I wrote the other day about about my decision to do the Whole 30 challenge. I gave up grains, legumes, sugar, dairy, potatoes, and alcohol during the month of February. I did a very effective countdown detox in January to prepare myself for the Whole 30 and to avoid the detox effects.
What was my motivation behind doing the Whole 30?
There were a couple of reasons. First, I’d done a paleo-style eating plan in the past, about 13 years ago, and it helped enormously with some chronic health issues that I’ve had for a long time. I felt fantastic, though it was hugely challenging for me at the time.
Second, and more important, I honestly believe that it’s the natural human diet. I’ve been vegetarian, and I’ve been vegan. (And OMG did I get up on my vegan high horse and look down on meat eaters!) I also know that I tend to get anemic if I don’t get enough beef (read: almost daily beef), so paleo eating just makes sense to me. Check out the documentary The Perfect Human Diet if you want to learn more. Both my husband and I were absolutely fascinated with that film.
The thing is, despite the fact that I don’t think they’re healthy at all, I find junk foods like wheat, dairy, and sugar to be really addictive. And so I tend to fall back into unhealthy eating habits: I might be able to avoid milk, but cheese…that’s another story. And maybe I manage to stop eating wheat for a while, but then I allow myself some rice with the Chinese takeaway. Or I have honey instead of sugar.
And the end result is that I eat foods that I know aren’t good for me.
A few weeks ago, I read Gretchen Rubin’s post on abstaining vs. moderating. And it all made sense to me: I’m an abstainer. I find it so much easier to completely abstain from a food or from a food group rather than to try to enjoy it in moderation. This was a huge light bulb moment for me. Huge. Did I say huge? I finally understood how I function in this aspect.
The problem is, my husband is a moderator. Of sorts.
So he totally doesn’t get what he considers to be my “extreme” eating habits. He doesn’t understand how a little cheese in my eggs on Sunday mornings is a problem. It’s just one day a week, after all! The issue is, one day a week for me leads to all kinds of other exceptions. And then the whole “moderation” plan goes out the window.
Basically, there is no moderation for me. It’s all or nothing.
That’s just me. And so the Whole 30, plus my countdown detox beforehand, has been a fantastic way of breaking old food habits. We’re nearing the end of the month, and I plan to continue for several days into March. And then…I’ll probably add red wine back into my diet, because I really don’t think there’s anything wrong with a glass a day.
But dairy, sugar, grains, legumes, and potatoes? I plan to keep them out of my diet. Will I make exceptions? Knowing what I now know about myself, I really don’t think so. Because I know that I’m an abstainer, and that it’s easiest for me to avoid junk food by avoiding it altogether.
What about you? Are you an abstainer or a moderator? Share in the comments below.
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