WeirdWhole30 ... But Committed

[JBW]

Hi all,

 

I actually started on September 6 after about a month and a half of slow rollout - we had a bunch of backpacking and camping trips and family visits that made it unwise to officially start in the summer. 

 

I almost didn't post here at all though because though I am committed to eating seriously clean for a month my family is not going to follow the full Whole30 rules. But if there's anyone else out there like me I'd love the moral support. 

 

Our specific issue is basically that we have been doing Nourishing Traditions/Paleo style diet for years and already been through the elimination-reintroduction process for several key foods. We have eliminated dairy in the past and know we're not intolerant. And we've had reaped good health effects from eating homemade yogurt, homemade fermented foods, and even homemade fully fermented sourdough bread. As a result I already know from experience (1) yogurt is a miracle food for us; and (2) everyone in my family tolerates my homemade fermented foods (including slow fermented sourdough bread). It's just when we eat too much commercial bread, pastries, pizza, or pasta that we get the weigh gain, heartburn, crash feelings, and hyperactivity (in the kids).  

 

But our whole family is plagued by our collective inability to really truly eat clean on a sustained basis. Due to our past Paleo Resets we already have a clear idea of what foods we tolerate and how we need to eat. And that diet is probably best described as "Whole30 plus homemade fermented foods." The thing is we just can't stick to it well enough to actually LIVE what we KNOW. We basically "cheat" so often that not a week goes by without our ordering pizza or caving and getting donuts or pastries at the local coffee shop, or whatever. 

 

So our resolve for this month is to actually eat the diet we already know works for us -- Whole30 plus grassfed dairy and homemade fermented foods -- with no cheats or slips or, um, falling face first into a box of donuts.

 

I definitely need all the moral support I can get. Because it's been about a decade now that I've eating "Paleo-ish" enough of the time to know that I feel better when I stay off the junk. And yet even though I know those foods make me feel awful I can't stop eating them. That seems like addiction. Which is why the Whole30 resonated with me. And why I'm committed. I want to live what I know! But I have to permanently conquer my sugar--donut-pizza-potato chip dragon to get there! 

 

I'm hoping that my experience resonates with some people here and I can find some moral support in this journey....

 

 

[QuilterInVA]

If you look it up in the blog, you will see you are not doing a Whole30 unless you follow every rule to the letter, no tweaks because you know dairy doesn't bother you, etc. She is very emphatic about this. Perhaps if you really committed to a Whole 30 for the entire 30 days you'd be able to sustain your healthy eating for the long term. There are a lot of us on here to support you and get you over the hump. Think about it this way, some people have done multiple Whole 30s. After the first one, they know what foods don't agree with them. They do the it as written every time. Our bodies change constantly so what works today may not work next week.

[JBW]

Sorry. I thought I was pretty clear before. But just in case. I have done the medical elimination diet and reintroduction process. Whole30 is a shorter and less strict version of that. So I am trying to figure out if this is a place where I can get support for actually moving into a permanent lifestyle of sticking to the diet that I've already figured out works for me. 

 

Maybe it's not here. But I thought I'd give it a shot. 

[jmcbn]

Hi JBW

You are very welcome to post here, but please know that without eliminating dairy and the sourdough bread what you are doing is not a Whole30.

There are many of us here in postWhole30-ville living this lifestyle, each of us with our own unique tweaks, but we each completed (at the very least) a Whole30 to get there. As QuilterInVA has said above, perhaps if you were to follow the protocol you could better tame your Sugar Dragon, and take a way some life changing habits - it's only 30days...

 

[HealthyPhD]

I can totally relate! I've been more or less paleo for two years but my 100% compliance of the first year gave way to increasing slips and cheats after I moved to a different state and away from my support network last year. I gained twenty pounds back after losing fifty and fell into old bipolar rhythms that I know had been made much more manageable by my cleaner diet before the move.  

 

I would like to incorporate the raw dairy as well, but I am going to aim for 100% compliance the Whole30 principals for thirty days, because it's just thirty days. Plus while I do think I get some great nutritional advantages from the raw dairy generally, I think that the sugar in it can have some negative affects that might slow me down. I certainly don't have an intolerance to any part of the dairy (I've done several stints of living on only raw milk for various reasons and had good results), for the purpose of this exercise I'd like to eliminate as much sugar, natural or otherwise, from my diet as possible. 

[JBW]

Thanks for the replies. Especially Healthy PhD. I guess we are kind of in a similar place in terms of our Paleo journey. But I also have some past history with eating issues that I think makes me extra cautious about the concept of "cutting out" healthy foods that I know I tolerate. And this exchange is already bringing up some of that bad old baggage.

 

I actually went for a walk and thought about this just now. And I realize that while I love the Hartwig's books and think they're spot on about many things ... online forums relating to diet take me into really dangerous territory.

 

I grew up with a mom with a raging eating disorder. Basically to use the Hartwigs' phrase she Ate All the Things All The Time. And I became the daughter who defined myself by being able to Eat None Of The Things. On top of that I have a stomach problem that could never be nailed down to a specific food intolerance and eventually turned out to be abdominal migraines. I've had them mostly under control for a number of years now - largely thanks to yogurt which is why I'm so hesitant to give that up!

 

I have read both the Hartwigs' books and really agree with them about pretty much everything. I also understand that a temporary total elimination of all potentially unhealthy food groups with extremely clear rules is a really helpful thing for many people. But it's not feeling healthy for me right now. Even coming online and talking to people about it is taking me back to that bad place. So I think I kind of have my answer about whether I should be posting here.

 

I guess I need to go it alone and figure out an approach that is healthy and appropriate for my personal circumstances. 

 

Thanks for the replies though. And best wishes to all! 

[HealthyPhD]

I don't know if you will revisit this post, but if you don't feel the Whole30 community is the right place for you, you might try the forums at Mark's Daily Apple. The community there represents a wide spectrum of ancestral dietary choices and you might find the support you are seeking. I understand it might be difficult here (I noticed a similar theme in the vegetarian Whole30 forum), and that the dietary restrictions that are specific to the Whole30 program don't mesh with your needs and choices. But I hope you can find the support you need!  Good luck on your journey!