Anyone else gotten a little obsessive?

[Mason]

So I recently finished a Whole 30. I actually started to enjoy the structure of eating this way and felt good mentally and physically. I honestly didn't feel like anything life-changing happened, but am glad that I did it because it definitely helped to shed light on the power that sweets and alcohol has over me. 

 

My reintroduction was honestly pretty half-assed, but I reincorporated most of the foods that I had cut out and don't think I have  noticed any real changes or ill effects from re-introducting them, at least nothing major. I do second-guess myself sometimes though. For example, am I tired because I have 2 small kids or am I tired because I ate pretzels and I have a gluten sensitivity!!?

 

This kind of back and forth has caused me to become a little obsessive about food choices. It's like I trained myself for 30 days to be so strict on what I put into my body, now it's hard to break out of that. 

 

Has anyone else dealt with this or experienced second-guessing and/or obsessive thinking about food choices?

 

Thank you!

[praxisproject]

don't think I have noticed any real changes or ill effects from re-introducing them, at least nothing major

 

When you say nothing major, did you see any ill effects?

Reintroductions are helpful because they give you some definitive info.

Are you second guessing yourself because you didn't do Reintroductions?

 

Have you had any disordered eating in the past? http://whole30.com/2014/06/dear-melissa-eating-disorders/

[Mason]

Thanks so much praxis project. 

 

To answer your questions, I have never had any disordered eating in the past. The obsessions I am talking about are more along the lines of the pursuit of some idealized version of perfect eating. If that makes sense? It's like I have engrained in myself over the past 30 days, "don't eat this, don't eat that" and now that I am off the plan, that same little voice keeps popping up.

 

I am probably am second guessing myself for not doing the re-intro. I pretty much re-introduced everything (wine, dairy, sugar, gluten, grains) this past weekend all at once. Other than not sleeping very well because of the wine (which is something that I was already aware of), nothing major that I can tell has occurred in terms of ill effects. What are some of the ill effects that people usually notice? I keep wondering if there are so subtle that I just don't notice them.

But I guess your right that I kind have short-changed the plan by skipping re-intros. Since I recently finished the Whole30 last wednesday, what would be the best way to proceed with a re-intro?

[praxisproject]

The main problem with trying to do Reintroductions when it's not straight after your Whole30 is that you may have lost your baseline. This might be why you're feeling a bit obsessive, as you still don't have any concrete answers.

 

Did you feel different on Whole30? Do you feel different now? It's okay if you don't feel a lot of difference, especially if you were eating fairly clean beforehand. If you know wine makes you feel bad, do you know why? Does it just keep you awake? Is it bad enough that you never want to drink wine again?

 

I can't eat gluten without feeling sick (although, before my first Whole30 I'd eaten it every day of my life, even on Atkins), but I didn't notice it until I did a Reintroduction. However I felt a radical improvement on my Whole30 compared to My Before and I can tell now if I accidentally ingest it as I get a pretty noticeable jump in inflammation and my head feels like my sinuses are trying to turn inside out.

[hello.pinki]

Maybe a term to explain it is obsessive, but I like to think I'm just significantly more aware of what I'm putting in my body. I haven't really seen a reason to go back to my old way of eating since I've felt so good eating this way. I'm like you and have 2 small boys and I can't afford to go back to sluggish old me!

 

Cj

[Mason]

Hi guys,

 

Thanks for the responses. So to go step-by-step because it would be helpful for me to think through each category. I have noticed:

 

- Sugar- cravings are pretty strong for me. They lessen after a couple of days, but as soon as I indulge, they come back strong. I have been mainly sticking to the occasional dark chocolate session or fruit since coming off my Whole30 and that seems to be enough to "get my fix." I also try to not indulge from time to time as well and watch the cravings pass. 

 

- Booze- Similar to sugar, but not as strong. I have been pretty much just laying off it since coming off my Whole 30. I have had wine a few times, but it's easy to overdo it and usually the cost is not worth the benefit. I have yet to jump back into beer. 

 

- Dairy- Definitely a major contributor to digestive issues for me. Just going to continue avoiding these because it's not pretty when I eat them

 

- Grains- Hard to tell. I haven't really noticed any changes but don't eat them often.

 

- Beans and Soy- I haven't really gotten back into these and don't really miss them.

 

I guess all in all, I felt great on my Whole 30 but haven't noticed a huge change but to your point praxisproject I was eating pretty clean prior. I guess sometimesI wonder how much the "placebo effect" plays a role in this for me. I can easily get caught up in pursuing the "perfect way of eating," thinking that magically I'll feel great all the time. But I know that it is not realistic.

 

Praxis, you mentioned that you can't eat gluten without feeling sick. From your experience, for most people with a food sensitivity, are the ill effects really noticeable as in there is no questioning them or can they be vague like just kind of tired in the afternoon? I don't have anything dramatic going on since I completely my Whole30 (except with the dairy), so I'm not sure if I'm "psyching" myself out or what in terms of trying to determine if certain foods affect me in a certain way. I know that is where the systematic re-introduction would have helped, but too late for that now. Would love to hear any thoughts/experiences.

 

Thanks so much!

[praxisproject]

It can be hard, especially if you aren't feeling great to start with. Before my first Whole30 I was pretty sick, had a variety of health issues, didn't think any of them were food related, but just felt like I needed a health boost and Whole30 seemed more sensible than a "detox" or some other kind of silliness, but I wanted a "boost" as I was feeling pretty bad.

 

What was odd was I began to feel better, then good, then great, then amazing.

 

During my first reintroductions there were very clearly signs, but to be honest I didn't really think they were right, I'd eaten gluten my whole life, even gluten based cereal as a baby (my first solid food). If you had asked me before my Whole30 whether I could have had a food intolerance, I'd have thought you were crazy. Celiac or gluten intolerance, even crazier. But there it is, denial ain't just a river in Egypt It's much easier to ignore things we don't want to hear and when it's something surprising, it can take awhile for it to sink it. I felt crappy all the time but I felt there were reasonable explanations for it, none of my doctors ever discussed food, so it really wasn't on my radar.

 

It was quite an adjustment, but after several experiments (I even had someone add gluten into a random food to see if it was just me imagining it) it was very clear that gluten was a serious problem. I'd been eating low carb for a long time (but a lot of low carb products contain gluten), which is probably the reason I wasn't sicker. It took me a lot longer to realise how dairy affected me as it's impact is much slower and the healthier I get, the more I am able to cope with it (but it's still not a benefit, it's still a detriment). I had to recover from all the gluten damage before I could more clearly see other things that made me feel well.

 

Really, you can't know this stuff unless you're starting from a clean baseline and you don't have one anymore.

Disordered eating (or drinking) though can go far beyond food intake and is best reviewed with a professional.