Starting 28 August, join me!

[Carolinagirl]

Today is my day 30! I can't believe it's here. I went to Mexican with a few classmates for lunch and it was soon tempting to dive into the tortilla chips and salsa. But cheating now is like quitting a marathon at mile 26. The finish line is in sight, for the love of God!!! I ordered chicken fajitas, had them hold that sour cream and cheese, and pretty much ate them "naked" (without the flour tortilla.)

This week I've been able to tell the my energy levels are finally up! My clothes are only slightly loose, but I'll jump on the scale tomorrow at the gym and see if there's been any fluctuation in my weight.

Francois, you may have convinced me to skip the stevia in tomorrow's coffee. I'm slightly terrified about what tomorrow holds. I'm hoping I can continue to make good, healthy decision and continue this journey we've all started!

[francsois]

We are finished! My weight is now 89 kilogram, and my blood pressure is 128 over 78. I feel a whole lot better, and I hope to do another Whole30 soon. I do not feel that my new healthy habits are cemented in yet, so I need more time. I have attached a photo. I feel:

 

Mood is on an even keel

Recover room exercise faster

Palmar eczema decreased dramatically

Ankle stiffness gone

Sleep well.

 

How did it go with you guys?

 

Cheers

 

Francsois

[Leavesofgrass]

We are finished! My weight is now 89 kilogram, and my blood pressure is 128 over 78. I feel a whole lot better, and I hope to do another Whole30 soon. I do not feel that my new healthy habits are cemented in yet, so I need more time. I have attached a photo. I feel:

 

Mood is on an even keel

Recover room exercise faster

Palmar eczema decreased dramatically

Ankle stiffness gone

Sleep well.

 

How did it go with you guys?

 

Cheers

 

Francsois

Francsois, congrats to you, and to all the others who finished.  I have one more day to go since I pushed my start back to Aug 29th.

I went back to your pic on Day 1 to compare to Day 30 and see a big difference.  I think the 3 kilo change in weight doesn't tell the whole story:  you look a lot stronger and leaner now than on Aug 28th.  Glad to hear you're feeling better too.

All the best

Walt

[Tracythomp]

We are finished! My weight is now 89 kilogram, and my blood pressure is 128 over 78. I feel a whole lot better, and I hope to do another Whole30 soon. I do not feel that my new healthy habits are cemented in yet, so I need more time. I have attached a photo. I feel:

 

Mood is on an even keel

Recover room exercise faster

Palmar eczema decreased dramatically

Ankle stiffness gone

Sleep well.

 

How did it go with you guys?

 

Cheers

 

Francsois

WOW Francsois you look GREAT! So glad the Whole 30 went well for you. Today is day 30 for me, so I'll post my thoughts tomorrow, which will be Day 1 of my Whole 30 Round 2 (Or my Whole 60 PS...how much weight did you lose? What was your starting weight and bp?

[Tracythomp]

Francsois, I went back and compared your before and after pics too, and I am so proud of you. You really leaned out a lot, and there is a noticible difference in your face, arms, and abdomen. I haven't taken my after pic yet, but I hope I made as much progress as you did! Congrats again, Tracy.

[francsois]

Francsois, I went back and compared your before and after pics too, and I am so proud of you. You really leaned out a lot, and there is a noticible difference in your face, arms, and abdomen. I haven't taken my after pic yet, but I hope I made as much progress as you did! Congrats again, Tracy.

Thanks Tracy! You have been a great help with your encouragement during these 30 days, hope you have achieved your goals!

 

Cheers

 

F.

[francsois]

Francsois, congrats to you, and to all the others who finished.  I have one more day to go since I pushed my start back to Aug 29th.

I went back to your pic on Day 1 to compare to Day 30 and see a big difference.  I think the 3 kilo change in weight doesn't tell the whole story:  you look a lot stronger and leaner now than on Aug 28th.  Glad to hear you're feeling better too.

All the best

Walt

I wish you luck Walt, thanks for your kind words.

 

Cheers

 

F.

[pepper]

Woohoo! Victory!

 

Francsois, your photos are fantastic visuals to support your story! Great job!! And look how much happier you are in the second photo.   

 

I completely forgot to take any before photos, but I'll take some photos after work today so I'll have them for the next go round. I'd also forgotten to weigh myself this morning until I saw your post, so I quickly went and weighed myself. I admit, I was worried the number hadn't changed, but I'm down 4.5 pounds. Yay!

 

I still need to complete the end of the Whole30 goal worksheets and really think through all the positives that came out of it to stay motivated and keep riding this healthy bike throughout the rest of my life. Once I do all that, I may post a more detailed account.

 

But, here's a quick run through of changes I have experienced with the Whole30:

• Definitely sleep a LOT better
• which means I wake up between 6-6:30a every single morning (even weekends, despite my attempts to sleep in)
• Much more energy
• Overall I feel happier, more confident and more motivated
• Despite my knees still physically being injured, I no longer have the constant, stabbing pains that I used to get just from walking long distances (yay!)
• Because of that last bullet point, I've been able to reintroduce exercises I thought I'd never be able to do again
• My fingernails are strong and long - and I haven't been biting them anymore! I used to have brittle nails that I nervously chewed on all the time. Just realized that change last night!
• I've always enjoyed cooking, but that love has grown even stronger during these past 30 days. In fact, even when my husband wanted to go out to eat, I would be a little bummed because I typically had delicious, hearty meals planned and I was excited to cook and try every night. (he wasn't on the W30, so he was probably more excited about greasy Mexican food)
• I no longer hit a wall between 2-3p at work
• I no longer snack allllll daaayyy loooong at work (more of a nervous/stress habit)
• I'm no longer hungry all the time
• My post-dinner snacking has stopped

 

Well, I could probably keep going, but I said this would be my short list! Haha

 

I'm so proud of myself, and proud of all of you for completing the Whole30! I definitely couldn't have done it without all of you in this forum. You may not have realized it, but you all held me accountable, and that's what I needed most. I knew if I slipped up I'd have to come here and admit it. I will definitely use the forum during future Whole30's, as well as in between to help me stay on track.

 

Those who have one day left, stick with it! You're almost there!

 

 

[francsois]

Woohoo! Victory!

 

Francsois, your photos are fantastic visuals to support your story! Great job!! And look how much happier you are in the second photo.   

 

I completely forgot to take any before photos, but I'll take some photos after work today so I'll have them for the next go round. I'd also forgotten to weigh myself this morning until I saw your post, so I quickly went and weighed myself. I admit, I was worried the number hadn't changed, but I'm down 4.5 pounds. Yay!

 

I still need to complete the end of the Whole30 goal worksheets and really think through all the positives that came out of it to stay motivated and keep riding this healthy bike throughout the rest of my life. Once I do all that, I may post a more detailed account.

 

But, here's a quick run through of changes I have experienced with the Whole30:

• Definitely sleep a LOT better
• which means I wake up between 6-6:30a every single morning (even weekends, despite my attempts to sleep in)
• Much more energy
• Overall I feel happier, more confident and more motivated
• Despite my knees still physically being injured, I no longer have the constant, stabbing pains that I used to get just from walking long distances (yay!)
• Because of that last bullet point, I've been able to reintroduce exercises I thought I'd never be able to do again
• My fingernails are strong and long - and I haven't been biting them anymore! I used to have brittle nails that I nervously chewed on all the time. Just realized that change last night!
• I've always enjoyed cooking, but that love has grown even stronger during these past 30 days. In fact, even when my husband wanted to go out to eat, I would be a little bummed because I typically had delicious, hearty meals planned and I was excited to cook and try every night. (he wasn't on the W30, so he was probably more excited about greasy Mexican food)
• I no longer hit a wall between 2-3p at work
• I no longer snack allllll daaayyy loooong at work (more of a nervous/stress habit)
• I'm no longer hungry all the time
• My post-dinner snacking has stopped

 

Well, I could probably keep going, but I said this would be my short list! Haha

 

I'm so proud of myself, and proud of all of you for completing the Whole30! I definitely couldn't have done it without all of you in this forum. You may not have realized it, but you all held me accountable, and that's what I needed most. I knew if I slipped up I'd have to come here and admit it. I will definitely use the forum during future Whole30's, as well as in between to help me stay on track.

 

Those who have one day left, stick with it! You're almost there!

 

 

Well done Pepper! Thank you for your support during these 30 days, I appreciate it. I wish you luck for the future.

 

Cheers

 

F.

[Leavesofgrass]

Well, gang, yesterday I finished my Whole 30.  It was a lot easier than I expected.  Still, it would have been a lot easier if I had done more planning on meals, and knew the rules a bit better (such as no snacking, even if it was almonds or grapes).  The results:

 

START DATE: Aug 29th, 2013

END DATE:  Sept 27th, 2013

START WEIGHT:  228 lbs/104 kg

END WEIGHT:  215 lbs/97.5 kg

 

Note that I did no cardio or other exercise of any kind, other than flexibility/stretching work with a trainer.

 

Another change was in how I think about food, and the loss of appetite I have now for processed foods.

Emotionally, I feel great about myself for being compliant for 30 straight days, even though it included tough patches like a guys' weekend away, or business lunches with colleagues.

I guess I also learned something about my mood:  the depression that I seem to carry with me like a backpack loaded with bricks did not improve at all, so it's not the result of anything related to food.  I will have to tackle that through a different route.

 

It's new for me to post on any message board of any kind, so I am a newbie at this.  But I will dare to post my before/after pics (too shy to show my face).  Hope you can all tell the difference.

Walt

[pepper]

Well, gang, yesterday I finished my Whole 30.  It was a lot easier than I expected.  Still, it would have been a lot easier if I had done more planning on meals, and knew the rules a bit better (such as no snacking, even if it was almonds or grapes).  The results:

 

START DATE: Aug 29th, 2013

END DATE:  Sept 27th, 2013

START WEIGHT:  228 lbs/104 kg

END WEIGHT:  215 lbs/97.5 kg

 

Note that I did no cardio or other exercise of any kind, other than flexibility/stretching work with a trainer.

 

Another change was in how I think about food, and the loss of appetite I have now for processed foods.

Emotionally, I feel great about myself for being compliant for 30 straight days, even though it included tough patches like a guys' weekend away, or business lunches with colleagues.

I guess I also learned something about my mood:  the depression that I seem to carry with me like a backpack loaded with bricks did not improve at all, so it's not the result of anything related to food.  I will have to tackle that through a different route.

 

It's new for me to post on any message board of any kind, so I am a newbie at this.  But I will dare to post my before/after pics (too shy to show my face).  Hope you can all tell the difference.

Walt

 

Walt, we can ABSOLUTELY see a difference in your photos! Well done! And don't worry about being too shy to show your face - there's no way in hell I would have uploaded a photo of my before or after, even if I had them, so you're leaps and bounds ahead of me in the bravery department!

 

I too have lost my appetite for processed food, and for me, that's far more beneficial than losing weight (though I admit I'd still love to lose more...).

 

Last night I went out for dinner and drinks with friends and nothing on the menu sounded good at all. I ended up ordering veggie ramen without the noodles, so basically vegetable soup with a soft boiled egg. I didn't even stray from good ol' ice water, despite it being day 31. It just didn't seem worth it.

 

Keep it up Walt, and keep your head up! You should be extremely proud of yourself.

[Deb Floyd]

Wow guys! Your results are AMAZING!!!! I lost 10lbs and noticed a few great changes myself: my sleep did get a lot better which was a little funny because I didn't know it wasn't, my skin got a lot brighter, energy that lasted all day no matter how long or crazy my day was, if I quit drinking and buying the extra treats my grocery budget can actually support a paleo diet, the weight lost is good but like you guys I can feel the difference more in size than then the scale.  Clothes that barely fit before look really nice now.  

Regardless of where we are going from here, we accomplished something really great this past month. Good for us!!!!!! 

[Leavesofgrass]

Thanks, Pepper, for your nice words!

Deb, congrats to you on the results.  Well done!

 

From here, I am just going day by day, since I honestly don't know what to do next.  I plan to extend the whole 30 until Oct 7th, when I have an event in NYC.  This Tuesday, the 1st, I also have a dinner out, where i will indulge in a glass of red wine (or three).

 

Also, I don't know this for a fact, but it seems to me that the weight loss was minimal in the first 2 weeks, and then really accelerated towards the end.  So maybe I get a couple pounds lighter by adding some more days.  Has anyone else noticed this?

[Deb Floyd]

Walt-

That is exactly what I noticed. In fact I didn't notice much of any changes, which was why I considered prolonging the Whole30 indefinitely. Now, as of right now I have already cheated with some sugar but I haven't deviated so much so that I can't just jump back on the wagon. I kinda want to anyway because my "treats" did not sit well with me.

[francsois]

Well, gang, yesterday I finished my Whole 30.  It was a lot easier than I expected.  Still, it would have been a lot easier if I had done more planning on meals, and knew the rules a bit better (such as no snacking, even if it was almonds or grapes).  The results:

 

START DATE: Aug 29th, 2013

END DATE:  Sept 27th, 2013

START WEIGHT:  228 lbs/104 kg

END WEIGHT:  215 lbs/97.5 kg

 

Note that I did no cardio or other exercise of any kind, other than flexibility/stretching work with a trainer.

 

Another change was in how I think about food, and the loss of appetite I have now for processed foods.

Emotionally, I feel great about myself for being compliant for 30 straight days, even though it included tough patches like a guys' weekend away, or business lunches with colleagues.

I guess I also learned something about my mood:  the depression that I seem to carry with me like a backpack loaded with bricks did not improve at all, so it's not the result of anything related to food.  I will have to tackle that through a different route.

 

It's new for me to post on any message board of any kind, so I am a newbie at this.  But I will dare to post my before/after pics (too shy to show my face).  Hope you can all tell the difference.

Walt

HiWalt

 

the difference is very obvious from your photo, well done. The most marked decrease is arounf your abdomen. the numbers you gae are impressive. Congratulations! I felt weird too posting a photo, but I believe it is quite usful to do. Thanks for your supprt, and well done again!

 

Cheers

 

F.

[francsois]

Wow guys! Your results are AMAZING!!!! I lost 10lbs and noticed a few great changes myself: my sleep did get a lot better which was a little funny because I didn't know it wasn't, my skin got a lot brighter, energy that lasted all day no matter how long or crazy my day was, if I quit drinking and buying the extra treats my grocery budget can actually support a paleo diet, the weight lost is good but like you guys I can feel the difference more in size than then the scale.  Clothes that barely fit before look really nice now.  

Regardless of where we are going from here, we accomplished something really great this past month. Good for us!!!!!! 

Well done Deb! Thanks for your supprt during these 30 days.

 

Cheers

 

F.

[francsois]

Thanks, Pepper, for your nice words!

Deb, congrats to you on the results.  Well done!

 

From here, I am just going day by day, since I honestly don't know what to do next.  I plan to extend the whole 30 until Oct 7th, when I have an event in NYC.  This Tuesday, the 1st, I also have a dinner out, where i will indulge in a glass of red wine (or three).

 

Also, I don't know this for a fact, but it seems to me that the weight loss was minimal in the first 2 weeks, and then really accelerated towards the end.  So maybe I get a couple pounds lighter by adding some more days.  Has anyone else noticed this?

yeah, I found that not much changed during the first two weeks, but after that it kicked in good and proper. I am convinced that 30 days is sufficient to get the ball rolling, but one needs to go longer to make the new habits ingrained.

 

Cheers

 

F.

[francsois]

I think we should all stay in contact and support each other even after the end of our 30 days. are you in? I reccomend that we continue posting under this thread.

 

I went away for three days to Melbourne for a business/pleasure trip with my family. I planned to let go, did not restrain myself. I ate like a pig! The result was that I started feeling like crap after about a day, and it spoiled my mood a bit. But I planned to do a whole14 afterwards, which I am doing now. I realized having a free-for-all on holidays and weekends away is a bad idea, because it makes it easier to undo all your good work that way, and harder to bounce back. But also it makes you feel crappy while you are eating badly, so there is really no benefit to it. So from now on, I will not overindilge for a whole holiday etc. I plan to eat healthy even on holidays, and eat "off-road" only on special occasions, and then for only one meal at a time. No full day blow-outs! What are you going to do?

 

Cheers

 

F.

[pepper]

I'm all in for keeping this thread active and staying in touch with each other here. I know it will definitely help me stay on track!

 

So far the only veering off road I've done is with peanut butter. I read the guidelines for reintroducing foods, but since I can't do dairy or gluten, I bypassed those steps and dove into reintroducing legumes. Peanut butter and I have always had a special bond, and I've been sadly eyeing the container in my pantry, awaiting the day I could enjoy it's creamy, deliciousness again.

 

Saturday morning I woke up early and made myself an omelet with shredded chicken and veggies, cut up half an apple and put a small dollop of PB on each slice. In my mind, I was about to enjoy the most delicious delicacy one could ever hope for - however, that's not exactly what happened. The reality was, I ate the first bite of PB and the only thought I had was, "meh." It didn't taste anywhere near as good as I remembered, and in fact, it didn't taste good at all!    I didn't even eat the rest of it - instead I tossed it in the trash. Now, this may not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but remember, PB and I were in love before - serious love. I ate PB on EVERYthing, in EVERYthing and PB flavored EVERYthing. So for me to throw it away was a HUGE deal. I'm pretty sure hell froze over.

 

I haven't reintroduced anything other than PB. I admit I'm a little scared to set sail on my own, but I will eventually. I made it through a tempting weekend of dinners and declined drinking any wine - despite really wanting to at one point, but it wasn't a worthy enough event to justify it (aka, Saturday night does not automatically mean let's drink a bottle of wine).

 

Keep up the good work everyone! I admit I'm a little jealous of everyone else's weight loss, but I keep wondering if (trying to convince myself) it's because I'd already cut gluten and dairy out, so the sugar, alcohol and corn-based products were the biggest factors for me to step away from. I'm not discouraged though, because I feel 10x better than when I started!

[Leavesofgrass]

Yes, count me in for continuing my sporadic and unreliable posts to the thread. 

I lowered my guard ever so slightly yesterday and tried a couple of spoonfuls of a gluten free granola my wife bought, which in addition to the carbs, also had some sugar in it--the first sugar I have had in 30 some days. Today I was 2 lbs heavier.  So the cheat day doesn't seem to work too well....though that was a tiny cheat after I finished the 30 days.

[Tracythomp]

I think we should all stay in contact and support each other even after the end of our 30 days. are you in? I reccomend that we continue posting under this thread.

 

I went away for three days to Melbourne for a business/pleasure trip with my family. I planned to let go, did not restrain myself. I ate like a pig! The result was that I started feeling like crap after about a day, and it spoiled my mood a bit. But I planned to do a whole14 afterwards, which I am doing now. I realized having a free-for-all on holidays and weekends away is a bad idea, because it makes it easier to undo all your good work that way, and harder to bounce back. But also it makes you feel crappy while you are eating badly, so there is really no benefit to it. So from now on, I will not overindilge for a whole holiday etc. I plan to eat healthy even on holidays, and eat "off-road" only on special occasions, and then for only one meal at a time. No full day blow-outs! What are you going to do?

 

Cheers

 

F.

I'm still here and still compliant as I embark on my whole 60. I agree we should keep posting and motivating each other.

[Deb Floyd]

The more I add things back into my diet the more I am noticing what not having them in did for me. For a few years now I have had weird bumps on my elbow. They never bothered me, they were just there. A doctor once attributed them to pressure I put on them from sitting at a desk all day typing. However, for a few years now I haven't been at a desk and they still remain. Until now....... I just noticed yesterday that one elbow is all cleared up and the other is almost. I don't know where these bumps come from or why they are going away now but I'll take it!

I've never had aversions to dairy but since I've been adding it back in the form of cheese my tummy has not been happy. Dairy is not a deal breaker for me so I'm ok with not having it. I have tried to have a glass of wine and it made me so sick that it crushed any desire for alcohol at all. Which I am grateful for because that was what really plagued me.

I think I really do need this support. Without it I am just going to run wild. Wild straight back to the waiting arms of my old habits.  Sugar is a mean temptress. 

[Tracythomp]

The more I add things back into my diet the more I am noticing what not having them in did for me. For a few years now I have had weird bumps on my elbow. They never bothered me, they were just there. A doctor once attributed them to pressure I put on them from sitting at a desk all day typing. However, for a few years now I haven't been at a desk and they still remain. Until now....... I just noticed yesterday that one elbow is all cleared up and the other is almost. I don't know where these bumps come from or why they are going away now but I'll take it!

I've never had aversions to dairy but since I've been adding it back in the form of cheese my tummy has not been happy. Dairy is not a deal breaker for me so I'm ok with not having it. I have tried to have a glass of wine and it made me so sick that it crushed any desire for alcohol at all. Which I am grateful for because that was what really plagued me.

I think I really do need this support. Without it I am just going to run wild. Wild straight back to the waiting arms of my old habits.  Sugar is a mean temptress. 

Yes sugar is a slick demon! I have not reintroduced anything. I'm afraid of going backwards. I may do some dairy sporadically one day but I'm deathly afraid of sugar. I have slow grinded with it too many times to chance stepping into those sweet, sickening arms again! Ps... I just checked my elbow. I used to have a weird painless bump there but mine is gone too!

[pepper]

I haven't reintroduced alcohol yet, but probably will this weekend. I've gone out to eat twice, and the first time I ordered what I thought was a compliant meal, but my stomach had a different opinion on the matter.

 

Yesterday I totally and completely indulged - I ate a small vegan ice cream sundae with caramel and chocolate sauce. While I did eat the entire thing (and licked the bowl), it was SO sweet. Too sweet really. I then had a work function later in the evening and I ate some of the restaurant's homemade potato chips. I didn't order them, but when I questioned one of the other dishes about being GF, the waiter brought the chips out so I could enjoy the other appetizers - all of which I couldn't eat anyway, but I caved and snacked on a the chips.

 

Last night I slept fine, but woke up feeling exhausted and my stomach has been a little wonky. Who am I kidding - it's been a LOT wonky.

 

This morning I told myself I'd jump back on the wagon full force until Saturday evening, which is when we have big plans with friends and I may dip my toe back into the world of alcohol. We'll see how my stomach is by then.

 

For some reason I'm not getting email alerts when people post replies here anymore. Not sure what's up with that. I will continue to check back though, because like you said Deb, I need all of your support to keep me from all of my old temptations!

[Leavesofgrass]

Hi Gang, sorry to have been absent this last week, consumed by stuff at work.  However, I am still kicking, and still following the whole 30 plan, except for a couple of glasses of wine I have had while at a business thing in NYC last week.  I expected to go entirely off the wagon there.  It was one of those events where you're there all day for 2 days and there's no choices of the food. They just bring everyone the same meal.  I ended up not eating any of the carbs, breads or desserts, but otherwise had plenty to eat.  I did indulge in some wine at dinner (where you could choice entrees) and did fine by that.

Hope everyone is doing well!

walt