My First Whole30 Experience

[outside]

I started my first Whole30 on Nov 1, 2015 after reading about it on a search for a metabolic reset. On Nov 14, while searching the website for whether or not sweet potato chips are allowed, I re-read that peanuts are a no-no and I had eaten peanut butter two or three times since starting the Whole30. I was only slightly disappointed in myself, as I had otherwise been on the plan 100%. I vowed to start over right then and there. 

 

A few days later, my sweet dog chased the eternal rabbit after 16 fun and happy years. All I wanted was a drink to numb the dull ache that was my heart, but I stuck to seltzer water with lime. Then came Thanksgiving, which I sailed through by planning the menu and cooking most of the food for our family. Two days later, I turned 40!! No cake or booze to celebrate such a milestone  birthday, just another day of Whole30… The gift to myself was in how good I was feeling and looking. 

 

I love really good, yummy food and saw each meal time as another opportunity to celebrate deliciousness. One day as I was putting together dinner, I realized that my relationship with food had shifted. No longer was my focus on how good something might be, but on how it would affect me, my body, mind, and emotions. I was eating to live, not living to eat! On Dec 15, 2015, I had dropped a total of 15 lbs and 3 inches off my waist!

 

I did allow myself a couple of days off during the holidays, and boy did I notice! Even sticking to better choices like paleo approved cookies made with almond flour and coconut sugar made my hormones rare their hot heads! Wine gave me a headache, and the one time I ate dairy, I had a cold, wet feeling in my stomach. It is amazing what I was not aware of before following the Whole30.

 

I started my second Whole30 on Jan 1, 2016 as I still have about 60lbs to lose to be at a healthy weight for my 5'6" frame. I have walked/ran three half marathons in the last fifteen months, and my goal is to run a complete 13.1 in April 2017. 

 

Big, heartfelt thank you to Melissa & Dallas Heartwig and for all the people who assist in making the Whole30 accessible to everyone!

[Danananda]

The gift to myself was in how good I was feeling and looking...

 

That says it all. Congratulations!!!

[MamaGraz]

What a great testimony!  I can certainly relate to how milestones seem to require fat- and sugar-laden foods and drinks, yet you pushed past several big ones by keeping your focus on how great eating this way makes you feel!  (So sorry, by the way, for your loss.)

 

I needed this today--Day 5 of my first journey, and while I'm not killing all the things today (that was Sunday), I am still experiencing some of the less pleasant symptoms--and craving chocolate milk like nobody's business!

 

Thanks for sharing, and a heart-felt congratulations!