Would I know if they didn't honor my requests?

[mrsblanks]

I'm on Day 4 of my very first 30, and ate at a super nice restaurant for my hubby's birthday tonight. I called ahead to discuss the compliant food options, and they were super helpful....but now that I'm home, I'm wondering if I would know whether or not they did what I asked. Would their using butter (or a lesser grade oil) rather than olive oil make a difference in how I feel so soon? I guess I'm asking if I need to start over, and how I'll know if I do or not? I only ask because this is the first night I've felt sluggish and had heart burn since I began. Or could that just be attributed to being on day 4? Thanks in advance, friends!

[MeadowLily]

You'll never know unless you have food sensitivities and can tell something is amiss immediately.   It's blind faith when you walk into a restaurant and talk to your server.  They can tell you the butter is clarified and basically say yes to everything and then laugh their hineys off.   It's true.  

When you're dealing with a big kitchen, prep area....you have no idea what kind of cross-pollinationcould be going on back there.  The decision to start over will be yours.  It's up to your best judgment.

Does it make a difference?   You darn tootin' it does...if you plan on an accurate reading from your Reintro process.   If you don't plan on a reintro,  it's still up to you.  

[ShannonM816]

You don't know. But that's okay.

 

Here's an Instagram post from Melissa Hartwig that talks some about this type of situation:

 

 

melissa_hartwigI'm seeing a theme right now on #Whole30 social media, so let's talk about the difference between being attentive-slash-dedicated to the Whole30 rules and boarding a bus to Crazytown.
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Read your labels. Every label. If you don't know what something is (like "natural flavors"), look it up for your own benefit. This is encouraged. It's a good habit to get into, knowing what's in your food and drink, and on the Whole30, it's essential for making sure you're not accidentally consuming something that could break your "reset."
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However, you won't always know where ingredients come from, and when it comes to research, sometimes you have to just say enough is enough. Did your waiter say there is no sugar in the sauce? Cool. Please don't head back into the kitchen to interrogate the chef. Did a crouton from the neighboring salad bar tray ever fall into the kale you're about to eat? Please tell me this is not something you would actually consider as a non-celiac. Do labels fail to specify exactly where their "natural flavors" come from? They're not off-limits on the Whole30, so call it good and enjoy.
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You COULD abstain from anything you aren't 100% certain about, but are you getting a little too pickypants here? You could skip the kale or the sauce just to be safe (that waiter did look a little shady), but I'm calling that taking your#Whole30 into obsessive territory. And start looking up any ingredient and you'll find a reason not to eat it; spinach contains toxic mineral-stealing oxalates, "natural flavors" could be derived from the anus of a beaver, and ingesting citric acid can tie up your fate profit strings. (Only one of those statements is false. Probably.)
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My point is this: there's a fine line between attentiveness and crazytown. At some point, you just have accept that you are staying compliant with the rules, make the decision to eat the thing, and move the heck on. Let's keep it in perspective, people... if natural flavors is the worst thing in your diet, you're doing okay. #melissarants #julywhole30

 

 

 

 

Basically, do the best you can to ensure that everything you eat is compliant -- that means you do have to ask at the restaurant and specify what you want. But don't drive yourself crazy second guessing everything. 

 

As for the sluggishness and heartburn -- it's not unusual to be tired your first week or so on Whole30, and there are plenty of Whole30 compliant foods that can cause/exacerbate heartburn for some people. If you had a really major reaction -- major digestive issues, obvious allergic reactions -- then I'd say call the restaurant and talk to them, if for no other reason than they need to know that it's important to listen to what people order and comply with their requests. But for heartburn and sluggishness, I'd probably just keep going and not worry too much. 

[Saree_maree]

Shannon, thank you so much for sharing that post of Melissa's! It is important and awesome!

[mrsblanks]

Oh you guys!!! THANK YOU for commenting!! I read the book, devoured the web pages, and have been fully committed- but still somehow have lost all the mojo I had for the first few days of making good food choices. All that to say, hearing from you all helped me think it through a little more rationally. And after reading Mel's post I think I have to rest in the knowledge that I did the best I can and move on. The thought of someone else messing up all my hard work freaked me out a bit though. So I think I will see how I feel on day 30, and might just choose to go another 5 just in case. Thank you all so much for your perspective-- I might need to post again during this weekend since my son has an all-weekend swim meet and in certain we will be eating out.