Day 19 – Ending Your Whole30 (Whole30 2013)
If it isn’t obvious, I’m doing a Whole30 right now and I have a wonderful facebook group going with April. That group has really been motivation for me these past 20 days. There is always really great conversation going on, recipes shared, questions asked, and this really wonderful support – it isn’t too late to join if you wanna talk to us! Over the last few days, there have been a lot of questions cropping up about about how to end one’s Whole30 experience since 30 days are over in… 11 days?
I gave a short answer on the group, but it was kind of disjointed and quickly written – I was too busy focusing on the throbbing pain in my eye at the time. Here are two quick resources from the Whole9 folks themselves:
The Off Roading guide is a great resource for anyone, even if you didn’t just do a Whole30. Now… if you want my opinion, which I’m guessing you do because you’re at my blog, it’s this:
Do NOT be afraid of foods.
You’ve cut things out for a whole month, you feel great, and now there is this inexplicable fear building up. Foods are that, foods. Junk foods are junk foods and good foods are good foods, but in the end, they are all still just edible things that aren’t worth a hot second freaking out over. I say all this because the more you fear a food item and put it ‘off limits’, once it is back on the ‘allowed’ table (even if only for “a day”), it becomes this last supper mentality.
Familiar with that?
“I’m letting myself eat this just for today so I need to eat as much as possible while I’m allowed.”
Before you know it, you’ve consumed an entire bakery’s worth of pastry products, decided the last 30 days were for naught, and go back to your old lifestyle. It’s a mentality that creeps up on you. Stupid brain. This doesn’t happen to everyone, obviously, but it’s just a point I want to bring up so you’re at least familiar with the possibility should it occur.
How does one avoid this fate?
Do’s:
When you go out for a meal, as you invariably will, make the best decision available to you. Find a menu in advance if you can, so you can just think ahead a little and not be totally blind-sided. If you go to a friends house for a meal, again, eat the best you can. If it’s a close friend, maybe even ask what they’re preparing and if they’d be willing to do something accommodating.
If you decide you really want frozen yogurt, as I am wont to do, just eat a frozen yogurt. Just make sure you really want it and aren’t just using it to fulfill some other need. If you do off-road, eat all the rest of your meals “healthy” (whatever that word means to you). Just because you ate a cookie, it doesn’t mean the whole day is for naught and you’re f*cked.
No, seriously.
The effects of eating junk food are cumulative: 1 cookie does less damage than 5, 5 cookies do less damage than 10, and so forth.
In the event that you DO go totally off the walls for a day? Well, screw it. It’s done. Move on and eat some eggs and bacon for breakfast the next day.
Don’ts:
First, see above. Don’t be afraid of the foods you’ve cut out of your diet recently. Second, I recommend NOT setting a day of the week you’ll allow yourself to go non-paleo. (i.e. the infamous “cheat day”) That is a recipe for disaster that, by virtue of its existence, puts foods into allowed and not allowed categories.
Additionally, don’t sweat the small stuff. If you eat out, you will likely consume some kind of vegetable oil. It happens and is pretty much unavoidable. Life isn’t worth living if you won’t go socialize once in a while… I mean it. Killing your social life to forever avoid soy oil is a good way to ensure misery.
Final words:
Just be honest with yourself. Recognize when you’re making excuse to eat foods that aren’t good for you or if they’re creeping in too often. And remember, it’s never too late to start eating better right now if you get WAY off track.
