I completed the Whole30 Challenge!!
So here is my summary about how I did...
Well I wasn’t as strict as I could have been (I allowed some things I considered to be minor such as bacon (made with nitrates) and cream of mushroom soup (in my pot roast), a ketchup and marinara sauce with very low sugar, etc). I feel that I did great, overall. I didn’t eat any dairy products, grains, legumes, or alcohol. The sugar that I ate was a very small amount, and not in any "sweet".
I typically ate only 2 or 3 times each day, and I felt very satisfied after each meal. Not full, yet not hungry. Perfect. I also noticed that after about two weeks I no longer felt the need to snack. I never craved bread or pasta. The only thing I did want on occasion was sweets, cheese, and alcohol (due to social situations). The sugar craving was minor, and I satisfied it easily by eating some blueberries or grapefruit. I only wanted cheese when I ate out- a Chipotle bol, steak, veggies and salad at Texas Roadhouse and Longhorn, and also when I ate spaghetti squash with meatballs and marinara. It wasn't really a craving, just kind of a feeling like I should be having cheese along with what I was eating.
Gastrointestinal:
I don’t really experience any gastrointestinal issues ever, except the occasional gas and bloating. I do get heartburn and some acid reflux, but very rarely. During the past 30 days I have had NO issues at all. No bloating, gas, heartburn, reflux, or any type of stomach pain. Bowel movements were very normal and regular, and "not messy" if you know what I mean. LOL
Skin:
At the beginning of the challenge, my acne on my face got worse, but it started to clear up around week 3 and is now much better. I didn’t have any eczema spots when I started the challenge. I did have this weird dry spot on my pinky finger for a few months back in the fall, but it went away when I first started eating paleo and primal back in November. It came back a little bit this past month, but basically it is cleared up and that patch of skin is almost now smooth and clear. About a week ago I did get a weird red eczema spot on my forearm, not sure where that came from. Also have some dry skin on my hands and on my right forearm/elbow. I’m curious if this is eczema or just dry skin. The weather here in January has been up and down, so it can’t be all due to cold weather.
Weight:
I lost 10lbs the first two weeks of the challenge, but then lost only an additional 2lbs the last two weeks. I’m disappointed with such little weight loss the last two weeks, but then again, 10lbs is a lot of weight to lose in such a short amount of time, so I’m sure my body is just adjusting to it. (A lot is water weight, too) As for circumference measurements, I lost 1 inch around my waist, hips, and thigh. I think I gained half an inch around my bicep and calf. I honestly thought I lost more around my waist and hips, because my pants are definitely looser! My mom has told me that she can tell that I’ve lost inches and notices how my clothes look bigger on me. I am not one to notice body changes on other people, nor myself, but I actually do notice a difference, so that has me really motivated and excited. For just 30 days, this has been a great start to my weight loss efforts!
Mental:
I think the first week I was a bit foggy, and that was probably due to detoxing myself off the sugars and carbs that I ate over Christmas and New Years. After that, I think my mental clarity was just fine. I didn’t really notice anything out of ordinary. One big improvement I noticed was how much willpower and discipline I developed over these 30 days. I was able to plan and prepare meals and stick to eating those meals and feel satisfied from them. I was able to pass up other bad foods and not be hung up about how I couldn’t have them (except for that cake…I wanted a piece of it every day that it sat on the table!) I am very proud of myself, and happy to have found that discipline. I’m really hoping that I can continue being so disciplined and only eating foods that are good for me. I just need to remember the success that I’ve had these 30 days, and that should be enough!
Energy:
It is true that eating wheat and sugar makes your energy levels go way up and down due to insulin spikes. I didn’t notice any fluctuations in energy. I either had energy, or I was lacking a bit in energy. I have a fluctuating sleep schedule, so my energy level is somewhat determined by the amount of sleep that I got the previous night- which can be either too much, too little, or just the right amount. This is one thing that I would like to improve and “fix”. I need to try to sleep the same amount of hours every night, so that my body can get used to a certain amount and learn to function optimally on this amount (which I believe is around 8-9 hours). Another thing to note was that I didn’t drink any coffee. I used to drink about 2 cups of coffee around 3 times a week, adding 1 packet of Truvia and some sugar-free coffee creamer to it. I can’t drink it black, so decided to not drink it at all. I’m not sure coffee really affects my energy level, if it does; it’s only for a few hours.
Exercise:
I sprained my ankle on the 2nd day of this challenge on my first marathon training run, so for two weeks I did no exercise. The last two weeks I did cardio in the form of running, for a total of 7 ½ hours. So really, I didn’t do much exercise at all during this challenge. Yet I still lost weight!! It goes to prove the fact that your diet is 80% of body composition and weight loss efforts. Now that my ankle is healed and I’m getting deeper into my marathon training schedule, I am hoping that I will continue to lose weight and inches. I just need to be careful and take things slow when I’m out training, so that I am burning fat and not glucose (keeping my heart rate lower, as well as eating carb sources such as sweet potatoes, dehydrated fruits and nuts when out on long runs, and not eating sugars like Clif Shots, Gatorade or GU gels). I also am aiming to get back to doing Crossfit workouts at least twice a week. W
Allergies:
I stopped taking Zyrtec at some point late December I think, only because I ran out and didn’t get more. I didn’t have any “allergy attacks”, but I did have a runny nose and sneezing a few times. I think my allergies are due more to my surroundings and the weather, rather than my diet. Still unsure, though.
Other:
I never experienced any headaches or joint pain. My mood seemed to be fairly stable. There were a few times the last two weeks where I felt a bit irritable and frustrated that I couldn’t drink alcohol or eat a slice of cake. I never had the feeling that I was just doing this for a month, though. I knew from the beginning that eating this clean was something I want to do for the rest of my life, and although I will “celebrate” with junk food, I will go right back to eating this clean. Overall, I did feel better. I never felt nauseous or "crappy" or sluggish.
Notes on my “cheats” from last night:
About two hours after eating my Chipotle meal, Coke and gluten free chocolate chip cookies, I had to go “#2”. Otherwise, nothing noticeable that night. The next day (today), I did notice some bloating and gassiness during the morning and afternoon. Nothing terrible, just slightly annoying.
The Day After:
So today I had two hardboiled eggs and a spoonful of almond butter for breakfast at 6:30am (I was running late). I did feel hungry around 11am, which hasn’t happened that early at all the past 30 days. Probably because what I ate wasn’t enough, or maybe because my insulin was still messed up from last night’s Coke and cookies, etc? On my way home from work early afternoon, I think I noticed some slight stomach pains…very minor, though. When I got home at 1:30 I had lunch- pot roast with brussel sprouts, and another gluten-free chocolate chip cookie. Felt fine during the afternoon while nannying my cousins. Then when my aunt and uncle got home, we ordered Mio’s Pizza! We got thin crust pizza, and I ate 4 slices, along with one beer- a Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA. This beer is pretty strong tasting to me, so I pretty much sipped on it, and could barely finish it. The beer didn’t do anything for me, but the pizza was yummy! The beer made me want a Coke. LOL After dinner, on my way home I stopped and picked up a can of Coke, along with a bag of Smartfood popcorn, and a 3 pack of Ho Hos (which used to be my go-to sweet whenever I wanted to be really “bad”!). Well I couldn’t even finish the popcorn. It just didn’t seem worth it to me. The taste wasn’t all that great, and I didn’t feel like I needed to be eating it. The Coke was good, though. I really enjoy drinking a cold can of Coke after a long workout (probably due to having a low blood sugar level at the end of a 2+ hour workout). Yeah I know I didn’t just work out, but still, it was satisfying. So the Ho Ho’s I ate just a few minutes ago. I was feeling full and plenty satisfied, yet I ate the Ho Hos anyway, because I bought them to eat tonight. So I did, and they were delicious, yet I felt very guilty eating them.
Another point I want to make is that I do feel guilty after eating this “junk” today and last night. I feel that my body now deserves the best fuel, and to be giving it junk I am not treating it with respect. I have felt so great both physically and mentally, and I want to continue to do so.
I am eager to get back to eating Whole30 again tomorrow. I have seen big improvements all around, so I definitely want to continue this and keep busting out more weight loss numbers and other awesome things that go along with eating so clean.
Summary:
To sum things up, this Whole30 Challenge has been a great experience. I highly recommend it to EVERYONE!!! (mom has been trying to eliminate wheat, and is doing pretty well!) Besides losing a perfect amount of weight for only one month, I gained so much mental clarity about how I can deal with foods and temptations. I really did enjoy what I ate, and the only times that I really struggled was when I was presented with social situations that would tempt me with alcohol and other bad foods.
I learned that I do not need sweets such as cookies or chocolate. Fruit can satisfy that craving. I also learned that I can and will now not snack when some type of food is lying around, like chips lying out, or a piece of “whatever” that someone else is eating. I don’t need to take a spoonful, or have a few pieces of that food. I will only eat when I’ve prepared a set meal and I’m hungry... which is another great thing with eating paleo/primal. Eating meats, fats, and vegetables really does fill you up and satisfy you for hours.
I didn’t do this challenge just to see if I could do it. I didn’t do it to be “good” for 30 days then go crazy and eat junk food for a few days just to erase my efforts and try it all over again. Hell no! I did this because I want to eat clean forever. I am not convinced that the Paleo/Primal lifestyle WORKS and is the way I want to eat and live. “Eat to live, not live to eat.” I am an athlete and hope I always will be. I want my body to run efficiently and smoothly, and my metabolism to burn clean fuel all day long. I want to eat healthy, natural foods in efforts of avoiding the illnesses and diseases that so many Americans develop because of their unhealthy diets of processed foods full of chemicals and toxins. I want to be 80 yrs old and still be able to run around and “play”! I also did this challenge so that I can figure out which foods my body cannot tolerate, or will react negatively to. I will figure this out by re-introducing these foods back into my diet, one at a time and see what happens regarding my weight loss efforts, among the other things. Mainly these foods are cheese and the occasional rice and legumes.
One thing that I didn’t do was get any blood work done. I know a lot of people who start eating wheat-free and adopt a paleo or primal eating lifestyle, will compare their blood work numbers and find out that their results have improved tremendously in regards to cholesterol levels, etc. Yes, meat and fat is GOOD for you!!!! It’s the carbs (wheat) that is bad!!! Here is another good article I was passed to the other day:
http://www.fastcodesign.com/1668916/pasta-not-bacon-makes-you-fat-but-how
As for allowing “cheats”, I’ve decided that I am going to aim to eat 90% clean and only 10% cheats. Basically, eat clean all the time, and only eat something “bad” if the situation presents itself and I feel that I really want it. This could mean that I eat really clean for a whole week, then on a Sunday my family gets pizza- so I allow myself to eat two slices of pizza, and that’s it. Or maybe that is some ice cream instead, or a slice of cake. As for alcohol, I am going to start drinking red wine. If I go out, I may also have a drink called Seabreeze, which is a well drink of vodka, cranberry juice and grapefruit juice. I don’t want to drink beer because of the wheat content. But again, we will see how this goes. I am going to continue to test out things and see how they affect me.
My goal is to lose 10lbs a month, so I will most definitely be continuing this process, and I will also keep blogging for those interested in following my progress and seeing what I have to say about the paleo and primal lifestyle.
If you are interested in doing this challenge yourself, here is the link:
http://whole9life.com/2012/01/whole-30-v2012/
