And just like that – my first Whole30 Challenge is d-o-n-e-z-o.

I’ve got to say – I’m really proud of myself. I’m not very good at challenges, and as much as I may have made it seem like it was a walk in the park – Whole30 was not easy. So here’s a recap of my entire Whole30 experience. First up – the results!

my Whole30 results

I mentioned in all of my recap posts so far that the number one most noticeable (and favorite) result of doing Whole30 was the energy and mental clarity it gave me. Although I still drank coffee, I felt energized more steadily throughout the day without those bouts of mental/emotional fog I would normally get.

Another result is that I learned more about my hunger cues and what sort of eating schedule works best for me. Before Whole30 I was a huge snacker. I’d graze throughout the day, or have smaller meals with snacks thrown in there. While I know that works for a lot of people, I’ve found that I’m much more of a three square meals type of person. It makes me feel fuller longer and taught me how to eat when I’m actually hungry rather than out of habit/boredom.

Last but certainly not least, I lost 9 pounds on Whole30. It looks like more because I’m a shortie (I clearly even tried the more flattering downward angle on the before pic, eek), but I still can’t believe how quickly the weight came off. I noticed the biggest difference over the last 10 days, which was nice to see all of my hard work pay off in more visible way.

I know I’m supposed to be all “I accept my body and feel beautiful no matter what blah blah” - and I do - but I’m also dang happy to see those love handles gone. Losing weight DID make me feel more confident and more comfortable in my own skin. I might even shoot for another 5 pounds. Sorry. Not. Sorry.

(I should note that my initial weight gain coincided with going on a new birth control pill earlier in the year for hormonal issues, which I since went off of. So that could have contributed to the weight loss as well. I still think Whole30 played the largest role, though!)

Whole30 highs

* all of those results above, of course
* getting back into cooking and experimenting with new recipes – I forgot how much I love it!
* being able to still eat out with my friends and stay on Whole30
* the confidence that came from knowing I’m able to stick to a challenge like this
* having friends and an online community to share motivation with
* feeling like I “reset” my body – physically and mentally

Whole30 lows

* missing Stevia in my coffee (but that only lasted about a week)
* missing grains and cheese (lasted the whole time)
* days that I wasn’t prepared with meals
* days where I had zero motivation and just wanted to eat “normal” again
* not being able to have Halloween candy (because I’m 5)
* got really sick of eating meat – it started to gross me out a bit

 

biggest tips

* read It Starts With Food
* don’t wing it. Decide a few days before you’re going to start the challenge to give yourself to prepare practically AND mentally
* prepare, prepare, prepare! Fully stock your kitchen and have recipe ideas ready to go
* have a support system. Ideally someone else doing the Whole30 too, but even just someone who will hold you accountable
* read through the entire Whole30 website and get involved in the community (forums, Instagram, etc.)
* keep it simple. Have a few favorite go-to meals
* track your progress somewhere

what now?

I’ll be honest – I’m in a place right now where I’m a bit nervous about what’s ahead. I desperately don’t want to reverse the amazing results I’ve gotten since doing Whole30, but I know I can’t continue eating this way 100% either.

As much as I wish I was one of those people who could stick to a Paleo lifestyle, I just don’t love that way of eating enough to do it 100%. I will definitely stick to Paleo PRINCIPLES, but I don’t want to feel like a failure if I have a piece of toast. Not to mention I’m out to eat all the time, and the social aspect of enjoying/sharing food with people is really important to me.

So for the sake of avoiding a pendulum swing, I’m going to focus on slowly integrating more foods back into my life. My “base” diet will still consist of vegetables, fruits, meats & healthy fats, but I’m going to add back in:

- dairy (in the form of hard cheese, not so much yogurt/creams)
- gluten free grains

I’m also going to continue to have 3 square meals and less snacking.

I’m still going to avoid sugar and gluten to an extent, and avoid artificial sweeteners at all costs. If nixing artificial sweeteners for good was the single result I got out of Whole30, I’d consider that a huge success.

I fell off the wagon with posting the last week or so of my Whole30 meals on Tumblr, but I’m thinking about keeping up with tracking my meals here and there on Tumblr to hold me accountable. Feel free to follow along if you’d like! alagracie.tumblr.com

previous recaps
week one update
week two update
week three update

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So there you have it! Let me know if you guys have any more questions/thoughts about Whole30, but for now, back to regularly scheduled living

Helloooo from day 23 of Whole30! I can’t believe I’m so close to the end of the 30 day challenge. Here’s a recap of the past week.

{the food}

* You’ll notice I don’t have as many photos of my food as I usually do, which is something I definitely want to change for my last week. Even though I didn’t slip up, taking the photos of what I eat really helps me stay accountable and more on track (especially with avoiding mindless snacking).

* I planned my meals better this past week, which was an improvement from week two. I especially loved the buffalo chicken I made (using the Whole30 homemade mayo).

* I still ate out a few times and stuck to it 100%. On Wednesday I ate at a Mediterranean restaurant and had shrimp/chicken/steak skewers, and on Saturday I had shrimp fajitas topped with guacamole at my favorite Mexican restaurants.

{how I’ve been feeling}

I feel amazing! As I mentioned before, the mental/emotional clarity has been my favorite and most noticeable change throughout this challenge.

I must admit, though, this past week I felt more cravings than before. I’m a bit surprised by that because I thought I got those carb/sugar cravings out of my system, so I think it might be mostly mental.

This past week I also started noticing physical changes for the first time. I still haven’t weighed myself, but I notice a bit of fluff subsiding in my stomach area, as well as my clothes continuing to fit a bit looser.

{other thoughts/observations}

I haven’t mentioned this before (because I didn’t really make an “official” decision), but I haven’t been exercising much since starting Whole30. There were a few days where I almost went to the gym, but my body just wasn’t feeling it. I still walk a ton every day (and live on a 5th floor walk up, HELLO), but that’s been the majority of my activity. I’m going to continue with that throughout the rest of the challenge because I think it has really helped me to focus entirely on my eating. I’ll start incorporating more exercise again in the coming weeks.

more:
daily meals posted on my tumblr
week one update
week two update

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Do you have any questions about Whole30/my experience? Let me know – I’m happy to share!