brittanyxo Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Success! I began my first Whole30 on November 12, 2015. I weighed 204 pounds, at 23 years old, at 5’6”. And my weight was climbing. I wasn’t active, eating poorly, and felt awful. I used to actually think there was something wrong with me, where I must be sick, because I would have unexplainable headaches and I would walk around feeling fuzzy and in a daze. I would often feel dizzy and exhausted for no reason whatsoever. I had yo-yo dieted and struggled with my weight for my adolescent and young adult life. I had a two year period of bulimia where I dropped a significant amount of weight, however I quickly gained all of that back again, and more. Any diet I ever tried left me feeling deprived and starved where I would just crave a tub of ice cream or anything deep-fried. I found the Whole30 by accident. I went into Chapters looking for self-help books or motivational stories as I found myself tumbling into depression and uncontrollable stress. I had been diagnosed with extreme anxiety and moderate depression, and I was scared. As I scanned through the bookshelves looking for anything that wasn’t the “30lbs in 30 days!” “15lbs in only 15 minutes!”, a young woman approached me and changed my life. She recommended the Whole30 book, she had tried it for the recipes as she had dietary restraints, and recommended it as a “lifestyle” book, not a quick fix. And so began my journey. On Day 1 I weighed myself, did full body measurements, and then hid my scale under a box in my spare bedroom. Goodbye scale!! I was ready to see what good food could do for my life, not just my gravity measurement. Now, honestly, my day 2 hangover was so bad I was 4 hours late for work. For the first week, it took everything in me to have the energy to make the Whole30 compliant meal plan I had laid out for myself. Then it happened. Around day 10 or 11, my Tiger’s Blood began to course through my veins. I had energy, I was enthusiastic, my stomach felt slimmer, and I saw the light. By the time day 24, 25, 26 rolled around I no longer had to think about it. I was grabbing the right foods, feeling good about it, and passing by those office donuts like they were dirt on the floor. I lost track of my days because I was just soaring through. Now it’s Day 31. Time for the scale. I was so scared to get on it because I was worried if it wasn’t big, I’d be discouraged. Then I reminded myself that this was about the other positives. The big changes. The amazingness. Over the course of the Whole30, my non-scale victories included: My skin cleared up. I used to constantly break out around my chin and forehead. I’ve had one pimple in 30 days. I slept better. I used to take over an hour to fall asleep, I would toss and turn, and wake up exhausted. Now I’m out in under 15 minutes, I sleep peacefully, and I wake up feeling energized. My nails are stronger. I could never grow out my nails before, they would always crack and tear. They are now healthier than ever. I stopped getting headaches. I used to get mini-migraines at least once or twice a week, and I pretty much lived with a perma-headache. I’d pop ibuprofen like it was going out of style. I took ibuprofen once in the entire 30 days for a cramped muscle. My 4pm sugar crash is gone. I used to hit 4-5pm at work and need food, and would have no energy left for the day. Now my energy is consistent throughout the entire day and I never crave in-between sugary snacks. My hormones leveled out. Before Whole30 I had issues with not having a normal ‘cycle’ (ladies), and now I’m feeling healthy and balanced again. My clothes fit better. I'm not a picky person when it comes to what size clothes I have to buy, what matters is how they fit. I'm still buying a size large, but now I have a waist and it looks good. Now that I reminded myself of the life changing positives that have nothing to do with numbers, I do have to mention them. With full body measurements, I lost just over 25 inches. 5 inches from my waist! I feel like a new person. And of course, the scale. At this point I decided I didn’t care, as long as I wasn’t up I knew I was in the right direction. But today, the scale and I were friends. I lost 16 pounds and now weigh 188lbs. The Whole30 was my gift to myself. I feel fantastic, I never felt hungry or deprived, I learned how to make new, delicious recipes, and I feel like I have control over myself again. I plan to continue on with the Whole30 being my guideline for daily eating. I know there will be Christmas parties, vacations, and other excuses, and maybe I will indulge from time to time. But I want my lifestyle to be the same as it was, and to continue to make good choices for myself. The Whole30 rocks, and I’m going to make sure everyone knows about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcbn Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Well done brittany - you look amazing, and HAPPY too !! Please use this vital info you have learned going forward to ensure you stay on this path......Happy Holidays x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtFossil Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Wow, brittany, that is fabulous! You must feel proud! Have you thought about doing the reintroduction? This is the other half of the Whole30 as it will give you personalized information on how the foods you haven't been eating effect you. This means you'll have the information you need to make good decisions about these foods in the future. You'll find the sample schedule in the Reintroduction forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjiggetts Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Wow your story brought tears to my eyes because I have a familiar story of up and down dieting, eating disorders, self hate, overweight, etc. You really inspired me to jump in feet first, put that scale away and do this with all I have. I start Friday. I am nervous and worried. We are close in weight so I am hoping to have the same results but if not its about just getting healthy. Congrats to you on your journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lectralove Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Soooo inspiring! I'm starting tomorrow and we have similar stats and experiences/relationships with food. Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outside Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Your story is very encouraging and you are absolutely amazing!! Thank you for sharing, Brittany!! You look fantastic, by the way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MzMeka Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 You're inspirational as I begin my first round today at 212 lbs. Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danananda Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Your non-scale victories are huge and your attitude is awesome. So happy for you! Keep going... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geralyn5 Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 This is amazing Brittany!! Thank you for sharing all these great changes!! Best of luck moving forward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlaccini Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Wahoo!! Keep on going!!! I am am so excited for you!!! Celebrate your success. Great work. Cheers (raising my wine glass full of sparkly water) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brittanyxo Posted January 16, 2016 Author Share Posted January 16, 2016 Wow your story brought tears to my eyes because I have a familiar story of up and down dieting, eating disorders, self hate, overweight, etc. You really inspired me to jump in feet first, put that scale away and do this with all I have. I start Friday. I am nervous and worried. We are close in weight so I am hoping to have the same results but if not its about just getting healthy. Congrats to you on your journey. I truly hope you are well on your way with your journey and finding that some of the benefits are coming through now! I started my second whole 30 on December 4th and I couldn't wait to get back on. Christmas kicked my butt. I'm happy to hear my story could help inspire you to take this journey for yourself! Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CherylS67 Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 You look amazing, I don't mean just your weight, look at your skin, you're glowing. Keep up the great work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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