Photo by Brooke Lark
First off, CONGRATULATIONS!!! You just spent 30 days focusing on you. It's not often we give ourselves the luxury of doing something for ourselves for an entire month. Yeah, I know... saying it was a luxury while you wracked your brain finding new ways to eat is a bit of an oxymoron.
But, even though today is literally Easter, and you will be tempted with loads of Peeps, Cadbury eggs, gold coins, and hollow chocolate bunnies, this is not a day to gorge yourself on mediocre chocolate. Let's be honest, is there anyone that even enjoys Peeps? 😝
You just completed 30 days of sometimes excruciating sacrifice in order to learn more about what your food triggers are, and what food makes you feel your best. If you have been counting down the days that you can simply just eat whatever you want, resist for just a few more days.
Here are three things I encourage you not to do as you wean yourself off of Whole30:
1. Don't just eat whatever you want on day one.
It's so tempting, but again, don't just eat whatever you want the first few days after Whole30. This was not meant to be a deprivation exercise simply to torture you. It was meant to give you control of how you eat, how your emotions affect your eating habits, and to better understand how certain foods make you feel for better or for worse.
Hopefully, by the end of the 30 days you were left feeling less bloated, cramped, and tired, amongst other things. That means you have helped heal your gut and eliminated the effects certain foods may be having on your body. For example, eating grains definitely leaves me feeling lethargic and bloated. Dairy has me feeling cramped. Sugar gives me a headache. But, I wouldn't know this if I didn't take my time reintroducing foods into my daily diet after Whole30.
Check out this sample post-Whole30 plan to help you reintroduce food groups one at a time into your diet. Give yourself a few days in between reintroducing foods to ensure you have a clear idea of how it is affecting your body. Keep a log of what you ate and how it made you feel over the course of those 3-4 days.
2. Don't be so quick to think Whole30 didn't "work".
You may have ended your Whole30 feeling like you didn't really get any of the life changing effects people rave about. Tiger blood?!? Never happened. Dropping pounds? Nope!
While you may feel disappointed, search yourself to find at least one thing that you'll change for good or identify at least one thing that you benefited from.
For me, getting better control of my emotional eating habits has been the most positive outcome I've gained from Whole30. I've found certain snacks that are whole food based that still satisfy me similarly to how Ben & Jerry's did. It's hard to argue that eating dried dates with almond butter isn't a better long term choice than a sugar laden bowl of ice cream every night. Or, maybe you've found that cooking more often has resulted in healthier meals and extra cash in your pocket. Or, maybe you tried some new vegetables or recipes that the kids will actually eat!
However big or small, don't let those 30 days be dismissed in vain. There is something you have gained for the better.
3. Don't deprive yourself of the "good stuff" forever.
As I mentioned before, dairy and grains don't agree with my body as much as I'd like. But enjoying an ooey-gooey grilled cheese on artisanal, grain-heavy bread served alongside tomato bisque riddled with heavy cream is one of my most happy delights in life. So when I feel like enjoying that, I do so guilt-free knowing I am agreeing to probably feel a little crappy after the fact. To me, it's worth it and you may decide there are certain things that bring you that much joy as well. Not the "I'm going to bury my emotions, eat whatever I want, and feel better in this short-term moment" type of joy. The "this grilled cheese reminds of being at Grandma's after school on a rainy day" nostalgic type of joy. The point is, now you can make better informed, conscious decisions about your food going forward.
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