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I think I need some tough love. I'm addicted to dried fruit.


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I've done the Whole30 twice now and outside of the Whole30 I still eat relatively well. I would say my typical attitude towards eating is Whole30 when I can, relaxing what I eat every once in a while when I go out to dinner with friends or when my mom bakes her salted oatmeal and white chocolate cookies (seriously, so good yet so bad).

A little while back, I started another Whole30 and started off great. My life was filled with delicious brussels sprouts, kale, asparagus, hearts of palm, carrots, sweet potatoes, homemade meatballs, well fed chocolate chilli, avocados, blueberries, you get the general picture. Then one day, two decent sized bags of dried mango were gifted to me by a friend. That's when it all went bad.

I know dried fruit is okay in moderation. I also know to be careful with it because it feeds the sugar dragon. And now I absolutely know that dried fruit is a "no breaks" food for me. So why am I having such a hard time giving it up?

I'm not even sure what I'm looking for with this post. I am just frustrated and disappointed in myself. Plus, typing this all out felt so good.

Thanks for reading.

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I don't know that I have an answer for you. For me, I have a powerful sugar dragon and can't keep dried fruits or even nuts in the house. Actually, I eat no fruit with the exception of when I am at my mom's house in San Diego and it's from her yard and very special. She grows the best Satsumas in the world. I actually don't care much for dried fruit except for the spicy dried mango at Trader Joes. I think if someone gave me something like that, I would have re-gifted it. I don't know if that helps, but I find the longer I stay away from things, the easier it is. :)

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Oh man, dried fruit is food crack to me. I'd rather have that than sweets. But they definitely do feed that sugar demon. I know I'll have to leave them out of my whole30.

I'd suggest switching to fresh fruit instead and then cutting that down day by day if you're finding it tough.

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That happened to me with my first W100 experience. Dried fruit was always something I enjoyed, but could always take or leave. However, in doing the program, I realized that flavors now seem so much stronger and more intense than when I used to eat junk. That included raisins and figs - yum! I became more dependent on dried fruit during my reintroduction phase. It didn't seem like a big deal until one night I found myself driving to Trader Joe's for a raisin fix. I ate half the bag in the car on the drive home. It was crazy, and a little embarrassing. I used to be like that with cookies, cake, candy, etc., but never with dried fruit. So on Jan 1, my Whole 45 became centered around giving up dried fruit (and nuts too, though they weren't really an issue for me). The only way to get rid of that Dried Fruit Dragon (the first cousin of the Sugar Dragon) is to starve him. Deny him every fig, raisin, Lara bar, apricot, etc that comes across your path. I can honestly say that on Day 19, I really don't think about dried fruit anymore; my stomach feels better, and even my desire for any fruit is curbed. I will introduce it again in the future, but for now, it's completely out of my life. I wish I had a better way, but abstinence seems to be the only answer. Good luck. :) Lisa

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Thanks to everyone that replied. I know you are all right, now I just need my actions to reflect what I already know. I need to deny myself dried fruit for as long as necessary until I no longer crave it. When I go home I should probably throw out whatever is remaining. That's the hard part.

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If you don't want to totally give it up, just don't eat it alone out of the bag...it's too much like candy. Throw a little bit on your salads and always eat it as part of a meal, not as an isolated sugar bomb. Also, stick to more real fruit, much more hydrating! Good luck!

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