God help me, I'm giving up cheese for 30 days
 

I decided sort of spontaneously to embark on a Whole30 starting today! I had success with the last 30-day challenge I set myself in August (accountability thread was in this group) even though it was ambitious so I'm hoping I can complete this one, too.

I'd been eating strictly low-carb/whole-foods for nearly two years before falling rather spectacularly off the wagon in the last couple months. I gained a bit of weight but I really just want to get myself clean again so I don't get re-addicted to sugar. The Whole30 shouldn't be too challenging for me in terms of being grain-free, but there is another area...

My sister has had stunning weight loss success recently, and one thing she's doing that I never tried is to give up dairy 6 days out of the week. I'm wondering if I might have a sensitivity I never knew about and that's been contributing to my long stall (prior to falling off the wagon this fall). So a short-term fast and then adding it back in is a good way to try to figure out if that's an issue for me.

I definitely used cheese as a crutch when I went low-carb and I've been eating it at least a couple times per day recently so I'm going to have to re-work some recipes to exclude it. I was depending heavily on garnishing vegetables with Parmesan cheese for flavor, for instance. I'll even grab a slice of cheese to eat plain when I want more calories for the day and have already fulfilled my other food group goals.

I'm really afraid I'm going to sabotage the Whole30 over this cheese issue! Are any of you other chicks in the process of going cold-turkey on something you really love to eat and depend on? (BTW I know some of you love moderation but that's not an approach that works for me. Making extreme changes overnight has been effective for me in sticking with my desired behavior change multiple times in the past.)

Congrats! It is really really hard to give up such a comforting food. But in the long run it is wayyy healthier.

Cheese is a HUGE issue for me; I love it, but I have no control with it and it derails me when I include it in my diet unless I use pre-measured portion control (as in Laughing Cow cheese wedges). So I use very little of the stuff and only occasionally.

Unless I am in a situation where I can have limited quantities and that is IT - it is grain-based carbs for me. I think that it is great when people can have foods in moderation and that it is also great when we can choose to abstain - its all a choice! I felt just as restricted telling myself that all food must be eaten "sometimes" because I was doing it to be "normal" rather than choosing what makes ME feel best. Heck, I think that being conscious of this sort of stuff isn't the norm, but I don't want to look like the norm (the norm around me anyways!)

I think that we do lots of things that best fit us as individuals - like a particular major in college, joining clubs, earning awards, getting high scores, etc. Why not with saying no to cheese? =P


Feels pretty empowering!!

I'm gonna get so much hate for saying this...but I don't like cheese! People think I'm a freak most of the time. I don't mind mozzarella on pizza, but if a pizza has too much cheese it's gross to me!

Random rant over.

I can only salute people who can give something up. I've tried to give up Cola in the past, but then I decided I would only drink it when I ate out (which at the time wasn't often). Now I live on my own it's so easy to drink Cola when I want, especially since there are a multiple vending machines on my way home from work that sell it. Darn you temptations!

I think it's a brave (or stupid?) time of the year to try and cut something out, personally I always wait until after Christmas to start something new health wise! But all the more props to ya if you can do it! Good luck!

I'm not that fond of dairy, I can live without it & cheese wouldn't be the biggest sacrifice for me. Chocolate is my crutch. I make sure that I can have some dark chocolate every day, even though I'm not particularly fond of 70+% cocoa, I just can't live without it.

I gave up on most dairy items about 8 years ago. I'm not dairy free but I have 1 dairy item a day, if that. Be careful though, I'm vitamin D deficient & dairy is a good source for it. I can't add more in because I'm lactose sensitive.

I love cheese so much but I haven't had cheese that wasn't part of a recipe for a long time. I always tell myself, "If you can't eat X like an adult, don't buy it at all" and I eat cheese like I breathe air so I don't buy it. :(

I feel your pain and wish you much luck!

I'm actually allergic to dairy- allergic, not intolerant. I can eat it, but risk breaking out in hives, or getting a migraine, or bad heartburn. I avoid ice cream, milk, yogurt, etc. But cheese...cheese is my weakness. Cheese is the one dairy food that I'm like, are hives worth it? Yes. LOL. So I feel you, I really do. I do avoid it most of the time, but it's an addiction. :)

i don't like much dairy products and never drink milk but i LOVE cheese...only warm though....i can microwave-melt gobs upon gobs of cheese and eat it like it's candy :( all thoughts of calories or proportions are lost....i don't keep cheese around much anymore

I'm the opposite. There is nothing to turn me off more than melted cheese. I always make my burgers on the grill, then add my cold cheese to my burger after it cools a bit. Even on pizza - I like a little bit or it definitely has to cool enough where it doesn't stretch. The idea of stretchy cheese makes me gag every time...even right now. :^: