The last days of Whole 30 were probably the hardest, not because I was ready to throw in the towel, but because there were more obstacles than usual.
Good Friday was officially our Day 30. We had Easter dinner at my inlaws and I ate as per the plan although I was sorely tempted to slather a couple of biscuits with butter and cram them into my mouth while no one was looking. But I didn’t. I wasn’t perfect though. Notably, Easter hams are traditionally basted with some kind of sugar but I let that one go and ate the ham, along with a salad and potatoes. No wine or dessert for me, though.
The night before really tested our mettle. You see, Mark lucked into a pair of tickets to see the Sens game. Under normal circumstances, the overpriced beer, hot dogs, and popcorn would be easy enough for me to avoid but these tickets were in one of the suites. This means food service, and a fridge stocked with beer/cider/pop and also wine. The food on offer included pizza, mini-burgers, and Golden Palace egg rolls.
If you follow me on Instagram you have seen my story about it but I’m linking to it here so the rest of you can imagine my woe. ;)
There were ALSO big bowls of popcorn and potato chips. I could give pizza a pass, same for burgers, (egg rolls are a little harder, I admit) but popcorn and chips are my Achille’s heel.
I was feeling a little weak, as you can imagine, but as Mark pointed out, it’s only food. Who’s in control here? (Answer: me.) What helped was that I stuffed a bag of roasted cashews from home into my purse, so we had something to eat with our bottled water. Sigh.
After awhile the nice lady from CT Centre whose job it was to take care of the patrons in the suite, gave up asking Mark and I if we wanted anything. Thankfully, no one asked why we were only drinking bottled water and sneaking cashews from my purse.
Saturday was the first day post Whole 30 and I was happy to finally enjoy a proper coffee. I took a sip of milk before heating it up. It was so sweet, sweeter than I had remembered. Weird how your tastebuds change, eh? The coffee was good, obviously not as bitter as my daily espresso, but it also tasted weak to me. I will have to tweak my morning brew.
I also enjoyed my regular breakfast of granola/All Bran and fruit. There was no yogurt in the house so I had to make do with milk. It was nice to have a light breakfast again, but on the flip side, I was hungry two hours later, long before lunch. I found that interesting because that never happened to me when I was eating Whole 30 approved breakfasts. I always felt full and happy.
I should mention that we travelled to a family wedding this weekend. In terms of “life after Whole 30” there was no gentle re-introduction of foods as per the author’s instructions. The wedding dinner was, surprisingly, almost entirely Whole 30 compliant: soup, chicken breast/veggies. And then there was the rest of it. The wine was flowing (of course I had some) and there were also cupcakes (of course I had some of those too). As one does when one travels, there were stops for coffee and snacks, breakfast sandwiches, chips, pop etc. etc. Also, Easter chocolate. I wouldn’t say that I totally fell off the bandwagon. I ate without overthinking and had no regrets because I was in control of my choices, even though they weren’t all healthy choices. I ate mindfully, and I was ok with that. Even when we ordered that pepperoni pizza from Domino’s on our return home.
If we hadn’t been travelling I would have probably taken a different approach in these first days after the Whole 30, but I am fine with how it went down and being gentle with myself.
Now that we’re done the Whole 30, I did want to take a moment to talk about a few things that bugged me about it.
- The lack of meal plans in the Whole 30 book. They give a sample seven day plan but they deliver it with a bit of attitude that’s uncalled for. If they want readers to succeed, why not give them a bit of extra help? Or is it because they want to sell their subscription service? Hmmm…
- I still don’t understand why I had to give up popcorn.
- Fibre! I think I ate plenty of fruit, vegetables, and nuts/seeds but I still was pretty short on fibre. My body definitely missed whole grains and legumes.
- The Whole 30 authors don’t recommend weighing yourself for the duration of the challenge. On one hand, I get it. I think weighing yourself every day is, perhaps, putting too much importance on weight loss and not enough on changing eating habits and focusing on how you’re feeling. Plus, your weight can swing a few pounds either way depending on a number of different factors, so why do that to yourself? As some of you already know, I weighed myself at one point because I was dying of curiosity, but that’s it. Mark weighed himself a few times. I think weighing yourself once a week is totally reasonable. If the person wants to do it, why not?
- Further to this, the authors instruct you to not spend time looking at yourself in the mirror to observe/admire any newfound lean muscles, flatter tummies etc. I think this is crazy. Why not admire yourself and be proud of your progress! I’m sure this is a big motivating factor for many people.
- The author’s comments about post-Whole 30 are a bit harsh too. They recommend gradual re-introduction to foods that may have been problematic from a gastro perspective, which is fine. I get it. It’s important for people who suspect they may have issues with certain food groups like dairy and gluten, but what about the rest of us? I already know that sugar and bread make me bloated and puffy – and as an adult I can choose to eat those things or navigate around them – so why the attitude if I’m willing to deal with it? I don’t believe that skipping the re-introduction phase makes the previous 30 days a total waste of time.
In a past post I wondered how much money we saved by only eating food from the produce and meat department. Well, it’s a bit of a toss-up. We spent a LOT less on dining out compared to last month – almost nothing – but only slightly less in terms of groceries. This isn’t necessarily to say that eating meat and vegetables costs more. I could have been more budget oriented for sure, but in order to combat any feelings of deprivation I pretty much bought anything I felt like eating (within reason, of course).
Some of you probably want to know if I lost any weight on the Whole 30. Well…
– I lost 3″ around the waist and hips
– I lost 6.1 lbs (146 to 139.9 lbs) total
Here’s a visual (I’ve gone back an extra month here FYI):
It’s interesting to see that I lost the bulk of the weight in the first part of the month. Strangely, I feel lighter than the scale indicates. And taller too. (How weird is that?) My clothes are comfortable again and dare I say, some are even loose. I feel really good. I can report, with confidence, that my energy levels were more even on Whole 30, as were my moods. I wasn’t ever hangry or starving. That 3 p.m. crash also disappeared.
I am happy. I am also proud. I DID this thing. I didn’t cheat, give in, or give up. And if I can do it, anyone can do it. I will say this, it really helps to have someone do it with you. I can’t imagine doing it alone.
The Whole 30 gets a bad rap as a diet, but people seem to forget that it’s not meant to be a permanent way of eating. It restricts certain food groups for a limited time in order to help people (a) assess their relationship with food (b) find out how certain foods make them feel (c) help them make better choices in the future. It’s not perfect, but it’s not a bad idea.
Some small Whole 30 “tricks” that worked for me:
- treating myself to luxe seasonings: fancy salts and hot sauces etc.
- planning meals around foods that I actually like (This is a no-brainer, really.)
- … further to this, seeing whole foods as a treat, because they are. (“Wow this grapefruit is so delicious. What a treat!”)
- buying twice the number of eggs I thought I needed at all times
- not eating out, at all. Honestly, it’s not worth the effort or the heartache.
- watching movies at home instead of the theatre (because: POPCORN)
I think what I gained over the past 30 days is a better understanding of myself: What foods do I need to make me happy? What makes me feel good? Feel crappy?
After the Easter chocolate is all gone I plan to continue to eat better breakfasts with added protein in the mix and be selective about the foods I consume in general. I have learned that I must limit bread and sugar if I want to stay trim. I know these two things make me puffy and bloated. Somehow, when I eat sugar, I hold on to extra weight. (It’s not very scientific, but there it is.)
Whole 30 presents a long list of ailments that may be cured or cleared up when switching over to their prescribed diet. Some may be true, others, well, who knows. I’m no doctor. But Mark and I did exchange a lot of comments and observations that began with “This might be my imagination but…”
Can dropping sugar and processed foods help joint pain, headaches, clear up skin issues? I’m not sure, but I do know that I feel better overall. But do I feel better because of the foods I’ve been consuming, or because I lost six pounds and my pants aren’t cutting off my circulation at the waist?
Also, I don’t know if the Easter chocolate is to blame, but I’m currently suffering a bit of a breakout. One of life biggest surprises is that teenage acne doesn’t end when you stop being a teenager.
Anyway, there it is! This was a very long wrap-up post but I thought this was information worth sharing. I’d love to hear if you’re thinking of trying something similar. Or maybe you’re happy with the status quo? I’d love to hear your story too.
