First Whole30 Done and Dusted + Encouragement

[Rukstar]

I completed my first Whole 30 yesterday, and I want to encourage those who are in the beginning, middle or nearing the end and not feeling too great, to stay with it.  I felt very disheartened around Day 19 when I felt I had gained weight and I wasn't experiencing 'the timeline'.  However there were enough minor gains, and this plus encouragement from this forum and my willpower (I was at a friend's birthday dinner and people were astounded that I only had a glass of water and didn't eat any of the yummy food - I had eaten before I went) kept me going.  Today, I stepped on the scales and was excited to see that I had not gained weight, although I did not lose any either.  BUT here are the benefits I experienced:

• The satisfaction of knowing I was doing something good for myself and the tremendous feeling I got from knowing I was nurturing myself and taking the time to take care of my needs
• The wonderful variety of vegetables I consumed and the realisation that eating healthy does not mean eating bland, uninteresting food. Far from it.  I discovered some amazing ways of preparing food (eg cauliflower rice) and wonderful combinations of foods (eg mashed sweet potato mixed with canned salmon and spices)
• Reinforced something I already knew intellectually, that eating fat with every meal and eating regular full meals does not cause weight gain.
• Learning to shop and prepare in advance so that there was (almost) always plenty of food available for me to eat.

Today I feel some of that tiger blood and a real sense of achievement and I don't feel any need to rush off and eat/drink the things I haven't had in the past 30 days (although when I was on the Whole 30 I kept thinking about eating sweets, having an alcoholic drink etc)

[StaceFaceAK]

I admire your resolve to appreciate all the health benefits that come from the Whole30, even if you didn't lose weight in the first 30 days. Good for you! I hope I can have the same reaction as you if that happens to me, and even if I do lose weight that I'll see it as a welcome side effect that pales in comparison to my increased energy levels and piece of mind knowing I'm doing all in my power to prevent disease down the road (type II diabetes runs in my family and I was well on my way down my path before finding paleo/primal about 2 years ago).

 

Thank you for this post. I think sometimes it's easy to expect this to be an end-all, be-all miracle; but with all things, it's still a process, and a unique, individual one at that.

[MrsPefy13]

I'd be lying if I said my weightloss wasn't my primary motivation for starting whole30 (I'm on day 28!) but I'm trying to focus on the other benefits I've been feeling lately so that I'm not too upset if I lose little or no weight at all. It's hard to change that mindset and it doesn't help when you see people on the forum who are distraught over only losing 2-3lbs in a month (despite sleeping better, having more energy, etc).

Your positive attitude is really refreshing and encouraging so thank you for sharing!