My Whole30

Over the past few months, I had my fifth child and turned 30.  

My metabolism is very different than what it used to be.  I used to be able to eat a super chicken burrito the size of my face frequently and still maintain the same weight because of how active I was.  Now, it's a different story. 

After having Reese, I noticed a big change in my body.  The first time I went to the gym after having her, I planned all these exercises I wanted to do but I couldn't physically do them.  It was strange to me because growing up as an athlete, and doing Crossfit in my adult life, I am used to intense physical regimes, yet I could barely do 10 sit-ups at an incline.  

One night about two months ago, I was scrolling through Instagram and someone that I follow had posted something about it.  I was intrigued because I had looked into it years ago, but never did anything about it.  

On the Whole30 program, you cut out certain food groups for 30 days. You eat meats, fruits, lots of vegetables, eggs, and healthy fats like nuts, seeds, and oils.  You can find out more information about it here, (it doesn't cost anything, all of the information is free).

For about a month before I started, I did research on it.  I looked up Youtube videos for testimonials, searched through Instagram hashtags, read blogs, and pinned a bunch of things on Pinterest.  Every person that I read about that completed a Whole30 experienced results that changed their life for the better.   They slept better.  They had clearer skin.  They shed pounds and lots of inches from their body.  They had lots of energy. They had better mental clarity.  They stopped craving junk food.  

I wanted all of that.  I knew it was exactly what I needed.  The more I researched, the more excited I was to do it.

I started to develop very bad habits while I was pregnant with Reese because I was using the excuse that I was pregnant and I could eat whatever I wanted.  After having Reese, these bad habits continued.  Mindless snacking, eating late at night, and downing an entire container of Trader Joe's Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut Laceys Cookies by myself in less than two days.  

I couldn't wait to get started.  I recruited Danny to do it with me, and he was excited about it as well.  And another bonus, my friend Emily decided to do it as well!  

Danny and I started August 4th. 

There is a timeline on the Whole30 website that pretty accurately describes the phases that your body goes through and is experiencing throughout the journey.  There were definitely difficult times for me when all I wanted was my mom's homemade white bread and butterscotch cookies.  There were also times when I was at out of town for the day and had to find restaurants that served Whole30 compliant food.  That part was a bit challenging, but I was still able to successfully do it.  

Now that I've finished my Whole30, I have found that I want to continue eating like this.  I made my kids chocolate chip cookies after their first day of school yesterday, and that is what I ate today to "break" my Whole30.  And you know what?  It made my stomach a little upset and it wasn't even all that!  Here I had missed these foods while doing my Whole30 and kept telling myself that I could have them when it was over, but now that it's over, I don't even have the desire to put that junk back into my body.  

Some of our Whole30 meals

I have had so much energy.  I don't spend the afternoons dragging because I'm tired.  I get things done. 

I fit back into my pre-pregnancy clothes.  That was huge for me.  Before doing the Whole30, I would try on a pair of pants and not be able to pull it up my leg and it would just make me want to cry!  

I lost a total of 17 pounds, and 8 inches off my body.

Danny lost 10 pounds, and 4.5 inches off his body.

Here is my before/after picture.  The left is 8 weeks postpartum.  

I seriously recommend the Whole30 program to everyone.  My life has changed for the better now too.  I am planning on doing another round soon!