25 lbs. between the two of us . . .

and other results from doing Whole30.

This is a follow-up to my previous post “15 days in”.  We made it the 30 days.  I was going to post a follow-up immediately upon completing the 30 days, but it was apparent that there was going to be a lot more to share regarding the reintroduction of foods to our reset bodies.  For details, go to http://whole30.com/.

Before I get too far, I want to preface with some thoughts on dieting.  For 10 years I was a certified group exercise leader & personal trainer.  I had to take countless hours of continuing education that related to my work, nutrition being one of the many subjects.   Many of my students/clients wanted to know the best diet to be on to effectively lose weight.  My reply was always none.  I always promoted a lifestyle of eating healthy, whole foods & moderating indulgences.  My belief was & still is that each individual is different & has different needs for their body. There truly isn’t one eating plan, magic elixir, pill, powder or exercise that works for everybody although there is marketing all over social media that would have you believe otherwise.  Although the term wasn’t used widely back in the late 80’s & 90’s, we now know that yo-yo dieting & dieting to lose weight for a short term goal (beach vacation, holiday party, wedding, etc.) is not necessarily conducive to long term health.  That being said, I have recently been in search for something to change in my eating because as I have gotten older my hormones are seriously affecting my body composition & all the usual tactics have not been working to my advantage.  I was attracted to the Whole30 program because you don’t starve yourself, you eat healthy, whole foods.  There was much I could consume before that my body no longer tolerates & this was a way to identify what those foods might be.

It’s a methodical process we must follow to reintroduce foods.  Well we kind of blew that!  The first day off, we were at a sit down dinner.  David had the prime rib, I the salmon, both plates being served up with rice pilaf (grains), freshly grated Parmesan on our salads (cheese) and Cheesecake for dessert (cheese & sugar) and wine (alcohol, sugar).  The only thing we didn’t eat was the dinner roll.  Good grief ~ so much for adding things back in methodically!  Hahahahaha!  The bad news is I got a massive headache & I haven’t a clue what of the many things I ate may have caused it.  Boo!  There is a reason for rules.  Good news is that we were back on track the next day & are trying to follow a more methodical process of reintroduction!

The tangible results after 30 days:

I lost 10 lbs.

David lost 15.

We both shrunk out of some clothes & we are maintaining.  David even needed extra holes punched into his leather belt to keep his pants up ~ good problem to have.

As I stated in my previous post, we both felt good before the program, but now we feel even better.  I can truly say that some of those cravings are completely gone.  I was all about getting back the cheese, but oddly I’m not pouncing on it like I thought I would.

If I'm going to indulge, I'm going to indulge in the foods that truly satisfy me.  I am so much better if my attitude is “I can have it if I want, but I choose not to”.  If I tell myself, “I can’t have that” then all I can think of is the very thing I can’t have until I get it.  Interesting how the psyche works.  This is how David feels about his diet cola.  He is glad that he no longer has his four a day habit, but he likes that he can have it if he wants.  If it becomes addictive then hmmm . . . we’ll see.

This program gives you tools for navigating dining out, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it when doing the 30 days. I did go out once with a friend for lunch.  We ate at a bistro that has a healthy menu, but I knew wouldn’t be compliant with the program.  I asked for a few accommodations which they gladly honored, but if done on a regular basis can undermine the 30 day goals.  For the few times we have gone out since that first sit-down dinner, we have done well in our choosing.  Fast food is not a problem because we just don’t go there.

Preparation is one key to success.  For us to have a satisfying & compliant lunch at work or while out running errands, we had to make sure we had food to take on the go.  That meant making extra the night before so we could have left overs the next day.  Once in the groove of making this happen, it wasn’t so hard.  A lot of people prepare all their meals for the week on one day & it makes for success.  I have yet to try it, but see the appeal for saving time during the week.

I certainly plan to stay away from gluten as I know it's effects are negative & obvious.  I also plan to wait to reintroduce gluten free pastas & breads as I suspect my body doesn’t necessarily like those processed grains either.  David ate a lot of gluten free foods just by virtue of being my husband, but he didn't avoid breads before.  Now that he realizes how much bloating was caused by bread products, he plans to keep his consumption of them to a minimum. 

Being that we love how we feel & like the results, we are committed to eating this way for the long term.  Our primary deviation is that we would like to have one day out of the week where we can moderately indulge in some of the things we like that may not contribute to us feeling at our optimum.  I guess some would call that a “cheat day” but I feel the term is too negative.  We don’t want to go off the deep end, but we do want to enjoy certain things without beating ourselves.  I’ll let you know if & how this works for us.

It will be interesting to see what changes stick through the holidays & into the new year.  If I'm feeling so inclined, I wouldn't hesitate to do the program for another 30 days.  I'm sort of a geek about the joy that comes from being disciplined ~ it probably appeals to my perfectionist nature.

If you have done the Whole30, I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts & conclusions.  I am most especially interested in what changes you made for the long term & if you feel it is all worth the time & effort.

Hugs & smiles!