After 30 days, I lost 6 lbs. and my diet wasn't perfect

[FatmaJA]

I finished my 30 days, and there were flaws in my diet, but I lost 6 lbs and I believe the secret is being active and eating enough. 

I wanted to share my journey with everyone. For several years now, I have been following a low carb diet, with a cheat day during the weekend, and rarely have any alcohol. But I am also active, I exercise 5 to 6 times a week (60 to 90 minutes/day). I've lost around 30 lbs since 2013, the biggest cut was during the first year, then my weight would fluctuate. And to be honest I don't think I ever followed a very strict diet, I just change my eating habits to a healthier one, and started losing more weight slowly. I was just enjoying the process and change and was not trying to do it quick. It's now my lifestyle to live healthy, and I love it.

I don't consider Whole30 strict, because it's not at all, I was eating real food! And I felt good about it. The biggest challenge for me was cutting dairy because my favorite drink is Cappuccino. I don't drink my coffee with sugar but I've always prefer espresso base coffee, and I would have Cappuccino or Macchiato with whole milk. So cutting dairy was hard, especially the first few days. What I was drinking instead was Americano with nutpod creamer. I don't really like coffee with almond milk, the texture and taste are just too weird for me.  Another challenge was not being able to have Whey protein for either my pre or post workout. Like i said I am an active person, I train for boxing and lift weights, and sometimes I feel like I don't have enough energy to push myself harder than usual. And those were the hardest challenge for me. Yes sometimes I would crave cheese, or bread,, or oatmeal, or chocolate that is at least 70 to 85% cacao, but it wasn't a big deal. Other than that, as long as I can have some fruits in my diet then I'm fine! I tried no carb diet before where I can't even eat fruits and it was the worst experience ever! It made me lose my mind after 2 weeks and I started binging on bad food! There's all those colorful food in the world and i can't have them? Hell no! I don't believe on those diet. 

The reason I tried Whole30 is because I needed to reset my diet. For around 6 weeks I wasn't as active, and I didn't watch what I am eating, and I gained 8 lbs. It was during finals in December (I'm a graduate student studying architecture) and traveling after that. My diet was so bad, and i started gaining.  I wasn't that concerned because I've learned that it's easy to lose weight as long you have discipline by choosing the right food, eating enough, and exercising. It's as simple as that.  So after coming back from vacation, I felt so grossed and bloated, so I just started eating healthy again to cut what I have gained. I started by slowly by lowering my carbs but I was finding it hard to avoid eating out those days, I lost some of my discipline. So by chance while listening to The School of Greatness podcast, Melissa Hartwig was on, so I learned about the Diet. Her story was motivating and she got my attention. I started to like her just after hearing the podcast. So I started reading about the diet online and I really liked. So just a week after that I told myself I will start the diet. I started looking for compliant food, and it was hard in the beginning because seriously like everything out there has sugar! What is the food industry doing to us!

I felt really good during the diet. I never feel bloated and my mood was always good. I will have my cappuccino cravings, but I usually get over it. Since I exercise regularly, I eat more than what the diet requires me because sometimes during my workout I don't feel like a have enough energy. I workout at night, and I would have a pre workout meal, like a banana, 5 dates, and 2 tbs of almond butter before working out, and an for post workout I would have some coconut water after. Then I would have my dinner. My protein is usually a bigger serving size than what's in the guideline because I know my body needed it. I also have 2 other snacks during the day, a lara bar with an apple, and turkey deli with lettuce, or almonds. Here's where some of the flaws in the diet happen. I know it's recommended to minimize Lara bar, but I ate them almost everyday, sometime twice a day! I get hungry throughout the day and when I am in school I don't have other options. I pack my lunch but for snack i usually just grab a Lara bar. And in the end of the diet I realized that the Peanut butter and Jelly is not compliant, and I was having those along with other flavors. For some reasons, I thought those that doesn't have chocolate chips are compliant, so I tried all the flavors without chocolate, but i forgot about the peanut butter. Other flaws was eating out, like 1 time i had dinner with my cousin and after eating I realize the food had wheat,. Another, one of my favorite places to dine is Cava, and I would get a salad with the spicy lamp meatballs, and have it with roasted eggplant dip and green harrisa dressing. Well I realized after I finished the whole30 diet that the dip has milk. Too late! And for the meatballs, I have no idea how it's cooked. Next flaw, is not always choosing lean meat. Like I would have burger patties or steak 2 to 3 times a week, but they are homemade, and I would have wings 2 to 3 times a week also. And I eat a lot of them, like 10 to 12 wings. Being active means needing a lot of food. So my choices with meat wasn't the best. Yes I would have mostly chicken breasts once a day, ground turkey or salmon for my other meals, so it was not that bad. But I know that I am not supposed to have beef and wings that often in a week. So yes, there were flaws in my diet, but I didn't over think them and punish myslef. I just don't do it again, like stop adding the dip or choosing other flavors of Lara bars, and eat dark meat less. Also, try my best to choose the healthiest option I have when I dine out. I know I should be resetting from the start, but I just moved on with it. It's not complicated. So in the end the result was still good!

So what's after Whole30 for me? Well I did 35 days of the diet, then when the weekend came, I knew I needed to reward myself for doing good, so I had some Paleo pancakes, and I had a cheat meal for dinner. I had a chicken shawarma sandwich with garlic sauce and some fried french fries. And after that I started reintroducing other food. I had an acai bowl with granola and another day I had some oatmeals, and not I'm starting to have my cappuccino again, not everyday though! I'm adding carbs and whey protein with almond milk, and dairy such as whole milk and whole greek yogurt. I choose healthy options when it come to carbs and eat them on the days I lift weights. So I can say that I am now doing a Whole30 foundation with additional food, and a cheat meal in the weekend! Whole30 really helped me to go back on track with my goals and become healthy again! I enjoyed the diet, and feel good physically and mentally. Even my skin and hair looks better! I know in the future I will do it again, and I will be better. I recommend  it for everyone! Not only for losing weight, but also for cleaning you body and most importantly, to gain a better knowledge about food. I believe that everyone should be knowledgable about what they eat, and take a better care about their body! Love your body! Eat good and stay active! And all the best who are doing the diet, or who are planning to start. Don't over think it, just start!

[JamieGall]

This is really helpful, thank you for sharing your journey!

[Shopgirl54$]

You lost 6 lbs?? Is that about the average weight loss for most?

[zzravizz]

@Shopgirl54$ You've probably already discovered this answer by now, but weight loss is individualized from person to person