I did not do Whole 30 to lose weight, although knew that might be a plus in the end. The "holidays" this year lasted a full 3 months for me. From early November - end of January my weeks were filled to the brim with holiday eating and drinking events. I was cooking and exercising way less and indulged in the office cookies/brownies/sweets more than a few times a day. I had an "everyone is doing it" mentality about the holidays and by the time the end of January rolled around I was feeling it. I felt sluggish and tired, some of my clothes weren't fitting, my skin was broken out, and I was just unhappy and fed up. I decided to do Whole 30 for the month of February (+2 days in January) for the sole purpose of getting back to a healthier lifestyle.
That all being said, I managed to lose 11 lbs and ~8.5 inches in 30 days. The craziest part about this was that after the first few days, I NEVER felt hungry. When I think of losing weight, I usually think about the intense hunger and empty stomach feeling that comes with eating a calorie restricted diet. On Whole 30 I felt full and satisfied all the time. If I ever did want food outside of my meals, it had nothing to do with hunger and more to do with environmental factors (other people are eating, I usually snack when I watch TV, it's a special occasion, etc.)
Other feelings I felt for the most part during Whole 30: energetic, awake, content, healthy. The first few days were rough. I had such intense headaches that started around 5 pm and lasted through the night, from sugar withdrawal, I think. On Whole 30 you are not supposed to take any medicine (unless absolutely necessary) so I held out until the third day when I popped 2 Advil before sleeping. After three days, my headaches totally subsided. I only felt tired for about 2-3 days during the Whole 30 and that was usually attributed to other things (like traveling, stress). Almost every single day I woke up before my alarm went off. I also had more energy during my workouts and felt really good while exercising.
The other significant change during Whole 30 was the quality of my skin. I have terrrrrrible skin and break out with new pimples on a daily basis. During Whole 30 my skin completely cleared up. I did get a new pimple here and there but maybe 2-3 times during the month.
While I didn't really miss any specific food on the regular, there were a few tough times that I considered throwing in the towel. The most challenging time for me was during a work trip to Atlanta. On the way back, I had to spend about 4 hours at the airport and it was SO hard. Everyone around me was eating chick-fil-a and french fries. I didn't want any food the airport could offer to me and I just felt annoyed at the world. It's crazy how strongly I associate travel with "indulging" in food.
Whole 30 also forced me to get back in the kitchen. It really did help me rediscover my love for cooking. Here are some of the meals I had during Whole 30:
This time I'm actually trying to follow the Whole 30 suggested reintroduction plan. They suggest bringing back 1 food group at a time and seeing how you feel over 2-3 days. My plan is:
2 days - gluten free grains (quinoa, rice, oats)
2 days - dairy
2 days - legumes, peanuts, soy
2 days - grains with gluten (bread, pasta)
After the reintroduction I'm off to Portland, ME for the weekend and plan to ease up the reigns a little. My hope is that moving forward I will stick to Whole 30 with some minor modifications/additions, at least when I'm cooking for myself. I really have never felt better or more satiated than when I'm following Whole 30 (or a mostly Whole 30) diet, so I'm hoping that's enough motivation to keep moving in this healthier direction!
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