My nine-day streak on the Whole30 ended last Friday. Late in the morning, my husband cooked all of the leftover vegetables in the fridge and scrambled it with some eggs, which we scarfed down before heading to the O’hare International Airport. We were on our way to Breckenridge for a weekend of skiing, and with the layover in Cedar Rapids, we knew we wouldn’t be able to eat until we landed in Denver. Once we got to Cedar Rapids, we looked around for some food, but all we could find was a sports bar with drinks and apps. Luckily, we had anticipated this and packed dried apricots and cranberries. The cranberries were far too sour to eat on their own, so we stuck to the apricots. I only intended to have a few pieces so that I can manage my hunger until we arrived at our destination, but my husband has a habit of not being able to stop eating until the whole bag is gone. I was influenced by him, and had nearly half of the bag myself. We later regretted this when our stomachs ached from too much fiber. We were still Whole30-compliant. So far so good.

Once we arrived in Denver we rented our car, I asked my husband to figure out where the closest healthy restaurant was. We found a Tru Food in Denver, so we started driving there. I knew that most of the food on the menu were not Whole30-compliant. I knew that there was the option of telling the waiter to make our food simple, without any sugar, without any soy. But we couldn’t justify paying what we were paying to eat plain food, and it felt silly to walk into a restaurant to make all of these extra requests. Plus, we were on vacation. We gave in, and ordered the edamame dumplings and albacore tataki to share, and the Moroccan chicken for him and Pad Thai for me. The meal was delicious, and we had no regrets about breaking the Whole30.

Breakfast the next day was Rxbars which we had packed plenty of. We both took lessons, but since it was my husband’s first time skiing, we were in different classes. The chili I had for lunch was the perfect meal to warm me up after a morning of skiing. I couldn’t help but notice the beans, the cheese, the sour cream, the bread… and for a second I was afraid that my body wouldn’t accept all of these ingredients that had become foreign over the last couple of weeks. But I was completely fine and continued to ski well the rest of the afternoon. That night, my husband and I went to a local sports bar and indulged in local beers, chicken wings, and pizza. Again, I didn’t intend on finishing the pizza, but with my husband eating so fast and so much, I felt peer pressured into eating more pieces than I was comfortable with. Breakfast and lunch the next day were the same, and at dinner, we again checked out some other bars for beers, burgers, and macaroni and cheese. Monday was our last day of skiing, and since we had to drive two hours back to the airport, we skied for half a day. Mid-morning, I turned over to my husband as we were sitting together on the ski lift and said, “My body is so cold. I really need to go in after this run.” “I’m so glad you said that because I was feeling the same way,” he said. My body was craving something warm and sweet. We had hot chocolate with a generous handful of marshmallows, and I had a big chocolate croissant. It was exactly what my body needed after depleting all of my energy in the cold. We went back out and skied for another couple hours before returning our ski rentals and driving to the airport. Before going through security, we ate at Panda Express – something I hadn’t eaten in a few years. My body felt fine throughout the weekend – no bloating, no gas, no aches, no abnormalities, which made me realize that perhaps I’m not actually lactose intolerant at all.

We arrived at home past midnight, and since we had eaten dinner at 4pm we were quite hungry. Instead of heading to the food pantry to see what biscuits and crackers I could find, I found myself opening the refrigerator to see what vegetables we had left. I found one egg, some leftover spinach, and a couple of tomatoes. I cooked the spinach and eggs in some olive oil, and sliced up the tomatoes. It took all of five minutes to prepare. Before going on the Whole30, I wouldn’t have even thought about cooking after such a long day. But now, it felt effortless. The program has no doubt changed my behavior towards food and cooking.

I would like to complete the entire Whole30 program one day. But with a holiday party coming up this weekend and a couple of ski trips left this season, I’m not sure it’s worth it to start again now. But I did meal plan this week using the Whole30 book and Whole30 cookbook. I’ll probably start eating rice and beans and wheat and yogurt again, but I will try to eat as whole as possible, staying away from packaged and processed foods. The program made me realize how little protein I was getting, so I’ve become a lot more conscious about that. Come to think of it, I didn’t have a single dizzy spell since I started the diet – something I have been getting quite frequently over the past year. I’m thankful for what I learned through the Whole30, and am excited to continue eating and cooking Whole30!