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!