Life after Whole30...A month later

Well, we are 30 days post Whole30 now, so I thought I would update on how we are doing now - ie - the biggest concern I would have - is it sustainable?

I am most excited to report that we have not only maintained our weight loss, but have also lost a few extra pounds over the past month on top of what we already lost during the Whole30.  Woot!  I have never been a dieter, mostly because I am all too aware that the minute you stop, if you fall back into your old ways, you will undo all of your progress.  Again, that's why I loved the Whole30 - it's a lifestyle, a reset -- not a quick fix.

But, of course, the purpose of the Whole30 is not to lose weight, it's to eat things that make you more healthy.  So, glad to report that we are doing pretty well at sticking to the framework for our meals.  I would say maybe 75% of the time.  And for the most part - our 25% is not crazy off-roading.  It's more so grain and some dairy.  (um, I'm eating ice cream while I type this...).  For example, we will make something yummy like butternut squash soup and have a piece of toast to eat with it.  Or we will have Whole30 sanctioned tacos with the addition of corn tortillas.  No, this isn't what It Starts With Food recommends, but it works for us - it's a balance and we still feel good, even with making these allowances.  

And yes, there have been times when we ate bad food - real bad food.  Sometimes it's convenience or because you are in a place where you can't find an alternative or because you really, really want it.  Honestly, almost every time we have done this, we've suffered the consequences.  Our stomachs get really upset.  We feel greasy and lethargic and gross.  What really has me thinking is - ok, so I used to eat this way a lot of the time.  Was I just ignoring these symptoms or was my body so used to bad food that I didn't even have these reactions?  Or perhaps we are just so much more in tuned with the signals our bodies are sending us now that we are treating them better.  Who knows.  Either way, it has taken only a few times of bad-food-ick to take the shiny excitement away from bad food.  When you realize how bad you will feel after, it's usually just not worth it.

That foot and leg pain I referenced in my recap post that disappeared during the Whole30 definitely flairs up when I don't eat right.  It's definitely inflammation, and it's crazy to think this was my norm for so long.  Ugh.

Almost every breakfast we eat is Whole30, which definitely helps set the day off right.  Most lunches are solid as well - I feel much more equipped to eat real food, even when Tony isn't here.  Most dinners during the week are good ones too.  Weekends are usually a little less scripted, but we try to stay on track.  

I'll say too that I am happy to keep eating this way.  I don't really miss cheese.  Ok, that's a lie - the other day I commented that our tacos would be a lot better with cheese...but I was still ok with its absence.  Sometimes I fiend for carbs, wanting to shove handfuls into my mouth and not look back (just keepin' it real), but since we don't buy that stuff anymore, I usually suppress it.  I did eat about 50 of Harper's rice puffs in a moment of weakness one day.  It's liberating, honestly, to know that I don't have to analyze calories on the cracker box to find something that will make me feel less guilty.  Now we just don't buy any of it.  I feel pretty smug about our grocery cart.

The more I read about food ingredients and the nasty stuff that is in so much processed food, the more I am so glad to be done with junk like coffee creamer and faux butter.  But again, not to sound like I'm perfectly on board, I've had some pumpkin spice lattes and even some fast food.   We went out of town for a weekend and our food plan fell apart.  But the most important thing to me is that we have modified what we eat in our normal, routine lives.  

I don't condone guilt being tied with eating, because we all know that's not healthy.  Yet with new-found book learnin and actual trial and error on my own body, I can make decisions about what I eat in a much more educated way.  Yes, I can eat that four-cheese burger and fries, but I will feel like garbage.  So, if I eat it, fine, but now I actually think about what I'm eating.  Crazy things like cornbread feel like such a cheat.  We make conscious choices to eat bad food - it doesn't just go in without a second thought.

Also, I crave meat now.  Bonkers.  I used to be meh about meat, now I want it because I know it will fill me up and make me feel good.  Crazytown.

My ice cream is now gone.  :(