return to the early days of the Whole 9 - it would really blow your bangs back.   

 

Today, it's a walk in the park.   It wasn't harsh, just resolute in every way.   

 

Every fiber of our being does not want to give up sugar or sugar alcohols.   Following through with the rules will give you the best relief from cravings.   We all know that expiring from lack of Cheetos seems unlikely but sugar alcohols are stealthy.    

 

Almost everyone has a Big Kahuna trigger food.   Staying away from these trigger foods will get you to a period of stability.   The longer we stay away from the Big Kahuna - the better shot we'll have at getting there and staying there without the pain of withdrawal.    It's only 30 days.

 

Your Big Kahuna wants you to keep giving in and rationalizing that it doesn't really matter.   I think you already know that it does matter.    If it didn't matter, you wouldn't have come clean.   You would've kept it to yourself and kept right on.   It does matter and you really do care.    Your Big Kahuna is fighting with you.   So start over and kick the Big Kahuna to the curb.

[kirkor]

Almost everyone has a Big Kahuna

[toeinthetide]

On Day 10 of my (first) Whole 30 I had a slip up that I let happen, not even a sneaky ingredient I found out about later.  For a few days I powered on and thought it didn't matter, but after thinking about it I decided to re-set.  I am now on Day 17 of the re-set.  I am very glad I did it, and in no way felt like I was being punished.  In fact, I find it very rewarding to see the good results and knowing I am doing something good for myself.

 

I think if you do the Whole 30 with a little mistake, you are still doing a very good thing for yourself and there will be some benefit.  But it's not a Whole 30 anymore, and the benefits will not be the same.

[ultrarunnergirl]

Here's the angle that resonates the most from "Do I Really Have to Start My Whole30 Over?"

 

Don’t start over because we want you to—start over because you promised yourself you’d see this through, and we want you to honor that commitment. You decided to push the reset button on your health, your habits, and your relationship with food, and change your life through the Whole30. So see that commitment through.

 

If you make an off-plan choice during the 30 days, we want you to want to start over. Because you said you would. Because you owe it to yourself. Because you deserve it. Because the sense of self-efficacy that comes with tackling something as daunting as the Whole30 will spill over into all of the other areas of your life, setting off a good-health-be-good-to-yourself chain reaction that never, ever has to end.

 

Start over because you demand better from yourself, and you love yourself enough to make it happen.

 

Just like when you say "I will go to the gym/for a run/do that task tomorrow" but then keep putting it off, making excuses never makes you feel good about yourself. And that thing you committed to do doesn't go away, even with a good excuse. It just niggles in the back of your mind. There's only one way to fix that.

[Britishgal]

Before I did my first whole30 I'd have sworn blind I had no food sensitivities except milk. I'd eaten everything else for 39 years and never had a problem.

But upon reintroduction I discovered that wheat makes me exhausted and lethargic and bloaty for days and chocolate, ah my beloved chocolate, makes me so violently ill my 6 year old has been known to warn me about it in my weak (non whole30) moments. And I'd given chocolate alone up numerous times in the past (lent). With no ill effects upon eating it in bulk for days after Easter Sunday.

My point is that you will never know what your food sensitivities are unless you cut *all* culprits out for an extended period of time...you owe it to yourself to do it.

It is not about punishment or fighting against a restrictive system...it's about giving the only body you have a promise for only 30 days that you will test to see if there is a way food can make it healthier.