JJ’s Whole 30 – final week & results

If you missed the first 3 posts re: my Whole 30 go back and read them here, here, and here – I’m sorry it took so long for me to get this post up.  I HAVE decided to make my #Whole30 a #Whole45 (and I’m on Day 37 so that’s really only another week.  Wow.)

First (PICTURE HEAVY!) – What I ate in Week 4 (and beyond): Shrimp & Spinach salad with viniagrette (Applebee’s), Mediterranean Salad with oil & vinegar, Sashimi plate with no rice and salad, my “random skillet” (chicken apple sausage, baby bella mushrooms, zucchini & sweet potato with Rancher Steak Rub), Ahi Tuna Sesame Salad with oil & vinegar (Outback Steakhouse), eggs over medium with avocado and berries, grilled chicken tenders and sweet potato fries, buffalo chicken stuffed zucchini, egg veggie scramble with tomato, avocado and mushroom, homemade Lara bars (Cashews, Dates & cinnamon with unsweetened coconut), eggs again with avocado, grassfed beef burger, delicious steak (sirloin) seared in cast iron skillet and broiled in oven with roasted asparagus; company pot roast with carrots and potatoes, paleo meatballs, sweet potato fries and…more eggs.

Anything I have a recipe for is pinned on my Whole 30 Pinterest Board.

Without further delay – here are my number results:

WEIGHT – Lost 14 pounds as of day 30 (15.5 as of day 37)

INCHES – 4.75 inches off waist, 4.25 off hips.  That’s all I measured.  I know I’ve lost inches elsewhere in my neck and upper arms and chest because 1) I can see it and 2) my shirts fit better (as does everything else…)

Here is a list – in no particular order – of other things that I LOVE about how I feel and what I got out of the Whole 30:

I sleep well.  I get in bed and go to sleep, get up with the alarm… rested.  Yes, I’m still tired – I’m a full time lawyer/business owner who runs 30 miles a week and has two kids with activities and dogs and I cook every night.  Yes, I’m tired.  But it’s a regular satisfied “I got the most out of my day” tired – not a “I need a chocolate chip cookie and a double espresso at 3pm to make it through this day” kind of tired.

I run faster!!! I have taken about a minute to a minute and a half off my per mile pace.  This may mean nothing to you if you are not a runner.  If you are a runner, you know that is HUGE in a 30 day period.  Part of it is the weight loss.  A lot of it is that I FEEL great and have energy and my body is working properly.

My skin is clearer and my hair is shiny.

I don’t feel achy like I did every morning, no creaky bones anymore.  Only the standard runner pains if I overdo it but mostly even those pains are minor – I feel great after my workouts – hardly ever super sore anymore.

My kids are eating well.  And my husband, too.  No they aren’t 100% whole like I have been, but since we have SO MUCH whole food (and almost only whole food) in the house that’s what they eat.  They haven’t complained.  They LOVED most the recipes.  My husband does not like butternut squash soup.  That was his only say in this whole thing.

I have before and after photos.  I preach confidence and being brave but even though I’m confident and brave, I’m just NOT where I feel I can post those photos yet on the public internet for all to see as my belly is bared.  IF you would like to see them, I’m happy to share them via email or FB message – so feel free to send me a message and I’ll send them along.

I also ran the Hot Chocolate (ATL) 15k race on DAY 29 of my Whole 30.  Which means I had no chocolate (other than the chocolate bar shaped medal) after the race.  That was determination, y’all!

Now – for the MOST IMPORTANT THING right now – it’s 17 days until we go to Disney again!  I do not plan to be doing strict Whole 30 in Disney – but since I HAVE been eating so clean, I KNOW it will be punishment if I go completely rogue – I will post food and fun photos on Instagram and I’ll update with photos from the races (with costumes) while I’m there if you want to follow my Instagram posts.

 

I’m open to any questions but being on the back end – here are my suggestions if you want to do this.

1. PLEASE read the book It Starts With Food.  I cannot emphasize enough how much the book really makes the difference in understanding WHY you are doing this and WHY it works and helping you remain committed.  And also to help you reintroduce the eliminated foods after your whole 30.
2. Make a plan for the first 2 weeks and go shop for the first one before your first day.  You’ll have a better grip on it then and if you can make it through the first week-10 days you’ll be good to go!
3. It’s only 30 days.  It’s not hard.  The hardest part is getting your brain wrapped around committing to it and the first week or 10 days.  After that it’s cake, I mean, it’s…. Larabars.
4. Take pictures of your food.  Post them on instagram.  Follow other Whole 30 and Paleo folks on Instagram.  Build a pinterest board (or copy mine!) and get inspired.  My food was/is delicious.  So much so that I have decided to keep on going for now.  I don’t want to eat crap again.
5. Just do it. You’ll be glad you did.