Problem with the cultish aspect of this?

[bluebelle420]

I stuggle with eating and have been thinking about the whole30 for awhile. My only problem is that I hesitate to completely devote myself to this way of eating. I find a few rules (no edamame, no brown rice) a little arbitrary, and feel that in order to follow this completely I would have to devote myself to it. Quite frankily this whole thing seems a little cultish, and looking through this forum is a little disconcerning. In many ways I feel like all the recent food fads are like new religions, providing a sense of purpose and order to peoples lives. The whole 30 seems just like another cultish new religion, and I'm unsure if it's possible to do without becoming a total follower of the Whole 30 lifestyle. 

 

Anyone do the whole 30 without it becoming a major part of their lives?

[CaGirl]

Interesting to see your point of view..  I usually have a nose for cultish stuff  and  mine hasn't twitched at all..    

 

I think you'll be quite happy in giving yourself 30 days.. Just 30 days to understand and follow the directions!  Its really not all that horrific in any way shape or form..    Just try it..   Theres no koolaid in involved at all  

[ShannonM816]

You are on the Whole30 forum -- you're unlikely to find a lot of people here vehemently opposed to Whole30, they just don't hang out here much. 

 

I'd also say that because this forum is focused on the Whole30, and we don't really have an area for non-Whole30 related stuff, it's going to feel like people here are focused just on Whole30, but I can assure you that most everyone here has lives outside of what we eat. You don't hear a lot about that here, except maybe in people's personal logs, because there's just not really a space for discussing that. That's by design -- the creators of Whole30 wanted to specifically focus on food here in the forum, although they do encourage everyone to also look at other areas of their lives and make improvements to help lower their stress, get more exercise, connect with other people, and spend time outside.

 

Whole30 doesn't ask you to completely devote yourself to this for the rest of your life, just for 30 days, in an effort to see if you do feel better leaving certain foods out of your diet. The particular things that are left out are those that the program's creators determined to be the most likely to cause problems for most people, although there are things left out that might not cause you problems, and there are things allowed that do cause some people problems. You then do reintroductions to determine how those foods make you feel when you do have them. If you reintroduce edamame and brown rice and don't notice any problems, you can go back to having them if you want to. Many people find they continue to feel better without foods that they used to eat regularly, and choose to give them up, or only have them occasionally. 

 

If you haven't found them already, a basic explanation of why edamame and brown rice are left out can be found here for edamame and other legumes, and here for rice and other grains.

 

Whole30 isn't the right program for everyone, and if you decide it isn't for you, that's okay. If you do decide to try it, I hope you'll enter into it with an open mind and embrace the program for 30 days. If you do it and it doesn't do anything for you, well, you'll have eaten tasty food for 30 days, and completed a scientific experiment for yourself that hopefully will tell you something about foods that do or don't work well for you. 

[bluebelle420]

Interesting to see your point of view..  I usually have a nose for cultish stuff  and  mine hasn't twitched at all..    

 

I think you'll be quite happy in giving yourself 30 days.. Just 30 days to understand and follow the directions!  Its really not all that horrific in any way shape or form..    Just try it..   Theres no koolaid in involved at all

 

hehe glad to hear there's no koolaid. I'm still skeptical but did a bit more reading on it outside of this forum and have decided to just give it a try. Thanks for your response

 

You are on the Whole30 forum -- you're unlikely to find a lot of people here vehemently opposed to Whole30, they just don't hang out here much. 

 

I'd also say that because this forum is focused on the Whole30, and we don't really have an area for non-Whole30 related stuff, it's going to feel like people here are focused just on Whole30, but I can assure you that most everyone here has lives outside of what we eat. You don't hear a lot about that here, except maybe in people's personal logs, because there's just not really a space for discussing that. That's by design -- the creators of Whole30 wanted to specifically focus on food here in the forum, although they do encourage everyone to also look at other areas of their lives and make improvements to help lower their stress, get more exercise, connect with other people, and spend time outside.

 

Whole30 doesn't ask you to completely devote yourself to this for the rest of your life, just for 30 days, in an effort to see if you do feel better leaving certain foods out of your diet. The particular things that are left out are those that the program's creators determined to be the most likely to cause problems for most people, although there are things left out that might not cause you problems, and there are things allowed that do cause some people problems. You then do reintroductions to determine how those foods make you feel when you do have them. If you reintroduce edamame and brown rice and don't notice any problems, you can go back to having them if you want to. Many people find they continue to feel better without foods that they used to eat regularly, and choose to give them up, or only have them occasionally. 

 

If you haven't found them already, a basic explanation of why edamame and brown rice are left out can be found here for edamame and other legumes, and here for rice and other grains.

 

Whole30 isn't the right program for everyone, and if you decide it isn't for you, that's okay. If you do decide to try it, I hope you'll enter into it with an open mind and embrace the program for 30 days. If you do it and it doesn't do anything for you, well, you'll have eaten tasty food for 30 days, and completed a scientific experiment for yourself that hopefully will tell you something about foods that do or don't work well for you. 

You raise some good points, thank you for your thoughtful response. I guess I can't help but feel that its just a slightly amped up paleo thats just been marketed very effectively, but I'll still try it though. You are right, there's really nothing to lose  

[CaGirl]

If you follow the directions bluebell you're gona love it..  You'll sleep better, you'll this better, you'll that better.. And you'll even feel this great surge of a little tiger blood.. The key is following the DIRECTIONS.. Don't worry so much if this much of this or that much of that is right.. You'll figure it out.. Your palm is YOUR palm size.. THe fat thing got me and I eventually did read one thumb was equal to a tbls..  But really, girl, give it a try,, its only 30 days.. What can it hurt

 

Cant wait to see your comments along the way.. 

 

Cheers

[CaGirl]

Something else,, Keep in mind theres no paleo muffins and stuff like that.. All thats out the window (and I promise) (ok sorta) that you wont miss the alternative baked goods.   

[praxisproject]

It's all about self knowledge, for many of us there are foods we've always eaten that we're better off without (I was shocked that wheat made me sick). I found brown rice is something I can have in only very small quantities, but I do okay with white rice.

 

It's totally possible to be compliant without being cultish

[laurajay]

Hi Bluebelle420,

I am on day 17.  This truly is a journey and for some of us on this forum who have lost their way with how to eat for optimum health, its exactly what we need.  I have a crazy life, moved a bunch of times over the last 6 years, travel a lot for work and somehow felt like I forgot how to eat healthy.  Plus there is so much conflicting information out there.  I personally have counted calories for the last several years.  I even had my basil metabolic rate professionally tested to ensure I was eating the correct no of calories to lose weight.  I didn't lose weight, I didn't feel good, and was always hungry.  I considered starting this in January but felt it was too restrictive (or maybe I just wasn't ready).  In early March even with counting calories, I began to notice that even going over the no of calories by a small amount made me gain weight.  I decided I had to take control of my body and health.  Today I feel fantastic, I am not hungry between meals, I am not craving unhealthy foods, my clothes are looser, and am hoping I can add foods back into my diet when done that don't make me feel un well. I am also hoping this can be a new blueprint for me so to speak.  I also have started reading the mother book so to speak : It starts with food, so I can better stand the science behind this.  I am sure most people here are doing this because we want to feel and be well. So it is a community of like minded people.  Good luck to you on your journey.

[Samvoiceman]

You are what you eat, and up until 100 years ago your goal everyday was to search for food.

If no emotion is tied to your plan to get healthy then it will be even tougher.

Cult, fan club, food wing wackos, call it what you want  it will take some kind of buy in to make it happen.

Good Luck

[Mountain gal]

It's a group of people with the same addiction, fighting it together. I consider the masses blindly following their food addictions to be more like a cult. They are addicted to foods that are coporately designed to appear socially acceptable, and biologically designed to be physically addictive as well. This group, the Whole 30, is our own society where those crappy foods are not accepted anymore. The whole 30 is so simple -- meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts. If we ate like this the rest of our lives, there would be no fat people and no type 2 diabetes. People need other people to beat addictions. It's the same in AA, the addiction dragon inside of you is what is calling it a cult. It's just negative. Don't let that negativity in.

[SugarcubeOD]

It's a group of people with the same addiction, fighting it together. I consider the masses blindly following their food addictions to be more like a cult. They are addicted to foods that are coporately designed to appear socially acceptable, and biologically designed to be physically addictive as well. This group, the Whole 30, is our own society where those crappy foods are not accepted anymore. The whole 30 is so simple -- meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts. If we ate like this the rest of our lives, there would be no fat people and no type 2 diabetes. People need other people to beat addictions. It's the same in AA, the addiction dragon inside of you is what is calling it a cult. It's just negative. Don't let that negativity in.

I love this! 

[MeadowLily]

I am a recovering food and dieting addict.  I messed up my relationship with food and it messed with my head for years.

 

There is nothing  controlling about the Whole 30 that is similar to a cult.  All cults are about control and drinking the koolaid.  Taking full responsibility for our health is our choice.  No one even comes by and checks on you unless you ask for help. 

 

Many start personal logs and they simply walk out the door when they're ready.  Some come back after years out there on the open highway.  I'm still here because it's taken me a long time to untangle the neural pathways and habits of constant dieting with over-restriction and rewarding myself with food.

 

The Whole 30 is not a diet. Dieters share a common problem.  They believe that making drastic changes to their eating habits and gutting it out will work.  But it's the recipe for thrill and binge eating. It is the strategy that fails.  It's miserable and people give up on long term changes because it does not work.

 

If at the end of 6 months you were eating healthy foods and virtually stopped dieting and thrill eating...and were able to maintain this new lifestyle going going forward with weight stability would you consider it a successful strategy?

 

Think long term success.  Try gentle change for the permanent WIN.

 

I've not fallen back into bowls of cornbread, pan bread, bread bread, stale bread and croutons. Falling into much bread was my life but being able to climb out is transcendent.