How do I keep one mistake from making me say "eff it" to the whole thing?

[alexgarcia26]

I was doing great on whole30 and was 8 days in when I ordered a drink with almond milk (I had been backpacking for a few days and all I wanted was a smoothie). After I drank it, it hit me all at once that I forgot to check if the almond milk was compliant. I peaked at the brand they were using and looked it up on my phone and found it had added sugar and carrageenan. This pissed me off because I had been doing so well and just like that I felt robbed of everything. This feeling made me say 'eff it all' and I ordered a beer with my boyfriend and some friends that night (none of them knew I had been doing Whole30 during our backpacking trip). Then for the next two days I spiraled into not caring and I am having a hard time getting started again. How do you recover from messing up without letting it totally derail all of your progress?

[slc_melissa]

For many people it helps to break it down into individual meals, or maybe 1/3's of a day.  That way instead of looking at the Whole30 as one big thing, it's an individual decision at every meal, and nothing that has happened previously will affect the decisions you make in the next third of the day.

[MeadowLily]

Is this your first Whole 30? That makes an huge difference.  You only need one compliant Whole 30 to conduct the Reintro Phase.  Without that, you're a duck without a paddle. 

You have to want it more than you need it. When your want to exceeds your need, nothing will stop you come hail or high water. 

Constant restarts are a thing.  Melissa has written about it.

You're going to have to find the greater purpose.  The "What-The-Hail-Effect" is a thing, too.  Especially on the holidays and we just had one.  

 https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/changepower/201111/beware-the-what-the-hell-effect-especially-holidays

[alexgarcia26]

@slc_melissa Thank you that's really interesting to think of it like that. I know one thing Whole30 talks about is getting rid of labeling things as "good" vs "bad", and I have a tendency to categorize my days that way. So when I made one mistake I felt the whole day was "bad", so it didn't really matter to me if I stayed compliant the rest of the day. But if I can try and break my days down I can maybe avoid that pitfall a little better.

 

@MeadowLily Yes this is my first Whole30, I was trying to have one compliant Whole30 when I noticed I made a mistake and felt frustrated to start over. I guess I will just be more diligent this time, especially when it comes to ordering things from other places. Also I do think I need to do a better job at keeping in mind a greater purpose, or the "spirit" of what I am doing so that I don't throw my arms and give up on my whole day just because I made one mistake on accident (but hopefully I won't have anymore little ingredient slip-ups).

[ladyshanny]

Think of it this way. If you are a third of the way through your day and you drip mustard on your pants, do you rip them off and throw them away? And then two hours later, figure, "what the hell", and take off and throw out everything else you're wearing? No. You dab the mustard stain the best you can, remind yourself to use a napkin next time and you move on....fully clothed.

Don't throw your pants away!