1st Whole 30 Completed!

[samalope]

Warning:  I probably wrote way too much! If you're only here to see how much weight I lost just scroll to the bottom lol. 

Click here to see my log

In October, frustrated with my sugar-filled, binge-prone diet, I took to Google to ask this phrase “How to eat like an adult” which somehow led me to Whole30. Whole30 is a paleo-ish diet changer that cuts out all unprocessed food – from sugar to dairy to soy- and gives you a meal template of meat, veggies, oil and some fruit. 3 meals. Little to no snacking. I read that and thought, “There is absolutely no way I could do this.”

Let’s give you an example of my previous “idc about anything” day of eating. Seriously, this is what I would eat. I am really bearing my soul here. Breakfast, I’d go to the local gas station and pick up a can of Rockstar Energy Drink and a Little Debbie Zebra Cake and go to work. And BOY was I ready to work. Then 3 hours later at 10:30am I felt like I was a starving desk zombie. So, go grab that mini Kit Kat bar I pack with my lunch to hold me over. Finally lunch rolls around and I have some chips and a ham sandwich on croissant that I brought from home. Not horrible, right? But by 2pm came by I was feeling that mid-day slump and it was hard to focus. Sometimes, if I really was just not caring, I’d go visit the vending machines and get some pop or another candy bar. Hey, 3 Musketeers bars have 45% less fat! That’s gotta count for something!

By the time I got home I was tired and cranky and HUNGRY. I did not feel like making anything, and just wanted to nap. Just through some pasta together and dump some sauce on it, followed by microwave meatballs. Or we could just go pick up some Little C’s pizza. Yeah let’s do that. 

This is what my days were like and if they had been exposed to anyone I would be extremely embarrassed. I AM embarrassed! This isn’t how people are supposed to fuel their bodies. I’ve gradually gain 25lbs since college. When I hit 160lb last year and officially my BMI was listed in the “overweight zone” I decided I needed a change.

So I do what most people do when they gain weight- Eat less. I decided to eat a lot less. 1200 calories max. MyFitnessPal and my food scale were my best friends. I weighed and recorded everything. However, that kind of restriction made me HUNGRY ALL THE TIME. For a month I managed to keep it up, with a binge or two a week with probably over 3,000 calories. And I lost weight. I lost 10lbs and got to 149lbs. And then I gave up. Because it was really annoying to count calories. Because I was super hungry and grumpy all the time. I lost weight but I felt like crap. It wasn't sustainable.

So slowly over the year I tried to limit my calories to something more sustainable (1400-1600) but I really hated having to count calories, and I felt pretty deprived. I’d still have energy drinks and would just skip meals to stay in the calorie range. I liked having the log and seeing what I ate but just going to a restaurant without a nutritional guide would send me into a tizzy. So I gave up calorie counting and didn’t care anymore. Calorie counting can help a lot of people, but it isn’t for me. 

Anyway, by summer of this year I had gotten back up to 158lbs for a 5’5 woman. It isn’t horrible. I still thought I looked pretty hot, and my husband would confirm this for me. I don’t mind having curves. It was mostly that I knew the food that I was putting in my body wasn’t good, and eventually it would catch up with me if I didn’t start changing now. It was because I was tired and grumpy and would have to take naps in the middle of the day. 

OKAY. So back to Whole30. 

I did 2 weeks of research to get myself amped up. I also had a NYC trip coming up so I planned to start after I got back. I got dozens of recipes of the internet and stored them in a binder. I printed out weekly meal plan templates. I printed out all the free PDFs they have at Whole30.com. I read everything I could find so I knew I could be successful. Eventually, I told my husband about this and he seemed ok with the idea.

 

So the weekend I got back from my NYC trip, I cleared out my pantry. I dropped off my baking supplies, sugar, syrups, pasta, and other things all at my parent’s house. Whole30 reccomends you clear out all the “non-compliant” foods from your house so you won’t be tempted. 

November 5, I started my Whole30. The first week was hard, and actually led to me buying a small dishwasher because I wasn’t used to cooking so much. I had to learn to manage my time and I learned I needed to make a lot more food than I was used to because we weren’t snacking and needed food for lunch the next day. 

The second week wasn’t so difficult. I planned for the notoriously difficult days (Days 10-11) and made food I knew I would really enjoy and be easy to make. By the end of the week I was sure I could do this.

The third week I had some digestive issues due to eating too much meat and not enough veggies. However, I felt pretty good besides that.  

The fourth week came and I got punched in the face with a cold. I felt like crap but I kept it up. 

Today is the 30^th day. Let’s put aside the bad lingering, sleep stealing cough I have. I feel full. I don’t crave any sweets. I don’t really miss bread too much. I feel like I could continue this. I feel confident about the food choices I make. I like coming out of the grocery store with bags pull of fresh fruits and veggies and meat.

Am I going to eat like this forever? No way! That isn’t the point. The next step is to reintroduce other food groups slowly and really listen to how your body reacts. Which is kind of a fun little experiment. From there, you gotta take off the training wheels and feel it out. I am nervous about this part(most people are) because I do feel healthier and I don’t want to ruin that feeling.

 

Non-scale victories

- Feel generally more productive

- Energy levels are more even

- No more mid-day energy slump

- New cooking skills

- Good at meal prepping

- Whiter teeth

- Flatter stomach

- Clothes fit better

- Feeling more confident in my appearance 

- Less depression

- Fewer sugar cravings

- Fewer carb cravings 

- Improved body image

- Less night sweats

- Feeling in control of my food

- Healthier relationship with food

- Listen to my body better

- No more food guilt to shame

 

The numbers

Weight: I lost 10 lbs! Went from 158lbs to 148lbs. 

Waist: 30in to 29in = -1in

Hips: 41.5in to 40in = -1.5in

Thigh: 22in to 21.5in = -.5in

Calf: 15in to 14.5in = -.5in

 

So, right now I have bronchitis so I am continuing with my Whole30+ until I have recovered so I can really listen to my body and do the 10 day reintroduction. 

Thanks for reading or not reading me ramble! 

[CaveMom]

Your story is so inspiring!  Thank you for sharing.

[RandiW]

Amazing! Total diet transformation - that's so awesome. I have lots of patients (I'm an acupuncturist) who think they can't do W30 because their starting diet is similar to yours. This is total proof that W30 can meet you where you're at if you're ready. Love it. Congrats