Porcupine's First Whole30 + The Next Steps

[Porcupine]

So I did it! My first W30 ended on April 30th without too much trouble overall, and boy did it go by quickly! Fortunately, I kept a daily journal which I will now refer back to about how the program went (because although there is Tiger Blood rushing through these veins, I still can't remember everything.) I like lists, so that's what I've made to share today:

 

Challenges I Faced Throughout the W30 

• Not feeling hungry within an hour of waking up/general lack of appetite 
• Using nuts as a fat source too often 
• Hunger before bedtime, despite eating 3 template meals throughout the day 
• Lack of energy during the first week 
• Anxiousness and irritability (Day #3) 
• Acne worsened  
• Tightness in jaw 
• Sugar cravings ( and withdrawals)
• Bloating (possibly caused by eating too many nuts?)
• Bingeing on compliant foods  (happened only once with pecans and raisins, and it was more of an extra snack than a binge - but I ate it when I wasn't hungry)
• Lack in interest in food
• Not drinking enough water 
• My body doesn't like mushrooms
• Pineapple becoming a FWNB
• Chronic stress (not W30-related, but I do think it has a pretty big impact)
• Food-related dreams - just like they talk about on the Timeline! (These weren't a challenge so much as a surprise, as the first one happened during the night of Day #30. In the dream, I ate perogies, dumplings and chocolate cake...not things I'm usually interested in at all! I had two other similar dreams following the first.)

 

Non-Scale Victories

• More consistent energy throughout the day (I used to have a terrible 3-5pm slump)
• Waking up before my alarm in the mornings
• No grogginess in the mornings
• Not having to blow my nose as soon as I wake up every morning 
• Less stiffness in my body
• Mastered the time management aspect of being extremely busy, while still making sure I ate 3 compliant template-based meals a day and got enough rest at night
• Improved mental clarity
• Smoother skin with less acne
• Feeling less bloated and "in the way of myself"
• Improved mood
• Less impulsive behavior towards food
• Getting hungry in the AM very shortly after waking up (sometimes even waking up hungry)
• Not missing any of the donuts, cookies, pie, etc. that I used to eat (at all!)

 

Body Composition Data (FYI I am about 5'9")

May 1st, 2015
Weight: 183lbs (-12lbs)
Measurements - May 1st:
Upper Arm ®: 12 3/4" (-1/4")
Upper Arm (L): 13 3/4" (-3/8")
Bust: 39" (-3/4")
Waist: 31 1/2" (-1/2")
Hips: 46" (-1")
Right Thigh: 26" (-1/4")
Left Thigh: 26"
Right Calf: 16 1/4" (-1/2")
Left Calf: 16 3/8" (-5/8")
Total Inches Lost: 4.25"

 

The Next Steps

 

Towards the end of my W30, I started to wonder what I would do after my 30 days were up. I didn't want to stop feeling as good as I did and I loved the food. I started to realize that my body still had more healing to do, so I decided to continue on and do a Whole60. I'm currently on Day 40, and things are going well. I do have some fears, however, about doing a reintroduction at the end of the 60 days. As other on the forum have commented, I feel as if I could stay on the program pretty much forever, though I know that's not particularly sustainable.

 

Eventually I would like to incorporate more exercise into my daily routine, but I recognized early on that what I was doing (the Insanity program) was putting too much stress on my body at that time. Hopefully I can resume those workouts in the near future. I have such an all-or-nothing personality that the Insanity program really appeals to me, though I've read cautions on the forum warning of the potential negative implications of doing too much exercise. If anyone has any advice on this, please share.

[Carrots&Blueberries]

Great job, Porcupine! I loved reading your story.

 

There's something about the process of learning to trust your body re: hunger that might spill over into exercise, and you'll find that you generally want to move more but that you also know when to sit back and rest. If you're nervous about it for now, you could try to incorporate lots of walking (I can't tell how active you are now aside form no longer doing the Insanity workouts). Workouts/exercise can be so great in so many ways, but it does seem that lots of slow movement is the basis for good fitness anyway (and that even intense workouts can't really make up for an overly sedentary life...). Not sure if that helps.

 

In any case, congratulations to you! I hope you have a wonderful rest of your W60.