Whole 30 - Mission Completion!

Skinny Betches work at it.

September 4th, 2012 was the day I began my Whole 30 challenge.  I embarked upon a dietary journey of whole foods, limited to meat, veggies, fruit, and nuts.  NO grains or grain derivatives, NO dairy, NO legumes, NO sugars of any kind (except the one diet coke I couldn't quite make myself quit).

October 4th, 2012 was the day my Whole 30 Challenge ended.  Here are the things I noticed over the course of the 30 days:

• Within 4 - 5 days I was no longer craving foods that are not on the plan.  Even while preparing meals for kids that don't eat green things, I wasn't compelled to cheat.  I confess to taking a bite of Mac & Cheese, but only out of habit, not consuming desire to do so.
• I had more energy.
• I still had munchies during the lady days, but not cravings.  I was satisfied with nuts and dried fruits.  I found this to be amazing.
• I slept better.  I slept deeper and longer with fewer mid-night wake-ups.  So nice!
• I had fewer bladder issues. I don't want to talk about it.
• I was less congested!
• I got less fat in places that surprised me, like my wrists, the area under my boobs, and the upper part of my butt.
• Foods that used to be less tasty became much more tasty.  I actually got to where I LIKED EVOO and Balsamic on my salads.
• I no longer felt like a slave to food cravings.  Even with just 12 hours before the challenge was over, I wasn't much tempted by the pizza I had ordered for the kids.  I took NOT ONE BITE and didn't feel in the least deprived!  

October 4th, 2012 was also the first day I weighed myself since beginning the challenge.  I lost 17 pounds!  S E V E N T E E N  pounds!!! In 30 days!!!!

October 4th, 2012 was also the day that I began the grand experiment of this challenge: To see how your body responds to eating the foods that you haven't eaten for 30 days.  I ate half of a baggie of those Chex Cereal things that have been coated in chocolate and powdered sugar (I gave the other half to Honey which should tell you something).  I ate a Dove chocolate bar that had been sitting on my desk for 2 weeks.  I ate the one thing I had been looking forward to throughout the 30 days - a chicken tostada salad from El Pollo Loco with chips and guacamole.  Other than that, I only ate Whole 30 plan foods.  

Here's how my body responded:

• The chocolate was tasty, I'm not going to lie.  But was it the extremely satisfying wonderful mouth explosion of fun it had been a month ago? Not really.
• Same goes for the tostada salad.
• I felt miserable.  I was bloated and gassy and in pain for 2 days!
• I was so TIRED! I felt like I was coming down with something.  But I wasn't.

October 5th, 2012 was the day I decided that a few minutes of food fun that really isn't as fun as it used to be isn't worth what my body has to go through.

What I learned: When I was eating all the foods I am now choosing not to eat, I was putting my body through a lot of distress that I didn't even notice because it was constant; it was every hour of every day.  It took getting it out of my system to know that.  If I can sleep better, look better, feel better, have fewer potty emergencies, breathe better, and live longer, why would I want to go back to a way of eating that takes all that away?  How completely crazy would I have to be?

I'm just not that crazy.....