mochuisle Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 On June 19, 2012, I started dabbling in Whole 30. A friend had gone paleo and was raving about how good he felt, and I'd heard about W30 through the CrossFit boards. As I've said here numerous times, last June I had resigned myself to being a "healthy overweight" person - a former athlete who was still relatively active but way too heavy. I had also resigned myself to never being able to run again. Every time I tried to run, I'd go for a few weeks, maybe even a couple months, but then end up with injuries and give it up. Three years ago, I committed myself to a dedicated yoga practice. I worked with a traditional nutritionist and took off 20 pounds and was significantly healthier last year than I was in 2010. I completed a triathlon in July 2011 but I was unhappy with how I felt during the race (and honestly, during most of the training), and was intent on having a better experience last summer. So I embarked on my W30 journey last June and did close to three weeks of "compliant" eating. I say "compliant" because this was before I read It Starts With Food so I didn't really get it yet. I was eating a lot of fruit to feed my sugar dragon and could have been the poster child for SWYPO. I dropped a few pounds, did a Chi Running clinic and was feeling pretty good. But then my sister came to visit with her family in July... we ate a ton and all of the W30 practices went out the window. All of a sudden, I found myself short of breath during my swims. I've had asthma since high school and knew this wasn't asthma, so I went to my doctor, who diagnosed me with GERD. She gave me a prescription so I could get through my tri training, and I went back to relatively clean eating. My tri in July was waaaaaayyyyy better than the previous year! I cut 13 minutes from my overall time and 4 minutes from my run alone, and I was convinced the changes in my eating habits had a lot to do with this improvement. After buying and reading ISWF in August, I decided to start the school year off with a W30. This was literally a life-changing experience for me. I did another W30 in the fall, a W45 this winter, and a couple of two-week stretches when I've felt myself veering too far off track. Here I am one year later: 1. Last summer, I was taking six prescriptions daily; today, I'm down to three. I haven't touched the GERD medication since I started W30, and I only use Zyrtec and my rescue inhaler as needed, instead of daily. In fact, I regularly work out now without using my inhaler beforehand. I can't wait to see my doctor next month for my annual physical and see where my BP and cholesterol and glucose levels are. 2. Last night I ran a 5K on the race course for the tri in 31:39. In 2011, it took me over 43:00 to finish the run portion of the tri, and last year I finished in 39:38. I am SO excited to see how the run goes this year based on last night's run! And this was a PR for me in a 5K Last July I ran a 5K in 42:01, so I've shaved more than 10 minutes off my time. I also ran a half-marathon in March. I've only done one other half (back in 2004) and was so racked with injuries that I was convinced I'd never run one again. Not only did I finish my race in 2:36 without injury, but I'm planning on running another half in October (again, if my hamstrings will cooperate) 3. I have rediscovered cooking! After years of counting calories and following the advice of traditional nutritionists, I thought I'd never be able to eat anything except broiled chicken and steamed broccoli if I wanted to lose weight and be healthy. When I talk to my friends/family/colleagues/random people at the yoga studio, I stress how many options there are for meals if you're willing to do a little prep and a little cooking. Perfect example - yesterday I made Plantain Chicken Salad from PaleOMG (I'm kind of obsessed!). It called for celery - I'm not a huge fan, but the salad definitely needed some crunch. I cut the celery in half, then added some cashews instead. DELICIOUS!! I never would've done this a year ago because of all the calories cashews would've added. Breaking the calorie-counting mentality has been one of the most liberating and delightful parts of this process. If it's healthy, compliant and not contributing to bad habits, I eat it. End of story. 4. Finally, I'm 35 pounds lighter!! I'm never going to be thin, especially by society's standards, but then again, I don't want to be thin. However, I will never get tired of people telling me I look fit! On my way to my car after the race last night, I ran into a guy who is a trainer who stopped me to tell me how fit I look - I'm sure it was the compression shorts and hot pink compression socks - but after feeling so heavy and unhealthy for the last 7-8 years, I'll take it. Moreover, my weight hasn't fluctuated more than a few pounds when I've been "riding my own bike" because my eating hasn't varied that much. This has clearly become a lifestyle change for me, as my chiropractor noted last week. I recognize when I'm feeding myself sugar, and I feel like the off-roading flowchart is imposed on my brain. Moreover, I can bounce back after off-roading - truly remarkable for me! Moral of the story - I'm now that obnoxious person trying to convince everyone around me to at least give this a shot. A couple of friends did a fasting cleanse last month and tried to get me to join them. Uh, no thanks! My sister keeps complaining about stomach issues, and I keep trying to get her to try a couple of weeks of W30 eating if she can't commit to a full month. Maybe she'll join me in September (fingers crossed!) Thank you again for providing this life-changing program!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridget Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Great story-thanks for sharing. You encourage me to keep at it ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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