First Whole30. Nailed it!

[genghiskhym]

Non scale victories:

• I no longer get hangry. I used to need to eat every 3 hours or I was a monster. I rarely need a snack. I think I'm fat adapted.
  
• I am happier. I'm nicer. I'm more patient. I hardly ever cut people off in traffic anymore. Now I say, "Let them go, I'll get in after them."
  
• I'm a lot less anxious. Like a LOT. I used to get anxious about everything. I am a little anxious about reintroductions, but less so than I was last week. 
  
• Tiger Blood! I wake up easily and am not tired in the morning or mid-afternoon. I'm only tired when it's time for bed. I have energy to work a full day, go to the gym, cook dinner, make tomorrow's lunches and clean up. The level of energy I have might be a little obnoxious. And yoga? Easier and more joyful. We bought bikes during my Whole30 and feeling strong and light enough to cycle is amazing. 
  
• I don't have cravings. Some non-Whole30 foods popped into my head during the month, but I didn't attach to the thought. I think maybe I stopped it from becoming a craving. French toast a couple times. Last night, on Day 30, graham crackers. I just chuckled and thought, "Really? Why graham crackers?". 
  
• I LOVE this food. I love to cook and hadn't much in a good many years. It was easier to pop a Lean Cuisine in the microwave and sit in front of the tv. I made mayonnaise and sauerkraut. I tried coconut butter, coconut aminos and kombucha (I ordered a SCOBY to make my own.). I ate more eggs, sweet potatoes and coleslaw than I ever thought possible and loved every bite. Rather than feeling limited and bored with this food I feel like a new world has opened up. This is sustainable for me and my boyfriend and bridges the gap between how we like to eat individually. He has transitioned from a meat and potatoes guy to more of a meat and Brussels sprouts guy. I have transitioned from a sugar and carb addict to a meat and Brussels sprouts girl.  
  
• In my week 1 recap I wrote that the tendonitis in my wrist was gone. It's not 100% gone now, but it's a lot better. In my week 3 recap I wrote that my chronic back pain was a lot better and the very next day I tweaked it at the gym, but it's recovering. I think continuing to eat paleo or relaxed Whole30 and exercising will get rid of it. 
  

 

The dreaded, evil scale:

I went from 138.8 to 135.4. 3.4 pounds. Not a lot, but I had 135 in my head and I'm so happy to be here. This means that I'm at my lowest in approximately 23 years and that I am no longer overweight. My BMI is 24.8. 

I did before and after pictures and was not impressed with the results, so I'm not posting them. I guess 3.4 pounds is hard to see, but I feel thinner.

Also, I didn't weigh myself at all during the Whole30 and I believe my experience was better for it. 

 

 

What's next?

I'm going to follow a fast reintro schedule of my making to try to figure out where things like beer and rice will fit into my diet going forward. There are a lot of things I planned on reintroducing that have fallen off the list because I just don't care about eating it anymore or I won't because of the ingredients (like finding out that my favorite froyo has carrageenan in it. Grrrrr.) I'm hoping to see more improvement in my wrist, back, with staying asleep through the night, with seasonal allergies and additional fat loss. This has been an amazing experience and I'm looking forward to my next Whole30! 

[ladyshanny]

EXCELLENT to hear!  Congratulations!  I especially like this statement: 

 

I didn't weigh myself at all during the Whole30 and I believe my experience was better for it. 

[lillivewire87]

I still have 13 days left on my Whole30 but love hearing about peoples NSV's!!  I had an very unhealthy relationship in the past...I had kicked it...Hadn't weighed myself in months, but I was also eating "clean" but not primal and definitely had too much dairy and bread in my life...and had gained back about 15 of the 30 pounds I had lost before my wedding last year. 

 

I weighed myself before I started...and it is a struggle for me mentally to not get on the scale again until the end.  So hearing things like this makes it easier for me to focus on my NSV's!!

 

I too am already noticing my cravings are leaving...I might randomly think about a food, but I don't obsess over it like I used to.  Today was an Orange Julius...I literally haven't had one since I was a kid...random, but I wasn't hungry and I moved on.  

[MeGA"gardener"]

BRAVO! Best wishes to you. You did great!

[AuntJane]

Wow, great job!  Love all those non-scale victories.

I have weird foods pop into my heat at times too.  Cheez-it's recently, and I have never bought Cheez-its in my life.  I think the only time I'd ever eaten them was when my nieces were toddlers and I was babysitting.