init2winit

I just wanted to chime in to thank Whole30 for changing, yet another, aspect of my life. I went off the pill a little over 3 years ago and have not had a period since. I wouldn't say I ate terribly but I definitely wasn't eating whole foods in a balanced format. I ate grains and incorporated "cheat days" where I would go all out for a meal. I was vegan for a while and can only imagine I wasn't getting all of the nutrients I needed. I started to become very concerned last year when I still had not gotten my period. I also started doing a lot of weight training and HIIT at least 3 days a week. I know I was also eating restrictively to try and see more physical results. My head was totally in the wrong place as far as my health was concerned. My doctor could not figure out what was going on but she said that my estrogen was super low but she didn't know why. She wanted me to get a MRI but I kept putting it off because I just didn't see how that was going to fix my hormonal issues and my insurance doesn't cover it so it would have been super pricey. I did my first Whole 30 last May and I was amazed at what it did for my life. I didn't get my period back but I ate pretty close to the W30 template up until the holidays. I definitely indulged and enjoyed every minute. I decided to do another W30 starting at the beginning of this January for a small reset and, wouldn't you know it, I got my period!!! I was ecstatic. I was considering ceasing all working out to try and get it to return, which really would have bummed me out because it brings me so much joy. I think my hormones were just so out of whack that it took a while for them to regulate and send all of the right signals. I still have an appointment with an endocrinologist in Feb., which I plan on keeping, to get all my hormone levels tested again but I wholeheartedly believe that W30 brought back on my menstrual cycle. So thankful!

It's like the article was written just for me!!! Thank you, Shannon!!

Day 30 was on 6/9 for this gal! I added back in legumes yesterday. I don't think I had much of a reaction except for the expected bloating and gas...which now that I'm typing it, is not something I want to experience every day. lol I was pretty much a vegetarian before I started W30 so I ate a LOT of beans, tofu and tempeh. Now that I know what my body should feel like every day, I know the bloating and gas I experienced on a daily basis was probably not normal. I will probably eat beans every now and again and will occasionally have a slab of peanut butter but it's not something I plan on adding back in as a staple in my diet. I don't feel the need to add back in the soy right now. Going to wait the couple of days for the bloating to subside and then...I don't know?! The only thing dairy wise I would want to add back in would be being able to enjoy the occasional ice cream so I may get a single serving of that on Saturday but, to be honest, I'm a little scared to wake the sugar dragon. It would be nice to prove to myself that I can have something like that every now and again without it being an issue. Also, I see from a previous post that dairy and sugar should be reintroduced separately, so maybe I should get a non-dairy ice cream without carrageenan if it exists. Am I overthinking this?? May also reintroduce non-gluten containing grains after that and then that's probably it. Not really in a rush to do that, though. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated!!