My "Timeline" Experience (or lack thereof)

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

Day 37 / Official* Day 23 (Saturday, December 12):

Food Log:

M1: 2 scrambled eggs, ground pork done in a skillet with cubed white potatoes and 1/3 of an apple and ~1.5 cups steamed broccoli.  Oh, and a mug of black coffee.  I’ve actually been drinking more coffee during my Whole30 than at any other time in my life.  Maybe it’s because I feel like I need to have SOME sort of vice (and coffee is better than nuts or nut butters); maybe it’s because I’m learning to better enjoy the flavour of coffee now that I have removed all sweeteners; maybe it’s because I’m looking for an energy boost other than from sugary foods.  Probably a combination of all three!

Pre-WO: Nil (no workout)

Post-WO: Nil

M2: Shrimp-cashew stir-fry (4-5 oz. shrimp + 1 oz. cashews) with ¼ white onion and 1 yellow bell pepper, seasoned with Tabasco and lime juice, served on a bed of ~1 cup of cauliflower rice with three large raw zucchini rounds with homemade mayo.

M3: The last of the leftover beef chili (L) served on a bed of ~1 cup of cauliflower rice, plus a medium bowl of mixed green salad with a generous drizzle of my homemade dressing.

 

Feelings Log: I think I am fully back to normal after my illness, and that’s a good thing.  I hope to have time in my schedule (it’s getting busy at the end of the year) to hit the gym on Monday.  I’m glad that I’ve got the ambition to go back!  It was never a question for me; working out has been a regular and welcome part of my life since my early teens, but for a few days while I was sick, the get-up-and-go just left me entirely!

 

I think my raw spinach consumption actually played a larger role in my digestive upset than my antibiotics.  I’ve continued those but my digestion has improved, whereas I have discontinued eating raw spinach (cooked/steamed/wilted is fine).  And 1 ounce of cashews seems to be fine (as long as I keep it to 1 ounce).  Again, the 1/3 apple in my breakfast was no problem.  Breakfast actually seems to be the best time of day for my 1 serving of fruit; later in the day just results in more night-time hunger/cravings.  Look at me learning things about myself and my marvelous metabolic machine!

 

I’m starting to look forward to the reintroduction phase of my Whole30.  I’ve probably said already that I want to do not just one food group at a time, but one food at a time to really pinpoint where my issues are.  I thought I was going to start with dairy, but who am I kidding, with Christmas looming I should probably challenge some forms of sugar (I’m thinking paleo-friendly natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, and agave nectar).  I’m definitely going to be making a batch (or more) of paleo Christmas cookies.  And then I can do my Greek yogurt, milk, hard & soft cheese, peanuts, lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, oats, corn, wheat, etc. (in roughly that order).  It’s going to be a LONG reintroduction!

[SimpleNotEasy]

Hi Lauren - You're doing so well!  

 

Good for you to realize that raw spinach doesn't agree with you. Ain't nobody got time to eat stuff that upsets the tummy!

[Alisonlcarver]

GGG--I have never made cauliflower rice but I am definitely interested!  Do you have a favorite recipe or method of cooking?

 

What I want to do with it is either make sushi rolls, or make deconstructed sushi where I just put some cauliflower rice, sliced avocado, cucumber bits, and raw sushi-grade tuna or cooked crab into a bowl and drizzle with some homemade spicy mayonnaise.  Maybe dip part of the meat into some coconut aminos. 

 

OK, I am totally making that soon! 

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

Hi Alison,

 

Oh my gosh, cauliflower rice is SO easy!  I took a series of pictures last night so that I can post it on my blog soon.  I just break some florets off of a head of cauliflower and steam them for a few minutes (I do it in the microwave in a container with a splash of water for 2 minutes on high, but you could also do it on the stove in a steamer basket or even just boil in the water directly for a few minutes).  Don't overdo it; you don't want mush!  Once the florets are lightly steamed, I toss them into my mini food processor and pulse until I have a rice-like texture - it doesn't take long! 

 

Your "de-constructed sushi" sounds WONDERFUL!  I will definitely make it, along with some dried seaweed (it's such a popular snack here that whole sections of the grocery store are devoted to it, and it's sold in little packets in the convenience stores).

 

Cheers,

 

-Lauren

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

Day 38 / Official* Day 24 (Sunday, December 13):

Snack: Update for Day 37/24 (Saturday) – I ended up going into the office after supper (oh the joys of Saturday night) and worked until after 11pm.  I definitely got hungry and was very grateful to have an Epic bar in my desk (Lamb Mint + Currant flavour).

 

Food Log:

M1: My husband gave me a funny look when I set out this breakfast (hey, we were out of eggs!): shredded cabbage fried in bacon fat (yup, I saved it after I cooked my bacon last week), ~1-2 cups steamed broccoli and cooked ground pork.  I started this meal with 1 banana and a mug of hot water with lemon.

Pre-WO: Nil (but I actually DID go work out! It felt GOOD to move)

Post-WO: 1 large raw carrot.  I didn’t have any proper post-WO food prepped and I found myself getting hangry and anxious about not having anything on hand (no cooked protein, etc.).  I baked a tray of chicken breasts and roasted a squash, but by the time it was ready (an hour after my workout), I was more than ready for:

M2: Mixed green salad with sliced strawberries (4 or 5), topped with a large chicken breast and homemade lemon-poppy seed dressing.  I also had a hunk of roasted squash and a packet of coconut butter.  I wanted to be sure that I didn’t feel tempted when we attended an afternoon Christmas Party/visit from Santa Claus.

M3: This is where things went off the rails.  While I was preparing dinner, I had four small dates with coconut butter in them (delicious, and I stopped at four).  Dinner itself was also fine: tilapia fillet pan-fried in ghee along with garlic, onions and artichoke hearts, served with boiled carrots (more ghee) and topped with lemon juice and capers.  But the dates must have stirred up my sugar dragon, and/or the fatigue of the weekend caught up with me and I made some silly choices after dinner: I sliced a banana and coated it with coconut flour, then pan-fried it in ghee.  I served it in a bowl with shredded coconut; some chopped dates and drizzled with coconut butter.  Still technically compliant (by the skin of my teeth) as far as ingredients, but this was definitely SWYPO, and it led to me eating easily another dozen dates and more coconut butter, along with a great big spoonful of Sunbutter.  I felt horribly about it at the time, but now that I’ve had time to reflect, I’m not about to kick myself out of the Whole30 for this experience.  I’m glad that I learned something and gained some insights:

1. I can’t push myself too hard without sleep (working late the night before, working out over the noon hour and no nap made me TIRED come Sunday night).
2. Attending events that are centered around (non-compliant) food can make me feel deprived and anxious – I need non-food strategies to combat these feelings.
3. Fried bananas are just too darn delicious for me (ironic that I learned about them via the Whole30recipes Instagram account).
4. You can make an absolutely delicious dessert with 100% compliant ingredients (and no baking)!  Something to remember for special events in my life after Whole30.

Feelings Log: Per my thoughts about M3, I still have some work to do so that I don’t feel deprived in social situations.  I learned some valuable lessons about my mindset and actions when I’m tired, and also about the effects of certain food choices when I’m in that state (as part of my reintroduction, I’m going to try it again when I’m well-rested and calm to see what the impact is).  What’s the point of the Whole30 if NOT to learn something like this?

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

Day 39 / Official* Day 25 (Monday, December 14):

Food Log:

M1: Another egg-free breakfast: a large tin of tuna packed in canola oil (I drained what I could), served over TWO bowls of mixed green salad with EVOO & balsamic vinegar.  I also had a clementine orange on the side.  My co-worker even commented: “What a healthy-looking breakfast!”

Pre-WO: Nil (year-end deadlines)

Post-WO: Nil (year-end deadlines)

M2: Leftover tilapia & carrots and a small fist-sized piece of roasted squash, plus 1 packet of

Artisana coconut butter.

Snack: By 5pm I was STARVING and opted to eat another Epic bar (Chicken Sriracha flavour – spicy!).

M3: Shrimp-cashew stir-fry (~3-4 oz. shrimp + 1 oz. cashews) with ½ yellow bell pepper, ¼ white onion, and zucchini, seasoned with lime juice and Tabasco and served over ~1 cup cauliflower rice and topped with a big spoonful of homemade mayo.  The coolness of a mayo was a great counter to the spicy stir-fry!

 

Feelings Log: Despite having a restless sleep Sunday night (due to the banana-coconut fiasco), my digestive system stepped up to the plate and by mid-Monday morning, I felt calm, clear and clean.  The aftermath of a Whole30 binge is so much gentler than a SAD binge.

[ArtFossil]

Wow, Lauren, that was a lot of feedback--fatigue + parties + workouts + hunger + dates . . . ! And you bounced back with your usual zeal and resilience.

What about banishing dates and nut butters and coconut butter for "a while"? Just a possibility. :-) And easy for me to say as I don't like any of those.

Are there other foods you love that you could grab while cooking dinner or at the party which will delight you but which do have brakes? For me, one of these is olives, and their fat and saltiness doesn't trigger any longing for sugar.

I have had lots of foods worth no brakes in the past, and also years where all foods DID have brakes. For now, I'm still sailing around the safe open waters and haven't sought out the rocky shoals where dangers lurk . . . like brownies. (My next food adventure tomorrow is a broccoli and kale salad from Trader Joes with THEIR dressing, which has some sugar, some safflower oil, and may have canola oil. (Has "or" in the ingredients list.)

When you're working, and a parent, and a partner, it's easy to get . . . depleted. And can be hard to nourish oneself. So I understand those feelings of being deprived, and that, as you say, you want to find ways to deal with that, and am sure you will.

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

Thanks for your kind words, ArtFossil!  I have actually managed to avoid nut butters throughout (almond butter is a food with no brakes for me).  It's this "seed" butter of Sunbutter that is worth watching!  I will not ban coconut butter, however, as it is a better source of fat than nuts & seeds and I just love it.  I will stick to the individual packets, though!  I do like your idea of olives - I need a nice jar of compliant green olives in my fridge!  The saltiness would probably also make them a good after-meal "finisher" in lieu of a sweeter "dessert" option.

 

Coming from a background of strong food restrictions (anorexia nervosa as a teenager, and various disordered eating patterns after that including compulsive overeating and most recently a binge-and-deprive cycle in IIFYM), I'm navigating the treacherous psychological impacts of ADDING restrictions to an already very restrictive protocol (Whole30).  Coconut butter was the "forbidden fruit" of my IIFYM (also called "flexible dieting") experience and I'm not going to "punish" myself by not allowing it.  The more I restrict that particular food, the more likely I am to binge on it.  Sunbutter is a different story because I had never tried it until Whole30.  I'd like to test it out in a few recipes in lieu of peanut butter, but it's not readily accessible for me so once the current jar is out, I just might opt to NOT re-order.

 

And yes, I'm the queen of pushing myself PAST healthy limits, trying to be all things to all people.  That's broader Whole9 stuff to fix!

 

Thanks again,

 

-Lauren

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

P.S. - I'm delighted to hear that I come across as "zealous" and "resilient!"

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

Day 40 / Official* Day 26 (Tuesday, December 15):

Food Log:

M1: ~1 cup steamed cabbage (I much prefer fried, but I was in the office EARLY – 6a.m. and had to make do with the microwave) with steamed bell pepper & zucchini, topped with 3 hardboiled eggs, 6 grape tomatoes, 8 green grapes and drizzled with EVOO and balsamic vinegar.  I also had a clementine orange on the side.  Sadly, within 30 minutes of eating this meal I realized that I was still hungry.  I also ate earlier than usual (shortly after 6a.m. vs. shortly after 7a.m.) so I was hard-pressed to make it to lunch time (which I didn’t do).

Snack: ½ an apple, 1 hard-boiled egg and 1 packet of Artisana coconut butter at 10:30a.m.

Pre-WO: Nil (gosh darn WORK! And even though I arrived at 6a.m., I didn’t leave until 6p.m. and I headed out to a work function – a movie night, actually for 5 of the TOTAL of 6 women on expatriate assignment with my company – out of a total of ~70 expats!).  I don’t envy those of you working 12-hour shifts on a regular basis!

Post-WO: Nil

M2: 2:30p.m. a loose handful of macadamia nuts, leftover cauliflower rice and beef chili (I thought the chili was gone, but it turned out that my husband DIDN’T eat the container I set aside for him – SCORE!  More for me)!

M3: 7:00p.m. (out of a to-go container at the movie theater): 1 small baked chicken breast (3 oz.), roasted squash, steamed cabbage and a large spoonful of homemade cranberry sauce (still going strong after Thanksgiving!  At this rate, I’ll still have some on hand for Christmas!).

 

I also packed an “emergency” packet of food to deal with any and all cravings that could arise at the movie theater: 1 packet of Artisana coconut butter, 1 Carrot Cake Larabar, 1 Epic bar, 1 packet dried fruit & nuts, and a green teabag (I was impressed that I was able to get all of this out of my desk at work!).  As it was, I didn’t end up eating any of it.  Not even the coconut butter!

 

Feelings Log: The highlight of my day was finding out that my local convenience store sells hard-boiled eggs in conveniently pre-packaged 2-packs!  Ah, the joys of a Whole30 life!  I’m also shocked to realize that I’m on day 26 – only four days left!  I’m not actually ready for this to be done.  I don’t need a Whole365, but I think I’ve figured out the baseline for how I’m going to eat going forward.  I’m still curious to see what I learn from the reintroductions and how to ride my own bike so that I am not slavishly adhering to strict guidelines and feeling guilty if/when I stray from them.  That would be, in my mind, just another form of disordered eating, or orthorexia nervosa (anxiety around NEEDING to eat “clean” all of the time, in a compulsive fashion, and feeling guilt and/or shame about eating something not deemed “clean” in my mind).

 

Well, forty days (unofficially).  That’s a duration of Biblical significance.  I’ve survived 40 days in the Whole30 “wilderness” of temptations. J

[Alisonlcarver]

GGG, care to share your recipe for cranberry sauce? I love it, but the stuff in the store has HFCS! Who knew?!

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

GGG, care to share your recipe for cranberry sauce? I love it, but the stuff in the store has HFCS! Who knew?!

I was so sad to find out that our Heinz tomato ketchup (which my son eats regularly) has HFCS.

 

The cranberry sauce is:

1 bag of frozen cranberries, thawed (I think I had a 12-oz bag, roughly.  It wasn't all that big, that's for sure).

~1 cup 100% orange juice

~10 small dates (probably 4-5 large Medjool dates), finally chopped

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

 

Put all of the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Turn the heat down and cook at a low boil until the cranberries "pop" then turn the heat down further and simmer on low for 20-30 minutes until sauce is desired thickness.  Serve warm or cold.  Store in a glass bottle in the fridge - keeps well for several weeks!

 

If it's not sweet enough for you, more dates!  My husband found it unbearably tart but I naturally like tart and I think my taste buds have adapted!

 

If you give it a try, let me know how it turns out!

 

P.S. - I was inspired reading about your chicken salad so I made my own and added curry powder as well.  Yum!

 

Cheers,

 

-Lauren (GGG)

[Alisonlcarver]

Thanks for the cranberry sauce recipe! Sounds yummy and easy! Win win! I may make it this weekend!

Glad you liked the chicken salad! Curry powder sounds like a nice addition! I have heard that adding white pepper adds a little something to chicken salad, so I think I may try that on the next batch. I make this stuff once a week, I love it so much!

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

Day 41 / Official* Day 27 (Wednesday, December 16):

Food Log:

M1: 3 microwaved eggs, steamed cabbage and yellow bell pepper drizzled with EVOO, 1 clementine orange, and ¼ apple. Oh, and a mug of hot water with lemon juice.  Despite the extra hours I’ve been working, I haven’t had coffee because I know it does not pair well with heightened stress/anxiety levels (I’m dealing reasonably well with the seasonal demands of my job – as long as I get sufficient sleep – check with me in January!).  I didn’t need a Whole30 to tell me this!

Pre-WO: ½ baked chicken breast with seasonings

Post-WO: ¼ baked chicken breast + open handful size roasted squash. 

M2: I was so inspired by Ali’s chicken salad recipe that I decided it was high time to make my own: rotisserie chicken breast pieces, shredded; ¼ apple, chopped; chopped white onion; chopped yellow bell pepper; homemade mayo; sea salt; black pepper; and curry powder!  YUM!  I had an entire crown of broccoli florets, steamed and topped with a 25g packet of dried fruit & nuts, and ~2 cups of mixed green salad with EVOO & balsamic vinegar.  Serving the broccoli with raisins made me realize it’s high time for me to make a broccoli salad, too!

M3: We went out for our year-end (a.k.a. “Christmas”) celebration with my team: bowling followed by dinner at a Korean restaurant (no, not all restaurants here are Korean simply by virtue of being in KoreaJ).  While everyone else ordered beer & pizza at the bowling alley, I had a black Americano coffee (so much for my “no coffee” statement – but in this social setting, it was fine, and I bowled even better than I usually do!).  I also had my “emergency” packet from yesterday’s movie night on hand, but didn’t need to touch it. 

 

I had high hopes for the restaurant (Korean restaurants usually have lots of fresh veggies on hand and dry meat that you can cook yourself).  I was so dismayed when they proceeded to cook the meat with a blowtorch and soju (Korean alcohol)!  I’m sure the alcohol was fully cooked off by the time they were done (3-foot flames, right in front of you at the table – it was quite the experience) but I figured since the Whole30 does not allow even vanilla extract because of its negligible alcohol content, I wasn’t going to chance the beef, either.  Thankfully, we got an order of raw beef (quite popular here!), so I ate that and also had some roasted garlic cloves and sautéed king oyster mushrooms.  They later brought some pieces of beef that we cooked at the table without soju, so I was able to eat that, too.  My dinner was sorely lacking green vegetable matter.  No wonder I was still hungry when I got home – I snacked on pieces of rotisserie chicken while I was preparing my chicken salad for tomorrow (today’s lunch is definitely worth repeating!).

 

Feelings Log: I officially messed up.  Not on purpose, mind you.  I accidentally took a sip of my co-worker’s sweetened coffee vs. my black Americano (I got our identical coffee cups mixed up).  It certainly wasn’t intentional, but it did happen.  On Day 27 (41), I’ve decided that I don’t care, although I was/am very annoyed.  I even went so far as to stop taking my B-vitamin supplement because of the glycerin in its coating!  However, sugar is one of the very first things expected to sneak back in.  It’s not as if I “accidentally” ate a bite of pizza and subjected myself to gluten and dairy and who knows what else!  And it’s not as if I’m not worth a full thirty day commitment.  I absolutely am!  By the time I’m done my reintroduction, I’m going to have well over thirty days of compliant meals.  How’s that for resilience?

[littleg]

Bummer about the coffee - though sugar is probably the most benign slip - especially for a sip!  Coffee has been proven to be an ergogenic aid - apparently applies to bowling too

 

Around here those hibachi grill places used to be popular for birthday parties... when I was a kid we'd go to eat and something they used there (the oil was always my guess) caused whatever food had been in my system to make a prompt and speedy exit within 1 hour.  I haven't been back to one in 20 years!  

[SimpleNotEasy]

Excellent resilience!

I am definitely making your cranberry sauce for Christmas (for myself to replace the sweet jello one that my mom makes) & am going to take a cue from you & Ali and step up my game with regard to chicken salad.

[Alisonlcarver]

SNE--I hope you like the chicken salad!  I love it!

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

Day 42 / Official* Day 28 (Thursday, December 17):

Food Log:

M1: 7a.m. - 3 microwaved eggs, steamed broccoli florets (an entire crown of broccoli) drizzled with EVOO and a delicious Jeju orange (Jeju is a Korean island just off the coast and it’s known for its incredible oranges for good reason).

Pre-WO: Nil

Post-WO: Nil

M2: 11:30a.m. - More homemade chicken salad (this time with ½ an apple, raisins and onions and no bell peppers) and ~2 cups mixed green salad with EVOO & balsamic vinegar.

Snack: 3:30p.m. - 1 Carrot Cake Larabar with Organic Throat Coat tea and 1 packet Artisana coconut butter (yup, I broke into my "emergency" food packet).

M3: 6:30p.m. - I had some cooked chicken breast and roasted squash on hand, so I cut those into cubes and threw them into a skillet with steamed cauliflower florets.  I cooked the lot of them in bacon fat and tossed in rosemary, sage and thyme.  The flavour profile was like a roast chicken dinner, without actually having to roast a chicken!  I felt like eating more after the meal (mentally, not physically) but realized that I was TIRED (with a capital T, no less) so I brushed my teeth and went to bed as early as I could (a.k.a. fell asleep in my son’s room after reading storybooks).

 

Feelings Log: I didn’t mention it yesterday, but I was pretty grossed out with how I looked and felt during my workout.  I felt like there was just a layer of blubber over my whole body (maybe made out of coconut butter – ha-ha!).  I can’t tell if that’s objective reality or just subjective because I don’t like the feeling when I miss a lot of workouts (not as many endorphins in my system).  It is entirely possible that I’m “softer” during these thirty days, and it may or may not be due to my exponentially higher fat intake (which has helped immeasurably with satiety, improved mood and far fewer urges to binge – hello, NSVs!).  If anything, it’s because this has been the fewest workouts I’ve done in a thirty-day period in a long, long time and it’s the sickest I’ve been in a thirty-day period.  Mind you, I realized that I care less than I might once have because, ironically, the Whole30 has taught me that my health and my wellness are about more than just one thirty-day period and I can and will get to a lean, fit and healthy physique in a long-term, sustainable way without starvation or deprivation. J (This “journaling” process is so worthwhile because it forces me to do my own cognitive behavioural therapy – thanks for being my free therapists!).

 

My husband asked me how many days I had left when I got him to taste the macaroni noodles (for him and my son) to see if they were cooked.  I don’t think he realizes that I am going to continue eating this way most of the time on a go-forward basis.  I’m trying to slowly switch him and my son over, at least for evening meals.  Not too hard to do, since I am the family cook!

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

"If you find yourself cracking out on (approved) nut butter or fruit one day, no harm, no foul. Just realize you’re probably trying to satisfy a craving, and make a plan to do something different the next time you’re stressed. - See more at: http://whole30.com/2014/01/perfect-whole30/#sthash.irRJqHDs.dpuf"

 

I found this immensely helpful, especially since this is my first Whole30.

 

Ali, littleg?

[Alisonlcarver]

I read the article. It's a really good reminder that we don't have to be perfect to complete a successful Whole 30. Our only goal is to eat good food, while avoiding non-Whole 30 food. It really is that simple. I appreciate the comfort of these statements in that article...

"Throughout the course of your program, we fully expect you to misgauge your hunger, indulge in some comforting Whole30-approved food when you’re feeling down, and make food quality concessions when you’re pressed for time, money, or options.

So if this is your first Whole30, be patient with yourself, and remember: You don’t have to be perfect, just follow the rules."

It's so easy to get bogged down with details and stress about doing everything to the T so that we get the best results we can. And while getting the best results we can get is desirable, it puts so much extra stress on us to be perfect. I had a bad craving/tough time earlier tonight and I think one of the reasons I was having a hard time was because of this whole FODMAP thing that I've been thinking of looking into. It is SO stressful to think of further restricting my diet at this point, when the Whole 30 is already restrictive! One of the reasons for my actions and feelings and loss of control earlier was because I got so stressed thinking of giving up high FODMAP foods and being 'perfect' in my efforts to figure out my tummy troubles. And while tummy troubles are not desirable, I need to remember to focus on the basics--I am eating protein, veggies, and fat for 3 meals (plus sometimes a snack when I am truly hungry). Sometimes it's a good reminder to just get back to basics. Sometimes I can give it my all and go all out and strive for perfection, but sometimes it needs to be good enough that I am trying my best, despite ocassional setbacks.

"If you find yourself cracking out on (approved) nut butter or fruit one day, no harm, no foul. Just realize you’re probably trying to satisfy a craving, and make a plan to do something different the next time you’re stressed. - See more at: http://whole30.com/2014/01/perfect-whole30/#sthash.irRJqHDs.dpuf"

 

I found this immensely helpful, especially since this is my first Whole30.

 

Ali, littleg?

About this quote in particular--I love that it talks about making a plan to do something different the next time it happens. I think this is the essence of the Whole 30. We are figuring out how to eat and deal with stressful situations in healthy ways. Through self-experimentation and trial-and-error, we are truly figuring out how to be healthy. It's so important to plan and prepare! Yes, meal planning and preparing is important, but I also think that situation planning is equally important. We need to have plans in place for specific situations--like when we come home exhausted and don't have plans for dinner, or when we go to a party and there's nothing Whole 30 approved, or when we get stressed and have a "what the hell" attitude (those are the worst!), or when we eat too much and feel bad about ourselves and may be close to a shame spiral that leads to a binge.

[Alisonlcarver]

Coming from a background of strong food restrictions (anorexia nervosa as a teenager, and various disordered eating patterns after that including compulsive overeating and most recently a binge-and-deprive cycle in IIFYM), I'm navigating the treacherous psychological impacts of ADDING restrictions to an already very restrictive protocol (Whole30).  Coconut butter was the "forbidden fruit" of my IIFYM (also called "flexible dieting") experience and I'm not going to "punish" myself by not allowing it.  The more I restrict that particular food, the more likely I am to binge on it.

This. This is the reason I came home tonight and ate an apple with sunflower nut butter and cashews and had serious cravings. Because I haven't had nuts in a few days and I WANTED some! If you can eat your coconut butter in moderation I say good for you and go for it because that will help you to not feel deprived and may prevent a binge!

Some foods with seriously no brakes may need to be taken off the list completely (like Diet Coke, peanut butter, and sugar for me), but we should use our discretion and best judgement when eating foods like this that lie in the gray area. I have a hard time just eating one piece of cake. I'll have three, and still want more. I'm serious. I eat sugar until I am disgustingly full, and still want more. But nuts and nut butters for me (and coconut butter for you) is different, I think. I would rather have one serving of nuts every day for 5 days than to refrain and resist nuts for 4 days and then have half a jar of nut butter on the fifth day. Maybe it all equals out to the same amount of servings/calories, but the mentality is completely different. The first one suggests moderation and control and ongoing satisfaction by small indulgences, while the second one shows strictness, exactness, forbidden foods (which make us feel deprived, of course) and then the *inevitable* binge and resultant lack of control and negative emotions.

[littleg]

I just came over here about asking what to do with cravings on Ali's log  Off to read that article...

[littleg]

Ok, so besides have a plan that wasn't quite what I was looking for  But, having a plan is a good idea.  Ali certainly had a plan and I always have a plan - I just don't do it.  That is what I need help with - doing the plan when I'm stressed and do NOT want to do the plan.

 

I will make my public service announcement here though of the book Brain Over Binge.  Ali and Lauren I don't think you guys struggle with binge eating like I do but this book might still be worth it.  Here is the *very* distilled version: binging is a habit that needs to be broken.  Just like as a kid when you fell and skinned your knee and ran to mom and she kissed it and put a band aid on it and you felt better... binge eating is "mom" now.  You feel crappy, sad, anxious, bored... whatever and off you go to binge land to feel better.  So, you simply must stop it.  Eventually (sine the brain has plasticity) that pattern will be rewired to not going from Point A to Binge.  

 

Ali (Lauren too, right?) you stopped diet coke.  One day your rational brain said "no, this is dumb, this is poison, I will not have it anymore".  It was probably hard at first, you probably craved it and those cravings may have really, really, really made you go have a diet coke.  But you didn't.  And it is probably easier now to not have one...?  Right?  

 

Now binge eating in its entirety is much harder to stop than diet coke, but it is the same premise.  If you "ride out" your binge urges eventually your binge urges will go away because the reward stops coming.  The book does a better job describing this  I think there are things one can do to help this process: eat a big satisfying breakfast, try not to get too hungry, always eat a REAL meal before having foods that are likely to trigger a binge, etc but at the end of the day one simply must rewire his/her brain due to the established addictive behavior wiring that exists.  

 

When I do a W30 many of the elements are in place to help me succeed (mostly, I eat food ).  My binge urges definitely diminish and I think this is likely because the reward of the binge doesn't happen.  I've had apples for dinner 3x now in the last week.  I left for work yesterday thinking "oh, I'd like apples tonight...".  Clearly my brain is already re-greasing that pathway - probably because I've given in more lately than normal.  But when the pathway isn't greased those binge urges definitely fade.  

 

 

Ok, novel over

[jmcbn]

...but at the end of the day one simply must rewire his/her brain due to the established addictive behavior wiring that exists....

Bingo.

Great post. But this sums it up. You have to break the cycle & develop new behaviours, create a new neurological path - one that ultimately gives the same reward.

 

[Alisonlcarver]

Ok, so besides have a plan that wasn't quite what I was looking for  But, having a plan is a good idea.  Ali certainly had a plan and I always have a plan - I just don't do it.  That is what I need help with - doing the plan when I'm stressed and do NOT want to do the plan.

 

I will make my public service announcement here though of the book Brain Over Binge.  Ali and Lauren I don't think you guys struggle with binge eating like I do but this book might still be worth it.  Here is the *very* distilled version: binging is a habit that needs to be broken.  Just like as a kid when you fell and skinned your knee and ran to mom and she kissed it and put a band aid on it and you felt better... binge eating is "mom" now.  You feel crappy, sad, anxious, bored... whatever and off you go to binge land to feel better.  So, you simply must stop it.  Eventually (sine the brain has plasticity) that pattern will be rewired to not going from Point A to Binge.  

 

Ali (Lauren too, right?) you stopped diet coke.  One day your rational brain said "no, this is dumb, this is poison, I will not have it anymore".  It was probably hard at first, you probably craved it and those cravings may have really, really, really made you go have a diet coke.  But you didn't.  And it is probably easier now to not have one...?  Right?  

 

Now binge eating in its entirety is much harder to stop than diet coke, but it is the same premise.  If you "ride out" your binge urges eventually your binge urges will go away because the reward stops coming.  The book does a better job describing this  I think there are things one can do to help this process: eat a big satisfying breakfast, try not to get too hungry, always eat a REAL meal before having foods that are likely to trigger a binge, etc but at the end of the day one simply must rewire his/her brain due to the established addictive behavior wiring that exists.  

 

When I do a W30 many of the elements are in place to help me succeed (mostly, I eat food ).  My binge urges definitely diminish and I think this is likely because the reward of the binge doesn't happen.  I've had apples for dinner 3x now in the last week.  I left for work yesterday thinking "oh, I'd like apples tonight...".  Clearly my brain is already re-greasing that pathway - probably because I've given in more lately than normal.  But when the pathway isn't greased those binge urges definitely fade.  

 

 

Ok, novel over

"That is what I need help with - doing the plan when I'm stressed and do NOT want to do the plan."

Yes, this is really difficult! When you have resolve and determination and a stubborn demeanor it is easier to stick with the plan. When you're tired, stressed, etc., well, that's another story. I think the word 'want' is key in your statement too. You've heard of the 'what the hell' phenomenon, right? It's when you 'mess up' with food choices and then think you've ruined the day or week, so you say 'what the hell' and continue to eat poorly until you come up with a new start date. It's a very black and white thing. Like a light switch. Sometimes you have resolve...until you don't. It's hard to stick to the plan in these times, because we want to be so good and do things as good as we can. The reason I think the word 'want' is important is because sometimes my brain resists my best intentions. I truly want to do my best and resist cravings and be healthy, but man sometimes despite what I know about health and even knowing how I will feel after I eat certain foods or quantities of foods, I still want to give in and don't want to follow the plan. I think it might be due to such a structured way of eating. Sometimes my body rebels against my best efforts and it just wants something old and something comforting and something that it used to enjoy (junk food). Not that I am powerless at all. It's just harder to stick to a plan or even want to stick to a plan during moments like this.

No, I don't struggle with binges. Like Lauren, I too have a history of anorexia. Two years in high school. It was bad. Got down to 89 pounds, at 5'3". Not good. But never binging. Sure, every now and then I have far too many pieces of cake or a little too much dinner and go to bed with a tummy ache, but it is because the food tastes good, not because I feel the need to binge. I am sorry you are dealing with this. Any type of eating disorder is so hard. It is so hard to get past he mental aspect of it, because it is more than the food. This is one of the best things about the Whole 30 (there are so many good things!)--I get to be healthy while still eating! The past disordered eating, being hungry all the time to lose or maintain my weight, and focusing on my size and weight while CLEARLY not focusing on my health is gone during the Whole 30. If I ever feel like I am adopting disordered behaviors, I stop myself right there and have a serious heart to heart. I have enlisted my husband's help too, and in the past I even told my sister--if I get below this body weight, you need to have a talk with me because you know my history. Enlisting the help of others, whether family, friends, or *ahem* Whole 30 friends is so helpful and provides not only support, but an outsider's perspective that we just can't see sometimes ourselves.

Yes, I quit Diet Coke. Diet Coke Is. The. Devil. I struggled with it for years saying--well there are no calories and sometimes I drink it to fill me up instead of eating a snack because the bubbles fill me up so it can't be that bad for me. Wow. How crazy is that? One of the main reasons I stopped it was because it was starting to have the opposite effect on me. I would need it in the morning or else be irritable, moody, and exhausted All. Day. Long. I would drink 4-6 cans every day and still not have extra energy. I looked awful. My eyes were tired, my skin was not smooth. I would drink it in place of water. I would drink it in such excess sometimes that it would dehydrate me so much I would feel hungover the next day. Seriously hungover, like I had had a 6-pack of beer the night beforehand. I wrote down in a journal exactly how I was feeling at my lowest and most addicted point, and if I ever want a Diet Coke in the future I reference that list and remember exactly how bad I felt. I was miserable. I was depressed. Giving it up was hard. I went through the 5 stages of grief, I really did. I was pissed, I was sad, I tried bargaining (well maybe just one...) Finally it got easier and I haven't craved one since starting the Whole 30. I actually don't even think about Diet Coke or soda anymore, unless I walk by a vending machine or see a stupid Coca Cola commercial. Stupid advertising.