Finished Second Whole 30 and reflections

[Caitibird]

Sorry for the novel of reflections

It has been a year since my first Whole 30 and after that first Whole 30 I managed to derail so seriously that not only was I not on the "train" anymore to healthy eating, but I was walking down "I'm going to eat whatever I want because I don't care anymore" lane. 

Looking back at my mistakes I made over the past year, I realized I never did the re-introduction phase and I feel like that set myself up for some failure. I was also too easily tempted by break room foods, catered events, and social gatherings.  This past year I managed to put on 20lbs, making the weight on the scale something I have never seen in my life. I was depressed and sad. My clothes were no longer fitting. I even went back to counting calories but nothing seemed to help and I was running out of dress pants that fit in my closet.

The end of July came and I knew I needed to do something drastic to  change my lifestyle and out of control eating habits. Enter my second Whole 30.

I was nervous because I knew last time I completely sabotaged myself afterwards. Would I do that to myself again? Would I gain another 20 lbs on top of the 20 I put on over the past year?

Well, here I am, sitting on Day 31 and I can feel a difference. This round I finally came to grips with my relationship with food.  I stared down all the foods I had to pass up this past month and realized that my life can be just as fulfilling without them. I read the Re-introduction phase of ISWF and realized that some foods "aren't that special".  In fact, there was a sentence in the book that mentions the break room and how the box of donuts, bag of pretzels, and bag of M&Ms aren't that special. When I read this sentence I had to laugh because there was literally a day this month that all three of those things were sitting in my break room! But it dawned on me, and yeah, those things really aren't that special. But those were the same things that derailed me over the past year.  Now that I've come to realize how un-special they are, I feel confident that this time I can say "No". I can say "No" to things I don't need to eat, things that I don't even like that much, and things that don't make me feel healthy or happy.

I've stepped away from this Whole 30 with more confidence in my food choices.

And what are some more NSV that I've had?

-Insanely clear skin! My face has never looked this good. Even my husband mentioned it!

-I've fallen in love with homemade mayo (that's a nsv, right?)

-My cramps this month were not nearly as bad.

-My bloat has disappeared.

-I lost 1" around my waist and 1.5" around my hips.

And my scale victory?

I lost 4 lbs.  A bit bummed seeing as I lost a bit more during my first Whole 30 and this time around I have a ton more weight to lose, but I'm happy regardless It's sustainable and if I continue to lose a pound a week, then in 17 weeks, I'll be good to go!

 

Oh!

And just for fun, I kept a list of all the events that I went to this past month that I had to forgo eating at. Nine.... There were 9 different events this month that I had to say "No" to. Some of those events had bottomless free food too.  Keeping a list really helped me become more self-aware of how important it is for me to have self-discipline. It helped me realize that not all foods are special and important.

 

TLDR; Glad I did another round of Whole 30. This time I hope to not sabotage myself as I move onto healthier eating habits