Whole30 Success (with pictures!)

Oh yea. Ohhhhh yea. *Happy Dance* I actually finished this thing! I won't say I was perfect in every way but the mere fact that I didn't look at the calendar on day 24 and say 'close enough' is a huge win for me. If someone were to ask me to list 5 important things you needed to know about me, one of them would absolutely be that I lack follow through. Which is terrible, right?! I should identify that about myself and fix it. Well, I haven't been able to do that just yet. But this 30 day challenge was a step in the right direction. I credit D with saying on multiple occasions that he was proud of me for sticking with this as JUST the right amount of guilt encouragement to keep me going. And today he hugged me for a long time and said "You are getting TINY" and I was pretty much floating on air for hours after that.

Before I started the challenge, I made a list of some things that after reading It Starts with Food, (read it, read it, READ IT! Even if you don't do the challenge) I thought the Whole30 may be able to cure me of. Here it is:

I can say with gusto that I feel I made definite progress on all of those except the popping joints. I still snap crackle and pop like it's my job. Overall, I'm REALLY pleased with my results. Slaying my sugar dragons was my favorite win. Also, I had some guacamole on day 25 and didn't have a reaction at all. Before this cleanse, I used to get some pretty wicked hives and swelling but since the reactions weren't consistent, I assumed it was an intolerance and not an allergy. I'll obviously still have to be cautious when I eat those foods but that's okay. I slept great and getting up in the morning gets easier every day. I have markedly more energy and my afternoon sugar headaches are no more. I still don't love being outside... there may not be a cure for that.

As far as the weight loss, I'm pleased to report that I lost 8.5 pounds. And please not, I didn't go anywhere near the gym for the entire month (not as proud of that). This weight loss was purely dietary and took absolutely no effort. I'm NOT pleased to share these pictures with you, but hey. Being a good bloggy means swallowing your pride and sharing photos of yourself in yoga shorts and a sports bra and freaking out about the fact that some girls actually wear this same outfit to the GYM! Well, internet trumps gym. These pictures are now forever. I've come to terms with my dreams of being president are probably now dashed. And I PRAY you can tell the difference but Day 1 is on the left and Day 30 is on the right.

Collar bone and thighs and you can definitely tell I'm not as bloated in the gut.

You can really see it in my chin in this one!

Shoulder blades and thighs. 

I mean the pictures aren't life altering... which made me seriously question posting them at all. But I really feel like they don't do the weight loss justice. Or maybe I'm just FEELING so good that I think I'm skinnier than I really am. Not sure but I finally decided I'd post them. I mean, it still is noticeable results in 30 days without breaking a sweat, once. If it convinces just ONE person to give it a try, it'll be worth the humiliation of posting these. I'm HOPING to take a Day 60 picture of myself when I get back to the gym AND eat healthy but I will not promise to post those!

Now, sitting at the finish line, I can say with confidence DO THIS DIET CHALLENGE THING. I feel SO great and I have every intention of keeping this diet up 90%. I plan to add honey/agave/cocoa back in and maybe the occasional tortilla chip or bean burrito. Salsa from a spoon is not the same.

More on reintroduction: The intention is for this diet not to become whole365. You're supposed to take the things you eliminated and reintroduce them back in to your diet one by one. I'm starting with grain. I'll eat some grains for the next few days, see how it effects my body and decide if it's something I'm okay with eating regularly. Some people handle grain JUST FINE and there's no need to miss out on healthy grains if your body is perfectly tolerant of it. But once I decide, I eliminate it again. Then I'm going to add dairy (for science's sake, although I haven't really missed it much, except in the form of ice cream). I'm pretty sure after my episode on day 15 with some cream sauce on my chicken that I am NOT okay with dairy in my diet but I'll do the experiment just to be sure. Then I eliminate it again and add legumes. Then I eliminate legumes and add sugar. Maybe. Or maybe not. Added sugar was a toughy for me and I'm not sure I could add it back for only a few days. I'm pretty sure I'd sugar relapse. So I may just keep it out forevahhhh.

Words of advise: Choose your first 10 days carefully. You will be angry and tired and sick. One of my blogger girls tried to run a half marathon on day 5. She did not make it, to say the least. But after those first two weeks, it's pretty much cake (but not actual cake, because that would break like... every whole30 rule). I attribute my Whole30 success on choosing my first two weeks while D was out of town a lot. It helped that I could wallow in self-pity and nausea and anger without him.

The book says not to weigh because it doesn't want you to be discouraged if the scale doesn't reward you for not eating that brownie from the break room. But I LOVE to weigh. LOVE IT. It sounds dramatic but the idea of weighing gets me up the morning. Plus, the odds of you following the Whole30 rules and NOT losing weight are slim. It's ENCOURAGING, not discouraging.

I flubbed. I made a few mistakes on accident and a few on purpose those first two weeks. The books says to start over if this happens and if you have that kind of will-power, fab. But I did not. And I still am overjoyed with my results. So don't sweat the teensy things... but no. That does not mean you can nab a tootsie roll a day and think you're doing whole30.

Also, people will ask a lot of questions when they see you ordering food super specialized. Your coworkers will think you're a hippy treehugger nutcase (or at least mine did). The grocery checkout kid will be super annoyed at having to weigh all your produce. Don't be ashamed. And don't downplay what you're doing! Be proud of the fact that you're doing something to be healthy. You KNOW you check in at the gym on Facebook! Be just as proud of this.

Okay. Done preaching. I'm psyched about how easy and awesome this was so I just want to shout it from the roof tops! And the Paleo freaks recruited one more brainwashed nut. I never want to go back!