Redefining Our Relationship with Food

This Whole 30 eating plan has been a trip. We were very healthy eaters before, following a Nourishing Traditions (NT) and GAPS diet, but the Whole 30 takes it to a new level, and as eaters Ryan and I are quite mixed up. After a camping trip this weekend (for which bringing home-prepared food was quite easy thanks to the Whole 30), we discussed at dinner (over some delicious salmon and roasted green beans), our newly forming and hard to grasp feelings toward food.

On the Whole 30, we aren't hungry, full, tired or energetic. We just are. Food tastes good, but it isn't remarkable or scrumptious. It seems strange to become so detached from food. Does it ever become really enjoyable on the Whole 30 – in a Paul Prudhomme/Cajun and decadent sort of way (which is perfectly fine according to NT guidelines and can be made GAPS friendly too)? Or is food only decent tasting fuel - which is what I imagine it is supposed to be but I can't wrap my head around that yet.

This is new territory for me. I enjoy preparing and eating really tasty and decadent food. Colson, our son, is rolling with the diet very well and doesn't seem to feel like something is amiss - maybe because he never ate the Standard American Diet (SAD). He is eating tons more, probably because of the loss of dairy fat on the Whole 30, but he seems fine.

When we were camping, sitting around the campfire telling team stories (which get more hilarious as Colson gets older), it seemed like we should be snacking (popcorn, organic dark chocolate bar, GAPS coconut cookies). Nobody was hungry, there was nothing to snack on, and to Ryan and me something was missing.

We haven’t been “full” on the Whole 30. Not once. We aren’t hungry or full. We found we could hike strenuously for six miles on a Whole 30 breakfast, eat lunch at 2:30 even though we weren’t hungry, and still not feel exhausted from lack of food. We should have been starving for lunch after that hike, but we weren’t.

The Whole 30 keeps us steady physically. Both of us crave that full feeling (that is psychological I suppose), but we can’t overeat because our bodies tell us not to eat one more bite of meat or veggies. It tastes good, but the thought of eating more than needed becomes almost sickening.

Physically, we are fantastic. Ryan is shedding body fat like crazy and he has just detoxed something, and I am almost as slim as when I was at my fittest (muscularly – my eating habits were awful then). It feels great to be this light inside and out and not physically wanting anything. I guess that is how we are supposed to feel? Scrumptious, decadent food wasn’t part of the human eating plan until recently, and it has been exploited by the prepared food industry, which in turn has caused disease to skyrocket.

Ryan and I were traditional SAD eaters for 35 years. We moved to NT, which is good, then to GAPS, which is better, and now the Whole 30. Physically, this way of eating feels the best, but psychologically it is odd and a little unsettling. We are going to continue and reassess at the end of 30 days. I think we have at least another 30 to go, but we will see.

Stay tuned for the 30 day assessment – Colson does want to go to the boutique chocolate store for a celebration treat (another nasty SAD habit – celebration treats). I think it will make him sick, but hey – the kid needs some free food will and experiential education is the best. Maybe Ryan’s and my psychology around the Whole 30 will adjust by then.

Any thoughts?

Comments

[Maria Droujkova]

I do get a feeling that is hard to describe - that I am hungry, but I don't want to actually eat. I look at food and it looks fine, but I don't want to put any of it into my mouth. Katherine gets it too. It feels unpleasant and we try to avoid the experience, actually. But this is different from what you describe.

I used to snack on sunflower seeds for the feeling of tactile stimulation (that's probably what you wanted around the campfire), but I am yet to restock with non-rancid ones.

It's interesting to experience all these new sensations! Thank you for sharing the journey!

[Donna]

Maybe this is the way food is supposed to feel and appreciate your sharing your perspective. Our society is driven by "consuming"...food, products, etc., maybe everything isn't meant to be decadent or a treat. It is refreshing to hear that your family simply feels healthy yet seems to be breaking the bonds of attachment with food. It sounds like something many of us would like to experience.

[erin]

Has your grocery bill changed significantly since doing the Whole 30? It seems like you would spend a lot on good quality meat. Thanks for sharing about this diet.

[Laura Combs]

No, not any change in groceries. If anything the cost has gone down because we can't eat out on the fly and we are eating less.