A couple of commenters mentioned that they were worried about what they’d do when the diet was finished, and I know how they feel.
Julia said:
“I have a fear … can we go back to eating like a ‘normal’ person after this? I wasn’t THAT bad this weekend … I even went for a long run! I think returning to normal after this will take a careful examination of what and how I am eating and how I got myself into this mess in the first place.”
And Stacey said:
“I am very concerned that when the 28 days is up, one slight change to my meal plan, such as wheat bread rather than Ezekiel bread, will result in my gaining back any weight I lose. I also plan to stick with a lot of the meal plans/ foods that are on FMD, but I don’t want to feel like I do now if I eat slightly off the plan. So frustrating.”
I’m a little worried about that, too. Of course, I know ideally, we would all have done the diet straight through with no deviations. In theory, then, our metabolisms would be healed and we could eat like a normal person without blowing right back up like a raft. In practice, most of the folks I’ve been talking to found that hard to do. (Parents, I’m especially in awe of your ability to stick to the diet at all. If I had kids, I’m pretty sure I’d be eating literal garbage out of the trash can and counting chasing my kid in the mall as cardio.)
For me, I think the key is going to be to incorporate some of the recipes and most of the guidelines into my daily life. I don’t think I’ll go back to drinking caffeine, for example. And I’ve never liked soy, and am happy to keep that out of my diet. Same for corn derivatives. It’s hard to do, but worth the effort, just to know that my food is secretly conspiring to make me fat even when I’m not overeating.
As I said yesterday, I’m also going to add things in slowly. So, maybe dairy first, to see how that affects me, and then gluten. If I can keep my portion sizes down, I should be able to figure out what affects me most.
Still, like the others, I’m worried that I’ll feel like a human trash can if I eat anything off-plan. What do you think you’ll do when it’s over?
Image: Peter Zen/Flickr
Jennie Smash 
I ate “normal ” food this weekend and spent most of my nights in the bathroom. I think that was my body’s way of saying this stuff is crap! Literally if you get my meaning. I will probably add some things back in slowly and some things will be special occasion only. By the way I am starting my second 28 days .
Good for you on the second 28 days! And ugh, I’m so sorry about the weekend in the bathroom. Our bodies have gotten spoiled.
I’ve noticed that I only loose weight on Phase 2 so I am going to try following for Phase 2 and see how that works.
This truly is an interesting little dietary experiment we are playing with. Interesting how we are talking about eating like “normal” and it doesn’t work… we feel awful, are tired, bodies fight back (sorry Tena… those days suck!) Why do we want to return to “normal”? And what actually is normal? (sorry… having some existential dietary angst… :o) )
Maybe we need to wrap our heads around that the way we are eating now is truly normal… all those things that Haylie says DON’T EAT like wheat and soy and corn are no longer normal. I find myself lamenting and missing the way I used to eat, but wasn’t that the problem?
LOL! I am suddenly glad to be restarting the 28 days… there is comfort in just being told what to do sometimes. (but only sometimes… and only when I decide what I am being told to do… just sayin!)
Years ago I was told by a chiropractor that I had an intolerance to Wheat, Corn and Dairy. (At the time Soy was still a good alternative to Dairy). I stayed off these products for about 2 years, lost some weight and felt great. So Julia, I agree – we CAN have a new ‘normal’. I know I will have my caffeine, but it will not be the three cups AS my breakfast and foods like Wheat, Dairy, Simple Sugars will be for special occasions or going out with friends, etc. That’s the plan anyway … 😀
I’ll bet when you start eating “normal” food again, you’ll find that even the taste isn’t as good as you remember. And so you’ll have your “new normal!”
I have not completed a straight 28 days yet and will not until May 27th – June 24th. It baffles me how I can eat on plan and either not lose or even gain a smidge. (I usually attribute it to not enough water or too much salt or not enough food … but STILL) After the straight 28 days I’ll be going straight to a grad party in NY where there will be a weeks worth of fun with cousins and lots of food and drink. On the heals of that a week long trip to Oregon in search of our new home (STRESS – even good stress). So yes, I am worried. I do not want to continue this cycle forever either. Coming back from Oregon I will need to get back on program and stick to it until I am at goal weight. Excited, but nervous.
FWIW, chasing a kid through a mall totally = cardio! The panic of losing the kid/having to pay a fortune in ruined items/having security on your heels to throw you out raises your heart rate even more than simply running does! 😉
Ha, I can completely see that!
I keep going back and forth; I truly feel like I can give up dairy but not the occasional ice cream or I am just going to keep eating the Eczekiel bread unless someone throws some fresh sourdough at me. You know what I mean? I would still like to lose some more weight and it seems like I am now at the pace I was when I COULD lose weight on a regular diet (1 or 2 pounds a week) so I think I’m going to incorporate what I’ve learned on FMD and weave it into Weight Watchers. I suppose if I do start gaining or not lose ANYTHING I can give FMD one more round because this was amazing for me; with one more week to go I can say that I’m down 12 (almost 13) pounds and I’ve lost a total of 4 inches. I’m pretty happy with that.
Try buying bread at a farmer’s market. A lot of those breads have been fermented, and often folks who are wheat or gluten intolerant can eat this. Consider it a nice treat.
What I did find confusing about your post is your intent to segue into a Weight Watcher’s diet, where you lose weight by eating less. Why do you feel like you need to do this? Just curious.
Sorry….I forgot to add something. While I was in Stop and Shop today I noticed that there is such a thing as coffee creamer made from almond milk! I did a little happy dance right there and then. LOL
What? That is awesome! Maybe just finding little tweaks like this will be the answer.