Whole 30 completed!

[jimdocusa]

I just finished the Whole 30 as of this morning, so I guess that puts me into the early hours of day 31.

 

About me:  I'm a significantly overweight 42-year-old husband and father.  I weighed 285 pounds at the start and had heard about the Whole 30 and paleo living from several friends and family.  I looked in the mirror, took my family history into account, and decided I needed to change (drastically) or I was never going to live to see grandchildren, possibly not even my own kids' high school graduations!

 

Before the Whole 30:  I was tired all the time.  I slept poorly.  My energy levels were very low.  I was taking ibuprofen every other day for headaches, body aches, or some sort of pain.  I had heartburn every day.

 

During the Whole 30:  I'm not going to sugar coat it, the first 5 days were simply terrible.  I wanted to quit every one of those days.  I went from a drive through lifestyle to eating right, and some of the psychological aspects of that were probably just as difficult as the physiologic changes.  I had done a lot of reading, much of it on this forum, so I knew what to expect, but the first 5 days with the fatigue, the headaches, the mood swings...I had to keep telling myself that my body was undergoing a sort of detox and that I had to keep pushing.  I can get through anything for a week, and my mantra was "One more day."  The morning of day 6 I woke up feeling completely normal.  Not only had the symptoms from my dietary changes gone away, but I didn't have any heartburn.  I felt a little better rested than usual.  I felt calm.  My feet didn't hurt as bad.  As the 30 days progressed my knees, back and neck have become nearly pain free.  My sleep isn't perfect yet, but it hasn't been this good in years.  My mood has been very good, especially the past 10 days.

 

After the Whole 30:  I stepped on the scale this morning not sure what to expect.  Sure, my face looks a little thinner, some of my clothes fit better, but it's hard to tell for sure when it's your face you look at every day.  I couldn't believe that the scale said 267 pounds!  I have lost 18 pounds in 30 days!  And believe me, I ate very well during this past thirty days.  I plan to continue as long as I can, seeing that, at 267 pounds, I'm still pretty damn fat.  I have had the energy level to start working out, which I believe will accelerate weight loss and add to an already improving overall feeling of good health.

 

What worked for me:  My grill.  I'm lucky to live in southern California, and I have been grilling everything I can find.  Grass-fed steak and chicken, fish, veggies with olive oil.  There's nothing like eating good quality meat and vegetables fresh off the grill.  In the morning I tend to have eggs and some fruit.  When I think of paleo I think of cave men, and so I imagine them foraging for berries, so I have stuck with blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries for the most part when I have fruit.  For snacks it is usually a hard boiled egg or a hand full of almonds.  After a workout the Rx Bars have been awesome.

 

What I'm going to try to do more:  Check out the paleo recipes linked on this site to create a little more variety in my diet.  I haven't had any sweet potatoes at all, and I see them in several creative recipes, so I will probably see what I can do there.  I did try a couple of different recipes for paleo egg "muffins" that were tasty and filling and easy to make.  Now that my dietary regimen is becoming a matter of habit, I want to make my workout schedule the same.  I've been sharing some of my foods with my oldest daughter (9), and so she's been getting more of the healthy high protein foods and we've been talking more about healthy eating and active lifestyle, so I want to keep that up with both my kids.  They're both girls, so I'm trying to present it to them in a way that doesn't scar them psychologically.

 

Finally, I'm going to recommend the Whole 30 to anyone I know, even casually.  I'm so much the better for starting this, and it may very well be a life saver for me.

[runninglawyer88]

Congrats to you and I think it's awesome that you're conscientious about how you present health/food related information to your girls as it can be a very touchy thing. I suffered from an eating disordered in my late teens/early twenties and I can't stress enough how important it is for parents to be mindful about what they say/do that can lead to unhealthy food behaviors in their children. 

[Tj V]

I just started my Whole 30...I'm on the evening of Day 3. I've got headaches every afternoon, around the same time, but I've had that for several weeks or months now. I take Ibuprofen EVERY night and have done so for at least 15 years. I know! If I don't take it, I can't sleep. Can't get my back or hips to stop aching, etc. I think I'll give it another few days before trying to go without the Ibuprofen and the acid reflux meds. I think it might be best to give up the caffeine before trying that and I'm not sure I'm ready to do that.
Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for sharing your story! It really has helped me. I'm really hoping to lose some weight on this thing, but I'm trying hard to convince myself that feeling better is more important!
Good job and here's to your continued success!