Whole30 Week 4: I DID IT!

Whole30 Week4

I DID IT!!!!!!

 

I can honestly say I have gone 30 whole days eating REAL FOOD!!!

I will not go into the list of foods you “can’t” have. If you are interested in it the list is here.

 

This past month has taught me a lot about nutrition and my own body.

One thing I learned is it’s all about perspective.

 

A lot of people opt out of trying this program after a few weeks or even days because of their mental state.

Mind over matter folks.

If you sit there having a pity party for one about the pizza you can’t have or drooling over the box of doughnuts someone brought to the office to be “nice” then you completely missed the point of this adventure.

 

Think about all the foods you CAN have. Be creative (within reason- no compliant breads or pancakes). I took that approach and found that I didn’t feel deprived at all during the last 30 days.

 

Instead, I focused on the quality of the foods that were entering my body. Fresh produce from the farmer’s market or from local farmer’s via my favorite online grocery store Relay Foods.

 

I ate burgers with sweet potato, BACON and eggs, I made my first homemade mayonnaise.

And in case you cared here is what I plan to eat next week:

Breakfasts: Sweet Potato Hash with 2 eggs and spinach

Fruit Salad with soft scrambled eggs and chives

Homemade Almond milk with Paleo Cinnamon Crunch ( homemade) & berries

 

Lunches:

Pea Shoot Salad with lemon vinaigrette and grilled chicken breast

BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potato ( homemade BBQ sauce)

 

Dinners:

Kale Egg Drop Soup with Coconut Amminos Chicken Stirfry

Spaghetti Squash with marinara sauce and meatballs

Badass Burrito Bowls from Performance Paleo Cookbook

Sage Pork Chops with cauliflower mash and green beans

Grilled Chicken Fajitas

Jalapeno Turkey Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

 

Post-Workout:

Cranberry Sriracha Beef jerky with almonds and a few berries

HBE ( Hard Boiled Egg) with ½ an apple and almond butter

 

I think I might have finally made friends with food after all these years of trial and error.

 

I feel balanced with my food/energy for the first time!

 

I have more confidence than before! My clothes are looser, I got to go shopping and I am officially down 1 dress/pant size! My skin is clearer, I have bundles of energy. Even at bed time now, I am still pretty awake, but surprisingly I fall asleep fast and stay asleep.

 

Things I have learned about my body:

 

Having no dairy or gluten has had major significance on bloating. I no longer get bloated at all. I will probably try some cheese/ bread the next couple of days as a scientific experiment to see what happens but I really don’t miss it.

 

I learned that I don’t HAVE to have a snack in between meals! I am a HUGE snacker and was one of the incentives to start this program was to stop this habit. I took a hard look at my diet and realized that my afternoon snacking had to stop and was probably having more of an effect on my progress than I thought. My 3 meals a day is PLENTY now that I have made friends with fats. The healthy fats added to my meals keep me SO full that I sometimes have come short eating all 3 meals in a day!

 

I literally felt like a little kid who JUST couldn’t finish the other half of the sandwich. I just couldn’t finish my chicken breast!

 

I learned that going Paleo isn’t as crazy as it sounds. AND IT IS NOT A FAD DIET!!!! A DIET THAT TELLS YOU TO EAT REAL FOOD ISN’T A DIET AT ALL ;IT’S HOW EVERYONE SHOULD TRY TO EAT!!!!

 

I am totally sold on this way of eating and will continue to eat Paleo from here on out! I will have the occasional piece of cheese or wheat bread but overall I am sticking to it because for the first time I love how I feel and I am so proud of myself for completing this challenge on my own!

 

I plan to do this every few months, so if you want to join me on my next round let me know! I plan on starting my next Whole30 on July 5th!

 

Results Summary:

Non-Scale Victories:

-              Lost 1 dress/ pant size

-              Performed better at Crossfit

-              Got LOTS of compliments from friends and family regarding my changing looks J

-              Confidence

-              I am actually looking forward to wearing a bathing suit this summer!

-              Clearer Skin

-              TONS OF ENERGY

-              Sound Sleep

-              Over all feeling great!

Measured Victories:

I lost 6lbs!!!

I lost 7 inches off my body! (Note: I haven't measured my inches since before Crossfit ( like 5 months ago))

During the Whole30 I continued my 3-4 days a week of Crossfit where we do a variety of heavy lifting and high impact training and I was training for our upcoming 10k in a week! EEEEK!!!

 

Have any of you done the Whole30? If so, what was your experience? If not, why not try it?