The results are in...

I wanted to do a separate post about the weight loss that happened from Whole30, because it's really not the focus of the plan. Whole30 is about making your body healthier, not skinnier. The two do go hand in hand sometimes though, and I definitely lost weight. I have always stored the majority of my fat in my stomach, and some in my boobs. So the more weight I gain, the more I look pregnant :). Having CF and especially after having a kid, I will always have a little tummy. But it was getting a little out of control before I started Whole30!

I only really weigh myself at the doctor, but I know I weighed around 131-132 lbs before starting Whole30. This is also what I weighed the day before I gave birth to Maddie. SO- needless to say I didn't mind losing a few lbs so I could fit back into some non-stretchy pants.

In these pictures, I tried to replicate them as closely as I could. I am sucking it it in in all three pics- yes, even the first, lol. Remember, that's where I carry my weight! I wanted it to be as accurate as possible, so no lighting or angle tricks.

Weight Day 1: 131-132
Weight Day 31: 118

Breaking news alert: eating healthy food makes you lose weight, haha. Also, this was without exercise, just diet changes. My plan now is to add in more calories, but also start exercising more. I'm hoping to maintain what I have now, I'm very happy with this and don't want to lose or gain.

See ya stinky!

I just finished my last meal on day 30!!! WOOHOO! I am very excited- both that I am done and that I finished all 30 days. Not even a single grain of sugary goodness has entered my lips since February 1st. This last week has been fairly easy, compared to the first three. My cravings are not strong at all.

So I've really been thinking about what I want to take away from Whole30. There's no point in putting myself through that if I don't learn anything from it! First, I won't be continuing paleo eating for the time being. I'm so impressed by those who do pale all the time! I haven't weighed yet, but I think I've probably lost 10+ lbs, and my doctors won't like that! Also, I miss enjoying my food. Because of my terrible taste buds, there were only a few meals that I really truly enjoyed during my Whole30, and that was hard. So, I will be going back to a normal diet starting tomorrow (yay!).

BUT- I do feel like I've learned a lot and have some positive changes to take away.

1. Veggies every night with dinner.
(white potatoes and corn don't count, lol!)

I have gone YEARS (literally- this is not an exaggeration) of my life without eating a 
single fruit or vegetable. This is one change that I fully intend to integrate into my life.  

2. Fruit most days of the week.

            

3. Drink water or milk 90% of the time at home.

This will be one of my biggest changes. No more 2-3 cans of Dr. Pepper at home every

day. I will maybe have one from time to time, and when I eat out sometimes, 

but not every day. I have gone a month with no caffeine and I don't want to become 

dependent on it again for energy and stamina. No more chocolate milk every 

morning either! Waaaay too much sugar- will reserve for a treat every once in a while!

4. Switch to "natural" ketchup and limit use.

That's as much as a compromise as I can give with ketchup. Ketchup and I, we are

tight. And I really don't like any ketchup substitutes that I've tried. So I will eat

the kind made with sugar instead of HFCS, and I will be mindful of how much I use.

5. Snack smart.

If I need a snack, I'm going to grab an apple, some nuts, some popcorn. NOT 

a brownie (or 2), rice krispy treat (or 3), or a big bag of jelly beans or candy. I'm not saying

I'll never eat those things- of course I will! But it will be a treat, instead of eating

them all day every day. Moderation of sweets- what a concept!

6. Pay attention and eat real food.

I just need to pay attention to what I'm eating. Look at labels and ingredients. Find out where my meat and veggies are from and how they were raised. These things were moderately important to me before starting Whole30, but I'm pretty committed to it now.

Despite my title of this blog, I am actually REALLY glad I did Whole30. Thanks to Sarah for the inspiration! And to all of you who encouraged me and offered tips along the way. And to my parents who bankrolled the not cheap grass fed meat bill. There have been a LOT of positive changes. I haven't had a single stomach issue since the first week- bloating, cramps, gas, pain, etc. And I have a chronic illness that causes stomach issues! I have more energy, even when I've been pretty sick the last couple of weeks. I'm sleeping great. I'm sure there are more that I can't even think of right now.

I highly recommend this to anyone that wants to try it. I really think reading the book helped a lot as to WHY I was giving up all of these things. For me, I don't think permanent changes would be possible until I completely changed my habits, and that took almost the entire 30 days. It was not necessarily a fun 30 days, but you know what? I've done harder things. Although it may not have felt like it at the end of week 2 :). 

I think that's it! I will be back tomorrow to post before and after pictures and weight loss, for those that are interested in the weight loss aspect of Whole30. I probably won't post the link to this on Facebook, so check back if you're interested!

So close I can taste it!

Believe it or not ( I can't!), I am now on day 28 of my Whole30....wow! I knew when I started it that I would finish it because I'm stubborn like that, but there were a couple of times (I'm talking to you, week 2) that I really wanted to quit.

Last week was a challenge, I was in good old NYC for 2 nights. It's pretty much masochistic to go on a trip like this while trying to do Whole30, but I had an offer to stay in free apartment, and I can't say no to that! So I packed up little baggies of steak and chicken and bacon, threw a bunch of apples in a bag and headed off to the big city. Staying in an apartment was nice so I could heat up my meat and cut up my fruit and cook my bacon. I really don't know if I could have done it in a hotel.

I also found a restaurant called Bareburger that I ate at for dinner my first night there. They serve all grass fed meats and are very transparent about their cooking oils, etc. I ordered a hamburger with a fried egg and bacon, no bun, and sweet potato fries. It was all pretty good. I wasn't sure if I'd like the fries, but they were actually pretty tasty with salt. I also found a little grocery/prepared food store with some tables, and went there a couple of times and just bought water and fruit and was able to sit inside (in the heat!) and eat my meat, lol.

It definitely wasn't the best trip food wise, but luckily since I live so close now, I knew I'd be back soon so I just tried to ignore all of the amazing looking (and smelling) places I passed. I couldn't help from noticing that you are basically never more than 30 ft away from a Snickers in the theater district. Using the lottery system, discounts and TKTS, I also got to see 3 shows for the price of one- all three close orchestra seats, it was awesome!

I've pretty much just been making a big dinner every other night, eating leftovers for one night plus lunches, and bacon and apples for breakfast. I'll post the recipes I used for the last couple of nights. From here on out (2 MORE NIGHTS!!), I'm not cooking anything special, so this will be my last food post, but I do want to write a little bit about the experience and what I'm taking away from it. So look for that tomorrow or Tues :).

Ok- Friday night I did a roast chicken- this recipe is based on Thomas Keller's but is modified for Whole30. It was very tasty- nothing like some crispy chicken skin. I roasted sweet potatoes, white potatoes, carrots and turnips with the chicken and those were all good except I almost threw up one bite of the turnips. Old habits die hard. It was a high effort, big mess meal, so maybe best for a weekend.

Tonight, I cut up a steak and just grilled some meat kabobs using this marinade. It was SO GOOD. A marinade I'd definitely come back to. Like really yummy. My meat wasn't even that good, but it didn't matter because the marinade was so delicious. I also did kale chips, after Maddie requested those over brussels sprouts :).