Whole30!

I just finished my first Whole30!  Whole30 is a very restrictive 3-day eating plan derived from Paleo eating.  It's known as a nutritional reset- a way to diminish your cravings and change your mindset about food.  I did it for the entire month of April and it was amazing!  Here's the jist of the plan : 

- No Dairy

- No sugar

- No alcohol

- No grains

- No legumes

So, what COULD I eat?

- LOTS of vegetables

- Meat (I tried to keep it lean)

- Fruit, but don't go crazy

- Nuts-I tried to limit (and not peanuts, because those are a legume!)

During the 30 days, I learned a lot about how dieting works best for me :

- I'm not good at "diets" and actually hate the word.  For some reason this was easy for me.  I think because it was SO simple and straightforward.  I knew what I could have and everything else was out, so no point even thinking about it.

- Accountability is key.  I had 2 friends doing it alongside me...one who had done her first 30 in March and her experience was encouraging and valuable.

- Prayer!  I had at LEAST 20 people praying for me.  I think it's no coincidence that the one time I stuck to an eating plan was when I asked people to pray.

- Don't weigh yourself to often.  I've learned in the past that this can be discouraging and cause me to give up.  I decided to not weigh for the entire 30 days.

I changed and my habits did too : 

- My pants were all a bit too tight, now they're a bit loose!

- My mind used to look like Candy Land.  Seriously, dreaming about cookies and candy all day long.  I rarely find myself thinking about food now and my cravings are nothing like they used to be.

- I hurt my calf muscle almost a year ago and it has caused me issues and transferred to pain in my foot that has been around for many, many months.  Now?  Completely pain-free!

- I'm cooking at home a LOT more.  It's almost impossible to eat out or with other people on this diet, so making the time to cook at home and planning ahead had to happen.

These were all goals that I had hoped to accomplish.  I wanted to do something that was going to take my cravings away and change some of my habits and I believe the Whole30 has set me on the path towards those goals.  But, the icing on the cake?  I lost ELEVEN pounds!  I was hopeful I would lose at least 6, so I was very excited about 11.  

My plan going forward is to continue to eat like this for the most part - I want to make exceptions when I'm with friends/family.  Today I cheated twice, but most days that won't happen.  We had an office lunch today and there were sandwiches - I wouldn't have eaten one in April, but I did today.  It was just 1/2 and on thin bread and I ate some salad and fruit with it - not bad!  For dinner, I met friends and had chili with a few small pieces of bread - more grains and some legumes!  Back on track tomorrow for at least a couple of days!  I can see myself doing the Whole30 for 30-days straight again in the near future.  I am ready to make some significant changes to my body and how I feel!