DAY 30: Angels are singing, clouds have parted & the sun is shining: I feel GREAT!!!

[Skepticallytrying]

Hello my W30 friends!!!

 

I made it Day 30! I honestly didn't think this day would come & it's here! And as my Topic Title implies, I feel like a rockstar!!!

 

As you can imagine by my tag name 'Skepticallytrying', I delved into this adventure with a skeptical, scientific frame of mind, which I believe the founders of W30 would appreciate. I don't believe in diets of any nature; for me, they imply going without or restricting yourself in a disordered eating way - very 'all-or-nothing' type of mentality, loads of guilt/shame, unrealistic, etc. That's probably because I grew up watching my mother try every single fad-diet known to man in the 80's & 90's. She just wrecked her metabolism & ultimately her health, which she still struggles to maintain to this day.

 

However, being gluten-free, I do believe in elimination 'diets' as way to try and ascertain if any nutritional cause is contributing to a person's chronic health issues; they are strictly short-term, informative & exemplify the power of real food. I knew embarking on my first W30, this was a short-lived situation aimed at finding possible answers to my increasing fatigue & lack of energy.

 

Well, here I am... 30 days later & feeling great! Here are the benefits gained:

 

1) Long-lasting satiety between meals: easily 5 hours

2) No longer fear extra eggs or healthy fats (avocados) at meals! (leading to #1 benefit  )

3) No more gum inflammation when brushing teeth (can't tell you how awesome that is!  )

4) Less oily scalp (another unexpected aesthetic benefit)

5) Lost width around my waist & clothes fit better (I didn't actually measure, but I took pre/post pictures, see below - there's a difference! I actually 'feel' less full, which is phenomenal!)

6) May have lost a couple of pounds (Pre W30, I averaged 127 (125-130), but today I weighed 123.5 - don't really care, as I feel better & would rather fit better in my clothes)

7) Energy has improved - (I'm not bouncing off the walls, but at least I'm not falling asleep at work at 3pm, then on the couch by 7pm - I've reached equilibrium, which is great!  I'm looking forward to more exercise in the near future)

8) Falling asleep much faster & staying asleep (not waking up at 3 am every morning!)

9) Less severe knee & carpal tunnel aches (still present when overworked, but not nearly as intense)

10) Less of an automatic sweat response when stressed (It's strange, but true... In times of stress, during this past month, I noticed I didn't 'pit-out' or sweat as much in my armpits... another unexpected benefit that may be connected to cutting my caffeinated coffee intake in half)

 

No doubt there is more, but these are the biggies!!! 

 

I've absolutely adored my veggie-filled meals this past month; I have no doubt I'll continue this eating pattern. But, now in the reintroduction phase, I'll be incorporating the following items in order of preference, to see if I have a reaction:

 

Day 1: Non-gluten grains

Corn tortilla wrap at breakfast, quinoa at lunch, corn tortilla chips

 

Day 4: Dairy

shredded Mexican cheese at breakfast, milk at lunch, ice-cream at dinner

 

Day 7: Legumes

black beans at breakfast, hummus at lunch, peanut butter at dinner

 

I'm gluten-free so I that will not be in my reintroduction phase! 

 

I feel soooo accomplished & I couldn't have made it without the support of this forum, W30 site & the ISWF book... Onto, the next W30 adventure: Reintroduction!!!!

 

[GFChris]

Way to go!! Wonderful results!

[ninadude]

Wow!!!!!  How awesome!  You ARE a rock star!

 

Way to go skepticallytrying!  

[Clare_S]

I love this post!

 

Congratulations - great results!

 

Cx