Whole30 Recap

So...I did it. I finished the Whole 30 days of whole 30. I don't think I messed up either. One day I was with Mom all day at the ER and on the way home we had to stop for food since we hadn't eaten all day. She wanted a fish sandwich from McDonald's so that was where we went but even that night all I ate was a plain piece of grilled chicken. Now I am sure it wasn't organic or maybe even real chicken but...it was the best I could do that particular day. Oh and also it occurred to me about 1/2 way through that I was still chewing sugar free gum which had fake sugar which we weren't supposed to use but...I never gave that up. So I suppose those 2 things could be counted as "messing up" but other than that I was very strict about following all the rules.

It wasn't as hard as I expected..

There were days I hated it - don't get me wrong. But overall it wasn't that bad.

The good -

• I haven't had very many headaches. And I am pretty sure the ones I did have were from sinuses - and they went away quickly when I took sinus medicine.
• I lost 12 pounds. In 30 days. Not bad.
• My face is clearer -  not totally but looks better than it did for sure
• I just feel better

The bad-

• It is expensive to eat healthy!!
• There aren't as many choices b/c I am a picky eater and don't like a lot of veggies
• Healthy food goes bad quick so you have to shop often and I don't have a lot of time right now

My thoughts now?

Well this weekend when I was done I went with some family for a graduation celebration lunch to Olive Garden and I was very excited to eat bread sticks! I only had 2....and I ordered a chicken meal which I basically ate the chicken and veggies out of and left the pasta on the plate (I did eat probably 4 bites of pasta) but it was of course covered in some sort of sauce, and the salad had a Cesar dressing as well (NO dressings or sauces on Whole30) So I didn't really follow the suggested way of introducing ONE new thing to your body at a time and see how it handles it. I tried to do as best I could but....my body freaked out! It was not impressed with what I ate for sure. I felt sick all day. And honestly...none of it even tasted that good!! (ummm....sad). Then the next day, sure enough I woke up with a headache! So....I tried drinking a diet dr. pepper that day - one b/c that was my favorite drink before Whole30 and two b/c usually caffeine helps a headache. I couldn't even finish it. It tasted HORRIBLE to me! So syruppy and thick and gross! Ugh.

So basically...Whole30 has totally changed my taste buds. Which is sad in a way but actually really good. I prefer the taste of clean "real" food now and not processed sugary stuff. So basically I intend to stick with it. I won't be as strict as I was during those 30 days. For instance, when I have hot tea - I WILL be using sweetener in it (I never got used to plain tea) but probably less than I used to. And I won't say I will never eat dessert, but just that it will be a special occasion instead of a way to deal with a bad day. That is the plan. I think this was exactly what I needed to really help jump start me to eating better and changing the way I think about food. I am really pleased with the results.

I do intend to try after a few days to introduce some things - like whole wheat bread - all by itself and see how that affects my body. Possibly some other things as well. Just so I have a better idea of what I can eat and still feel well. But overall I like the results of this way of eating. So...simple it is for me! Now I just have to find a way to pay for it.....ha! 

Whole30 Half Way

So....

I don't even know why. I mean obviously because I eat horribly and am overweight and I need to do it, but I don't even know why I started it. I have been hearing about it and reading about it and then I was home alone for a week when my parents went to see my grandparents and I was on facebook and saw that this author I follow had just started it. And I just...decided to start it too. I made a list of things to go buy and I went shopping the next morning and did a bunch of food prep and...there you have it. On Whole30.

If you don't know it is a 30 day diet that is kind of like a cleanse. It is no sugar, no dairy, no wheat, no alcohol, no anything basically. Ha! You just eat fruits and veggies and meat (organic if possible) and cleanse your body of all that is processed and bad. Then you are supposed to slowly introduce those things back into your diet so you can watch what affect they have on you and determine what you might have negative reactions to so that you can eliminate them from your normal eating. Also it is just a jump start for losing weight and more healthy eating. You can read a better explanation HERE.

So yesterday was day 15 for me so I am now 1/2 done. This month was a crazy time for me to do this because it was Easter and my birthday (I have passed both of those now!) and the end of the year (still to come) at work which always means parties and lunches galore. I just felt motivated to do it and I knew if I didn't do it then I never would! To be honest it hasn't been that bad. I mean there have been some hard times. When I smell stuff that I really like, that is the worst. But overall I haven't had any intense cravings or crazy bad desires for anything. I am shocked. I have a crazy sweet tooth and sugar is 100% gone from this but...I haven't missed it. In fact it sounds awful to me now. So maybe that is a good thing.

One good but kind of bad thing is that I can really see my bad eating habits. I am not a cooker. I need to be to do this right. I should be eating eggs and veggies and meat. I eat a lot of raw veggies and Lara bars (the only thing you can buy ready made to eat) and jerky. So the laziness and non-cooking is still there. As is the binge eating. When I open a bag of jerky or nuts...I pretty much eat the whole thing. Which is also my issue with a bag of candy. So big picture...why better a bag of almonds than a bag of m&ms BUT still not ideal. So I need to work on that. But at least I know that now and I am making positive steps right?

15 more days to go. I am not sure what will happen then. I haven't exactly decided what diet I will follow when my 30 days ends. I might keep doing this longer. I know I will want to lose more weight b/c I haven't lost much yet. Who knows....it is all in the air still. But 1/2 there and haven't quit yet...pretty excited by that!