Whole 30 - No more checkout of shame at the grocery store

[Zellyb]

Yesterday I finished my first Whole 30.  My husband and I did it together and we've both been so pleased with the changes.  So, first, some history,

 

I'm 49 years old and was diagnosed with breast cancer in November of 2012.  After going through surgeries and chemo in 2013, my body felt just wrecked.  I had started endurance running in 2012 and was feeling better about my general health than I had in a long time only to receive the cancer diagnosis.  I did stubbornly go ahead and complete my first marathon in January of 2013, 8 weeks after my surgery and before starting chemo (Just ran my second marathon in January of 2014 as well).  It was something I felt strongly about doing and fortunately my doctors were supportive, although not thrilled. 

 

Anyway, I started chemo in January of 2013 and finished the really toxic stuff in early May.  I continued Herceptin infusions until December of 2013.  My body has been coming back from the trauma of chemotherapy, but my husband and I both felt like we needed to do more from a nutrition level to improve.  Enter Whole 30.  We'd heard about it from a co-worker of my husbands and decided to give it a try. 

 

We started on February 3 and really felt like the program went well for us.  I think we had ourselves deluded into thinking that we really didn't eat that bad before.  But, boy, did I ever get an eye-opener.  Once we really started paying attention to labels and realized just how much pre-packaged junk we were buying at the store, we accepted the fact that we had been terrible eaters.  We were really ashamed to think about what a typical cart full of groceries looked like before.  But, no more.  We've had a couple of different cashiers even mention, "Boy, you guys are eating really healthy."  So, the days of a shameful cart full of groceries is behind us.

 

As for results, I lost 6 pounds and my husband lost 8.  My husband really has felt much better and had more energy and is sleeping better than he has in years.  I didn't get such a dramatic change in how I feel, but I have struggled with joint stiffness since being on tamoxifen and hot flashes from the menopause that the chemo triggered and both of those things are improved although not gone altogether.  Still, I know that the way I am eating is much healther and that is enough for me.  Losing 6 pounds for me in 30 days is also significant, especially while on Tamoxifen which not only hinders weight loss, but can lead to weight gain in many people.  I needed to lose 20 lbs altogether when I started this and 6 is a great start toward that.  Best of all, I did it without counting calories or being hungry.  It's really liberating to just eat and not worry about how many calories are in this and how many in that. 

 

So, that's it for me.  We are starting on some reintro today, but there's honestly not anything that we are just frantic to have, although I did miss sushi and we are going out for that Friday.  But, I feel optimistic that we've learned things that we can continue with going forward and that's great!