Tobacco Products

[Ezemyr1]

The Whole30 plan does not allow tobacco products of any kind. For a non smoker this is a no-brainer. For a smoker it is a deal breaker. Or it is one rule that a smoker is certainly not going to follow. The tobacco ban either excludes smokers completely or sets up the habit of ignoring rules. The obvious answer is that the smoker should have some will power and stop smoking or not do the Whole30 plan. Smoking is certainly an addiction. A habit that is hard enough to break on it's own. Removing sugars, grain and other tasty foods from your system while also trying to flush the nicotine out is a recipe for failure. Smokers may be better off avoiding the Whole30 all together. Or until the nicotine ban is amended similarly to the potato restriction.

[kirkor]

Or until the nicotine ban is amended similarly to the potato restriction.

[MeadowLily]

At this particular time,  what Day are you on or have you started yet?

[ladyshanny]

The nicotine ban is not going to be lifted like the potato one was. There is a nutritional benefit to the potatoes for a large segment of people (fast metabolism, intense exercising etc) but there is no health benefit whatsoever to smoking.  Just in case you were going to wait for that amendment, it's not coming.  

 

As a former smoker and former very overweight person, I quit smoking (over a pack a day) and lost weight at the same time.  It sucked.  It was 3 pretty miserable days.  Yep....days.  And then it was about 3 mildly uncomfortable weeks.  And then?  Freedom! From food and nicotine.  I just told myself over and over again (sometimes 60 times an hour) that I deserved better, it was never going to get easier and that I was done giving my health & hard earned money to mega-corporations that didn't give a sh*t about me.  I also reminded myself that regardless of the discomfort I might feel while quitting, I wouldn't actually die.  

 

I highly recommend reading the book "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" by Allen Carr.  I also believe strongly that if you make the decision...the real, heartfelt decision to improve your life and reduce your reliance on the chemicals in both smoke products and foods, you are strong enough to fight through it.  

 

I don't think people who smoke should avoid a Whole30....I think they should come at it HIGHLY prepared in the food department and HIGHLY prepared in the "this is going to feel like absolute sh*t" department.  More prepared than the average person. I might even recommend that a person who is going to tackle both at the same time start working up to the food part.  Eliminate dairy for a week or two and then eliminate wheat for a week or two and then limit snacking/use proper Whole30 templates etc, until they are almost at a Whole30.  Going from pack a day + pizza, pop, pasta, sugar every day is going to hurt.  Harder than it needs to if you make the choice to change and then work into it.

 

Plus, it might help to know that you aren't the first and you won't be the last.  

[Cate MacColl]

You are not correct on the whole30 forbidding tobacco. I have just read and reread the rules. It states PREFERABLY no tobacco products. Where did you get the idea that tobacco products are forbidden? Did you read her (Melissa's) first book? Will power is not really the issue. Tobacco addiction and food addiction/poor nutrition are closely related. It makes much more sense to clean up one's eating habits to make quitting smoking, if that is what one wishes to do, simply much easier. 

[Miriam71]

 I have Allen Carrs  book. He underwent hypnosis to quit smoking and what the book is is basically a session. Unfortunately it didn’t work for me but I might try it again. 

[CassieK]

Although the rules are against smoking I don’t think that if someone wanted to do a whole30 who wasn’t ready to quit smoking yet should be told they can’t. Better your life with whole30 in my opinion prepare someone who is a smoker to stop smoking. So I don’t think it’s fair to say don’t do a whole30 if your not willing to quit smoking. That’s all the more reason to do one. When areas of your life start to improve other areas of your life reap those benefits as well... example job performance, more aware of financials and betting your life in that way... or getting ready to stop smoking because you feel so healthy and want more of that. My first whole30 I wasn’t ready to stop smoking and I didn’t and I still had more energy, slept better then I ever have, skin cleared up, lost weight, started doing better at work, exercise got easier and so on. I’m glad even though I was smoking I didn’t because I sets you up for success to do hard things like quit smoking or begin that process at least. Just my thought. Not saying whole30s recommendation to stop is wrong because it’s not but I don’t think people who aren’t ready should be shamed or told it’s not an option if you don’t.

[SugarcubeOD]

19 minutes ago, CassieK said:

Although the rules are against smoking I don’t think that if someone wanted to do a whole30 who wasn’t ready to quit smoking yet should be told they can’t. Better your life with whole30 in my opinion prepare someone who is a smoker to stop smoking. So I don’t think it’s fair to say don’t do a whole30 if your not willing to quit smoking. That’s all the more reason to do one. When areas of your life start to improve other areas of your life reap those benefits as well... example job performance, more aware of financials and betting your life in that way... or getting ready to stop smoking because you feel so healthy and want more of that. My first whole30 I wasn’t ready to stop smoking and I didn’t and I still had more energy, slept better then I ever have, skin cleared up, lost weight, started doing better at work, exercise got easier and so on. I’m glad even though I was smoking I didn’t because I sets you up for success to do hard things like quit smoking or begin that process at least. Just my thought. Not saying whole30s recommendation to stop is wrong because it’s not but I don’t think people who aren’t ready should be shamed or told it’s not an option if you don’t.

I don't think anyone is shaming anyone else... smoking is an addiction the same as drugs or alcohol if misused - this forum would not stand for people shaming others because of something going on in their life that they're struggling with and if you do see a post where it feels less than uplifting and encouraging, definitely flag it for us.

I do believe you're correct that doing a Whole30 while smoking may be the right order for some people to be able to kickstart something difficult like quitting.

Some housekeeping: we don't allow cross posting into multiple threads so I've removed the topic you created with this exact post - I think this is a good place for the conversation to continue.

[CassieK]

2 hours ago, SugarcubeOD said:

I don't think anyone is shaming anyone else... smoking is an addiction the same as drugs or alcohol if misused - this forum would not stand for people shaming others because of something going on in their life that they're struggling with and if you do see a post where it feels less than uplifting and encouraging, definitely flag it for us.

I do believe you're correct that doing a Whole30 while smoking may be the right order for some people to be able to kickstart something difficult like quitting.

Some housekeeping: we don't allow cross posting into multiple threads so I've removed the topic you created with this exact post - I think this is a good place for the conversation to continue.

Shaming was not the right word to use more discouraging to continue the whole30 if what I should have said. And sorry I am new to this so I didn’t mean to clutter! Thank you for responding! I just want everyone to be encouraged to try changing there life with this program no matter what there dealing with example smoking.