Whole 30 Follow Up

A while back, I started up Whole 30. I meant to post a more weekly update of what was going on, but let’s be serious – I didn’t have much to say and it would have been super boring. But, now that it’s been several weeks I thought I’d provide an update.

Yes, I kept with it to the bitter end of those 30 days. Then I ate a plate of pasta, felt like garbage, and went right back onto Whole 30 again. So I’m currently on round 2. 

So, how’s it going?? You might ask. (Let’s pretend you’re really that interested.)

I would reply:

1. I’ve lost 10 lbs since I started. The main reason I am posting this update is because I finally got back on the scale to check my progress. My clothes were getting looser, but I couldn’t really tell I was losing anything at all. It was kind of discouraging that I seemed exactly the same, and I was wondering why am I putting myself through this craziness for nothing. Well, turns out it wasn’t for nothing, something did happen – 10 lbs over about 6 weeks. Sadly, just in the history of this blog I’ve lost and gained that same amount before. My weight yo-yo’s. The real challenge will be keeping it off. 
2. My energy levels are through the roof. I go to the gym weekday mornings, but I was pretty lazy about it, and sometimes I’d only walk on the treadmill for a few minutes before hitting the shower. Now, I warm up on the treadmill or bike, and do a full weightlifting session. It feels good, and I feel good. I also used to immediately want to nap when I returned home from work. Not anymore! I’ll alert and awake basically until the moment I put my head on my pillow, and then I’m out like a light.
3. I notice how different foods effect me. The pasta was one example. Another, I caved in and ate some delicious canoli’s at work, and for the next three days I had crazy sugar cravings. They disappeared after I refused to give into them. Now I crave fruit and vegetables. They make me feel good. 
4. I can eat a bucket load of food. It seems like I can basically eat any quantity of the allowed foods, feel completely satisfied, and not gain weight. If I want to eat 6 bananas I do it. If I want to eat two steaks, I do it. But, on the flip side of that, I don’t feel as hungry as I used to either. Smaller portions seem to satisfy me, except for those days where I’m so hungry and I just feel like I have to eat all day (although that doesn’t happen often…seems to be triggered if I break my diet.)

Those are the main benefits. Now, the downsides:

1. I can’t drink alcohol. I never realized how much alcohol I drank until I stopped drinking it. It was hard the first month, but now it doesn’t bother me as much. But it’s still bizarre to me. In another life, when I’d go out drinking with friends, it would shock me if there was someone in the group that didn’t drink. Like, why!? Why would someone not drink?! But, now that’s me. I’m the one getting weird looks for not drinking. 
2. I’m still a terrible cook, and haven’t utilized the cookbooks I got specifically to remedy this. I experienced food fatigue from constantly eating the same things… and now I’m still eating the same things, but it doesn’t seem so bad anymore. But I don’t find the cooking part fun. I want to work on this, plan my meals out in advance and get a better handle of this.
3. I miss convenience foods. I miss being able to walk to the pantry and pull out pop tarts to cram into my mouth. I miss easy access to bread and cereal. Such things were staples in my life. 

The plan moving forward is to basically stick with the Whole 30 plan, finding ways to cook more, and diversify my meals a bit. I’m going to jump into this with renewed vigor as I have a new goal to set. I’m going to Florida twice in the next two months, and I want to be sure I look good in a bikini. Is it super shallow? You betcha. Don’t care – I’m doing it. But, I have to work harder because while I think 10 lbs over 6 weeks isn’t terrible I basically only have 3 weeks until one visit, and another 3 weeks before the next one… so need to make progress sooner, rather than later. 

I think the best part of people posting diet plans are before and afters. But because I don’t seem to have any recent photos of myself, I only have this before, taken in true horse person fashion, on a horse. 

Taken around July 2nd I think. I normally wouldn’t post this because I usually only post flattering pictures of myself, but it seems to make sense here.

So, in a few weeks, I’ll wear the same outfit, get on the same horse, and get another picture. We will see if I made any progress (although I really hope it’s very obvious since that picture was taken at the begining of Whole 30, and I’ve already lost 10lbs!).