1xWhole30 Down Finally and Going strong

[Draad87]

Hi all,

I'm 29 and over the last 6 years have been been in a state of trial and error with Paleo until finally reading "It Starts With Food" and becoming committed to 30 days. Since then, I had 3 failed attempts with Whole30 (days 10-12 kept getting me) until I finally pushed through and quelled my sugar dragon! Just some observations I had with my own "keys to success" that worked for me:

 

1) Cannot stress enough how avoiding the "workarounds" is key. Using almond flour in excess, as well as eating tons of dried fruit and nuts and "paleo treats" is the reason I failed time and time again on Paleo. The absolute hardest part of this whole process is taming the sugar cravings and in order to do that you have to go as cold turkey as possible. What this meant for me is that, on my final successful whole30 (of which I'm now at 45 days going strong) I actually gave up fruit and nuts completely as well (for the short term). If you want success on your whole30, lose more weight while on it, and quell the sugar dragon as quickly and effectively as possible, I cannot stress enough how much I recommend not even having nuts or fruits in the house and going cold turkey from them as well. My other whole30 attempts failed because of pre-bedtime cravings resulting in eating an entire bag of cashews (that started with an innocent handful). Oh btw, any nuts that you eat or most likely salted somewhat, which are also just going to have you eating more. I eventually threw away all my larabars and nuts, don't use them as a crutch or you will fail.

2) Sticking to 3 meals a day in addition to a Post Workout meal is absolutely essential and completely counter to the traditional "eat frequently to keep control of blood sugar levels and reduce cravings". The entire point of eliminating sugar is to control these cravings anyway to where it's unnecessary to "snack" to achieve the same result.

 

3) Work out every day while on the whole30. I did "starting strength" while on it, which is a 3 workout a week split, and just split the workouts in half for six days a week and run/swam on the seventh. The reason I did this is it a) allowed me a PWO meal every day, which although is just replacing calories I exerted, it had the effect of keeping me more "satiated" throughout the day, knowing that I had eaten an extra meal. Additionally, by being so committed to my workouts, it made me that must more committed to sticking with the Whole30. Likewise, sticking with the whole30 made me committed to my workouts. Additionally, daily workouts relieve stress, which mitigates stress eating.  By the way, the only way this was possible for me, was I finally resolved to become a "morning person". I wake up now at 4:30 every day, immediately drink 1liter of water (with SFH fish oil, 0.5tsp himalayan salt and half lemon's worth of lemon juice), eat breakfast, read self-study or the bible with my coffee, and then workout, all before my work day begins. Then I'm in bed at 8pm.

 

4) SLEEP. I used 2 cups coffee with breakfast pre-workout, and 2 cups coffee post workout and then cut coffee off the rest of the day. This helped me sleep 9 hours a day, which meant I was only awake 15 hours a day so that's less hours to be hungry and reduced my stress to prevent stress eating. The hardest cravings to get over are the late night cravings, you really have to eat your dinner 2-3 hours before bed, and then force yourself to go to sleep instead of eating. If you sleep only 5-6 hours a day, you're literally extending that pre-bedtime-sugar-craving window for 2-3 additional hours which makes it all but impossible to resist.

 

5) Get crockpots / instant pots and cook for the week on the weekend. If you're like me, then you have zero time during the week to cook, especially if you're working out every day.  I make veggie sausage omelet muffins for the entire week for breakfast to save myself the time and cleanup in the mornings, and I make 2 crockpots of double batch recipes for the week (for variety) for the week. 

 

During this whole "transformation" (I call it that because my lifestyle truly has) I've been more productive at work, am generally happier because I have less stress, more sleep, and have been working out AND whilst losing 15lbs (from an already somewhat lean physique - I was not overweight before starting this and did not even know I had 15lbs to lose) my lifts in my Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Overhead Press, and Clean have all gone UP.

 

I'm committed to make this a lifestyle change. I'm not stressing myself with a goal of going Whole365 or anything, but for now I'm completely content with still not drinking (this was a huge problem for me btw being in the military - I was legitimately drinking 4-5 beers every. single. night. even. on. weekdays. before starting this), still not eating fruits or nuts, and really trying to see how long I can go without sugar in all forms. Already even the sight or thought of fast food makes me nauseous so I'm curious to see, if I stick with it long enough, if I'll see sweets the same way (some I already do). I'm convinced that if you can make it 30 days, then you can make it 45, and if you can make it 45, then why not 60? 90? Eventually it's a habit.