Should I just keep going?

[mdjess86]

So, I have a question, that I think I already know the answer to, but maybe I'm scare of it, lol. I'm 1 wk away from starting my reintroduction. I'm super excited about it because that's one of the biggest reasons I did a whole 30, was to see how different foods affected me, so I'm excited to try some stuff out and see what happens. But the other reason I did whole 30 was to get rid of my sugar dragon. I don't have a sweet dragon per se, I actually have never had much of a sweet tooth (although I will totally binge on sweet things occasionally, and I think I do emotionally eat sweet), but I totally have a salty carbs tooth, goldfish, cheezits, wheat thins, potato chips, bread, you name it. I feel like I still absolutely crave those things. I still crave those things. It has not gone away for me. And I don't want that food to have control over me and cause me to eat an entire bag of lay's potato chips at one sitting, seemingly without my say so, as if my hand has been possessed to stuff chips in my face as fast as I can chew. 

So. I have admittedly not had a perfect whole 30 (I know, there's no such thing) and it has been plagued by not following the meal template strictly for many (thought not most) meals, and I definitely have way too much stress and don't get enough sleep. I always have a pretty good amount of stress, but one of the most acute causes of stress is about to go away. And there's nothing I can do about not getting enough sleep, it's just part of my job. I'm a little worried that because of those two things I'll never see the amazing side effects everyone else does, like the tiger blood and energy and etc, which I admittedly would really, really, really like to find. Right now I don't really feel much better than before I started, and I know it's not over, but I'm trying to prepare myself for possibly not feeling those things. I'm wondering if after I do the slow reintroduction if I should just go straight back to eating 100% whole 30 and just keep eating that way until the cravings go away. I have a wedding at the end of February, so I would probably be noncompliant there since I don't plan on calling it a whole 30 anymore, but I'm wondering if except for special occasions every other month or so if I should just do it until the cravings go away. Is it impossible to feel good with stress and a doctor's call schedule ruining your sleep? Or do I just need to keep up the super strict lifestyle longer? I'm a pretty unhappy person right now, but I know a lot of that is due to my upcoming test, and probably not whole 30 related. 

Just so it's in here, this was my meals today and also what I eat when I'm trying to really follow the template:

Today

Meal 1: 3 hard boiled eggs and a handful of grapes 

Meal 2: large portion of bison sweet potato chili and large salad with olive oil and salt

Meal 3: same as meal 2 (I'm on call, can't go home and cook, lol)

More "perfect" day

Meal 1: frittata with 2 eggs, 1/4 compliant sausage, peppers and spinach

Meal 2: tuna salad made with celery, homemade mayo and compliant mustard over a large salad

Meal 3: Chicken or beef with a bunch of sauteed veggies in some sort of cooking fat

I'm not hungry between meals unless I'm on call, and I'm drinking an ungodly amount of water (at least for me, I've found water really does effect how I feels, drinking probably 72 oz a day)

[kirkor]

With the exception of the potato chips, everything else you list has gluten.  So you could do a proper reintro of all the other categories and carry on with no gluten or fried things until after the wedding and beyond.

[SugarcubeOD]

I feel like you already know the answer to the question.  Perhaps it would be a different answer if you had stuck to the template and knew that aside from sleep and stress, you've done everything you can, but honestly if I ate only what you ate today, I would be feeling very bad.  Even your 'perfect' day is probably not enough food.  Not eating enough can create additional stress on your body besides also making you not feel as good as you can.

I would encourage you to do the introductions so you know what you're working with and then keep going on your own WholemdJess plan where you really make friends with that template.  The template is the bare minimum a person needs to eat so when you're not hitting it repeatedly, you're functioning at a deficit... and you can't get tiger blood from behind the eight ball.

 

[mdjess86]

2 hours ago, SugarcubeOD said:

I feel like you already know the answer to the question.  Perhaps it would be a different answer if you had stuck to the template and knew that aside from sleep and stress, you've done everything you can, but honestly if I ate only what you ate today, I would be feeling very bad.  Even your 'perfect' day is probably not enough food.  Not eating enough can create additional stress on your body besides also making you not feel as good as you can.

I would encourage you to do the introductions so you know what you're working with and then keep going on your own WholemdJess plan where you really make friends with that template.  The template is the bare minimum a person needs to eat so when you're not hitting it repeatedly, you're functioning at a deficit... and you can't get tiger blood from behind the eight ball.

 

I guess I'm confused about why it's not enough food? I get that meal 1 isn't enough, but for lunch and dinner I had 2 handfuls of protein, lots and lots of veggies, olive oil in the right amount of fat (my thumb) and no fruit or nuts. I'm definitely not hungry between meals and I find it hard to eat as much food as I'm eating, but since I'm not snacking I figure it's working. I thought this abided by the template pretty well? BTW not disagreeing that I need to do better with the template, because admittedly there have been days where I have eaten way less than this, usually when I'm post call, but I actually felt like except meal 1 I did pretty good today. 

[SugarcubeOD]

Admittedly, it was hard to tell portions the way you originally wrote it and I could only make an assumption based on what you'd said.  Two palms of protein and added fat are great!  The thng about salad greens is that they chew down to barely anything so you need a wheelbarrow full to make it count... perhaps you did have a huge salad.  Just keep the template in mind for every meal and I think you'll start to feel better.

[mdjess86]

I worry more that I'm eating things in the wrong proportion, sometimes I think I eat too much meat, I try to eat a pretty huge salad when I have salad (which is most lunches) and try to put all the compliant veggies from the salad bar in, like peppers and tomatoes and carrots...but that's usually all I trust, so maybe that's not enough. I find olive oil and salt is my new favorite dressing, I actually don't miss other dressings at all. I've sort of assumed if I'm not hungry between meals then I'm probably eating enough. 

I think what I'll have to try to do is just be much more strict about what I'm going to eat each day and make sure I get all my prep work done. It's just hard with only 4 days off a month to do it in. Next time I'll try to plan the whole month out at once so there's no questions. And I won't buy any extra "maybe I'll have that sometimes this week" food, and no almond butter, maybe even no fruit at home. Gosh the idea of planning even more extensively seems daunting, but if that's what it takes it'll have to happen. Maybe just having like 2 things a week and making a crap ton of them at once will cut down on time? Probably cheaper too! I can have like chicken and fish week, beef and turkey, lamb and shrimp. Or something. Whew, I wouldn't say eating like this is hard, but cooking like this sure is! Now I know why people get married lol

[SugarcubeOD]

Haha... I always say I"m so glad I'm not married so I don't have to worry about doing all that work AND catering to someone else's whim...

You really get used to the cooking after some time... I've been doing this a while now and a lot of the cooking/prep/shopping becomes second nature... if you keep going, it'll be your new normal and you'll wonder what you ever did before!

I think you've basically got it for your context... get rid of the stuff you use to prop up sugar cravings or to snack on (fruit, dried fruit, nuts), make sure you eat three times a day and I think you've got it!