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Whole30 - Check!


Karen

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Today is my last day of my Whole30. Eating like this wasn't too far from what I ate the past few years, but this forced me to clean up my diet even more and make sure to avoid ALL the foods that I'm sensitive to - sometimes they'd sneak in while eating out. I have to be honest, I don't feel significantly different, but I have a lot going on with my health and I think there are still lots of underlying issues to deal with. I'm jealous of those that don't have to do this for health reasons and feel incredible after 30 days. I will admit, though, that there are some slight changes I noticed.

- I lost 6 pounds. This is without exercise (exercise intolerant, thanks to my adrenals, and didn't get any better throughout this). And I couldn't pass up the fresh fruit this time of year. So I wasn't expecting a ton of weight loss. I'll take 6 pounds. I have about another 20 to lose.

- Despite such a small loss, I now fit into most of my size 12s. Some are a bit snug and I wouldn't leave the house in them, but some look great. At least all my fat pants are too loose to wear outside the house!. Some coworkers have commented that I'm looking slimmer - yay!

- I lost 1-1/2" from my hips (I'm a pear-shape with a big 'ol booty, so that's an accomplishment).

- I lost 1" from my bust, pecs, ribs, waist, abs, and calves.

- I lost 1/2" from my upper thighs, calves, and arms.

- Interestingly, I have very similar measurements to a few years ago when I was exercising regularly and was 12 pounds lighter. I don't quite understand how that's possible given my inactivity.

- The bloat in my stomach area has mostly gone away. The bloat in my lower abdomen hasn't really, though.

- The foggy head seemed to get slightly better. Still has a ways to go.

- I started eating breakfast every day. Usually left-overs from last night's dinner, but still - a meal before noon!

Now for the things that didn't improve:

- The sinus/ear issues I've been dealing with for forever didn't get any better.

- My skin looks great some days but is still flaky and dry other days.

- My eczema is still flaring up from time to time, but isn't quite as bad as before.

- I still get tired in the afternoon / early evening. No bounding energy throughout the entire day.

- I'm still dealing with constipation. I had some points where it got better, but then got worse again.

- I didn't sleep any better and don't feel any more well-rested. In fact, I feel like I had a much more difficult time falling asleep and probably slept less than usual. As a result, I never woke up well-rested and ready to go. It was still an absolute chore to get out of bed.

- My energy didn't improve, though I think my willingness to go out despite improved.

- I didn't fall in love with veggies again. It was a chore to force them down and I probably didn't get enough some days. Eating enough protein is never a problem for me - I always crave it - so I think that's why I don't crave a ton of veggies.

All in all, I'm glad I tried this. I suspect I'll do another Whole30 in a few months. I've done cleanses before but this is the first one that didn't include supplements. For now, I'm going to eat Paleo about 95% of the time. I'm still going to exclude most sugars and the foods that I'm sensitive to (dairy, gluten, citrus, eggs, nuts) like I did before, but will probably drink a bit of booze every now and again. And I picked up a few cobs of corn at the farmer's market that have my name all over it...

Next week, I'm going to do a urinalysis at the suggestion of an alternative practitioner I'm seeing for digestion. It'll be interesting to see what nutritional deficiencies or imbalances are discovered after eating as well as I can for a month.

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I have to admit - since my completion just a few days ago, I haven't really thought about eating much different. Today, it dawned on me at work that I could go downstairs to the breakroom and get some peanut M&Ms, which was my go-to when I was bored or needed to step away from my desk. And then I realized, hmm, why would I do that? Instead, I got a nectarine. I was proud of myself.

However, after work, I met a few old friends out for happy hour. It was SO good to see them. I had 3 glasses of wine (was going to stop at 2 but they gave us a free round in exchange for giving up our prime table for some diners) - my first drinks since my Whole30 - and nachos. All that out the window. I immediately felt bloated. I used to eat pretty good before my Whole30... except when I ate out... So, lesson learned. Eat a meal before going out. I'll allow myself the drinks, but not the crap bar food. It had just about everything to avoid on a Whole30 - chips (grain), sour cream and cheese (dairy), beans (legumes), salsa (nightshades - I was on the AI track). The only good was the olives and chicken, I think!

Lesson learned...

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Karen,

I've seen from your other posts that you're working through some health issues, but I love the positive approach you took to your 30 day recap. When things have been wrong for a long time, it can take a long time to get them right again. I love that you recognize that and see the Whole30 as a tool in your arsenal. Nice work!

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