why keep a post30 log?

[Alana in Canada]

Hey folks,

I'm curious as to why some of you find it valuable to keep a post whoe30 log? I'm sure there are many reasons...but it I'm keeping one now while I'm doing the whole 30--and it's quite tedious! I had been thinking that one of the "benefits" of going off the whole 30 is that I don't have to keep up with the food log!

But, then again, I'm sure it's valuable, since so many of you do it. So, in short, why?

Thanks!

[Kirsteen]

Hi Alana, funny you should ask because I've been keeping a post W30 (or in my case W60) log and I just made the decision today, not to log every day.

I decided W30 was basically the way I wanted to eat for life. I was already gluten and dairy free and tried to limit sugar so there wasn't a lot I was anxious to add back in. I'd got into the habit of logging what I ate and reckoned that if I kept on doing that it would keep me accountable to myself. It certainly did that but, for me, a bit too well. I'm now 14 days post W60 and I still haven't had any noncompliant food. I've made a couple of things that I wouldn't have made during a W30 but the actual ingredients have still been compliant.

Logging what I eat, I still subconsciously feel it should be *perfect W30* (I'm a virgo, what can I say? ). I realised today it's stopped me actually trying to reintroduce anything. I had some homemade burgers in the freezer (made preW30) and I was going to throw them out because I had added a spoonful of chipotle in adobo sauce to the mix and it contains sugar in the sauce. Then I realised that I was being a bit paranoid. I'm well post W30 and the amount of sugar in one 1/4 spoonful of chipotle (I'll only eat one of the four burgers at a time) can hardly be life threatening . I don't have a sugar dragon, I just don't believe it's healthy.

I do intend to continue basically eating this way but I'm going to stop logging everything I eat to kill my need for *perfection*. I may log in about once a week to note any wild reactions I've had but I'm just going to take it as it comes.

[Alana in Canada]

Thanks Kirsteen. Interesting that logging kept you "too complient" but I understand totally. Enjoy those burgers!

[kb0426]

At this point, I like the accountability. When you are whole30, you have a commitment to avoiding foods that may go away once you are "done". Now that I am "riding my own bike" it helps me look at the choices I am making every day, and think twice about whether I really want the less healthy choice.

Today being Thanksgiving here, once I log it may look like I offroaded, but I did so with a plan in mind about what I really wanted my offroading experience to look like.

Tomorrow begins a whole14, and I am just going to keep logging in my post-whole30 log.

I also like to get some words out of my head each day; sometimes that helps with the choices I may or may not make.

[Emily]

I have a log but I don't log every day. I log when something comes up- frustration, something I'm trying to work on, or even something good! I also don't log my specific food; I find that very tedious. I guess for me it is more of an ongoing food meditation... a way to keep working on being mindful about food. Also, I do find it helpful to look back at past entries as proof that slowly, over time, my mindset is changing.