I really enjoyed this post on Whole 9 about multiple Whole 30s and it got my thoughts churning about my own experience doing multiple Whole 30s and how drastically different my behavior was after each.
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I finished my first Whole 30 on August 30, 2012. Sometimes it was so tough I didn’t want to continue. Other times it just felt like business as usual — don’t mind me I’m just over here eating delicious meat and vegetables. When I finished I wanted to do it FOREVVVVVVVVVVVVVER, but I knew that wasn’t sustainable. It is not a Whole 365, it is never meant to be, and I was not going to continue being so restrictive even though, physically, it felt AMAZING!

I did the reintroduction protocol and I found it so, so useful. I loosened up the reigns and allowed myself a Paleo treat here and there in September because I had spent August really being aware of every morsel I put in my mouth. Then in October I decided to give up caffeine because it became glaringly obvious that it was crutch in my life. Doing that was INCREDIBLY difficult, and honestly I felt far more deprived without coffee than I ever did with out sugar, grains, dairy and legumes. It made me feel really sad actually, and two out of three months filled with very disciplined consumption had me feeling like I deserved a bit of recklessness.

This worked out well because do you know what October was? My Birthday month! Woo hoo! Also? HALLOWEEN MONTH. Do you know what happens when you work in an office during Halloween month? You don’t even feel a little bit guilty about having a “bite sized Snickers” here and there. Especially after you have spent so much time being vigilant about your food and drink. Also especially when you are training to finish a half marathon and running all the damn time. You understand this, yes? I know you do.

But then you start to feel a little bit like shit. So. Much. Sugar rarely makes anyone feel good, so you get back into the swing of things in the beginning of November. But November starts the Holidays, and that’s a whole other story. Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner and you have spent the last 3 years being VERY disciplined about your Holiday Meals as well, so you decide to eat ALL OF THE STUFFING, because why not? It’s only one day, and one day is not going to get the best of you.

But then you get to thinking about the Holidays in general. And WHY MUST WE ALL BE SO REGIMENTED? Can’t we just spend the season enjoying each other and the traditional foods we make and have a Christmas cooking now and then, I mean, COME ON. Don’t be such an uppity asshole with your “Healthy Eating During The Holidays” magazine articles.

Hmmm…maybe you are feeling a little cranky but it’s probably from all of that holiday stress. So much to do! Just grab a quick bite out. Oh look, the office catered lunch, just have the god damn sandwich already. IS IT VACATION YET? Why do we have to travel all over the place during the holidays, GAWD. Why is the gym not open during the weeks when you want to workout the most. UGH. Guess I’ll just sit here and finish the rest of this jar of Trader Joe’s cookie butter on the couch since everything is closed.

And all of a sudden your clothes don’t fit, you have vampire bite acne, you are waging a war on back fat but you are fighting it while puffy, sluggish and constantly dehydrated. And that is what happened after my first Whole 30. It seemed sort of “out of nowhere” when I got to the end of December and was eating cookie butter on my couch, but really there was a very logical progression. And it was one that made me want to go running back to the Whole 30 again.

Another Whole 30? But Wasn’t That The Problem In The First Place?

The black and white nature of the Whole 30 really rubs some people the wrong way. I get this, as I very much subscribe to the philosophy of “You’re Not The Boss of Me.” I understand that taking orders from strangers about what to eat (and more dramatically, what NOT to eat) can seem like the gateway to very disordered eating. But my thoughts lean towards this: The Whole 30 is a tool. It is a temporary exercise. It’s easy to want to give up while you are doing it. It’s easy to look at it and say it will cause disordered eating. But I actually think disordered eating is a bit more complex. And also probably not for this blog post.

But I definitely get the stress around the Whole 30 and all of it’s rules. It *is* a bit stressful. It’s designed to be that way. Not necessarily to cause stress but to offer you a time in your life where you are forced to find solutions. During stressful times you are forced to acquire good survival habits. During the Whole 30, you do the same. When you get back into the real world of having ALL THE FOOD at your disposal, the stressors are STILL THERE. They are just different. But if you’ve completed a Whole 30 you bring all of those survival skills with you. (And bonus, you probably know your body pretty well when you finish.)

Each time we have completed a Whole 30 I’ve added some positive, healthy habits to my life. During our initial attempt I learned to make one breakfast on the weekend that I can eat all week. I had never done that before, but it was NECESSARY for me to succeed at the Whole 30 that first time around. It is a habit that I am still using (and finding immensely helpful) six months later. Win. It was the ONLY anchor I had throughout my Holiday Downward Spiral. ha!

I also discovered that first time around that there are so many other awesome burger/chili toppers than cheese. Prior to August I didn’t think I would EVER be able to give up dairy. Turns out the regularity with which I ate dairy was directly proportional to the regularity with which I ate burgers and chili. Now that I found ALL SORTS of good things to eat with those two meals besides cheese, I’m completely dairy free and not feeling deprived. Win.

So despite completing my first Whole 30 and then letting the pendulum swing all the way to cookie butter, I thought it would be a useful exercise to do again. This time I wanted to build on the good habits that had stuck around and hopefully introduce some new ones. Exciting Beverages to Drink That Are Not Booze is something that I really embraced this second time around. And guess what? It’s sticking and I have *bounced back* with a lot less drinking now that ALL THE BOOZE is available to me.

This second time around I am determined to not swing back so far to the other side. I’m also determined to keep building on my healthy habits. And probably? That will include another Whole 30 at some point. I like it. It works for me. And it feels good. Plus, the goal of a Whole 30 is not to become perfect, it is to become better and more informed. I keep learning about myself which helps with the whole “better” element. Did you find yourself doing a major pendulum swing after your Whole 30? Are you doing anything strategic to help balance that out?

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Is today your final day of Whole 30? Tomorrow? Are you filled with that simultaneous sense of excitement and anxiety? If so, you are right on track!

The Whole 30 is such an awesome process. If you decided to take it on, there is no doubt you learned a lot about yourself and your food habits along the way. I don’t know about you, but physically I feel fan-freaking-tastic (and especially compared to how I felt in December – UGH! I have PTSD just thinking about Christmas Cookies.) All of this data you’ve gathered over the last month is hard earned — there have been challenges, and tests of faith in the process. Or if you are like me, moments of weakness and child like behavior/rebellion. But if you pushed through all of that, what you’ve gotten in return is the knowledge of how your body can look/feel/perform if you spent the bulk of your time concerned with the food you put in it.

But Day 31 is back to reality. This is not a Whole 365, nor should it be, and we can’t live our lives spending every single day concerned with the “compliance” of all of our food. It’s not ideal to have such a rules based relationship with food every day of the year, so now the real challenge is revealed: What the heck do you eat next?

The Whole 30 Reintroduction Plan suggests you reintroduce some of the things you’ve eliminated over a ten day period and evaluate how they affect you. So rather that going out and stuffing your face with pizza on Day One (dairy AND gluten, for example) they suggest spreading out the potential stressors on your system:

Day One: Dairy
Day Four: Gluten Containing Grains
Day Seven: Non Gluten Containing Grains
Day Ten: Legumes

You don’t have to stick to this exact order, but you get the idea: Reintroduce and then give yourself some time to REALLY evaluate how this affects you. And it’s important to note that the idea here isn’t to look for immediate digestive distress — everything you eat isn’t just going to “give you a tummy ache” if if doesn’t agree with you. The point is, now that your body is a clean slate, use that as a control group to see if you really do “thrive” when you eat yogurt in the morning and cheese in the afternoon. See how you feel an hour later after you have oatmeal for breakfast instead of something with lots of protein/fat.

The bottom line is: Experiment with foods you miss, but do it in a way that will actually help you gather more information. Don’t just go mow down a medium pepperoni with olives because later when you are bloated and feel like taking a nap you won’t know if it is the cheese or the gluten bomb (Dude, it’s TOTALLY the gluten bomb!) and you have 30 days of data on your side!

Full Disclosure: My first Post-Whole 30 meal will probably involve wine. The food part will be compliant, but there will definitely be a Friday night cocktail. We’ve juiced some limes for our water and all month every time I look at it I think about mixing it with tequila. I’m not even a giant margarita fan, but salty rimmed glasses full of crackling ice cubes sound like just about the best thing ever right now. I REALLY MISS THE RITUAL OF HAVING A DRINK. But beyond that, I have no plans to follow the Whole 30 Reintroduction Plan. (WHAT???)

The reason I won’t be following it is that I followed it to the letter the first time around, AND I’M SO GLAD I DID. I know exactly what to expect when I eat dairy, sugar, booze, gluten — ALL OF IT. I could write you a screenplay complete with narrative arc about how those foods affect me. And that knowledge helps me make decisions in my regular life — and that is such a stress reliever so I want to really recommend it.

I think it’s easy to feel impatient and just want to dive right in to something crazy. And you CAN to a certain extent, if you do it in a smart way. You have 30 days of data behind you, don’t just throw it away on something silly. Because here is the thing: Having the knowledge about how food affects you? Doesn’t mean you can NEVER have that food again. Gluten makes my eyes puffy and makes me depressed about 24-48 hours afterward. Now that I know that, I understand the actual price I’m paying when I eat it. But guess what — I STILL EAT IT SOMETIMES!

(WHAT???????)

(I KNOW!)

But now, I probably wouldn’t eat it a day or two before a job interview. Or a day or two before I had to have a picture taken when I wanted to feel cute. You see? Knowledge is power! I’m a firm believer in life of knowing the rules really well, if only so you know WHICH RULES CAN BE BROKEN, AND WHEN MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

So…awareness doesn’t equal law! Just because you take the time to figure out how food affects you doesn’t shackle you to a life of restricted eating. But it does make your choices more informed, and I’m always pro-being informed!

That’s my two cents when it comes to reintroduction, and my plan moving forward. I am going to continue with Whole 30 style eats throughout February just because I am training for this running event, I’m still trying to drop some pounds, and because it agrees with me and I enjoy it. But I’m not doing the full on protocol because I need a little cocktail ritual here and there, and I do a love a good Paleo Pancake! Plus it’s Valentine’s Day and we traditionally go wine tasting — can’t pass that up! But I will be trying to keep the eats clean as a whistle around here next month. I’m so SO grateful to have done this in January. It has really put my year in perspective, I think.

Now that you are finishing up, I’d love to hear some of your thoughts:

1. What are your biggest takeaways from this experiment?
2. What habits do you hope to keep moving forward?
3. What might you do different if you did this experiment again?
4. What surprised you?

Need some more Post Whole 30 Info? Check out this post on Life After Whole 30 (The comments are full of good stuff!)

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