I broke Whole30 on what would have been day 21. I am happy to say that it was not due to a moment of weakness– it was by definite choice. It was Sunday, April 8. My husband and I went out to an Indian lunch buffet. It is a newer place in north St. Pete that he had been going to on Fridays with a friend and he wanted to bring me there so I could check it out. I was really looking forward to it because he told me that this place was several more options than the buffet we usually go to. It turned out that of the 20 dishes available, there was only 1 that was Whole30 compliant. It was a spicy potato dish. All the vegan dishes (non-dairy) had rice, legumes, or wheat and then all the meat and vegetarian dishes had dairy in the sauces. I was so bummed out because at the place that we usually go to, they have some raw veggies so I can plop all the meat on a bed of shredded lettuce and then there’s usually just some curried cabbage dish and chicken. I know that I could’ve continued Whole30 while at that restaurant but here I was at this new place with many options that are at least friendly for the primal/grain-free lifestyle.
My husband, though he was skeptical of Whole30 because it isn’t as low carb as he thinks is ideal, was very supportive and I could tell he felt bad that I was in this situation. He asked what I was going to do. I said “fuck it” and decided to go for all the chicken in dairy-laden sauce. And I took it a step further and had some rice aaaaand there was a paneer dish!! Paneer is sort of like farmer cheese and they’re served cubed so they look like tofu cubes. But they’re way better (obviously). I’m pretty sure I could live off of paneer for the rest of my life. I was proud of myself for not getting rice pudding because I wanted to keep my sugar cravings in check as I planned to start Whole30 from the beginning (I made it like 5 days before breaking again lol).
Later that evening I felt soooooo bloated and since I didn’t do the slow re-introduction of food, I didn’t know for sure what the culprit is, though I suspect it’s dairy.
Although I didn’t make it through the 30 days, I was very proud of myself for what I had accomplished and was reaping the many benefits of Whole30. I did decide to weigh and measure myself and found that I dropped 6lbs and lost 3 inches around my waist and hips. Just two weeks into the program I had noticed that my Pooh Bear tummy was also gone! I had a few fitness breakthroughs (been going to Orangetheory Fitness). I was looking better, feeling better, and training better.
I look forward to starting Whole30 again and actually making it all the way through!