Not eating Whole30 - disadvantage to good health?

[jburth7]

I'm not really sure how to word this question.... but the premise of Whole30 is for basically two things - 1). to develop or re-establish a good relationship with food and 2). to provide better health by eliminating a lot of the 'triggers' for bad health - leaky gut, inflammation etc.

 

My question though is this is not a Whole365, so inevitably everyone eats non-compliant foods once in a while.  If you do the Whole30 and then the re-introductions and find say that you don't have a reaction to a small amount of milk in your coffee everyday, does that mean this food group is not causing problems in your body?

 

Or is the inflammation, etc. still present and you just aren't reacting to it?

 

After doing two Whole30's, I honestly can say that I want to eat this way the rest of my health.  I enjoy the good food I've found and the way I feel so much that most non-compliant foods are not 'worth it' anymore.  However, I still enjoy an occasional splurge... specifically for me, sugar.  But, I've found that it does give me a wicked headache for the rest of the evening... most days, this is not worth it, but on my birthday or my kids birthday, that gooey piece of cake with frosting is heaven and I will continue eating it the rest of my life   So, it's obvious that the sugar is setting me back because I do have a reaction.

 

But, I also enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning (namely because I'm nursing and get up about 4-5 times a night with my little one so I honestly feel I need a boost of caffeine).  I do not like my coffee black, so after the Whole30, I added a splash of milk in with my coffee and never noticed a difference, no reaction, no change, nothing.

 

But... is this detrimental to my health without me realizing it?  Sorry for the rambling, this was long-winded, but like I said, I wasn't sure how to phrase my question

[MeadowLily]

After a Whole 30 days....and a Slow Roll Reintroduction or Normal Roll,  Quick Roll -  Dallas and Melissa say..."Don't stand at the door....Go On.  Use the Whole 30 as a Springboard into the rest of your life".

 

There's no such thing as a 365 because the very minute you test and experiment with your foods, your Whole 30 is over.   You've just reintroduced some non-compliant item and that technical Whole 30 is finished.

 

It is impossible to eliminate non-compliant items for months on end and for the rest of your life.   Something is going to slip through the cracks somewhere and that cannot be called a Whole 30.

 

We're under no obligation whatsoever to add the foods back in that cause us problems.   Stomach, pancreas or any other body part....including the brain.   Testing and experimenting with your foods is the only way to determine what's right for you going forward.    There is no one size fits all.

 

I've been working on a bunch of sugar avoidance for over a year because of T2 Diabetes.   The occasional splurge may be just the ticket for you.    For me...bouncing in and out of sugar anything is not a so worth it event.   Is sugar detrimental to my health?  Yep, it sure is.

 

Do I miss it?   Nope.  

 

I'm Riding My Bike.  I've used the Whole 30 as a Springboard into the rest of my life.  I'm not standing at the door.   I do visit all of the time because I live in the middle of nowhere and my Whole 30 friends are the best kind of friends I've ever known.

 

They don't judge or smack you around because of how you look.  There's no mean comments from the Peanut Gallery or backhanded compliments.   I mill around with the folks and shoot the breeze.  I know there's no such thing as a  Whole 365.    I didn't just fall off the sweet potato truck. 

 

You'll find your way and your so worth it moments.   You will. 

[ShannonM816]

Have you read the Dairy Manifesto? It addresses this some, and It Starts With Food goes into it a little more.

 

Basically, dairy is not ever going to make you healthier. It's definitely possible that it's doing something that you don't realize. I know for me, after my first W30, I felt great, did some reintroductions, and had no particular reaction that I noticed to dairy, so I went back to W30 eating plus half & half in my coffee in the morning, and after a while, maybe a week or so, I realized some aches and pains that had gone away during my W30 had come back. So I'm pretty sure it was affecting me, even though I didn't realize it at first. 

 

I still like dairy in my coffee, but have grown to also like coconut milk, sometimes with a bit of coconut oil in it. So I mostly do the coconut milk at home, and only have dairy if I'm out somewhere. I also drink less coffee now than I used to, which is probably not a bad thing. 

[Munkers]

Like you said, the Whole30 is designed with the intent to optimize human health by avoiding all the things that are not so nice to our bodies. After your 30 days, you come to a point where you have to make some decision making about what to add back, how much, and how often. There IS a difference between adding something back a permanent daily part of your diet and bringing it back as an occasional treat only because you're going to be consuming them in differing amounts. You may be able to tolerate a splash of cream in your coffee on the weekend, but like Shannon shared, that doesn't mean you're 100% in the clear to have it every day and you may realize that some troubling symptoms are creeping back over time.

 

Outside of the Whole30, I do incorporate some occasional dairy and certain added sweeteners, but not as an every day thing. I'll use regular butter instead of ghee, have some cheese, and, yes, even ice cream. I've learned that any amount of dairy (even ghee) causes some sinus congestion. Not severe and not long lasting, but it's still there. For ice cream, I'm pretty much limited to a single scoop or else I'll have a very unhappy tummy and if I do dairy multiple days in a row, it takes smaller and smaller amounts to cause those symptoms. With the sweeteners, I've found that white sugar gives me a wicked headache. Coconut sugar, honey, and maple syrup don't give me an immediate headache, but higher sugar consumption does affect my monthly cycles and makes my PMS worse.

 

What I'm mainly getting at is this: After the Whole30, we're all going to have indulgences, special occasions, and treats and, in the long run, these are okay. Maybe you have some "comeuppance" for a day or two afterward, but overall you're still eating a good, nourishing diet. When it comes to foods to add back to the daily routine, that's a judgement call for you to make. You may notice the return of symptoms down the road or you may not. You may decide that mild symptoms are "worth it" for whatever you're adding back in. Ultimately, you're the one who has to make that call.

[jburth7]

Thank you all! You shared what I assumed were the 'correct' thoughts and a lot of what I've been thinking but better articulated it for me.

The big takeaway though was the point you all made about a daily 'treat' versus the occasional splurge. The dairy in my coffee will have to go - while I'm justifying I need it because of my sleep deprivation, if I'm being honest with myself it is replacing my former diet soda in the morning and I used that even prior to having kids!! I'm going to try the coconut milk in the coffee and if that doesn't cut it that I will use the coffee with a splash of milk only when I truly need it to keep my eyes open.

Otherwise, I will continue to forge ahead with the occasional splurges knowing that I'm not doing the greatest thing but I also need to live too . Thanks!