The Before, The After and Surviving Whole 30

Wholy Crap! I did it. I completed Whole 30. I did not cheat. I did not succumb to temptation. I killed it. It was the longest 30 days of my life.

Ok maybe that is a slight exaggeration but I can tell you that 30 days is a lot longer than you think. I can also say that you can totally change your relationship with food in 30 days, no question. I did.

So I have taken pictures and measurements to show my progress from Day 1 to Day 30 and I will share those (AHHHH) at the end of this post.(And then I will shut myself in the closet because the idea of sharing pictures of me in a sports bra and spandex is terrifying...) But I have also learned a ton of things about me, food and my relationship with it. From big revelations to simple preferences, I learned a lot.
Such as....

1. I do not like ground chicken. Ground beef, ground turkey, ground pork all good. Ground chicken, no thanks.

2. I can in fact go through extremely stressful situations and not turn to food to make me feel better. During Whole 30, we basically sold our home with an extremely short settlement date and had/did not find a home we wanted to buy in that time. I literally feared we would be homeless at the end of 45 days. I wanted wine. I needed WINE. I also wanted chocolate and comfort foods to make me feel better. Instead I drank water and ate nuts. Yup. And I was fine. I actually slept better as a result. Go figure. (oh and we won't be homeless either ;)

3. Previous to Whole 30 I was an adamant HATER of lemons and limes. Basically all citrus fruit. Don't you dare put a lemon on the side of my ice water. No, I do not want lime on my mixed alcoholic beverage. I do not want a lemon vinaigrette or lime cilantro marinade. No thank you. No way. No how. And then all I could drink was water. Water is boring. Its refreshing. Its great for you. But it gets old. One day I was strangely compelled to cut lemon slices and put them in my water. I still don't know why. And then I drank it. And I liked it. What was happening to me? Who knows but now I drink water with lemon in it by choice. This has truly shocked people who know me well. Its such a small thing but a true indicator that my taste buds actually changed in 30 days.

I like this? Really? 

4. Sugar is in EVERYTHING. I know I have stated this in previous blog posts but I am still amazed by it. I challenge you to look at all the things in your pantry and refrigerator that you think DON'T have sugar in them. They probably do. And it may not just say "sugar" but if it says sugar, syrup, dextrose, sucrose, arbitrol,etc etc....its sugar. Check out this link to all the names of sugar in food...http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Sugar.pdf 

5. I started eating only because I was hungry. Not because I was bored or there was food available. Its less tempting to shove your face with food when the food is salad or nuts. Maybe thats just me but thats how I felt.

6. I made it through an entire Halloween and Halloween party without eating a single solitary piece of candy. And I didn't even buy the crappy candy no one wants. I bought Twix, Kit Kats and Snickers. (I will not be the house with the crappy candy). I did wait until the day of Halloween to buy it but I still didn't eat any or any of the candy my daughter brought home after trick or treating. It was easy. I just didn't eat it. Crazy, right? Yeah but it was that simple.

7. I really have a true love for Starbucks coffee drinks. I thought about them every day. It was the only thing that I could not kick the craving for. I will drink them again but have realized that I need to limit them and find ones that are low in sugar. I will start treating them as a TREAT not a daily requirement for living.

8. When I really REALLY wanted to cheat I just told myself I could do it. I could eat something else. I could make the right choice. I just believed that I was strong enough. And I was. It was amazing. I am truly proud of my perseverance  and dedication.

One of my favorite quotes with a whole new meaning. 

9. I am stronger than I think I am. Both mentally and physically. As a personal aside... I dropped TWO BANDS in assisted pull ups during Whole 30. I can now do red band pull ups!! This is a big deal for me :) Could be a combo of increased strength and weight lost but either way I am one step closer to unassisted pull ups which is a MAJOR goal of mine. And I also ran 4.8 miles at one time during Whole 30 as well. I have never ran farther than 3.1 miles and never wanted to. I was in a competition and one of the wods was a 4.8 mile run. I came in dead last. Didn't care! I ran the whole damn thing! I am still proud of that. 

10. Fueling yourself properly before and after workouts is really important. It was challenging on Whole 30 because there are no protein shakes. But it wasn't impossible. I became very aware of how the proteins and fats I needed to consume before working out and how dead I felt if I didn't. 

11. I can actually beat my own genetics with clean eating. I am a 35 year old female with hypothyroidism and challenging genetics. I am fighting nature, science and age. It is insanely easy for me to gain weight. And extremely hard for me to lose it. I use this concept as a crutch. Well in 30 days my body completely changed so it is totally possible to beat all of the above factors! 

Ok here they are...The pictures (of me in a sports bra and spandex shorts Ahhhhhhh) and the measurements. Please know that it has taken all of the courage in my being to put these pictures out there. I am still a work in progress but I felt I needed to share so you could see what can be accomplished in 30 days. Please be kind.

Measurements (# of inches lost)
Waist: 4 inches
Lower abdomen: 3 inches
Thigh: 2 inches
Bicep: 1.5 inches
Ribcage: 1.5 inches
TOTAL: 12 inches!! I lost a FOOT :)
Weight- If you are wondering how much weight I lost...I have no idea. I don't weigh myself on principle because it makes me crazy focussing on a number. My best guess based on my measurements and the way none of my clothes fit is that I lost 10 to 15 lbs.  

And there you have it. Me and my measurements. For everyone to see...this may have been a bad idea but its too late now. I decided to share this very personal information because I really think its important for people, especially women, to see what can be done in 30 days with diet and exercise. I ate real food. I cooked it all myself. I worked out 3-4 days a week. I drank a lot of water. Thats it. Thats all I did. I didn't do a crazy cabbage soup diet or take Hydroxy cut. I just ate SUPER healthy and exercised. I am just a 35 year old mom who made the decision to commit to this for 30 days. I think anyone can do this if they really want to.

So now what....

Well I have decided to keep eating like this as much as possible. I will be incorporating some non Whole 30 things back into my diet but I won't be going hog wild. I don't plan to belly up at an all-you-can-eat pasta buffet or stick my head under a Sweet Frog yogurt dispenser. I do plan to enjoy a nice meal out this weekend and have a drink or two at happy hour. But most days I will keep eating this clean because it works and honestly I feel really good. And at the end of the day thats what this was really about.