Struggling to figure out what is right for me

[Bucket]

I felt good after my first Whole30, but not anywhere near as great as I had expected I would. Focusing on whole foods is important to me. I have been a very healthy eater all along, but cutting out all dairy, grains, and legumes was new.

Half way through my first Whole30 my employment pass was finally approved and I was able to start my job in Singapore. We are new expats and doing a Whole30 outside of the US has been a bit of a trial, but starting work made things a bit harder. Still, I was really pleased that I completed the Whole30 with no slip-ups.

But I wanted to see better results, so after a brief hiatus that involved some 85% cocoa chocolate, cocoa powder and coconut creme, and one night of pizza and soda with my husband, it was back onto the Whole30 bandwagon for me. This time in order to see better results I cut out nuts and fruit unless they were in recipes - almonds and raisins in cauliflower cous cous, for example. I also completely eliminated nut butter and coconut milk/creme unless it was in a recipe.

I think the new level of restrictiveness has not been good. It has made it harder to stay on track. Also, I think that the lack of fruit has compromised some of my energy during the day. Now that I have reintroduced fruit I also believe that fruit more than vegetables is responsible for keeping me regular.

I guess this is all about learning. But I think I would like to hear more from people about what goes on after Whole30. Do people mostly stick to paleo with occasional revisits to a strict Whole30? I know that Melissa and Dallas have written about off-roading, but there seems to be something missing if they are also writing about doing a few days of strict Whole30 before traveling or planned off-roading. What happens between a month of Whole30 and the strict tune-up Whole 5s?

[Renee Lee]

Based off M&D's good food principles, the W30 way of eating is "optimal" for health. Assuming you agree with the principles and you agree with that claim, YOU have to decide how close to optimal you want to be/live/stay, and the longer that you're "mostly w30," the things that AREN'T start to become less bad.

When I first met Melissa, she used to kick up her heels with maple syrup (I think on pancakes, but don't remember)

Now do you know what she goes crazy with? Peas and hummus.

It's a process! Just do your best

[jrustdc]

I think it looks different for each person, and you are beginning the process of figuring out what YOU need, such as fruit. It's also helpful that you are figuring out that too much restriction is hard for you. In some ways the Whole30 is the easy part, and figuring out what your personal plan is going to look like is the tough part. I'm in a post-Whole30 phase right now and definitely haven't figured out a good balance myself. But I know if I keep trying (and probably do another W30 soonish) I will keep getting closer to figuring out what works best for me, physically and emotionally.

[Tom Denham]

It sounds like you did not replace fruit with anything when you cut it out, so lower energy was predictable. If you eat starchy veggies like sweet potato or butternut squash, you can keep your energy levels high and keep yourself regular. Fruit requires less preparation, but I bake 6 sweet potatoes at a time and keep them stocked in my refrigerator so they are always available.

I eat Whole30 perfect at home. I order the best I can when I eat out, but don't worry about seed oils or sugar in sauces, etc. And my splurge lately has been pita bread with babaganoush made with yogurt.

[Laura B]

For me, I mostly stick to W30 as much as possible, but I do use some things that have added sugar. On occasion I will have wine (I try not to have it 2 weekends in a row if I can help it) and I have some dark chocolate in the freezer. I have been eating a lot more fruit and coconut butter, but I attribute that to stress in my life. I know I should deal with it in more functional ways, but at least I am aware of it.

As far as off-roading, I have had some dairy, and can tolerate cheese better than ice cream. I try to avoid it because it makes me sick. I haven't had any gluten and really don't intend to any time soon. I plan to have some of my mother's pan dressing on Thanksgiving. I am going to bake myself a gluten-free cake for my birthday in November.

It is really up to you and how you feel about food. I was tempted to have some corn chips this past weekend, but I wasn't really hungry and couldn't bring myself to try them. I did have BBQ ribs (covered in sauce) and some french fries. I keep it clean as much as I can so when I do off-road (with ribs & fries), I don't slip off too far.

Good luck!

[jhmomi]

I'm with Tom. I stay Whole30 at home but worry less about special ordering on my occasional dinners out. I don't go crazy and order pizza or lasagna, but a little goat cheese on my salad won't kill me. With my family, if we don't go to a nice restaurant or I am not that hungry, I just get a house salad with oil and vinegar and water to drink and then eat something later at home. My biggest non-compliant things right now are hidden oils or seasonings when I eat out. I went to a wedding reception and barbecue was served. I ate a lot of meat, not sure how it was seasoned, and I just skipped the sauce. And I devoured the green beans with bacon...

You will figure out a plan for yourself that works. Give it time. I finished losing weight last December and it took me until recently to finally settle in on a very healthy eating plan I am content with. It was worth the effort to get here!

[Bucket]

Thank you for the feedback. Knowing that people let up a bit when out helps. I certainly keep Whole30 compliant at home and I bring my lunch to work each day, which is a very culturally strange thing to do in Singapore as everyone eats out here. We don't eat out all that much but knowing that those moment are ones not to stress about is helpful.

[Bucket]

It sounds like you did not replace fruit with anything when you cut it out, so lower energy was predictable. If you eat starchy veggies like sweet potato or butternut squash, you can keep your energy levels high and keep yourself regular. Fruit requires less preparation, but I bake 6 sweet potatoes at a time and keep them stocked in my refrigerator so they are always available.

I did replace the fruit with sweet potatoes at breakfast in the mornings, but they have not helped or made much of a dent. I was surprised that they did not do more. For all of my life I have been a big fruits and veggies person, but my experiences these last few weeks have shown me that fruit more than anything else keeps me regular.