You'll still definitely get the benefits from paleo style eating. It's generally a "sliding scale" thing - even little changes can make a noticeable difference, but the more you can immerse yourself, the bigger the effects.

I've been doing this for about a year and haven't done a Whole 30 at all, and even with a couple of setbacks (thanks to other things in life), and a decision to keep dairy and the occasional peanut butter in my diet, I've still seen great effects, including more stable energy, less bloating, more stable hunger, and the ability to turn down offered food.

The idea behind the Whole 30 is to go "whole-hog" so that you can start from a clean slate after the month is over, and slowly add things back in, to see what their effects on you are. It's basically like an elimination diet that a lot of people use to figure out what food they're allergic (or otherwise reacting) to. It's not required for paleo-style diets, but it can be useful, if you're up for the challenge.

I do recommend checking the ingredients on your sugar free gum and try to stay away from the artificial sweeteners. Most gums have aspartame, which has some pretty nasty effects. Ideally, try to get xylitol-sweetened gum, as xylitol has anti-cavity properties (unlike other sweeteners, which either promote cavities or are just neutral).

I think that many people can be successful without starting with a Whole 30. Personally, I felt that I needed a Whole 30 in order to get started - I had been eating a lot of processed foods, diet sodas, etc. and really needed to detox and kick the cravings. Actually, I had no real interest in eating Paleo/Primal until I was about halfway through with Whole 30. I think everyone is different - it sounds like you are doing great thus far, so if you are motivated and free of cravings I don't really think that you should feel like you have to do a Whole 30. It can be very enlightening though - I learned about some bad habits I had (like unconscious snacking), food sensitivities, etc. that I never even knew I had prior to Whole 30. I also learned which foods "trigger" me to over-indulge which is something I am still working on. Even some Paleo foods (like certain kinds of nuts) can be hard for me to stop eating if I get started.

I'm on day 14 of a Whole 30 and I started because my 80/20 Primal was rapidly sliding into 50/50. I needed some major structure to get back on track. So far I'm glad I'm doing it as I feel really great and it's helping me not have cravings.

I have done a whole 45 last August/September,when I fell off,I fell off hard.
I think the best reason to do this is if you feel you may be intolerant to certain foods,it gives you a chance to figure out what they are.
I didn't realise I had such an issue with certain types of dairy until I did a whole 30.
If you feel like doing it sometime,go for it.
I was over a year into primal/paleo lifestyle before I did mine.
Do what feels best for you

I'm Primal (not paleo), so no whole30. I've been very successful so far. I've gone from 208lbs to my current weight of 166.8 lbs. So just over 40 lbs and still dropping weight quickly. I feel amazing. No more migraines, KP, fogginess, bloating, acne, memory is better.... the list goes on and on. So worth the change! Also, I still eat a smallish serving sweet potatoes daily and the occasional small serving of white rice. I follow high-fat, mod protein, low-moderate carb. I have epilepsy and that has improved drastically (lots of healthy fats has made the difference with that).