The difference a year can make...

[RageL]

I started my first W30 in March of 2014 - I'm one of those people that read It Starts With Food and dove right in with very little prep work. I knew that if I let myself lose momentum, I wouldn't start (I have tried so many different ways of eating, and few of them yielded beneficial results, so I can get discouraged quickly).

 

I got through my 30 days, and even stayed on plan for a few days after. I dropped 10 lbs., but then started to gain weight back and couldn't figure out why. I basically dove off the wagon from there because I was so discouraged - not just from the lack of weight loss, but the lack of results in general. No Tiger Blood. No increased energy, glowing skin, healthy hair - in fact, I was exhausted all the time, and my hair was actually falling out!

 

Come to find out, two months later during my prenatal blood work, that my thyroid was totally through the floor - no wonder I wasn't experiencing all the benefits of the Whole30! Getting on synthroid brought my thyroid levels back into the normal range, and I started to feel much better (though I didn't continue W30 at that time - I just knew I couldn't commit with all the crazy pregnancy cravings; the good news is that I only put on 10 lbs during my pregnancy, so I at least was healthy enough to not dig myself into a deeper hole than I was already in).

 

Fast-forward through the pregnancy, gave birth to a healthy little girl and started dropping some weight. Until I wasn't. Until I started putting weight back on, and only two months postpartum! I knew I needed to get healthy, not only for me, but for my daughter, too. So in mid-June, I decided to start eating W30-style again. The funny thing was, I had not planned on really doing a W30 - maybe a W7, or just for as long as I could. But about 10 days in, I decided that committing 100% to another 20 days really wasn't a big deal, so I put my little chocolate square in the freezer and buckled down. Here are my wins:

 

-11 lbs lost during W30, another 10 since then (21 lbs in about two months)

-Better sleep

-Sugar dragon is a tame gecko

-A sense of control - I decide what I eat and when, and not my hormones/peers/cravings/moods

-FMS symptoms virtually gone

-Overall sense of well-being and happiness instead of pessimism

-Distance and speed have dramatically improved for running

-More energy

-More time outside!

-Increased confidence in the kitchen

-Healthier hair, skin, & nails

-Increased confidence overall - I know I'm doing the best I can for my body and mind, and I don't care what other people think of my looks

 

I could probably go on, this is pretty much just all off the top of my head. My basic premise is that the improvement in my emotional well-being has paved the way for all of the other improvements - something I had never really understood!

 

While I'm not strictly W30 at this point, I have decided not to reintroduce anything into my regular diet - I just don't miss anything as much as I enjoy being healthy. I still read labels and refrain from buying anything with added sugar, I still use clarified butter instead of regular, and I buy the healthiest meat, seafood, and eggs I can find (which all tastes better, anyway).

 

I haven't been able to totally break up with my scale (I in part blame doctors, who seem to care more about what my weight currently is than other factors that may have more influence on my overall health), but it doesn't make or break me anymore.

 

Thank you W30!