The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - Whole30 and Cravings

We all have cravings, and I think that most of us have some emotional attachment to food to varying degrees. But after my first 30 days without pastries, that was all that I could think of in my last hours! It doesn't help that I am a supervisor at a cafe where I have to close the pastry case every night, or set it up in the morning!

As I child I was rewarded and conditioned with foods. It was an attempt to maintain order with three kids in the house, and I can't judge the choices. But it's something which is being processed as I take into account what I am eating. If I'm tired, stressed, or frustrated I tend to eat something fattening without even being hungry. I eat my emotions. I think that mentally, this is my biggest challenge on Whole30.

This is why controlling which foods are in your house BEFORE you start, is very important in my experience. Don't leave the marshmallows in the cupboard; the chocolate chips and the brownies need to leave the house! I've actually given away non-compliant gluten-free flours and almond milk with additives so that I don't cut corners which aren't worth it!

I wish I could say that it's easy to start Whole30. Well actually starting IS EASY because it is a momentary CHOICE. You can choose right now to stop eating all of the sugary, nutritionally poor, processed foods that surround us every day. Some of my friends are pretty set-up and would only have to make some small changes to do a Whole30. But as for me, I love cheese, pastries, pizza and other unhealthy and non-compliant foods. I have a crazy emotional attachment to sweets, and the Holiday Season has just ended so there's great sales plus all of the gifts which I was given. So there's a purging step that I have had to go through.

But completing a Whole30 is not easy. It takes perseverance, vision, and creativity. I've had to learn to batch cook, meal prep, and buy strategically so that I don't spend my whole day cooking or my whole paycheck on alternative foods. I've also had to learn how to make a breakfast which I can pack and consume within in 15 minutes while starting work at 6am. And I've had to learn how to work on overcoming my cravings.

My lunch at work during Whole30

Here are some bullet-point thoughts on dealing with and exposing cravings. As I write them, I realize that awareness is a great first step, and I need to continue to mature in my ways of dealing with cravings.

1. As with other forms of temptation, I find prayer and worship to be preeminent. What is important in life? Will this thing going to actually change anything? If I never experience this one thing, will I die or lack joy? I've realized that temptations are empty lies, with no real long-lasting relief to be experienced. But they still pull at me.
2. My emotions can sometimes be ignored, but rather than avoiding the real issue I should dig deeper and deal with what's really bothering me. I am still learning to step back and process my feelings, and to make the hard changes to fix things within my control. But If I can come to the simple realizations like I'm just tired and I need to take a nap, it's a lot more healthy. Or maybe I'm just angry, I need to forgive that person - then I can grab a glass of water and buckle down for the ride. This list also helps to normalize the stages within a Whole30 - Whole30 Timeline.
3. The restrictions given by Whole30, mean that I cannot just eat whatever I feel like or what has been offered, and it takes away some of my favourites. Yes, it feels personal. So I try to find other foods to enjoy - a new recipe which is Whole30 compliant, a new cuisine with compliant dishes (mmm mmm... Persian food!), a new fruit or vegetable that I have never tried (props to LufaFarms.com), or rediscovering old favourites (like pistachios). I also have compiled a list of activities which make me happy and that I want to accomplish this winter - like painting, hiking, and writing letters to friends! Not to mention sharing my thoughts through this blog.



Food from my Lufa Farm basket this fall

4. No one else has my body, with my health issues and needs. I cannot depend on others to eat healthy for me, and I cannot eat everything anyone else is eating. But this is true of other things - and it helps to keep it all in perspective. I cannot climb Mount Everest like some athletes (heck Mont Royal is a challenge even on a good day!), I cannot sleep less than 8 hours and function - like some of my coworkers, and I cannot live with a cat without having an asthma attack, as much as I'd love to have a furry friend! This is my life and I need to take care of my body. 
5. Which leads me to my final thought.. I have to keep my motivation front and center: You only have one life to live, and one body - and you're worth it! The Bible teaches me that my body is the temple of the living God, made holy by his residence there, but also to be honoured as a gift from God and under my stewardship. I can worship God by making healthful choices! There may be aspects to my body which I cannot control, but Whole30 is a tool of which I DO HAVE CONTROL. So let's do this!

Somethings I can do immediately when I have a craving:

• Think about something else, sing a song or turn my attention away from food
• Grab a glass of water, sometimes I'm just dehydrated
• Pull out some nuts instead of focusing on what I can't have
• Focus on a project or email I need to write, to keep my mind busy.
• Make my meal if it's an appropriate time (they say if chicken breast and broccoli sounds fulfilling you're probably just actually hungry!)

So far, at the end of my Whole30s I've had some particular craving which I just had to have first. It was a different food each time, but the craving was all-consuming. It's funny to think that as I began my Whole60 last week, I didn't even worry about eating one last this or that food I was craving. It kind of just began and I didn't make a big deal of it. But as I approach the finish line, in my experience, there is going to be a list of things that I JUST NEED TO HAVE. Actually, I want to pray that God would continue to break down the lies that certain foods will make my life better, or that I need something.

What are some of your ways of dealing with cravings in a healthy way?

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - Whole30 in Community

Since starting the Whole 30 about a year ago, I have realized that there is a lot of stigma around dieting, eating restrictions and food allergies. It was mentioned in It Starts With Food that you automatically become an advocate for the program simply by not following the crowd during meals. But I didn't realize the extent of it. I thought, sure I'll tell other friends about the great benefits I have found since starting this lifestyle. I even wrote a couple of gal friends who mentioned health or weight loss in social media, because I had found Whole30 to be so extremely helpful. But I didn't realize how much I would have to defend my choices.

To be honest, when all but one of the girls in a circle of friends have some food restrictions due to allergies or intolerance, it starts to look like a fad. It's the center of jokes, and people have a hard time keeping track of who can't eat what foods. The comments are all in good humour, and it's hard not to see the irony, but it's not easy to be the but of the joke. Actually my friend, and roommate a few years ago got it much worse than I ever have. And I have to remember how extreme it felt to me then.

It is often asked, "if you can't eat all of [enter list], what CAN you eat?". Others state, "I could never do that for 30 days!" And I should be patient with these comments, because I thought them too, not so long ago. Instead, more often than not, I get my back up and remind them of all of the trash in our modern processed foods. Or how I actually have an intolerance to wheat and dairy, as was made evident when re-introducing them into my diet. But where does that get me? Whether or not the indignation comes through in my tone, I always regret becoming defensive and not answering in grace.

Sure, it's hard to go out for lunch and watch all your friends eat (something delicious), while you sip on a coffee, just because you'd rather maintain the fellowship than go home to eat alone. But at the same time, this is a personal choice to improve my quality of life, I can't be bitter at them for not getting it. I can help educate those who want to know more, but ultimately I can't change people's minds.


I think that more than anything, I just want to fit in. I don't want to have to make different choices, or miss out on enjoying the yummy food. I don't want to have my choices questioned or called to account. I don't want to miss out on the parties, the jokes, the feasts. That's been the hardest.

I don't have a family with whom I can enjoy my meals at home, and just go out once in a while with friends. Often, I have to eat food prepared by someone else if I want to participate in community - which means that I loose control over what is and how it is cooked. And that's very uncomfortable.

Thankfully, I have one group of friends who are more-or-less aware of the Whole30 program restrictions and we will enjoy a pot-luck meal with enough compliant foods for me to eat. I'll even bring a bottle of wine for them to enjoy without me, just to show my appreciation! This has been sweet, and I am thankful for their selflessness.

Other times, I will make myself a meal and enjoy it before joining my friends. That way if there is nothing, or very little, that I can consume at the restaurant/meal I am not sitting there writhing in hunger - hating everyone. Seems extreme, but I get hangry!

When I do go out to a restaurant, I have to judge how crazy (strict) I'm going to get. While not making excuses for having obvious cheats, I am not going to question the waitress on all of the ingredients in an entrée, and get the chef to come out and verify it. I try to make the best judgements and avoid dairy, grains, legumes, alcohol, sugar and preservatives. If I can make a good decision then I'll thank God that I am taking my health so much more seriously, and I'll tip the waiter just a little bit extra to show my appreciation for their patience with my many questions! But sometimes, even after trying to make a good choice, I still get a tummy ache afterwards.

I have found a few things which I have been able to enjoy on Whole30:
- a glass of cold water (haha!)
- a cup of tea or coffee (depending on the volume and the hour of day)
- a lamb shank with roasted vegetables (careful on the cooking oils)
- chicken brochette and roasted potatoes
- eggs and bacon and potatoes

I have invited friends over and cooked the whole meal for them so that I knew what I could and couldn't eat and to make enough for myself which was Whole30. This is another great way to encourage community while on a very limited diet. I've also brought food with me to friends' houses while hanging out so that they didn't feel the pressure to figure out my dietary restrictions and dream up a menu.

I think that I'll end it here, and write again soon about cravings and addictions which is another hard thing to overcome (let's be honest, by the end of it I can't think of anything else!) while on Whole30.

Thanks for reading!

Rebecca