Whole30: Day 11

"It is not the mountain that we conquer but ourselves." ~ Edmund Hillary

My day is not over yet, but I'm having a moment that I suspect many of you have had or will have when taking on the "Whole30"...I consumed a non-"Whole30"-approved substance. Well, the 'jury is still out' (I've sent a message/question to the company to be sure), but I'm going to assume that the grills at "Five Guys Burgers and Fries" have been greased with peanut oil (not Paleo and certainly not "Whole30"). 

I really just didn't think about it, as I have never done this (grease a grill before adding my burger patties) myself; I knew the fries, sauteed mushrooms and onions would be off limits, but honestly didn't think about the burger patty. A majority (most) of our eating is done at home, where I control the quality of our food and the way in which it is prepared. So, when I normally eat out I focus on eating meat and veggies; I know which oils/fats I should avoid, I know the negative impact of eating such oils, and I also know that most restaurants use said fats/oils, but I try to focus on the big picture and normally feel really good about my choices.

Enter today. It was pointed out to me that the burger I had just posted on my Facebook page was likely cooked on a peanut oil-coated grill...totally not Whole30. My face instantly got hot, my stomach felt in knots, I felt GUILT and this weird sense of shame...like I had done something horribly wrong.* Yes, this response really occurred.

I immediately Googled "Five Guys Burger Peanut Oil"...nothing confirmed this, but I feel pretty confident that it was indeed "cooked on a peanut oil-coated grill". So, what do I do now? It's Friday, I've already eaten a non-Whole30 thing (I won't even call it a food)...I could do one of four things:

1. Throw my hands up in the air, give up, and blow off the rest of the day/weekend...my body's already been tainted, so why not!? 
2. Start over again, from Day 1, but do it tomorrow, so I can take advantage of this already blown day.
3. Start over now and just consider the past 10.5 days a learning experience...now I really know what I need to do to "get through this". 
4. Keep going strong and consider this to be an 'eye-opening' experience that should not be a regular occurrence. 

I'll go back to what I said before...this is not about 'showing your body who's boss' or living your life in a guilt-ridden, deprived state of being- this is about awareness and learning what is best for your body. You may not always make the best choices, but always strive to make the best choices. 

So, I'm choosing Option 4. 

What would you do? 

*I remember a similar experience when, as a vegetarian, I decided to order a filet my first time eating out at a Ruth's Chris steakhouse...I begged Scott not to tell anyone, because how could I ever go back to being a vegetarian, now that I had consumed meat!? Well, I did (fortunately that didn't last too much longer) and as with the peanut oil "incident" it became a learning experience...my body could actually process/digest meat and I actually really enjoyed it. So, thank goodness for learning, growing, adn experiencing.