Genuine slip or just paranoia??

[Fri]

Hi Whole30 Community,

So I'm new to Whole30 and the to forum, I don't know anyone else doing Whole30 and I'm not sure whether I've slipped up or not, so hoping I can get your insights! On Day 7, I attended a press conference for work where they served roast beef sandwiches with smoked cheddar, sauteed mushroom and onion, horseradish aioli, and arugula. Of course I know bread and cheddar are off limits. I ate nothing but an apple and a couple slices of roast beef, scraping off any aioli. But afterwards I had a creeping paranoia -- should I have asked how they cooked the roast beef? I know simple roast beef usually doesn't include non-compliant ingredients and it just tasted plain, not marinaded, but could there have been something non-compliant I'm not thinking of? Also if I consumed a *trace* of horseradish aioli do I have to start over? It was one of those catered events with no one to ask how they made anything. Please advise!

[slc_melissa]

You can read http://whole30.com/2014/06/really-start-whole30/ and see what you think for your situation.

Seems like, if you did eat something off plan, the most likely thing might be added sugar, which would be minimally gut disruptive. Although the aioli would probably contain mayo, which also might contain something like soybean oil, which would be more gut disruptive, with more potential to affect results.

Also, in my personal experience, there is no such thing as scraping off all the sauce on something. (I have a life long distaste of mayo, so I have a lot of scraping experience.) If the sandwiches were pre-prepared and you pulled the roast beef off, odds are good you got at least a few bread crumbs in there as well.

Would there be a problem with going an extra 7 days at the end? 

[Fri]

thanks, sic_melissa!

To clarify, though, I actually did not eat any of the beef that was touching the bread (and thus the aioli spread of the bread) so I'm pretty sure I didn't get any bread crumbs; and 99% sure I didn't eat any more than a trace amount of the aioli, if that. It's more the beef I'm concerned about, and if there is any way it could have been non-compliant

you may be right, it might just be worth it to add another 7 days, as you suggest, although that would mean I'd still be in the "re-introduction" phase over Christmas, which might be a bummer

[kruddock]

I would play it by ear and see how you feel at the end of the 30 days.  If you feel great, then maybe you don't need to start over or add the extra days over Christmas.  You could always start another Whole30 after Christmas.  That would be what I would do anyway.  Keep going strong! Don't worry about the slip up and move on.

[ultrarunnergirl]

Sadly, the chances that you got "just roast beef" are really small, even if you discount the aioli and cheese residue. Marinades, broth, etc often contain soy and wheat - before any "preparation" even takes place. You really have to ask about ingredients and at an event like this you would probably have trouble finding a staff member who could even tell you. Best practice is to bring your own food or eat beforehand.

It's a terrible thing, but it's our food reality these days. Hopefully, if enough people do a Whole30 and gain consciousness about how much junk is in all of our foods, there will be a growing demand for clean food.

[Fri]

thanks, and that's a great point, didn't think about broth. I'll take this as a learning experience and be grateful it happened so early in the process!

[Crastney]

you usually can't rely on knowing whats in pre prepared food, so best option is to bring your own food in, or ask for them to make something specially for you.  If this is a weekly thing, there could be something that you don't know abuot, which if taken once a week, makes this W30 completely null and void - if you don't know what you're eating, then you don't know what's affecting you, or if your reintroductions are actually reintroductions or not.  As in the books, the smallest amount of something can mean that there's no effective re-set back to zero for 30 days - which is the point of W30.  knowing that you've completely excluded certain ingredients, so there's none residual in your system.  We don't tell you what to do, just advice on what you should/shouldn't do.  at the end of the day it's your choice if you decide to add on 7 days at the end, or let Christmas go by and start again on Jan 1st.  If you start again in January, at least you'll have had a month of experience of what things you can/can't have, what questions to ask when eating out, how to avoid certain situations etc.  Second W30 soon after the first is usually a lot easier.