Mission Accomplished!
It's the post you've all been waiting for. A little wrap up of the last month's project--the Whole30.
If you aren't familiar with the Whole 30 here is a little overview...
30 Days of Clean Eating
-no dairy
-no sugar of any kind (honey, agave etc)
-no grains (this includes corn)
-no white potato
-no legumes (beans, lentils etc)
You're probably thinking...what in the world CAN you eat?
limited fruits
vegetables
lean meat
healthy fat
All day every day for 30 days.
At the beginning of the challenge I felt awesome. I felt very empowered and confident that I could and would finish. I blogged about it early on purpose because I didn't want to chicken out. The first week was rough physically. Your body adjusts to the lack of junk you are putting into it so I didn't feel fabulous. However this cleared up around Day 5 or 6.
On day 10 I thought I might give up. I was SO grumpy and just wanted something comforting. Thankfully a friend of mine gave me the super simple banana pancake recipe and that helped me immensely the rest of the time. I am not a huge breakfast eater so it was really hard to force myself to eat breakfast in the morning. Having pancakes helped me get my protein & vegetable at the same time and I didn't feel as yucky eating in the morning.
The hardest part about the challenge was cooking for every single meal. Sure I could snack on fruits or vegetables but you are supposed to eat meat, veggies and a healthy fat at each meal. So that was a lot of dish washing and a lot of "what am I going to do for lunch because I forgot to defrost meat again". If I were giving advice to something who wanted to try this it would be to have some meals planned ahead of time!!
Around Day 28 I almost quit again. I know that sounds crazy but I had a little bit of a stomach ache for a couple of days and then only thing I wanted was bread. Nothing sounded good, especially meat and vegetables! But I powered through and made it!!
Will I continue? I don't know. I can't say that I saw a huge difference in how I felt on a daily basis. I did take less naps than I had been taking. My skin cleared up a tiny bit but I tend to have fairly clear skin. I still got migraines and still had minor tummy issues throughout. I did not notice a difference in my milk supply since I am still nursing.
Saturday was the first day I could reintroduce food. I had a little bit of cheese on my salad at lunch and some ice cream for dinner. Today I felt like I was going to die. Seriously. So I'll have to keep giving dairy a try and see if it is worth it! I am also excited to try some paleo recipes out since you are permitted to use natural sweeteners like honey. I can say that my sugar cravings are almost non-existent. I used to want something sweet all the time. Now I am ok with it.
I am SUPER pleased with my weight loss. I lost an average of 2 pounds per week--8 pounds total. My clothes are looser and I was finally able to break past a plateau where I was stuck for a couple of months. I still have 20 pounds to lose so I am debating if I want to continue a paleo-type diet or try something else.
I liked this challenge because there weren't any options. I wasn't tempted to have a 3 cookies because I knew I couldn't even have 1. I used coconut cream quite a bit as a dairy substitute so coffee was a treat. I also snacked on nuts and Lara bars when I was in a rush and didn't have time to make something. I ate approximately 11 billion eggs.
The biggest thing I learned from this challenge is that I am WAY stronger than I thought. I am WAY more disciplined than I thought. And I am WAY underconfident in who I am.
This seemed virtually impossible to me at the beginning. Not only did I finish but I finished well. I followed the plan and stayed true the whole thirty days. I went to parties and MOPS and places that had lots of yummy food. I did not give in!
I am WAY more disciplined. And I can apply that discipline to other areas of my life. I've kind of felt like I've been spinning my wheels lately. Lots of rotating but covering no new ground. That is exhausting and a waste of time. I feel motivated to make more changes in my life and have the confidence that I can be disciplined enough to follow through.
I don't know if I really totally like who I am. I think this has more to do with physical appearance than who I am on the inside. God has really been showing me that I have to believe TRUTH when it comes to that. That I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Not sure that was the goal of the Whole30 but I learned it anyway!
So there you have it! A LONG update on one crazy month. I'm still in the reintroduction phase so I'll be updating once more after I finish. If you have any questions or want to give the Whole30 a try I'd love to help you out!!
Many thanks to my sweet husband who gave up sugar as well this month and endured many repeat meals!! And to my friends who were so supportive and encouraging!!
If you aren't familiar with the Whole 30 here is a little overview...
30 Days of Clean Eating
-no dairy
-no sugar of any kind (honey, agave etc)
-no grains (this includes corn)
-no white potato
-no legumes (beans, lentils etc)
You're probably thinking...what in the world CAN you eat?
limited fruits
vegetables
lean meat
healthy fat
All day every day for 30 days.
At the beginning of the challenge I felt awesome. I felt very empowered and confident that I could and would finish. I blogged about it early on purpose because I didn't want to chicken out. The first week was rough physically. Your body adjusts to the lack of junk you are putting into it so I didn't feel fabulous. However this cleared up around Day 5 or 6.
On day 10 I thought I might give up. I was SO grumpy and just wanted something comforting. Thankfully a friend of mine gave me the super simple banana pancake recipe and that helped me immensely the rest of the time. I am not a huge breakfast eater so it was really hard to force myself to eat breakfast in the morning. Having pancakes helped me get my protein & vegetable at the same time and I didn't feel as yucky eating in the morning.
The hardest part about the challenge was cooking for every single meal. Sure I could snack on fruits or vegetables but you are supposed to eat meat, veggies and a healthy fat at each meal. So that was a lot of dish washing and a lot of "what am I going to do for lunch because I forgot to defrost meat again". If I were giving advice to something who wanted to try this it would be to have some meals planned ahead of time!!
Around Day 28 I almost quit again. I know that sounds crazy but I had a little bit of a stomach ache for a couple of days and then only thing I wanted was bread. Nothing sounded good, especially meat and vegetables! But I powered through and made it!!
Will I continue? I don't know. I can't say that I saw a huge difference in how I felt on a daily basis. I did take less naps than I had been taking. My skin cleared up a tiny bit but I tend to have fairly clear skin. I still got migraines and still had minor tummy issues throughout. I did not notice a difference in my milk supply since I am still nursing.
Saturday was the first day I could reintroduce food. I had a little bit of cheese on my salad at lunch and some ice cream for dinner. Today I felt like I was going to die. Seriously. So I'll have to keep giving dairy a try and see if it is worth it! I am also excited to try some paleo recipes out since you are permitted to use natural sweeteners like honey. I can say that my sugar cravings are almost non-existent. I used to want something sweet all the time. Now I am ok with it.
I am SUPER pleased with my weight loss. I lost an average of 2 pounds per week--8 pounds total. My clothes are looser and I was finally able to break past a plateau where I was stuck for a couple of months. I still have 20 pounds to lose so I am debating if I want to continue a paleo-type diet or try something else.
I liked this challenge because there weren't any options. I wasn't tempted to have a 3 cookies because I knew I couldn't even have 1. I used coconut cream quite a bit as a dairy substitute so coffee was a treat. I also snacked on nuts and Lara bars when I was in a rush and didn't have time to make something. I ate approximately 11 billion eggs.
The biggest thing I learned from this challenge is that I am WAY stronger than I thought. I am WAY more disciplined than I thought. And I am WAY underconfident in who I am.
This seemed virtually impossible to me at the beginning. Not only did I finish but I finished well. I followed the plan and stayed true the whole thirty days. I went to parties and MOPS and places that had lots of yummy food. I did not give in!
I am WAY more disciplined. And I can apply that discipline to other areas of my life. I've kind of felt like I've been spinning my wheels lately. Lots of rotating but covering no new ground. That is exhausting and a waste of time. I feel motivated to make more changes in my life and have the confidence that I can be disciplined enough to follow through.
I don't know if I really totally like who I am. I think this has more to do with physical appearance than who I am on the inside. God has really been showing me that I have to believe TRUTH when it comes to that. That I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Not sure that was the goal of the Whole30 but I learned it anyway!
So there you have it! A LONG update on one crazy month. I'm still in the reintroduction phase so I'll be updating once more after I finish. If you have any questions or want to give the Whole30 a try I'd love to help you out!!
Many thanks to my sweet husband who gave up sugar as well this month and endured many repeat meals!! And to my friends who were so supportive and encouraging!!
A few days post Reed
Pre Whole 30
I don't have a post-Whole30 picture yet but I'll get one soon!! I'm down 40 pounds with 20 more to go!!
I'm super impressed! Can you come discipline my dissertation???
ReplyDeleteWith all sincerity, you are one of the most consistent people I know--you put your real self out with honesty and authenticity. What could be more beautiful and true? You seem to keep your "self" in a world where people rarely are so open, and often condemned for it. I know who you are and I LOVE who you are!