It’s been over 20 days since I finished my first Whole30 and I’m still feeling great. I have slowly been reintroducing foods and evaluating their effects on my body and mind. Before beginning the reintroduction period, I read Melissa Urban’s Food Freedom Forever. This book is an excellent guide to life after Whole30; a life where you can eat whatever you want whenever you want, as long as you are thoughtful about what you’re eating and prepared for the consequences that may come as a result of your choices. Attaining food freedom is certainly easier said than done, and, as Urban notes in her book, it is a lifelong process.
While reintroduction will produce different results for everyone, I’ve outlined the highlights of my reintroduction below:
Wine
Drinking wine was an (almost) daily ritual for me prior to beginning the Whole30, and it was the one thing I craved most during the 30 days. While I originally intended to wait to have wine until the end of the school year, after reading Food Freedom Forever, I decided it was better to have wine when I felt like it as opposed to waiting for a “special occasion.” So, I selected a nice bottle of Italian red wine and had two glasses with a Whole30 approved dinner.
After one glass, I easily remembered why I drank so much wine in the first place: I felt awesome! I’d been struggling with headaches and jaw pain due to working on the computer more than normal, and my pain disappeared with my wine. Although I was pain-free, I also became really tired really quickly, and fell asleep on the couch before 9:00 PM. While I usually fall asleep pretty early, I typically like to get in bed before doing so.
My blissful pain-free existence did not last long, however. I woke up at 2:00 in the morning with a pounding headache, an unquenchable thirst, and the fire of a thousand suns coursing through my body. While I was able to fall back asleep, I still felt pretty rundown in the morning (headache, very hungry, and my face was dry and red). I felt like I had a hangover from drinking two bottles of wine, not just two glasses (and sadly I know what that feels like).
After eating a healthy breakfast and drinking a lot of water, I did feel better, but I was turned off of wine for the time being. I did have another two glasses of wine a few weeks later, and did not experience as adverse of a reaction.
While I don’t see myself giving up wine for life, I did not like how drinking disrupted my sleep, messed with my skin, and made me feel extremely hungry. Alcohol, for me, is definitely a gateway to less healthy eating, as not only does drinking make me hungry, but it also makes me less thoughtful about what I’m eating. This type of behavior is a consequence I’m willing to take, but, for the time being, I’d like to take it less often as it can quickly spiral out of control (more on that a bit later in this post).
Dairy
In case you didn’t know, I started this blog as a way to share my love of making (and eating) cheese and charcuterie boards. Having to go 30 days, therefore, without a cheese snack was a major lifestyle change. While reintroducing milk into my coffee didn’t seem to produce any adverse reactions in my body, eating cheese as a snack sent me into a cheese and snack-seeking spiral.
I read on the Whole30 website that cheese can be “triggering” for many people, and I, too, found this to be true. I’m not entirely sure why, but once I had a little cheese, I wanted ALL the cheese (and the snacks that accompany cheese). While I was able to keep a lid on my cravings and not eat the entirety of my pantry that night, I did not like the out of control feeling my beloved cheese plate produced.
Cheese incorporated in other dishes did not make me go on a snack attack, so I foresee continuing to eat dairy when I’d like, but I am going to be cautious about cheese and charcuterie.
Legumes
Beans were not a very regular part of my diet before Whole30, so reintroducing them did not produce deep cravings or adverse physical effects. Peanuts, on the other hand, are a familial obsession and, unfortunately, kind of like cheese. Before Whole30 I ate peanuts as a snack almost every day. While this is not bad, Whole30 has made me much more aware of when and how I was eating habitually. For me, peanuts at around 3:00 in the afternoon are a habit, not a need. Gaining food freedom after Whole30 requires you to analyze your food habits and make conscious choices. When It comes to peanuts, If I’m hungry and actually want peanuts, I should have them. If I’m bored or feeling down and want to mindlessly stuff my face with peanuts, I should probably look for something else to do.
Non-Gluten Grains and Gluten-Containing Grains
Both types of grains appear to be, for me, part of a healthy diet. I actually enjoy a lot of gluten-free recipes, however, so I see myself continuing to use gluten-free flours when recipes call for it, but also eating a delicious pasta dinner when the mood strikes me.
The Future and Food Freedom
While I was a bit nervous to leave the safety and comfort of the Whole30 program, reintroduction is the first step to food freedom. While I was able to make healthy recipes and incorporate some of the foods I’d eliminated during the Whole30, I still haven’t encountered major challenges (things like parties, holidays, or happy hours). I think it’s important, however, to get out in the real world again (as it becomes safe to do so) and eat and drink in a less controlled environment.
My biggest fear moving forward with food freedom is being able to remove the labels “good” and “bad” from my vocabulary surrounding food. For example, I was so good all week, so I should treat myself to bad foods like pizza, beer, ice cream, and cookies all weekend. Using food as a reward and labeling food as “good” and “bad” is not food freedom. Making the conscious decision to enjoy pizza and beer on a Friday night from my favorite local pizza place (Vittoria) and my favorite local brewery (Two Tides) is food freedom.
In short, enjoying foods I love (regardless of their physical and emotional effects) is food freedom. Feeling guilty about enjoying these foods, or eating all the foods I love in one carb, sugar, and alcohol-laden weekend is not food freedom. As a pretty all-or-nothing type of person (e.g. I ate one cookie, so now I might as well eat every “bad” thing I can today), developing this type of relationship with food is not going to happen without effort. It will also not happen perfectly. Fortunately, this is exactly what Melissa Urban had in mind when she developed the Whole30, writing in Food Freedom Forever: “Discovering food freedom is a lifelong journey of purposeful evaluation, increased self-awareness, and commitment to the process.” This process even involves going on carb, sugar, and alcohol-laded weekend binges, but using the Whole30 as a way to reset your diet when you get out of control. Essentially, when following the Whole30 to Food Freedom, you are completely expected to fail at eating in a way that is most healthy for you all the time, and that’s a pretty novel idea.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my first foray into the Whole30, and I fully expect to go through a few more cycles this year. For example, I’m already thinking about doing the Whole30 when I return (fingers crossed) to school in the fall. This is a time when I’m usually more stressed than normal, so Whole30 could help me manage my stress and focus on a successful school year.
In case you missed any of my Whole30 series, you can easily review the diet from preparation to Day 30 below:
As always, these are my experiences on the Whole30, and your experiences will be different. If you would like to start the Whole30, you should consult your doctor first to make sure it’s the right fit for you.