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I can almost feel myself breaking my Whole30


Camille Ho

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So...Hubs and I have scored some amazing tickets to the international football game at Wembley stadium tomorrow (Patriots vs. Rams). We're going to be bussed to the stadium in a luxury coach, sit in box seats with an inclusive buffet and have freshly baked cookies offered to us tomorrow.

Are you freaking kidding me with this?!?!

It will be Day 7 tomorrow and I am seriously feeling like 'why even go if I'm going to miss out on a good majority of the experience because I can't eat the free (and probably amazing) food?' I know this is a ridiculous outlook and it just goes to show how twisted a relationship I have with food, but still. Hubs is doing this with me and we're both determined to stay strong, but I just know I'm going to be sitting there eating my bell peppers and smelling cookies and DYING INSIDE.

Our game plan is to pack a lot of "snacks" (they said we couldn't bring our own dinner, so we're going to eat on the coach) and fill up as much as we can. We've got bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, a sweet potato to split, hardboiled eggs (that I think I'm going to mix in some mayo and leftover chicken from tonight's dinner and roll up in some romaine leaves) but...but. I know I will spend a good portion of the evening feeling deprived and sad, and then guilty for feeling that way when we've been given these amazing free tickets. Also, did I mention that we'll be in London ALL DAY, so packing enough food to keep us satisfied is going to be near impossible? We're leaving our place at 11:45 (going to try and eat lunch before) and won't be getting home til after midnight.

Anyway...help. I do NOT want the last six days that I have slogged through with all my might to be a waste, but I can smell the cookies from here and they're trying to tell me that it's not that big of a deal to eat one!

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The thing is, you know yourself it 'is' a big deal to eat one, eating one says the last six days were wasted and if you didn't think it wasn't a big deal, you wouldn't be making such careful plans. Besides, be honest, would you ever stop at one :). It's hard in our society because food is always seen as so much part of any celebration that it's so easy for it almost to become the focus.

I know it sounds hard but the thing that will make or break it tomorrow, is your mindset. If you go expecting to feel deprived and sad then you will feel deprived and sad and be much more likely to cave. But if you go telling yourself "Gosh, aren't we lucky to have this experience and aren't we super lucky we don't have to eat all that unhealthy junk that other people are eating" then you'll feel much stronger and better equiped to cope.

Again if anyone comments on you eating or not eating or asks questions, I'd try to avoid getting into the whole 'Oh we can't have that because.....", 'cos again that just focusses on the negative and leaves you open to others trying to persuade you that it won't matter 'just this once'. Much easier just to say 'Oh we've multiple food sensitivities and don'y want to risk getting sick and ruining the day' People very rarely try to persuade you to be sick :)

And yeah, you're definitely doing the right thing, planning all the food you can take with you. I'd take as much as you can and I'd also try to have something at home you could have quickly once you get back. I know you get back really late so probably won't want anything but sometimes just knowing somethings there available at home if you need it can make it easier not to go off track when you're out.

Above all, go and enjoy it. Wembly's not my thing but ah now if it was Twickenham, that's a whole other story :) This is one time the American phrase "Have a great day" seems really applicable.

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Camille - This may not win me any fans on this forum, but here is my two cents...

I believe I understand the dilemma. It sounds like an awesome experience. The way I see it you have TWO CHOICES and only you can decide...

1. If you really see this as truly a once in a lifetime thing you would regret forever if you miss out on, then accept the consequences, have fun and start over with a new Whole30 the MOMENT it ends. Not the next day.

2. If it's not a once in a lifetime thing, then as I tell my sons more often than they want to hear- "Man up and deal with it." ;)

Good luck and enjoy the game no matter what you decide!

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Yes. You guys are so right. Manning up, happening now.

It is a "once in a lifetime" thing for us, but at the same time, I know it's not worth it. I know it. And I know I will be SO upset at myself if I waste all the hard work that's gone into the last week (and the money we've spent on decent food!)

I just looked at the Chipotle thread, and there is one in Central London, so I'm wondering if maybe we could stop there as a "treat" before we go and eat some Whole30 food there that is also super delicious...I'm going to look into this.

Thank you for the encouragement and the tough love. I need it. :)

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There are a load of Byron burger places in London that offer lettuce-buns - in fact, there is definitely one next to the Chipotle in Angel. My other go-to for on the road is picking up some prosciutto, salad, chopped coconut, fruit and nuts from Sainsbury's. If you want something treat-y, then a fair few of the Nak'd fruit and nut bars are Whole30 (check the back). Oh, and London has a few Whole Foods and Planet Organics dotted about - v. pricey but give you more options. Best of luck!

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So. We went. The food was even more amazing than I thought it was going to be, and so I sat there and asked myself, "Does this qualify as a once-in-a-lifetime thing? Am I going to regret it if I eat this? Am I going to regret it if I don't?" And...I ate it. And it was delicious.

And here is the takeaway:

There is a part of me that wishes that I had been stronger (like my husband was) and not eaten anything (although he ate some crab claws and zucchini salad that I hope were compliant, but you never know when it's commercially prepared like this). I found myself really worried if he would be disappointed in me, and kind of like I had let him down by not sticking with him.

On the other hand, I know that I completely and fully enjoyed myself last night, and I am glad for that. Not to mention that I now remember what I feel like after I eat all that food (bloated, heavy, and disgusting) and I know that I DO NOT want to feel like that after I eat anymore. I am amazed at how quickly it set in, and how bad I used to always feel after eating. Really, in the last week of being on Whole30, I've not felt like that EVER, even when I've eaten a big meal. I kind of feel like I went into the night with my insides nice and clean, and came out with them dirty and full of crap. Because of this, I'm not really worried about adding the extra time on to my whole30, because I know this (or close to this) is how I want to be eating the rest of my life and I know that the other food probably won't be worth it (at least not in the amounts I consumed it last night). I also couldn't believe how full I got in such a quick amount of time. Plus, I was more drawn to the meat and veggies than the carbs (at least while I was eating them) last night, which was a big surprise.

I was getting tired of waiting to "see" results with my current whole30 even though I was a week in, but this was extremely eye-opening, and I hope it will be helpful in the future. Not to mention that now I'll be on whole30 over Thanksgiving, and I think this will help me not to overconsume or go bananas with all the food (as I often do).

So. There is some regret, but it's the self-deprecating kind of regret, the voice in my head saying, "You're never strong enough, of course you were going to fail," but I have to remind myself that it was a conscious choice I made and I DID have a lot of fun last night. And now I cannot wait for my sausage and eggs and sweet potato this morning, and to just STOP feeling this nasty bloat I've got going on.

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I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself. You haven't let anyone down. You made a conscious choice, you owned it, and you enjoyed it and just look at how much you've learned. It's great that you're jumping straight back into W30. After all in the grand scheme of things what's an extra week or two? :)

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I had a similar experience recently, and you described what I guessed would be your experience, too. Hold on to the negative association of that ick factor you feel after eating the "treat" that you had so that you wouldn't feel "deprived".

My own experience (involving birthday cake) made me realize that the only part of me that feels the "treat" is my mouth; the rest of me really does not appreciate the effects of this "goodness" and thinks of it more as a horror show. So next time, by popular vote, my body is getting priority over my mouth. If I wouldn't eat a corn dog (or insert your least favorite processed food, I can't eat corn dogs) then I have no business eating this other garbage, either. To my body, it all has the same poisonous effect and has no business even trying to get on the list of occasional treats. I'll bring my own dessert in a container next time.

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