in 2017 i . . . did whole30 (and went an entire month without fast food)
Click if you want to se more items on my 2017 list.
Anyone who knows me know that I. Love. Sugar. I looooove treats and I'm also a big fan of things like bread and pasta. This is why I've always said that I think diets are stupid -- you just need to eat good food (whether that's healthy-good or unhealthy-good) in moderation! Another part of diets that I don't like is that it's usually a short-term thing that may give you results while you do it, but then you just go back to your old habits and gain the weight back, so it's not sustainable.
So why did we do Whole30 -- an extremely strict "diet" -- then?
So when some bloggers I follow started doing Whole30, I thought it was stupid. I got sick of seeing pics of all their Whole30 approved meals on InstaStory and pretty much I just couldn't wait for that month to be over so they would start posting stuff I cared about again. But then they published their results -- stuff about how they were feeling so much better etc., but also how much weight they lost. In one month, the pregnant one (very pregnant, so should be gaining weight) didn't gain any weight, the non-pregnant one lost 14 pounds, and her husband lost 17 pounds! I was blown away that people could lose that much weight in one month! I've always thought losing so much weight so quickly was unhealthy, but if you can lose that much just by changing WHAT you eat, and not restricting how much you can eat (i.e., going hungry to lose weight), then I think that's a healthy way of losing a lot of weight quickly. It just goes to show how much an unfettered diet might be making you gain! In addition to liking that Whole30 isn't a starvation diet, I also like that Whole30 is designed to teach you how different foods make you feel, and then you can choose how you want to eat moving forward. They don't say grains or dairy are "bad," they just say to cut them out of your diet for a month so that when you reintroduce them back in, you can see how they make you feel.
Anyway, after hearing those results, I basically thought, "I wanna lose 14 pounds!" Although I was already down to my pre-pregnancy weight (I weighed the most I've ever weighed right before getting pregnant -- only by about 5 pounds, but still), I was not down to my pre-pregnancy body. Everything still felt (and was) bigger, fattier, and loose skin-ier (<-- ha). Russ was also the heaviest he's ever been due to a lot of snacking at work (they fill the kitchen with unhealthy foods that employees can eat at their leisure), so I proposed to him that we try out Whole30. He was immediately on board.
This was mid-March, and we decided we would start Whole30 on April 1. For the rest of March, I kept asking, "Are we really doing Whole30?" Because let's be honest. I hadn't been cooking much at all since Ada was born, and so we had been eating out a lot. Like 4-5 times a week -- no joke. Whole30 would be a complete 180 for us. I kept thinking he might say it would be too tough for us, but he was all in, and since he was all in, so was I!
What is Whole30?
If you're really interested in Whole30 rules, head to their website. But the quick rundown of Whole30 is this: no dairy (milk, sour cream, butter, yogurt), no legumes (peas, hummus, beans, peanut butter), no non-gluten grains (rice, oats, quinoa, corn), no gluten grains (bread, chips, flour tortillas), and no added sugar (treats, ketchup, mayo, salad dressing, honey, stevia). When first reading this list, it might appear that you can't eat anything on Whole30, but what you CAN eat are vegetables, fruit, most nuts, eggs, and meat. And amazingly, you can make a lot of different tasty foods with these ingredients. And for things like condiments and salad dressings, you can make your own Whole30 approved versions (that usually taste a bit different, but can still be good). Since Whole30 is so restrictive, it made it easy to knock another thing off the 2017 list -- no fast food (or eating out in general) for a month!
How was the Whole30 process?
Whole30 actually turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it would be. I didn't have any major cravings (though toward the end I really just started missing cookies), I didn't really get sick of the foods (even eggs), and I didn't experience the negative withdrawal symptoms some people get. I really loved eating all the whole foods, and my diet felt a lot more diverse (since I was eating food from Wendy's like twice a week before that). It was fun to experiment with new foods and new flavor combinations. And I found that I can make time to cook! The hardest part about the whole thing was that I felt like I was constantly cooking or doing dishes. I always had to be prepared for upcoming meals because we couldn't fall back on eating out, and I always had to be on top of dishes because there would be a bunch more the next time I cooked anything. These aspects were tough, but I loved the accomplishment I felt from sticking to Whole30 each day.
Russ had a little bit of a harder time initially than I did. He had some cravings in the beginning, and he was super tired for the first two-ish weeks off of sugar. He liked all the foods we ate though. The hardest part for him was not snacking all the time, and especially not being able to eat any of the food at work (literally the only foods work provided that were Whole30 compliant over the entire month were apples, bananas, and raisins). He did feel like he got more energy after those first couple weeks though, and he also felt like he didn't have stomach issues during the month.
One really interesting thing about Whole30 is that, while it restricts WHAT you can eat, it does not restrict how much you can eat. It specifically says that you shouldn't worry about counting calories. Well one day, just out of curiosity, I added up the calories of a pretty typical day on Whole30. The amount ended up being something like 1500-1800 calories in a day -- without restricting amounts. That means that if you eat Whole30 foods always, you'll be losing weight or maintaining the weight that your body naturally wants to be at. Eating non-Whole30 foods quickly ups the amount of calories you're taking in, so you have to restrict how much you eat of certain foods if you want to lose or maintain weight. It was cool to realize that the foods that fuel our body the best are the same foods that help you stay at a healthy weight.
What were our Whole30 results?
Going into Whole30, I didn't really expect to see any internal physical results -- aka, I wasn't looking to solve any stomach issues or anything -- because I just don't have issues with food like ever. I do feel like my skin maybe looks a little brighter, and I had to cut down on my insulin use a lot -- like I used less because of the foods I was eating, but I also had to lower my basal rates to better navigate a low-carb diet. At the end of it all, I lost 9 pounds even, and 3.5% body fat. The number wasn't as drastic as I'd hoped for, but the pictures below definitely show that 9 pounds is still significant.
Russ did have some stomach issues before Whole30, so he noticed that he didn't have any issues throughout Whole30. As I mentioned before, he also experienced an increase in energy levels. He had pretty significant weight loss though, coming in at 16.2 pounds lighter! He also lost 3.5% body fat.
I should also mention that Russ and I weren't really exercising during Whole30. Russ continued to take walks during his lunch breaks like he had prior to Whole30, and I continued to take Ada on walks sometimes. Other than that, I did introduce a 5-minute ab workout that I did maybe 10 times in April. So basically what I'm trying to say here is that what we were (or weren't) eating is really what had the most impact on our body changes -- not any sort of exercise program.
We both still have more work to do, but here are some real-life pics of our bodies before and after.
Whole30 Reintroduction
As I said, I didn't have stomach issues before, so I didn't expect any of the foods to negatively affect me when I reintroduced them. I was surprised to find that I had some issues when we reintroduced non-gluten grains, but I think that may have just been from having so many grains in one day, because when I've had smaller doses since then, I've felt fine. However, the two things I noticed most, especially with the reintroduction of grains (gluten and non-gluten), were that I got hungrier much faster, and I also felt like the foods I was eating were heavier -- both while eating and after (like they felt heavy in my mouth and then heavy in my stomach). I really love that about Whole30 -- you can eat a good amount and feel satisfied and full without feeling weighed down.
Russ had some issues with dairy and grains, but again, I think it was due to eating too many of them. I think eating those things in moderation wouldn't pose much of a problem. He also noticed the hunger and heaviness that came from eating grains.
What will we do moving forward?
Moving forward, my plan is to continue with mostly Whole30 foods, but also allow some of the yummy (and in my opinion still mostly healthy) foods that are against Whole30. We'll try to have Whole30 foods make up the majority of our diet, but we'll also eat things like rice, quinoa, beans, peanut butter, sour cream, and butter -- just maybe not so often. We'll definitely allow things like condiments and salad dressings, which are against Whole30 usually because of added sugar. I think we'll really limit things like pasta and bread, though. Not completely, but I for sure won't be buying bread for sandwiches anymore. We don't love sandwiches anyway, and there are healthier and more filling alternatives. Russ does love specialty breads, so we'll still eat that on occasion, but we don't really ever make it ourselves so it will probably just be at restaurants. We'll also still eat pizza, but hopefully more like once per month instead of once per week. I think I'll probably get most of my non-Whole30 foods from restaurants when it's something that sounds really good.
We're also changing the way we snack. For the most part, we'll just be eating Whole30 foods for snacks, because things like boiled eggs and part of an avocado are more filling than the processed snack foods are, anyway.
Treats will also change. As I said in the beginning, I love sugar, so there's no way I'm eliminating it permanently. But I exercised no control when it came to treats before Whole30 -- if I wanted it, I ate it, because I'm an adult and I can do what I want! Haha :) Moving forward, I'm going to try to eat treats only when I've planned in advance to eat them, and only once or twice a week (if that). I won't grab a piece of candy out of the candy bowl at my parents' house every time I pass it, and I won't eat a mint brownie at a Relief Society activity even if that's the only treat provided (I don't really like mint brownies). I will, however, eat ice cream or a cookie on date night (if we've planned to get a treat) or at a birthday party.
One of the biggest things I'm going to try to remember is that for the most part, I'll have the opportunity to eat that treat again. For instance, since my birthday is this month, I've been thinking about all the yummy treats I love, and trying to decide which ones to eat this month. My list has like over 10 treats on it, so I've been trying to narrow it down. There are some things on it, like new dessert places, that I really want to try because I've never had them before. There are other things on it, like tried-and-true favorite dessert places, that I've crossed off the list because I know I can also eat there next month or the month after that. I can obviously do that with the new dessert places, too, but I'm just more excited about trying the new treat, so I'm keeping those ones on the list. But it's not like this month is the last month ever that I'll be able to eat at all these favorite places, so it's okay to postpone some of them. I'm choosing to narrow the list so that I don't go sugar crazy this month, because that is not in line with the level of health I now want for myself. Now in a case like traveling to a foreign country, I might go a little crazier with treats, because I really may never have an authentic French pastry again; but with local restaurants or favorite recipes, I know I can eat that food again so I don't need to try four different donuts in one sitting or eat four chocolate chip cookies in one day.
Overall
Overall, we really enjoyed Whole30. It had its difficulties, but the food was tasty and we felt good following the Whole30 rules. The Whole30 book says that Whole30 will change your life. I think that sounds a bit too extreme for us, so I just say that Whole30 changed the way I think about food. It definitely made me want to fill my belly with more nutrient-dense-but-still-super-tasty foods, and it also helped me to address my treat-overeating issue :)
Anyone who knows me know that I. Love. Sugar. I looooove treats and I'm also a big fan of things like bread and pasta. This is why I've always said that I think diets are stupid -- you just need to eat good food (whether that's healthy-good or unhealthy-good) in moderation! Another part of diets that I don't like is that it's usually a short-term thing that may give you results while you do it, but then you just go back to your old habits and gain the weight back, so it's not sustainable.
So why did we do Whole30 -- an extremely strict "diet" -- then?
So when some bloggers I follow started doing Whole30, I thought it was stupid. I got sick of seeing pics of all their Whole30 approved meals on InstaStory and pretty much I just couldn't wait for that month to be over so they would start posting stuff I cared about again. But then they published their results -- stuff about how they were feeling so much better etc., but also how much weight they lost. In one month, the pregnant one (very pregnant, so should be gaining weight) didn't gain any weight, the non-pregnant one lost 14 pounds, and her husband lost 17 pounds! I was blown away that people could lose that much weight in one month! I've always thought losing so much weight so quickly was unhealthy, but if you can lose that much just by changing WHAT you eat, and not restricting how much you can eat (i.e., going hungry to lose weight), then I think that's a healthy way of losing a lot of weight quickly. It just goes to show how much an unfettered diet might be making you gain! In addition to liking that Whole30 isn't a starvation diet, I also like that Whole30 is designed to teach you how different foods make you feel, and then you can choose how you want to eat moving forward. They don't say grains or dairy are "bad," they just say to cut them out of your diet for a month so that when you reintroduce them back in, you can see how they make you feel.
Anyway, after hearing those results, I basically thought, "I wanna lose 14 pounds!" Although I was already down to my pre-pregnancy weight (I weighed the most I've ever weighed right before getting pregnant -- only by about 5 pounds, but still), I was not down to my pre-pregnancy body. Everything still felt (and was) bigger, fattier, and loose skin-ier (<-- ha). Russ was also the heaviest he's ever been due to a lot of snacking at work (they fill the kitchen with unhealthy foods that employees can eat at their leisure), so I proposed to him that we try out Whole30. He was immediately on board.
This was mid-March, and we decided we would start Whole30 on April 1. For the rest of March, I kept asking, "Are we really doing Whole30?" Because let's be honest. I hadn't been cooking much at all since Ada was born, and so we had been eating out a lot. Like 4-5 times a week -- no joke. Whole30 would be a complete 180 for us. I kept thinking he might say it would be too tough for us, but he was all in, and since he was all in, so was I!
What is Whole30?
If you're really interested in Whole30 rules, head to their website. But the quick rundown of Whole30 is this: no dairy (milk, sour cream, butter, yogurt), no legumes (peas, hummus, beans, peanut butter), no non-gluten grains (rice, oats, quinoa, corn), no gluten grains (bread, chips, flour tortillas), and no added sugar (treats, ketchup, mayo, salad dressing, honey, stevia). When first reading this list, it might appear that you can't eat anything on Whole30, but what you CAN eat are vegetables, fruit, most nuts, eggs, and meat. And amazingly, you can make a lot of different tasty foods with these ingredients. And for things like condiments and salad dressings, you can make your own Whole30 approved versions (that usually taste a bit different, but can still be good). Since Whole30 is so restrictive, it made it easy to knock another thing off the 2017 list -- no fast food (or eating out in general) for a month!
How was the Whole30 process?
Whole30 actually turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it would be. I didn't have any major cravings (though toward the end I really just started missing cookies), I didn't really get sick of the foods (even eggs), and I didn't experience the negative withdrawal symptoms some people get. I really loved eating all the whole foods, and my diet felt a lot more diverse (since I was eating food from Wendy's like twice a week before that). It was fun to experiment with new foods and new flavor combinations. And I found that I can make time to cook! The hardest part about the whole thing was that I felt like I was constantly cooking or doing dishes. I always had to be prepared for upcoming meals because we couldn't fall back on eating out, and I always had to be on top of dishes because there would be a bunch more the next time I cooked anything. These aspects were tough, but I loved the accomplishment I felt from sticking to Whole30 each day.
Russ had a little bit of a harder time initially than I did. He had some cravings in the beginning, and he was super tired for the first two-ish weeks off of sugar. He liked all the foods we ate though. The hardest part for him was not snacking all the time, and especially not being able to eat any of the food at work (literally the only foods work provided that were Whole30 compliant over the entire month were apples, bananas, and raisins). He did feel like he got more energy after those first couple weeks though, and he also felt like he didn't have stomach issues during the month.
One really interesting thing about Whole30 is that, while it restricts WHAT you can eat, it does not restrict how much you can eat. It specifically says that you shouldn't worry about counting calories. Well one day, just out of curiosity, I added up the calories of a pretty typical day on Whole30. The amount ended up being something like 1500-1800 calories in a day -- without restricting amounts. That means that if you eat Whole30 foods always, you'll be losing weight or maintaining the weight that your body naturally wants to be at. Eating non-Whole30 foods quickly ups the amount of calories you're taking in, so you have to restrict how much you eat of certain foods if you want to lose or maintain weight. It was cool to realize that the foods that fuel our body the best are the same foods that help you stay at a healthy weight.
What were our Whole30 results?
Going into Whole30, I didn't really expect to see any internal physical results -- aka, I wasn't looking to solve any stomach issues or anything -- because I just don't have issues with food like ever. I do feel like my skin maybe looks a little brighter, and I had to cut down on my insulin use a lot -- like I used less because of the foods I was eating, but I also had to lower my basal rates to better navigate a low-carb diet. At the end of it all, I lost 9 pounds even, and 3.5% body fat. The number wasn't as drastic as I'd hoped for, but the pictures below definitely show that 9 pounds is still significant.
Russ did have some stomach issues before Whole30, so he noticed that he didn't have any issues throughout Whole30. As I mentioned before, he also experienced an increase in energy levels. He had pretty significant weight loss though, coming in at 16.2 pounds lighter! He also lost 3.5% body fat.
I should also mention that Russ and I weren't really exercising during Whole30. Russ continued to take walks during his lunch breaks like he had prior to Whole30, and I continued to take Ada on walks sometimes. Other than that, I did introduce a 5-minute ab workout that I did maybe 10 times in April. So basically what I'm trying to say here is that what we were (or weren't) eating is really what had the most impact on our body changes -- not any sort of exercise program.
We both still have more work to do, but here are some real-life pics of our bodies before and after.
Whole30 Reintroduction
As I said, I didn't have stomach issues before, so I didn't expect any of the foods to negatively affect me when I reintroduced them. I was surprised to find that I had some issues when we reintroduced non-gluten grains, but I think that may have just been from having so many grains in one day, because when I've had smaller doses since then, I've felt fine. However, the two things I noticed most, especially with the reintroduction of grains (gluten and non-gluten), were that I got hungrier much faster, and I also felt like the foods I was eating were heavier -- both while eating and after (like they felt heavy in my mouth and then heavy in my stomach). I really love that about Whole30 -- you can eat a good amount and feel satisfied and full without feeling weighed down.
Russ had some issues with dairy and grains, but again, I think it was due to eating too many of them. I think eating those things in moderation wouldn't pose much of a problem. He also noticed the hunger and heaviness that came from eating grains.
What will we do moving forward?
Moving forward, my plan is to continue with mostly Whole30 foods, but also allow some of the yummy (and in my opinion still mostly healthy) foods that are against Whole30. We'll try to have Whole30 foods make up the majority of our diet, but we'll also eat things like rice, quinoa, beans, peanut butter, sour cream, and butter -- just maybe not so often. We'll definitely allow things like condiments and salad dressings, which are against Whole30 usually because of added sugar. I think we'll really limit things like pasta and bread, though. Not completely, but I for sure won't be buying bread for sandwiches anymore. We don't love sandwiches anyway, and there are healthier and more filling alternatives. Russ does love specialty breads, so we'll still eat that on occasion, but we don't really ever make it ourselves so it will probably just be at restaurants. We'll also still eat pizza, but hopefully more like once per month instead of once per week. I think I'll probably get most of my non-Whole30 foods from restaurants when it's something that sounds really good.
We're also changing the way we snack. For the most part, we'll just be eating Whole30 foods for snacks, because things like boiled eggs and part of an avocado are more filling than the processed snack foods are, anyway.
Treats will also change. As I said in the beginning, I love sugar, so there's no way I'm eliminating it permanently. But I exercised no control when it came to treats before Whole30 -- if I wanted it, I ate it, because I'm an adult and I can do what I want! Haha :) Moving forward, I'm going to try to eat treats only when I've planned in advance to eat them, and only once or twice a week (if that). I won't grab a piece of candy out of the candy bowl at my parents' house every time I pass it, and I won't eat a mint brownie at a Relief Society activity even if that's the only treat provided (I don't really like mint brownies). I will, however, eat ice cream or a cookie on date night (if we've planned to get a treat) or at a birthday party.
One of the biggest things I'm going to try to remember is that for the most part, I'll have the opportunity to eat that treat again. For instance, since my birthday is this month, I've been thinking about all the yummy treats I love, and trying to decide which ones to eat this month. My list has like over 10 treats on it, so I've been trying to narrow it down. There are some things on it, like new dessert places, that I really want to try because I've never had them before. There are other things on it, like tried-and-true favorite dessert places, that I've crossed off the list because I know I can also eat there next month or the month after that. I can obviously do that with the new dessert places, too, but I'm just more excited about trying the new treat, so I'm keeping those ones on the list. But it's not like this month is the last month ever that I'll be able to eat at all these favorite places, so it's okay to postpone some of them. I'm choosing to narrow the list so that I don't go sugar crazy this month, because that is not in line with the level of health I now want for myself. Now in a case like traveling to a foreign country, I might go a little crazier with treats, because I really may never have an authentic French pastry again; but with local restaurants or favorite recipes, I know I can eat that food again so I don't need to try four different donuts in one sitting or eat four chocolate chip cookies in one day.
Overall
Overall, we really enjoyed Whole30. It had its difficulties, but the food was tasty and we felt good following the Whole30 rules. The Whole30 book says that Whole30 will change your life. I think that sounds a bit too extreme for us, so I just say that Whole30 changed the way I think about food. It definitely made me want to fill my belly with more nutrient-dense-but-still-super-tasty foods, and it also helped me to address my treat-overeating issue :)
Keep up the good work! Fun to see the befores and afters
ReplyDeleteI've wanted to try Whole 30, but I'm scared of all the planning I'd have to do to keep up with it. How did you find enough recipes to fill all your meals and snacks for 30 days? I know there are tons out there but every time I've tried to look, I get overwhelmed haha
ReplyDelete