Whole30 Recap

We did it! Thirty days with no sugar, no dairy, no grains and no legumes. Whew! So here's the recap - what went well, what could have gone better, results, all that good stuff.

The biggest benefit I've seen from this past month is getting control over what is going into my mouth.  Seriously.  There would be days (or weekends. or weeks) in the past where I would eat with very little ability (or desire?) to control what I wanted. I now have power over what I eat - it's a conscious decision. I have very few cravings for things any more - no cravings for sugary foods, no cravings for dairy/cheese, or chocolate. Now, this is not to say that I don't look at a donut or a chocolate bar and think "That looks delicious." No lie, I do. But I can appreciate how it will possibly make me feel (we'll get to my plans for re-introduction later) and can also appreciate that I'm not hungry, therefore, I don't need to eat it.

Other good things: my skin is clearer, I'm sleeping well (when Adi allows it!), and I do feel much better about my eating in general.

So what could have gone better? Well, I never got the "boundless energy" or "tiger blood" feelings described by so many.  But I think that's okay and maybe that will come.  I was frustrated by this at first, but then I remembered: n = 1. My experiment is different. And if all I gain from this experiment is that I have control again, that's okay.

My weight loss wasn't spectacular. There are so many stories of people losing 10-15 lbs that I was anticipating large changes. Again, this is something that I was frustrated about until I really thought about it. I have about 10 lb to lose, total, to reach my goal weight. It is ridiculous to think that these changes, without exercise, would be enough to lose that amount of weight, especially as close as I am to my goal. And likely, the people who are losing more weight over their Whole30 have more to lose. So in reality, my loss was about 30% of the weight I have left to loose. That's not bad!

Before (Day 1): Sad face because Jared says in the before pictures people always look sad, LOL. Ignore the Pack 'N' Play cover on the floor. I clean my bedroom, honestly, I do.

Day 31. Smiley because we're "done" (well, kinda). Ignore the fact that the Pack 'N' Play cover is still on my floor, now joined by a scarf that Adi pulled off the hook... :)

 

The official results for me: down 3.6lb, and lost a total of 3.5 inches from my waist and hips. Yay! Jared rocked as well. He didn't do measurements or pictures (shame on him) but he lost 15 lb!! I am SO incredibly proud of him for making this change and sticking with it the whole month with me.

 

So what's the plan going forward? Well, we're going back to my n = 1 experiment. I'm going to continue on with the Whole30 for a few more weeks. We're taking a trip to PA in a few weeks next week (!) and I may want to enjoy some off program foods. But I will likely continue this for another 15-30 days. The difference is that for my "next 30" I am going to focus on exercise. As I said in my last post, running makes a huge difference in my energy levels and mood. So I have come up with a plan to run a bit more each week, which will work until the days start to get shorter (then, I'll have to come up with a new plan!).  I started yesterday with the "new running plan", which is essentially picking Adi up from daycare and running with her in the stroller. Let me tell you, pushing 30+ lb of stroller and baby is TOUGH. It was a great workout, though, and she really enjoyed it. Now to find a better place to run (or a better jogging stroller!).

So what are my new goals?

•  Run 3x/week
• Continue with the Whole30 program
• Continue to do fun, ACTIVE things with Adi and Jared on the weekends
• Pay attention to my satiety signals. I'm still not great with this because I feel like "if I don't eat all of this now, I'm going to be hungry before my next meal and need to snack." What I need to be thinking is "I'm full. If I get hungry before my next meal, I'll have a glass of water, and then a healthy snack if I'm still hungry."

So, work in progress, right?