First Whole30 in the bag, but must continue!

[srp1777]

I was pretty much paleo before I started the Whole30 for health reasons, but weight loss was not happening and my skin started breaking out horribly after I had to go through some allergy testing, during which I had to eat gluten, dairy, and soy.

I had been wanting to do a Whole30 for about 6 months, but because of the supplements the doctor had me taking, I could not be 100% compliant. Finally, I told the doc it was time for me to try my own thing for a month or two and see how it goes.

My results? Anti-climactic, but to be expected since I was pretty much paleo beforehand.

-Weight down 6.6 lbs

-Waist down 1.5 inches

-Hips down 1 inch

-Upper chest down .75 inch

-Lower chest (under the girls) down 1.75 inches

-About 1 inch on each thigh

-Energy ok, but not incredible

-Narcolepsy symptoms easing up a bit

-Skin...still horrible!

After talking to my husband, I realize that I have made some awesome progress. The biggest of which is that I put my scale away and didn't base my emotions on what it read each day. Like he said, I cannot expect to be back to my skinny active self in 30 days, but progress is progress and any weight loss/inch loss is to be applauded since the last 2 years, when I first got sick, has been a horrible upward progression of weight.

I can't say that I haven't noticed a bit of an energy increase either. I can't say it has been mind-boggling, crazy amounts of excess energy, but I am doing a lot more during the day rather than coming home from work and dragging through the rest of the night.

Also, the doc had me on a really low carb diet so I was barely eating any vegetables and never ate fruit. Now, I make sure I get lots of leafy greens at every meal, eat sweet potatoes or squash once or twice a day, and enjoy the occasional piece of fruit. This all makes me very happy because I love my veggies!

The only thing I cannot understand is what is with my skin?!?! I am still getting breakouts along the side of my face, under my jawline/chin, and down my neck. There are a few on my temples and forehead, but they are not too bad. I don't know what else to do. In addition to my diet, I keep my hair pulled back at night, wash my face after I wash my hair to make sure there is no conditioner left on my skin that could cause problems, change my pillowcase every other day, and I NEVER sleep in makeup.

With all of that said, I am not stopping here. I am going to continue on with Whole30 with just a few tweaks. First of which will be getting more sleep! I already had a heart to heart with my husband about me getting at least 8 hours every night and I need his help to make sure if I have to go to bed earlier than the kids that they still get to bed on time. Also, he is not allowed to watch tv or mess around on his iPad in our bedroom after I call lights out.

Second, I am allowed to start exercising again so I am working on a workout schedule that I can stick with that will not interrupt me getting sleep. Meaning no early morning workouts for me! This will be hard because I have always worked out early in the morning before work because of the kids' schedules after school, so I am not quite sure how to fit it in yet

Third, I have cut out caffeine! I just started this past week to cut out the caffeine for awhile. I had one pretty bad headache for about two days, but that is about it. I don't want to rely on caffeine for energy, so I thought this would be a good start .

I am not disappointed that I didn't find the "magic" that everyone talks about. I am putting the scale away, along with the tape measure, for another month and I hope to report back with more good news in November!

BTW, if anyone has an idea about what I can do about my skin, please help!

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to read

[kb0426]

HEY! I think I know you!!

I think your results are pretty darned spectacular! I am on day 22, and feel really really good. Would I call it magical? Maybe not, but feeling really really good feels a heck of a lot better than how I was feeling, and treating my body 23 days ago!

Good to "see" you!

[bernadette]

I just read a book on coconut oil and it was saying how so many people use it on their skin instead of lotion or creme. I started using it and although I think my skin already cleared up from cutting out dairy, grains, etc. I do really like it. It would be worth a try. I use Tropical Traditions which is a great quality. Good luck and keep up the great work!

[bernadette]

Oh and the coconut oil has antiviral and antibacterial qualities to it which I think has something to do with helping your skin. I know it seems a little worrisome to put oil on your face but according to many people it does work.

[Derval]

check out the "oil cleansing method" on balanced bites, it's supposed to be great.

[srp1777]

Hey kb, I thought I recongnized you. Pleasantly surprised to see you here If you don't mind, I would like to talk to you! Let me know a good contact method.

Bernadette & Derval, I use both coconut oil on my skin and the oil cleansing method. Started doing both after this outbreak started hoping it would help. While my skin is smoother in the areas that are clear, the areas that started breaking out after the allergy test just will not go away. It was February, I think, when I had to eat the crap food for the test and all the problems started. My face had cleared up when I initially went paleo, but after the test it just went bonkers!

I came back on here to revisit my statement about no magic happening. A lot of magic did happen when I went paleo a little over a year ago. Let me explain a bit...

About 2 years ago I went from being an endurance junky to not being able to run a .5 mile without needing to bolt to the bathroom. Those issues carried over to my job. I was avoiding to going to certain job sites because the nearest bathroom would be 20 minutes away and the woods just would not cut it with the severity of my issues. The, ahem, gas I had was horrendous, and while it was fun to joke about at home, meetings were my biggest fear! My hair was brittle and falling out. My nails were peeling. I was gaining weight despite my efforts to lose. I was hungry all the time and if I didn't eat every two hours I would become a demon, seriously, people were scared. Sex drive was nonexistent. I had viscious mood swings. Energy levels were completely in the tubes. Even with iron supplements, I was anemic most of the time and it would take twice as long for me to get my iron levels up to where I could give blood, then I would just barely scratch by. My Narcolepsy had reached an all time high. Things had gotten so bad that my husband thought I had cancer, but he didn't tell me that until I started getting better. And, well, I could go on and on about what was happening, but lets move on to when I went paleo.

After I went paleo, the bathroom issues stopped. Not just lessened, but stopped. No more gas either. My hairdresser started remarking about how my hair seemed to becoming healthier and I wasn't losing it by the handful anymore. She also said I had a bare spot on my eyebrows that she though would never come back, but she said the finest baby hairs are popping up. My nails are so healthy, I have to cut them back. Yes, that's right. They are not peeling anymore and I actually have to cut them! I no longer need to eat every two hours. In fact, if I get busy at work and cannot eat lunch at my normal time, my coworkers do not have to fear for their lives. I can give blood on the regular schedule and I blow the test out of the water. Narcolepsy is getting a little better. And my skin did actually clear up for awhile. So there was a lot of magic that came out of me going paleo.

So what has the Whole30 done for me? I think the biggest thing it did was show me that it was easy to stick to the whole paleo thing EVERY DAY for the long term. I won't let myself cheat anymore. I can go to the grocery store and not give into the temptation to buy the M&Ms. I can open the fridge and not eat the yogurt covered almonds my son wanted or the Reese's cups or the chocolate chips. I can open the closet and not eat the cookies that I know will send my stomach on a ride. And, I no longer feel deprived or think "why can't I eat what everyone else is eating". Moderation does not work for me. Neither does counting calories. It makes me neurotic. So does the scale. Also, the weight may be slow coming off, but at least it is moving down and I don't need to let the scale dictate my mood for the day. I have decided that I will only step on the scale and take measurements twice a month so the lack of daily progress won't give me cause to derail completely.

So the Whole30 has helped me. No, my pants are not falling off, yet. But I can be completely honest with myself now and the weight is coming off.

Progress for the sake of progress is not progress. Progress with the chance to learn and adapt is true progress. And that, folks, is what the Whole30 has taught me.

Now if I could just figure out what is going on with my skin, lol!

[Renee Lee]

srp, Loren Cordain has a little "paleo cure for acne" newsletter that you might want to look into. It's basically the same thing you're doing, with some supplements to get you over the hump. (GLA being the main one).

Chris Kresser's also recently done a mini series on his blog about healthy skin, so that's another good place to look. I think the answer is really that whatever issues started messing with your gut just haven't completely resolved.

Good luck! and how can you say that a 6.6lb weight loss with a bunch of inches lost too is anti-climactic?! That is awesome!