The Whole30 update - The End and The Beginnning

It is finished.  And yet is isn't finished.  Because I can't quit doing this.  Before I go there, here are my thoughts from my experience.

Here is what I have noticed:

• Sleep - I sleep really well.  I'm tired when I'm suppose to be tired and so I sleep when I'm suppose to.  No more artificial carb induced energy bursts at 11pm.
• Headaches - I've had almost none but I'm still drinking coffee.  I mean I had one headache in 30 days.  I'm not prone to headaches but as I've gotten older I get them more often especially during that time of the month but on this it has been weird how fine I have felt.
• Energy - this one was weird.  I expected to have more.  I was a person that could go from 8am to 11pm but on this I hit a wall every night about 7 pm and my eyes glazed over and I was useless if you wanted me to think.  I could function but I knew my body was telling me to wind down.
• Listening to my body - this was the craziest thing because I have ignored body signals for YEARS.  I ate when I was hungry I stopped when I was satisfied and I never had that stuffed feeling yet I was never hungry.  I mean who wants to eat a lot of roast and broccoli?  I could eat 7 pieces of pizza but I just couldn't chew any more meat or broccoli at one sitting so I didn't over eat.
• Taste bud change - oh my goodness gracious this is the biggest thing.  It does change your tastes.   I didn't realize for years how much I ate food with sauces, with ketchup, with something extra.  I ate fruit with sugar or honey or dip.  I never just tasted my food by itself.  And food is good all by itself.  Fruit is so sweet all by itself.  I still used homemade BBQ and ketchup but it was not sweet at all.  I drank my coffee with cream.  I pretty much can't stand flavored coffee creamer anymore and that has happened just in the last week.

I did not stick with the Whole30 100%.  My husband pretty much did.  I did for the first two weeks with the exception of the coffee creamer.  I would say the first two weeks were the most difficult - more mentally coming to grips with this lifestyle change.  The third week wasn't bad and the fourth week was cake (not literally cake but easy).

I had two meals out with my friend when we went to the homeschool convention and I didn't make good choices.  I also had a day where I just "had to have" the leftover tortilla chips that I kept begging the kids to eat so I wouldn't.  I ate them with guac.  I'm not proud of it.  I did a few other thing little things but I would say the last two weeks I ate 90/10 Whole30.  I caved into popcorn a couple of nights too but it was cooked in coconut oil.

Through all of that I managed to lose 7 lbs.   I know it doesn't sound like a lot but for me it was a break through since I'd been STUCK at my weight for too long.

I am not good at selfies and I always forget to take pictures and such of before but here is an after - taken Friday.  Progress.  You won't be seeing me in a sports bra sorry folks.

People that know me know that I could never give up bread, cheese, butter, sweets - I just can't do that, can I?

Yet I can.  Once I read the way that foods break down in our bodies and what that does to help or hurt us I saw food differently.  I also saw in myself the emotional neediness I had placed on food.  I needed it to get through this or that.  I needed it when I was stressed.  It was super unhealthy and I had to break that cycle.  I think that will be an ongoing work but I will break that cycle.

Where do we go from here?

Well I cannot go back to before this.  My husband and I are probably doing paleo with a heavy lean on Whole30 so we probably won't be making a lot of baked things with almond and coconut flour.  I will still enjoy my life but try do it in a more healthier way.  I will still drink my coffee black.  I will still make the majority of my meals at home using grass fed beef and veggies and fruit.  I may use honey from time to time but sparingly.

I have found some amazing recipes from this. 

Oven roasted cauliflower rice - then use that to make fried "rice".

Apple Sweet potato bake - unbelievable good!

And I went to Qudoba and I got a naked burrito with no rice or beans, lol!  I got chicken, guac, hot salsa and lettuce and it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO good!

Another thing we have found that we love - sweet potatoes and ghee.  Just a simple baked sweet potato topped with ghee is so yummy.  I also have sauteed them and made fries out of them.  They are so good no matter what you do with them.

I would HIGHLY recommend you try this program.  I would get the book first and read it so you can see the why behind it.  You need to understand why you are doing it so that in your weak moments you will have more of a purpose.  Hopefully I will be trying more dishes out and sharing what works with you.

Have you done something  likes this?  What did you think?