I finished up my Whole30 journey this week and I have so much to tell you! If you’re unsure about the process or what motivated me, make sure to read my It Starts With Food book review and goals for this program post.
Goals and Results
I wanted to drop ten pounds over the course of my thirty days, see a change in my skin, get a handle on my sugar addiction, and see a change in my psoriasis/eczema. At the end of my round of Whole30, I have lost 6.4 pounds, have noticed shocking changes in my skin, and kicked my sugar (and Diet Mt. Dew!) addiction. Unfortunately, I did not have any change in my psoriasis/eczema so my next plan of attack is some essential oils (I’ll share more about that soon). I also took measurements (on day four and again on day 30) and I lost a total of 4 inches. My stomach and butt (what I would call my two “problem areas”) lost 1 1/4 inches and 1 1/2 inches respectively. I only worked out about 5-7 times during the thirty days so I think I would have seen more significant change if I had been exercising more. But it just didn’t happen.
Beside numbers, I noticed a huge difference in my energy levels near the end. I would say the last ten days I felt full of energy and clear headed. But getting to that point was rough. The first week was lots of headaches and trips to the bathroom. I was withdrawing from caffeine and by body was clearing stuff out at record speed, if you get my drift.
I have never had problems sleeping, I can pretty much sleep anyway at anytime and I sleep like the dead. But I have always had inconsistent sleep patterns, staying up late some nights and other nights going to be really early. With Whole30, I ran out of energy around 9:00 every night. I went to bed early most nights, but woke up easily between 5:00 and 5:30. I have NEVER been a morning person and have always struggled to get out of bed no matter how much sleep I got, but during this month, I was waking up clear headed and ready for the day bright and early. There were even a couple 4:45 mornings. I think for the first time in forever, my body was sleeping in its natural rhythm and I was finally getting enough sleep on a consistent basis.
One major lesson I learned was how frequently I just throw something in my mouth without thinking about it. Making my lunch, getting a snack for the girls, walking through the kitchen, having candy with my students, or while prepping dinner, all these moments where I might throw a few Goldfish crackers in my mouth or have a couple Tootsie Rolls were really adding up. Having to actually think through why I wanted to eat something, what I truly wanted, and what I was feeling that made me want to eat were all tough things to work through. I was shocked at how often I ate because I was bored or avoiding something. Stopping to think about my actions were a needed change.
Concerns
Eating like this is expensive. I spent a lot of money on grass-fed, organic meats. I ate tons of veggies and constantly had to make trips to the store for more. Yes, I cut out a lot of other things (pop, candy, breads, etc.) but those are relatively inexpensive things to buy. And since my family was still eating them, I was buying all our normal stuff in addition to the extras for me. So this Whole30 round was a little painful on the wallet, I’m not going to lie.
While I loved the refreshed feeling I had each morning, I really need to be able to stay up later in the evenings. My kids go to bed around 7:30 and after they’re in bed is when I get the majority of my writing done. I answer emails, schedule posts, do social media, read books, and a million other things after my kids are asleep. Giving up that precious time because my body was tired, I couldn’t keep my eyes open, and I had no artificial stuff to keep me awake was hard. My first night off of Whole30, I had some dark chocolate I had been saving for a celebration and eating it made me stay up until 1:00 AM with no struggle. I got so much reading and writing done! But I don’t want to start relying on pop and chocolate to do that but I’ve got to figure out a way to stay up later. (And it’s crossed my mind to just use the extra morning time, but when I get up earlier, I go to school and get work done because there is so much of that to do also. So maybe the answer is QUIT WORKING. Eh, just kidding. That’s not an option.)
Tomorrow I’ll share what I missed and didn’t miss, it’s probably going to surprise you what I truly missed during this journey. Come back tomorrow for the conclusion!
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