Whole 30 - Results

Do you remember that time I blogged for a couple of weeks in a row and then the blog went dark? Yup, I stopped before the grand finale of Whole 30. And I'm sure if you have been following this journey, you may be thinking that I failed or didn't finish. However, I am proud to say that I completed my first Whole 30. Hallelujah!

I finished my first round at the beginning of this month. Honestly, I am so proud of myself and it became so much easier the last couple of weeks. Whole 30 is all about some NSV (non scale victories) so here are a few of mine:

- clearer skin; much clearer skin
- more energy
- better sleep (although I do take sleeping pills when the need arises)
- a recovered love of cooking (but I would still pay a chef if I had the money)
- better nail growth
- clearer nostrils (were my allergies caused by food?)
- clearer thinking (no mid afternoon slump)
- #DRINKALLTHEWINE (a few months postpartum, I developed an allergy to my beloved wine (like body starts burning/tingling and a rash/hives start creeping up my neck). It is safe to say that I can drink wine again with zero issues. This truly is a huge NSV - many people who have rashes and skin issues find their symptoms disappear once they implement this eating plan.

I really wish that I had taken measurements prior to starting, but I did not. Anyways, I dropped 10 lbs when I weighed on day 31 and was down 13 lbs by the end of the week (23 lbs total since I began working out regularly). My weight loss looked like much more than 10 lbs and I squeezed into pants 2 sizes smaller than when I began. Boom.

I decided not to continue a second round (football season is RIGHT around the corner) and wanted to maintain an 80/20 ratio of eating compliantly. I do plan on starting another round after the holidays (maybe before then if AU doesn't make it to a championship).

In my mind I think I did a pretty decent job this last month. During employee appreciation week I passed on breakfast goodies, sweet snacks, and mac & cheese/bread during the catered lunch - but did eat about half a serving of banana pudding. YUM! I actually have done quite well, but this weekend was a different story. It was a very social weekend for us and I indulged in multiple meals (pizza, wine, shaved ice, "butter" and even had a couple of oreos when I skipped lunch at work one day). This really was A LOT of junk in a short amount of time. Ick.

Aside from feeling guilty, I instantly became lethargic and could not breathe through my nose Friday night until Monday afternoon. It was so bizarre to feel as awful as I did that at one point I wondered if I was becoming ill. Reintroduction has not hit me as hard as it did this weekend. Needless to say, dinner on Sunday evening and meals today have been Whole 30 approved.

With that in mind, I still plan to apply an 80/20 approach to my eating. It is very doable with the proper planning. Eating out is more difficult, but definitely possible. If you have any questions about the program, feel free to reach out. I will have one more Whole 30 post about items I feel are necessary for a successful round. That post may not come out until next year, but it will happen!