Is 23 days enough?

[Matthew81]

No, I'm not trying to shortcut. A very important business trip (as in, one I've been waiting to work out for over a year) just came up and it will involve meals that I can't reasonably refuse or request substitutes for.

The good news is it happens after I will complete my Whole30.

The bad news is it is only a couple days into what should have been my reintroduction period.

The reintroduction was actually the biggest deal with Whole30 for me. I very much want to do it carefully to learn which food groups, if any, are causing some of my problems.

As I see it, I have a few options:

• Finish Whole30, be as careful as I can on the trip, but potentially miss learning some key bits of information about myself and food,
• Do a "Whole23" instead, counting on that to be enough of a break from "normal" for a reintroduction to be instructional,
• Finish Whole30, be careful on the trip, then come back and return to Whole30 for....well, how long?....before doing another reintroduction?

Let me be clear: This is NOT about trying to cheat or end early. It's about trying to make the most of the past three weeks and an unforeseen complication to the original plan.

What are some pros and cons to the options above, and are there other options I haven't considered? (Rescheduling the trip, and "eating Whole30" while away, are not options.)

Thanks for any ideas!

(Yes, this is a cross-post from my message a few days ago here; evidently nobody reads the Reintroduction forum. )

[SugarcubeOD]

The 30 days is about more than just a 'break from normal'.  It's actually the time it takes to heal your gut so that the reintroductions actuallyi mean something.  You could reasonably do the 23 days, do reintroductions and still find out some information that will be helpful for the trip (ie: gluten free toast at breakfast is fine but the bun with the burger at dinner is killer) but it won't be as accurate as if you'd done the full program and then done the reintroductions.

If I was in your shoes, I would do option 3 - Finish the Whole30 because you made a commitment to yourself to do so. Go on your trip and be mindful of what you're eating... maybe ice cream after dinner and the bread basket at the table at dinner aren't the best idea - relax more on the 'sugar in ketchup' and 'what oil is this cooked in' but keep the major players (bread, dairy, grains, beans/legumes) off your plate - that's not particularly difficult to do, even on a business trip (steak and veggies anyone?).  THEN, when you get back, depending on how far off the mark you went on the trip, get back to the Whole30.  Do you need a week, two weeks, 30 days?  Don't know... if you didn't stray far and you still feel great like you did before you left for your trip, then a week or 14 days may be enough... if you went a little doolally and had the ice cream and bread and buns and deep fried foods etc... you're pretty much back to the beginning in order for your gut to heal again.

I just went and read your other post which contains the duration of your trip - three days is not a terribly long time so if you can do your best to stick as closely as possible to the program without putting yourself in an awkward situation, then that's what I would do.

 

[ladyshanny]

11 hours ago, Matthew81 said:

No, I'm not trying to shortcut. A very important business trip (as in, one I've been waiting to work out for over a year) just came up and it will involve meals that I can't reasonably refuse or request substitutes for.

Without knowing your exact situation/details, I would challenge this statement. If you were going on this trip and HAD done your reintroductions and you knew that dairy causes major, major stomach upset that leaves you sidelined for days or gluten makes your farts peel paint, would you still not ask for substitutes or exclusions? Are the people you're attending with really so important that you are obligated to trash your digestive system to please them? What if you had actual food allergies that would make you really sick or kill you?

I think sometimes we believe that we have to be so accommodating for others to the exclusion of our own health and general well-being in order to "fit in". I would 100% do the best you can without being ridiculous, but if you really don't want to eat dairy or you really don't want to eat cake or pasta or you really don't prefer to drink, there are ways that you can order/decline without looking like a crazy person. Practice those in the mirror now before you go so that it feels natural and second-nature.  

[Matthew81]

14 hours ago, SugarcubeOD said:

The 30 days is about more than just a 'break from normal'.  It's actually the time it takes to heal your gut so that the reintroductions actuallyi mean something.  You could reasonably do the 23 days, do reintroductions and still find out some information that will be helpful for the trip (ie: gluten free toast at breakfast is fine but the bun with the burger at dinner is killer) but it won't be as accurate as if you'd done the full program and then done the reintroductions.

Thanks, that's exactly what I was wondering about. I believe I'll go with Option 3, as you said (was leaning that way anyhow).

3 hours ago, ladyshanny said:

Without knowing your exact situation/details, I would challenge this statement. If you were going on this trip and HAD done your reintroductions and you knew that dairy causes major, major stomach upset that leaves you sidelined for days or gluten makes your farts peel paint, would you still not ask for substitutes or exclusions? Are the people you're attending with really so important that you are obligated to trash your digestive system to please them? What if you had actual food allergies that would make you really sick or kill you?

I will be something of a "guest of honor" in private homes, with some cultural implications also at play. If I had a known allergy, yes, I would ask for accommodations. However, lacking that, my job is to make things go smoothly, and part of that means eating what is set before me unless there is a very strong reason not to do so.