My first Whole30 results

[AnitaC]

I finished my first whole30 on Friday and here are my thoughts:

First, I'm just going to say I'm proud of myself. I know it's not climbing Everest or finishing a marathon but it was 30 days of giving up a lot of things I loved and I did it. I took it seriously, read every label (except one but caught it in time and ended up having to throw the food out so lesson learned), and cooked more than I've cooked ... well, ever.

I lost about 10-12 pounds. I'm 5'6" and the highest I saw the scale was 166. That's not really a lot but I have a small frame and all my weight goes to my stomach, bum, hips and face so it looks like a lot. Today I weighed in at 153. I'm very pleased. I still want to lose at least 10 more pounds. You can really see the difference in my face and stomach. I didn't measure myself but I am wearing a skirt I haven't been able to wear in awhile so I'm happy. If I can lose about five more pounds, my wardrobe will double.

I focused on what I could eat rather than what I couldn't. I enjoy cooking (although I can be quite lazy) so I made myself some pretty great meals. Coconut curry chicken is always a great meal. On my last night, I made steak with roasted sweet potatoes and sauteed mushrooms and grape tomatoes in dill. And it helps that I love eggs and avocados. I haven't missed sugar and am surprised I don't crave a Diet Coke. I thought dairy would be really hard to give up but other than wanting milk in my coffee, I don't miss cheese or yogurt. I might miss sour cream a bit but I haven't felt like killing anyone for it. And if I was in a grocery store or cutting through the mall, I wouldn't let myself think about what I couldn't have.

It took about two weeks to figure out a groove and follow the template. Now that I have it figured out, I'm fine. I was never starving and I didn't snack. Yes, I'd have the occasional banana and almond butter but with meals, not standalone. And now I do eat the recommended amounts before and after my morning runs. I didn't want to at first but I'm now doing it and I'll see if it helps. Often I see in logs or other posts that people are hungry but when they list what they ate, you see that they didn't have protein in their breakfast. But if you stick to the protein-fat-vegetables and carbs template, you're good.

I didn't undergo the flu that people talk about. I did have really bad headaches the first couple of days but it could have been the change in diet or it could have been the fact the air pressure changes a lot in January and I've always gotten bad headaches then. I took Tylenol when I couldn't take it anymore and that was probably the only bit of sugar I've had but I needed to take some. I did get the energy (tiger blood?) that everyone talks about, more so because I wasn't hungover all the time and eating processed foods that made me sluggish.

Best piece of advice I read on this forum was to salt my food. I never add salt to my food because I just don't have a taste for it (my dad was a heavy smoker and overly salted all his cooking so my brother, mother and I all have an aversion to it) but I was really lightheaded the first week or so. I thought my vertigo was coming back. But then I read here somewhere to salt your food as you're not getting enough sodium. Once I started doing that, the lightheadedness went away.

I had wine Saturday and Sunday but I have been eating compliantly since Friday. I want to continue eating this way. I batch cooked last night because I like having compliant meals prepared. And if I'm walking home from work and feel I have the energy, I'll continue on for two blocks to Farm Boy and pick up whatever I want (that's compliant). I'm not saying I'll never have sugar or dairy because let's be real, it's only been three days since my w30 ended and I'm riding a high, but I'm going to try. I like how I feel. I will continue to read labels and I don't want to eat anything that's made up of too many fake or chemically things. A salad dressing shouldn't have 10 unpronounceable ingredients when a perfect salad dressing is oil and vinegar or a squeeze of lemon.

This forum kept me on track. I enjoyed reading people's logs and questions and I'm grateful to the mods and all the users here. This community made it easier. If you were to follow me in the grocery store, you would see me check a label, then duck into a corner, whip out my phone and google "whole30 palm oil" or "whole30 fiji water," etc. And if I wasn't sure if it was compliant, I just didn't get it. I'm still trying to track down a compliant balsamic vinegar. And I can't find coconut aminos anywhere. Well, I found one bottle at Whole Foods but I couldn't figure out if "fermented coconut sap" was compliant so I didn't buy it. I did spend $10 on a bottle of red wine vinegar.... I look at it with contempt and anger - like we're in a bad marriage and just staying together out of spite - so I need to start using it more.

I'm so happy I found the whole30. I think I have The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt to thank for this. The HR Lindas mentioned it and for whatever reason, my ears perked up and I thought, "I should google that." Months later, I did and I liked what I read. I bought The Whole30 book  for my e-reader and I don't recommend doing that. E-readers aren't ideal for a book you want to go back and forth in, if I buy another, it will be in book form. I'm also so impressed by how many resources are available online. So many things are very secretive and it's "pay us, then we'll tell you," which I understand but this openness makes the Whole30 seem not shady and very trustworthy.

I think my friends and family are sick of me because I've been a bit preachy so I'm working on not bringing it up all the time but I just want everyone to know how great this is. I'm going out to dinner tonight with a couple of friends so I'm not sure what I'll do, try to stay compliant, eat compliant but have a glass of wine, or re-intro something.

I make stick around on the post w30 logs because writing down what you eat each day keeps you honest. I just hope I can stick to this but the only one that can make that happen is me.

Thank you for reading