Clearly, I did the right thing....

[teviag]

On Tuesday I completed my Whole 30 challenge for the first time! (This is probably my 4th or 5th attempt to do this and actually go COMPLETELY through without cheating or starting over...some of us take a little longer...k?)

 

So...I didn't want to weigh the next morning. Because I couldn't tell a difference in my clothes really... I mean there wasn't anything drastic in how they were fitting compared to day 1. I knew I felt better internally. I knew I could breathe easier without feeling bloated and I had more energy....working out was feeling good...you know, the healthy part of me was feeling good...but the external part of me didn't really look THAT much different. I didn't want to be disappointed by a number on the scale. I wanted to be content with how I felt and just go on from there.

But I'm stubborn. And I knew if I didn't weigh, I'd never really know how much this did or didn't affect my weight. So...I weighed. I should see maybe a 5-6 pound loss....maybe.. if I'm lucky.

Nope. Not a 5-6 pound loss.

I lost 12 1/2 pounds. In 4 weeks. In 30 days. I lost 12 1/2 pounds. And that was with only a FEW short minutes of exercise for a couple of weeks...the first week I didn't even workout at all. The 2nd week I started small, with tiny increments to get my endurance level worked back up...and the 3rd and 4th week I had to miss a couple of days here and there due to schedule and illness...so there's NO WAY I was going to expect a 12 pound loss!

I did. I stepped on the scale one more time to make sure. 12 1/2 pounds lighter.

That was my first factor in what motivated me to keep living this "Whole 30-ish" lifestyle.

Then...I gave myself a couple of days to enjoy some foods I had really been craving and missing while on the whole 30. One day I ate pizza. One day I ate chic-fil-a. I allowed some wheat...carbs...and then I took a plunge and had sugar. Sugar AND wheat. Yeah...well, the first thing I realized was now that it was "ok" if I wanted to have some, I didn't really care if I did have some...I didn't actually need to stick my face in a vat of cake icing or take a monster chocolate candy bar challenge...it wasn't really a big deal. And then I noticed that after a couple of days, I really didn't feel that great, and not only did I not feel great but I really didn't want to eat junk food. I didn't want to eat fast food... I wanted to eat GOOD food. The healthy food. I wasn't craving the carbs or the sugar anymore. It blew me away because I've never said "I don't want" with any baked item behind it. I went to the store and walked through the aisles looking at all the stuff I could have if I wanted it...and nothing sounded good. It's almost Halloween and there is candy and chocolate everywhere...and of course the holidays are near so there are cookies, cakes, baked goods...any kind of carb you want to satisfy that indulgence....but I just really don't care. We had friends over one night for a meeting, and we had worked so late that we decided to cook breakfast for supper... Of course, all of these people are traditional southern breakfast eaters- so we had cinnamon rolls, biscuits, beignets, bacon, sausage, eggs... I made the icing for the cinnamon rolls because I make a killer cream cheese icing. I was off Whole 30 by now, so I could choose to eat whatever...and I did. I had a cinnamon roll...and I had a small piece of beignet just to taste how they turned out... I expected to want more but I was good. And then I ate eggs. Eggs and bacon. Eggs and sausage... I kind of braced myself, expecting to feel horrible after that, but I didn't. I felt fine. But after these last couple of days, I've noticed one at a time, little things...a headache...a pain here or there...tired, groggy...and then suddenly, I have that heaviness in my chest again that I used to get...and by today, my sinuses are draining, I feel like I have a cold, and I just want to go to bed...I wonder why? Mind blown.

So for me, I'll be getting right back on that bandwagon and continuing along...for now, I'll add whole, organic dairy to my diet - like cheeses, yogurt and cream- in small amounts because too much is too much. But as for the wheat and sugar...no. Just no. It makes me feel blech. It's terrible. And clearly I did the right thing by nixing them and doing Whole 30.

Finally...Whole 30 daily was a great decision. These newsletters were my encouragement and challenge to try harder, do better and also rethink other areas of my life that I want to improve... The ideas I got from reading were worth it. They are all saved for future reference and I will be doing more W30 challenges in other parts of my life for the next few months...But never fear...I will be back for more Whole 30 Food challenges!! I'm coming for you W30! I'll be back!

Ciao for now!

[Angelayb]

Congrats!!