Struggling post whole30

[kimmills04]

Hi there,

 

I have recently finished my second whole30. My first round of whole30 I did in April this year and absolutely loved it! I felt good about myself and I was starting to enjoy food and the way it made me feel. My second whole30 was a real struggle to get through. I felt awfully restricted and every meal felt unappealing and boring. Post whole30 has been a real mental battle for me. If I decide to eat a piece of bread, rice or something non compliant I get really upset with myself that I have 'cheated' or had a 'treat' and then think I need to go back to doing another whole30 to rectify what I have just eaten...this behaviour then snowballs into a full blown binge (which really defeats the purpose of my first thought). I cant help but think that sometimes the whole30 guidelines can actually create a bad relationship with food. I mean having a piece of bread is way better than having a cheesy greasy pizza or a pint of ice cream in the big scheme of things. I don't know how to deal with or plan for the mental battle when eating something off plan and I don't want to feel as though I am restricted for the rest of my life...

 

Any advice or if other people have also felt this way I would love to hear your thoughts

 

Thanks, Kim

[CaseyD]

This is what has happened to me, but it took me a long time to really see it. My first Whole30 was amazing and opened up a world for me, then in my pregnancy I added back a lot of old foods... long path later, and I've done many more Whole30's trying to get back to a place where I felt when I did my first one. In between I binge badly, and then the Whole30 feels a lot less enjoyable and restrictive than it did the first time. I also feel like I've developed an unhealthy relationship with food that I now can't figure out how to break, and at the same time go back to eating paleo for my health (because I really do need to). I don't know how it got warped in my head like this, because the first time around it certainly wasn't warped for me. It wasn't until after my second Whole30 that I started this weird cycle in my head. I would be interested as well to hear how one breaks this mental cycle and eats very healthy at the same time, because that is definitely what I need!

[ShannonM816]

Please remember that no one here is a doctor, and if you're at all concerned you may be developing an eating disorder, please talk to a professional. That's really not something that strangers on the internet can help you with, but it is something you would want to address as soon as you can. 

 

That said, many of us have trouble finding a balance where we're not obsessing over every ingredient in everything all the time, but we're also not just eating pizza and ice cream all the time. For myself, I try to remember that I'm 40 years old, and my eating has been -- we'll say less than ideal    -- for pretty much all of that time. I try to remember that eating, even eating bad-for-me food, is not something to feel guilty about. It's a choice I made. Some days this works pretty well, but some days I still feel guilty or like I've failed. It's a work in progress, but that's really all I can do. 

 

I don't have all the answers, but I'll link to some articles that might be helpful. Sometimes It Is Hard. Carrot Train to Crazy Town. Dear Melissa:How do you eat (this is the first in a three-part series, there are links to the others within it). Whole30: A Learning Tool.  

 

I hope some of those have something useful for you, and I hope you figure out what works for you.

[SparkInfused]

I have had this kind of struggle in many aspects of my life...food, exercise, saying yes to everyone, etc. One thing I have come to understand is that life isn't perfect and that I can't expect myself to be perfect in an unperfect life. Life is good, and I live in moderation. I do the best that I can within reason, and try not to get caught up in the details. I find when I look at things, I usually have done more right, then wrong. I consider that to be positive. Also, I have found that in running, if I run too many days per week while training, I do worse at the event I trained for, than if I take 2 rest days per week. I have found that rest is just as important as the action. I apply this lesson that I have learned to most everything. 

[rdallas05]

Hi there,

I have recently finished my second whole30. My first round of whole30 I did in April this year and absolutely loved it! I felt good about myself and I was starting to enjoy food and the way it made me feel. My second whole30 was a real struggle to get through. I felt awfully restricted and every meal felt unappealing and boring. Post whole30 has been a real mental battle for me. If I decide to eat a piece of bread, rice or something non compliant I get really upset with myself that I have 'cheated' or had a 'treat' and then think I need to go back to doing another whole30 to rectify what I have just eaten...this behaviour then snowballs into a full blown binge (which really defeats the purpose of my first thought). I cant help but think that sometimes the whole30 guidelines can actually create a bad relationship with food. I mean having a piece of bread is way better than having a cheesy greasy pizza or a pint of ice cream in the big scheme of things. I don't know how to deal with or plan for the mental battle when eating something off plan and I don't want to feel as though I am restricted for the rest of my life...

Any advice or if other people have also felt this way I would love to hear your thoughts

Thanks, Kim

I've always had a horrible relationship with food, but after doing my first W30 in 2013 it has gotten so much worse. While I'm doing a W30 I'm OK (I've completed 2 in their entirety and failed at several), but when my 30 days are up it's hell. I obsess, binge and then feel guilty. It's a vicious cycle.

[GFChris]

I've always had a horrible relationship with food, but after doing my first W30 in 2013 it has gotten so much worse. While I'm doing a W30 I'm OK (I've completed 2 in their entirety and failed at several), but when my 30 days are up it's hell. I obsess, binge and then feel guilty. It's a vicious cycle.

If this is your challenge, consider that perhaps the best next step for you is to take a break from a Whole30 and seek help from a professional counselor who specializes in food binging issues.  For some, the structure of the Whole30 can kick up negative food behaviors, and in that case, an appropriate step is to seek assistance outside of the program.

[kimmills04]

_{Thanks for all your replies - some good points have been made and maybe something I need to look into. rdallas05 we seem to be experiencing the exact same thing and certainly is a vicious cycle :-(}