Jump to content

My wife // Whole 30 // 12lbs // Decreased allergies


MR_Brian

Recommended Posts

It all started at my wife's work.  She heard about this Whole 30 program and came home to tell me about it.  Me, being the man I am, wanted nothing to do with it (men know everything in case you guys didn't know...).  I didn't want to hear about, I didn't want to read about it, and for sure didn't want to try it.  

 

I considered myself pretty healthy.  I went to the gym 4-5 times a week and ate according to the food pyramid - sometimes a little top heavy - so that my muscles would get the nutrients they needed.  Along with going to the gym to lift, I did cardio at least 3 times a week, sometimes more.  I viewed my routine as pretty solid, I didn't need any help.

 

My wife on the on the other hand continued to research Whole 30.  She was looking at what she could eat, what other people were doing, before and pictures, recipes on Pinterest, etc.  It was driving me crazy, she kept on asking me to look at all of the other people who've done this and how much it's helped them.  I have really bad allergies (i'm only allergic to anything that breathes - trees, plants, flowers, dogs, cats, you get the picture) and she was telling me that some people were having really good luck with their allergies reducing or going away.  I knew this was plot to get me to try it, so I happily declined.

 

My wife continued with her W30 and stopped eating all of the foods she used to cook for us.  There was no more brown rice with Jack Daniels shredded BBQ chicken, no more cereal in the mornings (or at night..), no more ice cream, etc.  It was horrible, for me.  My wife on the other hand, started looking amazing.  Don't get me wrong, my wife was already a very attractive woman, but this helped slim her down giving her the confidence to feel sexy about her body.  That new confidence was what made her even more attractive.

 

At the end of her W30 we happened to travel to Arizona to go see one of my cousins.  She stayed true to her diet the whole trip.  While we were on vacation, I was the only one eating donuts and drinking energy drinks.  I thought for sure she would think "when in rome" so to speak, but she didn't.  Our very last night there we went out to a bar.  The waitress coaxed my cousin into purchasing three different desserts, so she could pick her schedule for next week (women... kidding!!).  I told my wife if she would eat just one bite of the creme brulee, I would do the "stupid" whole 30 thing.

 

All I can say is I should have listened to my wife sooner.  I was in denial thinking I was feeding my body for it grow.  Whole 30 helped me re-love food.  I didn't have to eat Ketchup with my meals, I didn't have to drink my coke with my lunch, I didn't have to eat dessert after dinner.  I felt, for the first time in a long time, that I was in control of what I ate.

 

I will agree with most other people on this forum.  The beginning of this program sucks.  It will push you, and you will be tempted.  When you reach the beginning of week 3 you start seeing the end of the tunnel.  By the time week 4 rolled around, i felt like it was in the bag.  Doing this program not only gave me power over food, but made me a more self-disciplined person in general, both at home and at work.

 

If you're wondering about my allergies, they drastically improved.  I get allergy shots monthly to help "cure" me of my allergies.  The problem is they inject you with what you're allergic to, so my arms were red, inflamed, and sore.  When I was doing W30, my injection sites were the smallest they have been in the 2 1/2 years I had been taking the shots.  I am positive that what you eat affects your allergies.

 

I would like to conclude this with a thank you to my wife.  If weren't for my wife to encourage (bug) me, I would still be fooling myself by eating the wrong things.  I appreciate you and everything you did for me to help me achieve this (cooking included)!

 

Thank you!

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Here's my before and After: 30 days // 12 lbs.

image1-300x300.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Congrats Brian!

 

I dragged my husband along with me too :P  I think it is a sign of a great relationship if you can help each other change old habits and improve your health together.  And I absolutely sympathize with the start of the program being rough.  I was as moody as my guy when he stopped smoking!!! That made me really think about what the sugar and processed foods were doing to me.

 

I love my weightlifting too and can happy live a Whole9 life while lifting.  Glad to hear it helped out with you allergies and that you are feeling so great as a family.

Great story :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LiftingLafond,

 

I appreciate your kind words and I can't agree more with you, it's definitely a sign of a great relationship.  People forget that our health works much like a relationship does.  You can't just "throw" a certain amount of energy at it and then leave it alone.  It's something that has be constantly worked on and monitored.  If you don't watch it, you lose control.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only husband who was dragged along  :lol:  .  I hope that all of the women, in fact, all of the people reading this (mainly men, because we are stubborn and women know best :D ), will give their spouse the motivation they need to start this program.  It's so much easier to do this with someone by your side who will help you achieve your goal.

 

Just a little snippet about the weight lifting so I'm not boring everyone, but I honestly have more energy in gym.  I thought, after reading what all the IFBB pro's eat (i'll never be that big, but I admire their motivation), that the dark side (rice, grains, sugary protein shakes, milk, etc... you know, you're into the lifting too) would nourish my body more.  I know that's not the case now, and my body is proving that to me by what I eat.  I look forward to continually tracking my progress on my blog and watching my transformation unfold.

 

Thanks again!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My favorite post lifting meal now is a big ol' ribeye with a cucumber, tomato, and avocado salad. I have not had a stall in my lifts at all yet eating this way and I really don't feel deprived in the slightest.  I don't need bad calorie dumps (ie: pizza, brownies, ice cream, etc) to make muscular progress :P

 

Also I am happy I won't have to go through wicked 'cut' cycles where I would be ridiculously undernourished to make weight.  It has been a great approach to health and training for competitions for sure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mmmm... ribeye... I couldn't agree more on the bad calorie dumps.  It sounds so counter intuitive, i'm not sure how that became a staple for the lifting scene.  I always felt so bloated after a cheat meal, followed by some regret.  I look forward to using this as an alternative route, in getting to my goal.

 

You sound like you are kicking some butt too, so don't stop!  :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great post!  I was dragged along by my husband.  He wanted to do a whole 30 to try to help his autoimmune issues and get off Embrel.  My reaction was 'Oh of course!  Sounds great honey!'  But on the inside I was like :o when I read what we were going to do.

 

But alas, we made it through.  Doing it together made it much easier.  We kept each other going when the other wanted to quit.  He was able to stop taking Embrel and said he hasn't felt this good in 20 years.  His psoraisis cleared up and his joints are still good.  I lost weight and got rid of my afternoon exhaustion and brain fog.

So yeah, for those of you who get dragged into it....it might turn out pretty good!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for sharing that.  It's awesome that you and your husband both feel better!  It just goes to show you how powerful food really is, and that everyone should give this program a go.  

 

What's kind of funny is even though people have seen my transformation - losing weight, better skin, having more energy, and just feeling good overall, they are still hesitant to try W30.  I think it just boils down to change.  Change is difficult, but without it think of where we would all be, or wouldn't be for that matter.

 

I wish you and your husband the best rolling into 2015 :) .  Share the word with others, and if we all do that, we may be able to reverse the 1/3 of adult American's who are obese (it's a big goal/dream, but everyone has to start somewhere - no pun intended).  If we can get the adults eating to live, instead of living to eat, it will slow down and hopefully stop the increasing childhood obesity rates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

It is amazing how resistant people are to change.  When people ask what we've done...I usually get the typical 'oh I could never give up <fill_in_the_blank>', or 'what do you eat???'  I guess it's all pretty much covered in the crazy stuff people say thread.

 

The interesting thing for me is how self reinforcing this way of eating is.  I don't really have 'cheat days' any more.  I will have  dessert once in awhile if we go out to eat, but I'll split it.  I'm just not interested in the stuff I used to eat (well, except beer  :) ).  But in general, we still eat pretty clean.

 

And it is true you can create new habits.  We went on a cruise over new year's and the first buffet we went to, my husband and I both came back with a big salad.  The other stuff just didn't look appealing.

 

We talked about doing another whole 30 at the beginning of this year.  But we decided we didn't need to go that strict since we hadn't strayed too far off the path since the last one (feb of 2014.)  We are going strict AIP and no dairy since those seem to be triggers for my husband's issues.  Of course, no wheat as always and we took a break from alcohol...Although, now that I think about it, it sounds like we are doing another whole 30!

 

Looking forward to a healthy 2015!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

My husband needs to read this post!  

 

I told informed him that we were doing Whole30 and his reaction?...'if we can't have milk, what do I have with my tea and coffee?  I think I should read about it all first...'

 

I know it would help with his allergies and rosacea flareups.  Unfortunately he still harbors his parents attitude from the 'doctors-fix-everything-with-pills' school of thought.  

 

Fantastic story x 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...