Today’s guest post (a follow-up to Monday’s article, “Is your Whole30 Unhealthy?”) was written by Camilla N, who blogs at http://tgipaleo.wordpress.com. We encourage you to leave your thoughts and own experiences in comments.
Camilla’s Story
“Stop. Before you assume I went on a McFlurry-bender before I wrote this, just stop. Stop. Judging. Right. Now.
Up until this very second, I haven’t eaten any grains/legumes/dairy/added sugar/alcohol/white potatoes/bacon or stepped on a scale/measured myself/insert anything else here that you’re not supposed to do on a Whole30. And I’m not going to anytime soon.
I am, however, officially ending my Whole30. Why the hell would I do that? Because it’s making me bat-sh*t crazy, that’s why.
The Background
I’m a huge fan of the Whole30 and all other brands of clean-eating challenges. They work wonders because they force you to re-evaluate how you eat and live, and the Whole30 in particular helps you look more critically at the source and quality of the foods you put in your body. But I also believe there is a correct time and place for it all, and this is not it for me.
The Man and I have called ourselves “Paleo” for a while now – frankly, it’s second nature. The Whole30 didn’t require many changes in our diet at all–we nixed the dairy and booze and double checked all our labels for added sugar/honey/stevia/whatever. That’s it. I didn’t stock the house with anything different. We didn’t eat anything we weren’t eating before. Besides the cravings for whipped cream, I was just dandy.
But starting this coming week, I’m going on three weeks of temporary duty to San Antonio for a special course. I’ll be living in a hotel room and living off a meal allowance. I’ll probably get a mini-fridge and a microwave but otherwise won’t be able to cook.
Again, the Whole30 is a wonderful thing… but as soon as I started wondering how I was going to take the Whole30 with me to San Antonio, things got weird.
Yes, I am fully aware that it’s possible to keep on track no matter where you are, and I have a ton of respect for you if you’ve done it. For me…not so much. I may or may not have mentioned before that I have a history with disordered eating and body issues. I clung to Paleo because it was the first time I could be healthy and feel good about myself at the same time. There was no weighing/measuring/counting/timing…I could just eat good food and lo’ and behold, I felt and looked great.
It started earlier this week as I was reviewing my packing list and doing some early prep for my trip. Naturally, my mind wandered to meal planning, and I started putting together some meal ideas from what I knew I could buy from Whole Foods/Central Market and that I could prepare in my room with such minimal cooking implements.
I contemplated just eating salads for three weeks straight.
I wondered if it was possible to cook three weeks’ worth of food at home to haul down with me.
I thought about bringing a crock pot, toaster oven, and hot plate to the hotel.
This stuff literally kept me up at night. I was so worried that a) I wouldn’t be able to find enough to eat, and b) that what I did find would have trace amounts of Forbidden Substances like peanut oil or soy or white potato.
(Side note but sorta related: Four months ago, I flipped sh*t at The Man because he put a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce in a meatloaf. He hasn’t cooked for me since. Yeah…)
The Plan
To make a long story short, I’m putting an end to the madness now before I have a stroke. That doesn’t mean I’m going to start ordering pizzas and living out of the mini bar. I’m going to eat what I would normally eat–the best, highest quality Paleo-friendly food in all of San Antonio, because that’s what I like to eat. When I eat crappy food, I feel crappy, so why would I do that to myself? Heck, I’ll probably finish out the month perfectly Whole30-compliant.
But I need to flip the mental switch. I need to take myself off the “program” because it’s going to consume me. When I started wondering whether the spinach on the Whole Foods salad bar could be contaminated by the canola-based mayonnaise, honey, or tamari from the store-brand tuna salad in the bin next to it, I knew I had a problem.
Do I feel like a whiny, yellow-bellied failure? Oh, yeah. Big time. All I can say is that this isn’t out of the blue. I didn’t just wake up this morning, drop everything and decide to quit so I could go swimming in a tub of ice cream. I’m not going to do anything different, I’m just trying to give myself a break while I’m a less-than-ideal location.
That’s all. Thank you for listening. I’m probably a poor role model and all my food is contaminated with failure…but at least it’s not contaminated with crazy.”
Thank you, Camilla
For the record, Camilla, we don’t think you’re a failure, nor do we think you’re a poor role model. To the contrary, this was the healthiest dose of common sense we’ve read on the internet in a darn long time, and we thought you were the perfect role model for others who may be going through the same experience with their Whole30 plan. So thank you for being brave and sharing your story – and for donating to our community with the kind of message that inspires, motivates and changes people’s lives.
Love It. Thanks for the post! I am also headed on a work trip for two weeks – to Canada. So here’s a lovely short-contrast for you:
Summer 2010: 4 weeks of flight testing (I’m an engineer) in L.A. No Crossfit, I found an airplane chock and used it for front squats and did pushups and squats and handstands outside our hangar. I also ate at Panera and ate the damn cookie in the flight test lunches every day. *** I GAINED TEN POUNDS OF FAT***. In a month.
Summer 2011: 3 weeks of flight testing in a different location in L.A. I found a little Crossfit gym in Palmdale (HI GUYS!). I ate the eggs & meats out of Panera breakfast sandwiches & aimed for either Protein-Style In & Out burgers or BJ’s steakhouse (salads or steak + veggies). *** NO WEIGHT GAIN *** (and no splinters from old airplane chocks!)
The difference? My mindset; even though I was still spending 12-16 hours a day locked on an airplane, I wasn’t letting extremely long work hours get the better of me. Yeah, I had a glass of wine here and there, but there weren’t late night “oh, room service is the only thing open so I’ll order steak, French fries, cheesecake and wine” binges. Another trick I used was to take my skinny jeans and make myself wear them on those long flights. They are my tell-tale and Early Warning System. It worked! They still fit at the end of things.
Hey, like you guys always say: “Context matters”
Oh yes, thank you. My first whole 30 was pretty good. The second was ended prematurely because of “life.” I could have made it through, but with three kids and a sugar and carb-a-holic husband whose birthday was the “excuse” to end it, I chose to enjoy them all. I am still eating mostly clean. I am aware of the poorer choices I make…reaching for an apple instead of an avocado or broccoli when I am hungry…but hey, it’s not the plethora of Girl Scout cookies that don’t even taste good to me anymore … yes I tried one. Who eats just one GSThin Mint cookie? So I am patting myself on the back for my successes, and doing my best with awareness and good choices, and if I slip, I am letting go of the thought that “well, I’ve already blown it, let’s eat the whole box and whatever else I can find” mentality. thank you for sharing.
Thank you for this post. Sometimes we need a reality check. Swapping to this way of life for a family of 4 was difficult but I feel ok now with making my girls paleo muffins, lol. Truly a game of give and take.
To all,
Thanks for your comments. We try to remind folks that this is a life-long effort, not a sprint. Trying to do a “perfect” Whole30 might just make you crazy – but doing the best you can and continually trying to expand your knowledge, your efforts and your awareness is the perfect recipe for life-long, sustainable, balanced and healthy habits.
Best,
Melissa
Camilla, I totally feel you. It is easy to be consumed with being “perfect”. I am in the military and there are plenty of instances where this happens to me. It can become consuming to the point of almost OCD paranoia. Good for you for making the healthy choice. Like you said, you are Paleo anyway. Sometimes, getting out of our own head is a good thing and it helps us to lower our stress about a situation and look at it more objectively. And really, in the grand scheme of things, having to eat “less than perfect” for 3 weeks is not that big a deal as long as you make the healthiest choices you can
.
Camilla – Been there! I live by and preach the adage “Do your best with what you have” when it comes to working out and eating while traveling. I’ve coached people before who were going to be in a less than ideal location smack dab in the middle of their Whole30. For some reason they equated Whole30-interuptus to being an abject failure at life. I reminded them that there’s no merit badge for the most Whole30′s completed or the longest streak of Whole30 style eating. Life happens, and there’s not a whole lot you can do about that, especially when you live a semi-nomadic lifestyle because of work. The sooner you can accept that psychologically, the easier it is to just move on and do your best.
I will say that bringing just a few critical items with you can help transform your billeting room into a more optimal eating space. I usually bring a small pyrex bowl with a cover, a can opener, and cinnamon with me as a minimum. You can use the bowl to cook stuff in the microwave (crack 2 eggs in there, cook for 30-60 secs and voila! eggs for breakfast). I’ve actually made shrimp curry in billeting room with just a microwave. True story. The can opener is to open coconut milk, because for some reason those rooms have every other kitchen implement imaginable but a can opener. The cinnamon is for coffee, because I just like it that way.
Thank you for this post and the responses!!! I’m in the middle of my first Whole 30 and BAM, I got a cold and a pretty bad stomach infection. My clean eating went out the window. I really didn’t have an appetite and when I was able to eat, I didn’t make the best choices. I was sick for about 2 weeks on anti-biotics, hardly able to go to work and not going to Crossfit. I was pretty depressed and feeling super guilty about “failing”. Well, I’m back to clean eating and Crossfit (as of yesterday) and will just put it all behind me. Thanks for sharing!