msmirnio Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Folks, How the mighty fall! I ended my first (very successful) Whole30 exactly 7 days ago. 5 days ago I completely fell off the "healthy" wagon and have totally spiraled! I'm eating things that often don't appeal to me and are basically just "there" - I have no portion control, all of my good efforts last month have gone totally sour. I plan on doing another Whole30 in January but am now contemplating starting after Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve because apparently I have no self-control off-plan. Should I try to reign my daily eating in now or do another Whole30 to reset? Has any one had similarly ridiculous annoying experiences? Any advice in general? Thanks, msmirnio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaseyD Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Sounds like 30 days wasn't long enough. When you attempt it again, you probably should decide from the start to go longer (maybe 60 or 90 days). Then, from this experience, you might consider what foods you may want to permanently remove from your diet. I'm a sugar junkie. No matter how many Whole30's I do, I will never be one of those people that can eat sweets (chocolate in particular) without rekindling some crazy unhealthy habit. And, so, here I am recommitted to a Whole30 instead of just deciding to go back to eating paleo. I need the strict rules to undo my sugar demon every time. One of these days, I may wise up and just never reintroduce sugar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alana in Canada Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 If you need brakes--put them on. Try this: Pretend the last week never even happened. Pretend you are still on the whole30. Make your next meal whole30 complient. That's all. Then the next time you reach for something to eat, do it again. When's Thanksgiving? Thursday? You could do a "whole 36"--hours, that is--you can just eat Thanksgiving dinner as one non-compliant meal--and then do another whole 30 for as long as you think is necessary. (I just wanted to add--it can be very useful to look back and see what may have caused you to run off the rails--once you feel back in control again. Think about how you might handle them again, better. You're not looking for "perfect" here, better is good enough. That way you can be prepared for the next time those situations roll around.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlaccini Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Take a deep breath. You completed your first whole 30! You did it. That means you can do it again. What Alana suggests is great. In fact I have decided to do something similar as well. I found out I didn't do as well off plan either. I stayed pretty much away from dairy and grains but I started paleo-fying things and that opened the door to my sugar dragon's cage. I mean he was pretty happy to be out and about again - but I wasn't. I kept on trying to say - well just this once. Except it wasn't. So I decided to a second whole 30, and started Nov 10th. I had already been through Canadian Thanksgiving so I had no worries until my works Christmas party. So I will whole 30 it until then. (It lands up being a whole 28 but that's okay). And then I will whole 30 it up until Christmas. And then probably pick up the pieces on Jan 1. So you know you can do this. You've done it before. And you are probably missing that feeling that you had post whole 30. So think about picking it up again. What do have to lose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyhoward Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I hear ya! I didn't fall off the wagon, I pretty much ran myself over with it when my Whole30 ended. So I will start again after Thanksgiving. Christmas isn't really a concern because we don't have as many tempting situations this year as we normally do. So I don't think I'll be giving up too many things there. I will be on a "Whole...... ". I'm not sure what my end day will be, if there will be one. I plan on staying within the guidelines of the plan as often as I can. if I'm in a situation where eating something non-compliant is unavoidable, I won't sweat it. Or, if something is significant or special, I'll enjoy whatever it is and won't sweat that either (like when my grandma wants to share her special pastry treats with me). For me, having an "end date" in mind messes with my head and makes my feel as though I just have to give up this or that for a short time and then I can go back to enjoying whatever it is "in moderation". I don't have a "moderation" setting - it's either all or nothing. And of course, for my health, the nothing setting will be best for me. At least for now. I think the most important thing is to know who you are and what will work for you to keep you at your healthiest. Good luck to you!! As Carlaccini said, you can do this - we all can!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmirnio Posted November 21, 2012 Author Share Posted November 21, 2012 Thank you all so much - this has been the most crucial advice for my longterm health. Alana - I did finally (literally just now for my work lunch, 2 days after your suggestion haha) eat a Whole30 meal and I feel more stable, I will continue Whole30 until Thanksgiving dinner then go back to Whole30ing until something necessary (work events) call on me - because that is how I want to live, Whole30-compliant with few exceptions, not what I'v been doing now for a week which is "Oh wow I gave up so let me eat a bag of popcorn for dinner". Ladyhoward- I am exactly like you with moderation. I think that's why my Whole30 was so successful and going off has been so disastrous I thought that controlling my off-plan moment would make me more in control, but I JUST learned how to trust myself and show restraint/self-control after decades of not practicing, I need to take off these training wheels sloooooowly. I really appreciate everyone's similar experiences and advice. So this Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for you all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alana in Canada Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Morris Zukauskas Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I was also run overby the truck after my whole 30 - went totally off road and undid all the good things I did. I have no brakes with sugar - I won't eat it every day, but if I do, I eat until i am sick. I see I am not alone in my total crash & burn. Sounds like you have a good handle on picking yourself back up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournegirl Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Wow, what tough experiences! I am scared to see how I will go, i am kind of enjoying the if I don't have it I don't miss it feeling... I can't imagine doing this for ever but then again I can't imagine not.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmirnio Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 It's funny - after I fell off and learned that it is just a matter of making your next meal compliant then the next etc..I've fallen into a pattern of lesser-guilt when I don't eat compliantly. I am definitely in a stalling pattern of Whole30 Meal 1, Whole30 Meal 2...snacking "Whole30-ly"....mostly Whole30 Meal 3....hmm let's make some SWYPO cookies since I'll be fully compliant in a month....It's ok I'll start over tomorrow! However, this does not scare the sh#t out of me anymore..and I realized that I have never eaten "mostly" well in my whole life, this is a big step up - although not ideal. So for my second Whole30 starting in January, I am actually going to focus the heck out of my "reintroduction" phase and how to control over-eating when I'm not on my Whole30 - I'm actually starting to think about a Whole45 just to push myself a little further each time kind of thing, and maybe the next one will be a Whole60 and so on and so forth. All about goals (which I still somehow fail to be super specific with!) Again, I appreciate all of the story-sharing and advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I have the same problem as you! I did my whole 30 in September and has amazing results, I kept it up pretty diligently in October, but once November hit for some reason I decided I could allow myself a few treats every now and then. Which snowballed into me eating mountains and mountains of chocolate at home after a stressful day of work. I even ate donuts this weekend!!! I never even ate them before being on the whole30, why the heck did I want them now? I also have no moderation function, my family and friends keep telling me that its okay as long as its in moderation, but I will mindlessly and happily just keep eating chocolate until I can't eat another bite. I was also planning on waiting until January 1st to start again, but yesterday, after consuming an entire box of cookies, I decided today is my start day! And my end day is non-existent, I have to keep this up forever! On a side note, I am marathon training and can't eat sweet potatoes or dried fruit(due to intolerance), so I have and will allow myself to use raw honey on my runs longer than 25km. Other than that, it's back to the strict regime for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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