Finished Whole30 a few days ago

[plantsower]

 So, I finished my first Whole30 several days ago and since then have been very slowly reintroducing foods.   I have finished all the food groups and I don't see any problems with any of them.   That's good....and bad.  Unless I do strict Whole30, I can't lose the weight unless I do Weight Watchers which works for me.    Knowing that dairy, wheat, etc. had bad effects on me would have been easier and more motivating.

I was sleepy and tired a few days here and there as expected.  I'm retired so no big deal.  I could take a nap.   I never got withdrawal headaches.   Maybe because I don't usually eat a lot of junk food anyway.

I had vertigo several times but it wasn't my blood pressure.   It was borderline high was 140/80.  That's normal for me.  It never went down with the diet for some reason.   I was a little dizzy and lightheaded from time to time.   The vertigo was probably related to crystals in my ear canal dislodging because when I did the Epley Maneuver, it disappeared.   If the Epley Maneuver helps with vertigo, displaced crystals are usually the cause.   It won't usually help if there is another cause.  https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319171.php

I did lose 4.6 pounds.   I only had 12 pounds to lose, so that makes sense since the less one has to lose, the less they lose at one time.   My midsection never lost an inch.  That is where I wanted to lose it the most.   I can't see it, but two people have told me I look thinner and my shape has changed.

I have a touch of IBS, and I thought that was getting better, but now it's basically like it was in the beginning.   I'm still eating pretty much Whole30.

My hair doesn't look any different, but hair only grows an average of 1/2" per month anyway, so I don't understand it when people say their hair is in better shape and shinier.   Not possible after only 30 days.  People say that after taking hair supplements for a month, too.   Not possible.

The NSV's:

I have had trigger finger (tenosynovitis) in my right thumb for several months.   That disappeared!

I still get heartburn but much less.  I panicked at first because I couldn't take TUMS because of the sugar, then I remembered baking soda and water.   Whew!

I also cough at night and panicked a little about that because one single cough drop works but has sugar.   Then I kept a cup of hot water by my bed and that worked.

Sleep may be a tad better, but I still need sleeping aids.

Back pain comes and goes but is better and less often.

 

I'm thinking about restarting another Whole30 tomorrow.   I went shopping today and stocked up on Whole30 foods.  I figure my physical problems didn't happen in just a month, so it may take longer than a month to get all the returns that I need.

 

I did enjoy my sour dough toast when reintroducing things, and I will miss it.   But nothing else really hit the spot.  So, here I go again!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

[Shani_SWP]

Good on you for learning what works for you, and those are some awesome NSVs! I guess I'm on the other side of the scale, I had a reaction to everything (mostly mild though, except gluten!)  I mainly eat Whole30, except for the added sugar, when I'm not on a round.

Whole30 isn't meant to be a weight loss diet, but many people do see weight loss due to eating whole foods versus processed foods. Keep focusing on your NSV! 

[plantsower]

Hi Shani:

Thanks for the kudos!   I know it's not a weight loss diet, per se, but everyone mentions that it's not a weight loss diet when talking about their weight loss, so I really didn't want to.   LOL!   NSVs are important but so is weight loss to a point.   And who wants a big tummy when the rest is just fine?  So frustrating.  Stupid menopause!

Anyway, I actually did restart the whole30 again and will see what happens.  One thing I did notice a few days before I restarted the whole30 was that I had pelvic/groin pain again.  I've had it for over five years and nothing showing on tests. I must have gotten used to it because when it left during the whole30, I never noticed until it came back!  Since being on the whole30 this second time, that pain is gone again.  I just don't know which food group caused it.   I reintroduced things really slowly, but this time it will be even slower with the pelvic/groin pain in mind.  That would be a great thing to find out.

[Shani_SWP]

Haha I totally get the weight loss thing  I lost ten pounds and ten inches my first round, and I gained two pounds and lost half an inch on my second round.  When I examined my food log, I was eating a lot more nuts/nut butter as my fat (and probably too large portions as well). Weight is an arbitrary number though, and BMI is not indicative of health (I wish my doctor understood that); my trainer is technically obese on the BMI scale, but that's because he is buff and full of muscles, so remember that weight is just a number (I'm saying that partially for you, and partially for me heh). I actually weigh a little more now than 2 years ago, but I'm a size 8/10 versus a 10/12. 

 You may want to check out a Facebook group my fellow coaches created: https://www.facebook.com/groups/whole30Fab50plus/ for women 50+.

I feel like my face has lost the most weight (and yes, my belly as well), but I do wish the arms, thighs and belly were better, but I know it's a process, and they are much better than 2 years ago, so it's progress, just slow.

I spaced out my second reintroduction, doing one food a week (since I reacted to every group) to see how much I could push things. I did get a little stir crazy at the end of the second month, but it really was a good experiment. If I space out the foods by a good 3-4 days, I react less. Dairy and gluten are my worst offenders - dairy gives me acne and/or eczema on my face, and gluten gives me headaches and stomachaches.

[plantsower]

Hi:   Thanks for all the info.  You are so sweet.   One more thing.  I've never been clear on this.   When we reintro, let's say one food a week, can we eat that food all week and then see results or are we supposed to just eat it once and wait a week to see if anything happens?

[Shani_SWP]

Not a problem, ask away! Just reintro the food for one day, so if you were doing non-gluten grains, have some rice at breakfast, corn with your salad, and quinoa at dinner. Some people separate out groups even more (corn vs. everything else, soy vs. everything else) because they're curious to see if a particular food is troublesome. Then after your day of reintro-ing non-gluten grains, you go back to Whole30 for the rest of the week (6 days). 

[plantsower]

Thanks for clearing that up, Shani.