Marie McCabe Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 Today is Day 31 for me. I'm a somewhat sedentary woman in her mid-50s who has tried every diet, fad or otherwise, under the sun. For some reason, I avoided the Whole30 for years. In all seriousness, I think it was the black coffee requirement--even Atkins allowed cream! But I'd been struggling with a few extra pounds after the holidays and realized last month that I was zigzagging from diet to diet even worse than usual. I realized I needed a reset that would break the addiction to counting (points, carbs, calories, etc.), to sugar, and to the scale. Friends had tried the Whole30 and had lasting results, so I finally decided to give it a try. I eat fairly healthy to being with. Really, the most difficult part was going to be staying off the scale and allowing myself to just eat good food without obsessing about numbers. About midway through, I felt my clothes getting tighter. It was pretty much right on the timeline, but I started to panic. I posted here and got good advice. Looking back, I think the issue was too many starchy carbs versus not enough fat. But I'm glad I overdid it on the starchy carbs for awhile. I'd been mostly very low-carb, and I hadn't had squash or a sweet potato in forever. It was such a relief to just eat them guilt-free. Predictably, once I got over the novelty, I was able to cut down on the amounts and be perfectly satisfied. I had plenty of NSVs. The most significant was that my hayfever has nearly disappeared. We're in the worst of the season right now, and I haven't taken a single pill. I'm a little sneezy, but it's perfectly tolerable and still less than when I'm taking my full dose of allergy meds. I also have been sleeping better, and my moods are more even. Tiger blood? Not quite, But I used to feel very sleepy during my very long, very congested commute home, and that is no longer an issue, which is huge. I'm very aware now of how much junk this "healthy eater" was consuming--I hadn't considered that my turkey on whole-wheat bagel thin lunches were filled with sugar til I started reading labels. Honestly, the thought of a cold sandwich for lunch now is totally unappealing anyway. As an added bonus, I started making exercise a priority. I'm hitting 5,000 steps every day and working with weights three times a week. Hardly Olympic training, but that's from doing pretty much nothing but sitting at a desk and driving to work or to my kids' many activities. And yes, I had scale/inches victories, too: I lost 2.5 pounds, 1 inch off my waist, 1.5 inches off my hips, and 1 inch off my thighs (which normally don't change no matter how much I weigh!). I'm about to start the 10-day reintro, although I'm not craving anything (how is this possible?). I suspect I'll end up being mostly Whole30-ish from here on out. The benefits are just too great to leave the lifestyle behind. Good luck to all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoodleOutlaw Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 I'm new here but I just wanted to say congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie McCabe Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 Thank you, @ZoodleOutlaw! I hope your 30 days goes well. Like many here, I'm pretty much sticking to the Whole30 way of eating. Your palate changes to the extent that food out of a box or from a middle-of-the-road restaurant just doesn't seem worth it. Plus there is no denying the physical effects. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lea Mint Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 Congratulations!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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