End of whole30 introduction and reflections

[AllyB]

Hi Everyone,

 

Today is day 38 and I'm finally introducing myself....also I wanted to share some advice to people just starting out.  I am late introducing myself because frankly, I didn't know if I would make it through the 30 days.  I'm a big sugar addict and while I have given up some of my more terrible habits (two packs of M&Ms a day), I still was eating more sugar than I should.

 

My husband wanted to try the Whole30.  We had been eating mostly paleo due to his psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis for the past 2-3 years.  Giving up wheat and potatoes helped him a lot.  He has gone from needing one embrel shot a week ($$$$) to not having one for over 3 months now.  But he was still plagued by dry skin and small skin outbreaks.  So he asked if I would do the Whole30 with him to find out if there was another trigger food causing him problems.  To support him, I agreed.  I also figured it couldn't hurt to clean up my eating even more!

 

Advice #1.....Having a 'buddy' doing this diet with you is VERY helpful.  Whether it's your spouse, roommate, mother, whatever, doing it together is really helpful.  Weekend cook ups are easier when two people are cooking (and cleaning!)  The emotional support is very helpful as well.

 

We started off doing quite well.  But around day 5, I started feeling really bad.  From day 5-10, I had a dull headache (like no-caffeine type headache).  I had no energy and I was super cranky.  I think it was sugar withdrawal.  I had bad sugar cravings.  I was SO unhappy and probably very miserable to be around!  My husband said I had the low carb flu.  Not sure, but it was challenging to get through!  (Notice I didn't say hard   ).  My husband didn't have that problem though.  

 

Advice #2.....everyone is different.  Each person is going to have an individual experience with this way of eating.  Some will have an easier time and some will have a more challenging time.  Don't compare.

 

I started to feel better as my body adapted to burning fat instead of sugar.  However, my workouts were suffering.  I do pilates during the week and go for slow jogs on the weekends.  It seemed like my muscles had no fuel and burned during the workouts.  I did some research on this forum and decided to add sweet potatoes as well as a piece of fruit about an hour or two before pilates.  That seemed to help....or maybe it was my body adapting better to burning fat....not sure.  Advice #3.....don't be afraid to tweak things and try new things.  We were pretty much anti-potato previously but added sweet potatoes.  It worked well.

 

I got an UP24 for Christmas.  It has been a great tool in tracking my sleep, eating and workouts.  I highly recommend one for those of you who like gadgets and like writing everything down.  The food tracker is helpful because it enters all the macro nutrient info for you.  You just pick what you ate.   I didn't have a goal with the number of calories I was eating, but it was interesting to see that I was eating a lot less calories but still feeling quite satisfied with my meals.

 

It's also clear that I'm sleeping better.  I fall asleep easily, sleep all night and wake up in the morning.  No more waking up at 2am and tossing and turning till 4 only to finally fall back asleep.

 

I didn't really have a particular goal, other than 'improved health'.  That's pretty vague, I know.  My husband obtained his goal.  He lost 10 pounds and discovered that dairy is another trigger food.  His skin improved over the 30 days and went another month without a shot.  That was a big success for him.  I lost 10 pounds as well and had a few revelations about my eating habits.  

 

My eating habits are just that...habits.  It took a few weeks to break those habits and slowly form new ones.  I like my new habits and I like the way my body has responded to this way of eating.  So I'm going to stick with it.  I do plan to add a few beers back into my saturday night as well as cream in my morning tea.  But in general, I don't plan on straying too far off the new path.  So I'm sure I'll continue posting to this forum.

 

My only regret is that I didn't find this until I was 45.  I have an 8 year old daughter and we are trying really hard to teach her healthy eating habits (especially given the incidence of auto immune in her family.)

 

I wish you all good luck and strength!

 

AllyB

[Tom Denham]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. They really are inspiring. 

 

One note: We seriously recommend that you DO NOT use a gadget to track your calories or macronutrient levels. During the Whole30, we do not want you to weigh, measure, or count your food at all except by the limited means described in the Whole9 meal planning template -http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Meal-Planning-Template.pdf

 

For you it sounds like your gadget provided you with a little interesting information. For many folks, however, it distorts what they eat because they establish calorie or macronutrient targets that are based in theories that have nothing to do with the Whole30 (or often reality).

[MeghanH]

I also have an UP24 band and was looking for suggestions on how to accurately upload my food intake (since I can no longer simply enter hamburger and whatnot). I never thought about the negatives of attempting to track my calorie intake. Tom thank you so much!!