Finished my first Whole30-turned-40 --- starting another W30 today!

[Bethany Lannon]

On Saturday, I officially finished my first Whole30-turned-40.  I did some responsible off-roading yesterday, and then today I'm jumping back on the bandwagon for another W30.  I feel super confident in this next W30 journey, knowing that I'm starting off with extra arsenal compared to when I started my very first journey 42 days ago.

 

I have learned that I don't miss grains or dairy (except an occasional good pizza - none of that frozen junk! - and occasional ice cream), legumes I can live without, and I LOVE my big ass salads (BAS). I've developed tastes for new vegetables like sauerkraut and brussel sprouts and I've learned new ways of preparing vegetables. 

 

Overall, I lost 4 lbs, dropped 2% body fat, lost an inch off my hips and 1/2" off my waist. My arms and thighs stayed the same, but I believe their composition changed and they're leaner now than they were 40 days ago. I also dropped about 15-20 sec/mile off my average running pace. AND all of this while BREASTFEEDING my 3-month old daughter.

 

Even though my W40 ended on Saturday, I weighed and did my measurements on day 38 due to my schedule and when I knew I'd be able to go to the gym for my body fat analysis. I learned yesterday that I have scale dragons that are FAR bigger than any sugar dragons I have.  I weighed myself yesterday morning (officially done with the W40) and it was actually up by about a pound since the day I weighed and did measurements. I was VERY discouraged and ended up beating myself up mentally for the next several hours. Nevermind the fact that I ran a total of 10 miles on Saturday.... I ate for my activity level, which meant that I consumed a lot more calories on Saturday than I would on a typical day. But yet I still beat myself up. I off-roaded last night with some paleo brownies and Blue Bell red velvet ice cream --- the way I felt after eating it, I realized that my scale dragons were in fact much larger than my sugar dragons. I did not feel the need to binge on ice cream or brownies and I don't feel the desire to continue eating those things today. So, I had a revelation yesterday. I knew in my brain that I could weigh 160 and be extremely lean and fit. On the other hand, I could weigh 110 and be "skinny fat".  So, why am I so concerned about the number on the scale?  I decided to put my scale in the other bathroom that we don't use other than bathing our two kids, and from now on, I will rely on more accurate criteria to gauge my progress/fitness/health levels. I'll get my body fat measured once every 1-2 months (more like every 2 months once I get to a % that I am happy with, to gauge maintenance efforts) and likely will do a 1-mile time test to gauge my running efforts every month or so.

 

I learned so much about myself not only in the 40 day period, but also in the measely one day off. I'm excited to get this next W30 done and let it be my jumping point for moving into a more paleo/clean eating lifestyle.

[Marceeruns]

Good job! Thanks for sharing