Second Whole 30 Completed! - Done with the scale

[Dee55555]

I finished my second Whole 30 on Monday and it was very different for me from the first one.  I actually feel like this one was better for me even though it was actually harder.  I did my first whole 30 in January and was very "gun ho" and just like I have always been at the start of any diet I followed everything to a tee and felt rather virtuous for doing so.  However, I literally started eating the same things for every meal to make it easy and once I was done at the end of January by the third week in February I had gone off plan and was like what is the whole 30? LOL!

 

Throughout this year since that first Whole 30 in which I had lost 10lbs and also cleared up my skin, got amazing sleep and  improved my energy levels I had thought about going back and doing another one, but it never seemed like I was able to get back on. I just wasn't doing what needed to be done which is shop, prepare and get ready mentally.  Then in July I just felt like I needed to buckle down and do it.  I was eating and drinking too much and my skin was a mess again as was my energy.

 

The change this time was I committed to eat different foods every week and try new recipes and make it more fun.  15 days in I had a slip up of eating non-compliant mustard that had sugar in it and I decided to start over.  While technically I didn't do the Whole 30 for 45 days I still sorta did the Whole 30 for 45 days and that has made all the difference.

 

I have decided not to weigh myself anymore.  When I started this Whole 30 I weighed myself and couldn't wait for the 30 days to be over to weigh myself again.  Once I had the slip up I never weighed myself and then all of a sudden realized I wouldn't know my weight for a whole 30 days more.  For some reason not weighing myself for the entire 45 days and realizing I didn't gain weight and nothing bad happened has made me realize there's no reason to weigh myself. 

 

Right now my scale is safely hidden in a closet in a hard to reach place and I just can't imagine what good could come from using it.  I have battled the scale for years and think if this is all I got from doing a second Whole 30 then it is the best thing I have gotten from the program.  My clothes do fit better and my stomach has lost all the bloat which is good enough for me.

 

I had a great non-scale victory in regards to my allergies that I have battled for a few years now.  They are getting so much better and the shots I get for them now give me no reaction which has never happened.

 

My sleep is great, my energy levels are up, and my skin is not breaking out! Also, I can go hours and hours and hours without eating.  I realize that is not the goal, but when it happened a few times due to work it hasn't been a problem, and I never feel ravenous.  It's nice not to think about food all the time, or to be hungry all the time.

 

This past week since Tuesday I have been riding my own bike.  I know what I'm sensitive too as I did re-introduction when I did my first whole 30, and I'm happy to say I am learning moderation and haven't had any crazy situations yet.

 

My goal is to do another Whole 30 in a few weeks.  While my goal has been to lose 20 pounds now that I don't have a scale I just want to fit back into a majority of my wardrobe so I think with eating mostly Whole 30, some indulgences (wine and chocolate) and then a few more 30 days of clean eating I will get there.

 

I will judge my diet not by the scale but by my sleep, my skin, my energy levels and my overall happiness.

 

I hope my success inspires someone else to at least try this way of eating for 30 days, not weigh themselves the entire time, and see what it can do for them.

 

A special thanks to this forum, all the moderators and the other members, for being so kind and committed to healthy living.

[Pearl]

Dee,

Thank you for your story. I am on day 5 of my first Whole30 and one of the things that kind of frightened me the most before starting was...not using the scale.

But I am okay and I am happy that you are too. This teaches me how I routined myself in a bad way. Weighing every day, then being sad, overeating because those few extra bites don't mather anyway...I am done with it!

Good luck to you,

[Dee55555]

This teaches me how I routined myself in a bad way. Weighing every day, then being sad, overeating because those few extra bites don't mather anyway...I am done with it!

Pearl - I so hear you! I'm not tempted to weigh myself because it's almost like the scale will never say what I want so why put myself through what you just described. You can totally do it and I hope the program helps you break up with the scale too.