Just finished my FIRST Whole30 but still have questions

[LTmommy]

Hi all - I thought I would post here and I'm hoping someone will be willing to read to the bottom as I have some questions still unanswered.  I finished my first Whole30 last Wednesday, June 25th.  Bottom line - it was the best thing I could have ever done for myself!  Before starting the Whole30, I had a huge sugar addiction - I mean, I would go to the dollar store and buy up a ton of candy and stash it away so no one else knew.  I knew I needed to stop - it and other bad habits were detrimental to my health.  And then in comes the Whole30. 

 

Bottom line - I feel immensely better after the 30 days - I have lost my sugar cravings, my digestive symptoms almost disappeared (bloating and the like).  And I lost a little over 13 pounds!  I did this all while traveling for work on two separate trips and even being stuck in O'Hare airport for 8 hours longer than I should have and I did this also while taking my daughter to birthday parties and facing other challenging events.  I am very proud of this accomplishment.

 

I'm a little hesitant about this next phase though, as I know a lot of other people are after they finish the Whole30.  I am planning to do another one shortly because I was not able to do the reintroduction in the proper way due to a trip that was planned.  But I'll say this, I have definitely learned that beans are not worth the side effects...

 

Another reason why I think I need to do another Whole30 is this - about 5 days before the end of the 30 days, my skin broke out in a big way - not on my face, but on my back.  And the breakout was significant - nothing like I've seen in quite a while.  I followed the Whole30 religiously - I made almost all the food I ate for this last month myself so I don't believe the breakout was the result of eating something that was not Whole30 compliant.  At the same time, I also noticed that my sleep quality took a downturn and I was having anxiety - minor anxiety - but it was noticeable.  I used to have anxiety that would affect the way I sleep and then not sleeping well would create more anxiety and it became a vicious cycle.  The Whole30 nipped this in the bud but returned in a milder form at the end.  I wonder if anyone else has had this happen?

 

I would love some feedback on why I might have experienced the things I did near the end of the Whole30 and get some suggestions on timing of the next Whole30.  Thank you!

[jmcbn]

Well done on finishing your whole30 and successfully navigating some tricky situations.

As for why your anxiety levels might have increased in the final stages, or your skin might have broken out it's really tough to say without knowing how you typically ate as these two problems are often related. Nuts for instance are known to cause skin problems, one member found that the BPA in the tins of coconut milk she was using were the culprit for her skin break out, and a lack of starchy veg can hinder sleep and increase anxiety. Or the anxiety could just have been related to the fact that your Whole30 was drawing to a close - lots of people become anxious about the 'after-life'....

If you'd like to post a few days worth of typical meals/liquids/activities etc we can take a look and see if any changes could be made.