Day 30! I did it!

[eronn_actually]

Well...I will have done it by this time tomorrow.    But I'm so excited that I couldn't wait to post then.  I've learned so much through the 30 days, and I look and feel better.  I've also got some other things that I want to tackle in a second Whole 30 down the line, and in my daily life.

 

But to start, here are the best things that came out of my 30 days:

 

-My digestive system is so much better.  It's not perfect, but it's better than it has ever been. 

 

-I feel healthy!  People have told me I look healthier in general, and I know I've lost some weight.  I won't be able to tell you how much, even if I do weigh myself tomorrow, because I didn't weigh myself beforehand.  I wanted to force myself to focus on how I feel instead of what I weigh. 

 

-Food is no longer constantly on my mind.  I used to get hungry so often, and would be thinking about what I wanted to eat.  Now I eat three good meals, and I don't really think about food until the next mealtime comes around.  It's so freeing to not be distracted all the time!

 

-I'm cooking more and eating out way, way less.  Even though good healthy groceries can be expensive, I'm still spending less than when I ate out too much.  And while I do sometimes get tired of cooking, I've gotten better and better about planning things out to reduce the amount of time and energy it takes to prepare meals.  I expect this will only improve as I go forward.

 

-For me, the absolute BEST thing is that I proved to myself I could do this.  I do have the willpower.  My mother predicted I would last two days - well...I lasted two days and then some!  I feel like I have no excuses now for not accomplishing what I want.  If I can control my food, I can tackle anything.

 

The things that I still want to work on:

 

-My sleep habits are still not good.  A lifetime of being a night owl is proving hard to banish, but I'm still working on it. 

 

-My digestion is good, but there are still some issues.  I suspect I have some further food sensitivities, especially to tomatoes.  For my next Whole 30, I want to eliminate more foods and see how I fare.

 

-I need to incorporate more exercise into my daily life.  I walk a lot (no car), but I know I need a more dedicated exercise routine.  Now that I'm getting better at planning out my meals, I think I will have more time for this.

 

And finally, my next steps:

 

-I am going to reintroduce foods, as suggested, however, beyond the initial introduction, I do not plan on eating non-Whole 30 foods at home.  My daily diet will remain pretty much as it has been the last 30 days.

 

-Do another Whole 30!  I don't plan to do one right away, but I will do another one with even more foods eliminated, probably in the fall.

 

-Keep working on my sleep habits.  Exercise! 

[Cath3040]

Good for you!  Congratulations!  You are an inspiration.

[Photo_Mom]

Great job.

[GFgirl]

Congrats!!

[jillian]

Awesome!!! Well done!

 

If you're still experiencing some GI Issues, pay attention to how your body responds to nuts, coconut milk and avocado during your next Whole30. I didn't figure out that these foods were problematic for me until late into my 2nd Whole30.

 

Cheers!

[alissafoo]

Congrats!! I couldn't have wrote it better myself!  I'm on day 30 and cannot WAIT to wake up tomorrow. I've been doing my AAR all day. 

 

Here's from my blog:

 

-It got easier, that's for sure.  I was able to mentally shop and plan out my meals days in advance and didn't have to cook 3x a day.  On day 29, I was still eating new things (tuna with paleo mayo and guacamole- pretty good actually!), patty pan squash, and I FINALLY bought some almond flour on day 28.  Big mistake in not doing that sooner.

 

-I went to sleep at least three nights that I remember without watching TV, and many more without a different kind of sleeping aid.  This doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is.  Watching TV at night was definitely a habit that contributed to my unhealthy lifestyle previously.  I would be so tired, I'd fall into bed, then turn the TV on.  Then I couldn't fall asleep.  And then I'd start thinking about what food was in my fridge and I REALLY couldn't fall asleep. So, I'd wake up, turn on the light, prepare my snack and revel in watching TV with my latenight food.  And then I really couldn't sleep.  So I guess I didn't really “fall asleep to†TV, after all, but rather stayed up eating to it.

 

-Which brings me to my next point- night eating. I haven't done it.  Huge.  Huge, success.  I didn't eat in bed once.  It's interesting I haven't really thought of this one first and foremost because this is a huge shift in my relationship with food, and this is one I would like to stick.  And, I don't miss it.  The TV/bed/food cycle has been broken.  This is something my therapist couldn't get me to do in weekly session over the course of months.

 

-Even though my energy levels aren't “through the roof†as they say,  they are more consistent and I'm able to get through my long days without wanting to punch someone in the face.  And, my mood is way more stable (friends, family, feel free to disagree).

 

-I've learned a lot.  I wrote, I shared, I connected.  Also in the “win†column, as far as I'm concerned.

 

-I saved money.  It's hard to tell exactly how much on average, because in the months prior to starting the W30, I had extra expenses or was travelling.  But, being forced to look at how much I was spending in general was eye-opening.  Over the summer, I was spending something like $700 MORE than I was taking in every month.  Granted, there were those trips, which entail eating out more, being in weddings, and generally being pretty loose with the purse strings.  But, this was really weighing on me and causing me a lot of anxiety.  I had worked really hard to get my credit card bills under control and things were getting to be uncontrollable.  It was also actually hard to tally up my expenses from the months before August because I kept forgetting about other credit cards that I was using.  It was confusing and impossible to keep up with.

During the Whole30, I did not use a single credit card.

 

So, what could have gone better?

I definitely didn't comply completely.  I let things slip every so often that I know I didn't go 30 days absolutely eliminating everything.  There was those dang cough drops. And then I ate rotisserie chicken twice, which has sugar in it. I also broke down and had the coconut milk with guar gum that I accidentally bought.  I probably ate too much non-organic, especially when I was out.

 

I took medication.  Therefore I consumed lactose, whey, gluten and sugar on an almost regular basis at some points.  But, I'm not beating myself up over that.  These are all small, tiny amounts of things that I was consuming in mass quantity before and what I DIDN'T have far outweighs what I did.  I didn't have a single piece of candy, chocolate, bread, dessert, or drink of alcohol, in 30 days.  Though I have abused my body in the past with alcohol, I'm not a huge drinker these days.  But, the last time I went 30 days without a single drop of liquor, I was probably about 14.

 

Though I made sure to be active, I didn't exactly work out. I walked more, both to and from work, during work, on the weekends.  I cooked, cleaned and was generally on my feet longer. But, I went to yoga twice. Once after the first week, and once on Friday. And, I could tell that I wasn't as strong and balanced as I was before.

 

Going forward:  Exercise and another Whole30 with no slips and avoiding more foods!