I am officially done with Whole30. My starting date was 09/17/2018 and the final day was this past Tuesday, 10/16/2018. I have so many things to share about my thoughts and experiences during this journey. I also of course want to share my results with you as well. 

When I first started Whole30 I am going to be completely honest I did have that moment of "oh no, what did I get myself into?" The first grocery store trip where I was surrounded by temptation was the first official time that question came to me. I love sugar and sweets. I would have to wait thirty long days before I could have any of that again. Would I be able to drink only non-dairy Whole30 compliant creamer in my coffee but nothing else? Can I really go this long without a taco or a slice of pizza? When these thoughts did come up I just had to tell myself that it was only thirty days and in the grand scheme of things that really was not a whole lot of time. Were there temptations? Oh yeah. I found myself really envious when someone around me was having something I could not have, but those feelings got easier the longer I was doing this. 

Did the foods I couldn't have still look good? Of course but I was pretty content with the food I was having. The longer I went and the closer I was getting to the end the easier it became. My cravings for these foods and most importantly sugar were and still are present but in a much different way. I might have a random thought that ice cream for example sounds really good, but it isn't something that is consuming my thoughts until I give in. I am only human so comfort foods will always have some appeal to me, but I can honestly say it is much more manageable now. I felt so many little changes in myself during the journey but I would say that is the biggest one, and was essentially why I decided to embark on this to begin with. 

During Whole30 I felt so many different changes happen to my body. Without even taking my measurements I could absolutely feel that my clothes were getting far too big. I was taking more time to enjoy my food rather than just scarfing it down and going on with my day. At some points I was actually sleeping better as well. I am typically somebody that sometimes has trouble falling asleep, but this was not nearly as big of a problem for me anymore. I also had a lot more energy during this time. Usually about midway through my work day I feel a crash and that very rarely happened while I was on Whole30. Overall I really was just feeling good. 

Now let's get into the results that I can share with you. In the thirty days that I was doing Whole30 I lost a total of 12.3 lbs. I also lost an added total of 19 inches from all over my body. I lost 4 inches from my waist, 5 inches from my abdominal area, 1 inch from each arm, 3 inches from each thigh, 1 inch from my chest, and 1 inch from my neck. To be quite honest these results shocked me. I mean I knew my clothes (especially my pants) were fitting better or were even starting to get too big, but to see those numbers is pretty amazing. Sure the 12.3 lbs is an awesome result as well, but I am so glad I took those measurements to see the results in a different way as well. I am so pleased with the outcome of this first Whole30 not only because of the results like this that I can report, but the ones I also feel.

Now I am sure you are all wondering what are my thoughts on Whole30 moving forward now that the thirty days are up. Well as you can guess my first few days I was off of Whole30 I ate a number of things I was not allowed to have. Now to be flat out honest I thought when I ate these things I would have an extremely upset stomach and be pretty sick because my stomach was no longer used to these foods. This wasn't exactly the case but I didn't feel too great this weekend as a result. I had way less energy and was crabby at some points as well. I was already planning on continuing the Whole30 to a certain degree, but this weekend was just the push I needed to actually do this. 

Moving forward I want to make an effort to eat Whole30 for most meals and breaking the rules from time to time when I feel I want or need to. I want to do my best to keep at least two of my three main meals Whole30 compliant while the third meal I may break that slightly. My first night off of Whole30 I made a chicken stir fry which was completely Whole30 compliant. I made a last minute decision to add just a half serving of pasta to that to make it a bit more filling. I can recognize that I felt amazing doing the Whole30, but I also feel that I should also allow myself to have some of those things as well from time to time. Another big change I will continue from Whole30 is way less sugar in my diet. As I mentioned in a previous post, Whole30 made me so aware of just how much added sugar is in our food. There is no reason I need to buy bacon, pasta sauce, salsa, etc. with added sugar when there are options around the same price that taste just as good without it. I found that coconut milk in coffee satisfies me now and I no longer need tablespoons of sweetened creamer. I will forever be conscious of the ingredients in the food I am putting into my body now because of Whole30. 

I am so pleased with how my first Whole30 went and am even more pleased that I was able to finish it without an issue. I did not cheat and I made it through the entire thirty days. As I mentioned I plan to continue Whole30 into my every day life now to an extent, but I fully plan on doing a Whole30 again in January. Once all the holidays are over I think a Whole30 would be a great start to the year to help get back on track and to shed those pounds we all gain from all the holiday goodies. Although this plan seems like a drastic change at first, it truly did make me feel amazing. I look forward to moving forward and including what I learned from Whole30 in my daily life.