Whole 30 ish

Let me start by saying I am just a normal girl on a journey to lose 100 pounds. I don't proclaim to be a guru of any kind. I just want to share my results with the program. 

No sugar, dairy, grains, legumes.
Only meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts.
No weighing for 30 days!! Hahahahahha!

I feel like I've been "dieting" for my entire adult life. I've always struggled with being the fat girl. I think I've tried every single weight loss strategy out there. In life we correlate food with good times. When we celebrate something we eat or drink alcohol. I've always said I'm not going to miss out on a good time because I'm dieting. During my 30 days there were several celebrations with lots of good food that I had to pass on. I didn't just not go all together but I just didn't eat the cake or drink the alcohol. Not too bad, but not my norm.

I guess the real weight loss journey started for me when I was 23. Woah. Almost 10 years ago now.... After I gave birth to my sweet boy I left the hospital weighing a whopping 235 pounds. The exact same I weighed when I checked in. This was so difficult for me but completely my fault. My entire pregnancy I said I waited my whole life to be pregnant and eat whatever I wanted. Well that caused me to gain 75 pounds. Since then I have done, Weight Watchers, Medifast, starvation, Prescription weight loss pills, Isagenix, Advocare, 21 Day Fix, and probably more I'm forgetting. I wish I could say Whole 30 was different from all of those but it's really not.

Whole 30 is not a weight loss plan. It's a lifestyle change. However I am not willing to never eat cheese, or drink vodka, or have birthday cake for the rest of my life. I just don't see how that is realistic. So for me, Whole 30 is a weight loss plan and I had success with it and I will do it again. W30 did change my mindset. I am now conscious of everything I eat and I think about how awful I feel when I eat heavy carbs or sugar. For example today I over indulged like an idiot and ate 3 brownies. I barely made it through my 3000 yard swim because I felt so sluggish. Dumb. Lesson learned.

Starting weight 165.6
Bust: 38 inches
Waist: 34 inches
Hips: 40 inches

Week 1:
First few days I was so excited to try this out they breezed by. However day 5-7 were rough. I felt like a turtle stuck in a peanut butter puddle. Literally trying to find energy from anywhere. I couldn't have my cream and Truvia in my coffee or my Advocare Spark and I was tired. And hungry! I found myself eating a lot of nuts this week. Probably too many. I had a race and a weekend trip is week and I guess being that it was only the first week I felt great! For the first time ever I had no GI issues during or after my race.  I know the plan says not to weigh but at the end of week 1 I was down 3 pounds.

Week 2: 162.6

This is where things began to get sticky. I had a race this week and was worried about nutrition. It was only a sprint tri but a further distance than the week before. I made it through the race with no GI issues again. After the race there was only jambalaya and beer and I had not planned ahead and brought my own food. We stayed after for several hours and I didn't eat anything so I ended up getting sick and passing out for the afternoon. Preparation is key!! 2 more pounds down this week.

Week 3: 160.6, why can't I drop that .6?!

I don't remember much from week 3, I guess I was sort of sailing through at this point. I do remember being hungry every day. I also ate like a dozen eggs every 2 days. Only 1.6 pounds this week. Beginning to get discouraged BUT I know that small numbers are best to keep it off and it's better than a gain!

Week 4: 159.0, it's finally gone!
Home stretch! I thought eating out would be difficult on W30, but it really wasn't. I have learned that I love oil and vinegar on my salads and it's not hard to ask them to cook your meat with no butter.

I ended my journey on the eve of day 30
Because well.... I had a date. I didn't want to not be able to eat or drink on this first date so I called it quits.

I have never been so pleased with myself for completing this challenge. For me W30 was a test of mental strength. I have zero willpower when it comes to food and I have never been able to stick to something like this for that long.

I wish I could say I did W30 the correct way and stuck to the book, but I didn't. Now, when I say that I don't mean I cheated. I just mean it says no snacking, eat your fruit with your meal. Well I snacked on that shit all day. It says no smoothies, I made a banana, almond milk, and almond butter smoothie that was delish! It also said no chips, I ate chips fried in acceptable oils. I also made banana and egg waffles. OMG so good. 1 banana, 2 eggs, waffle iron!


Tips:
Larabars are a savior
Plantain chips and avocado YUM
Dried fruit
Boiled eggs. All. Day. Long.
Potato chips fried in acceptable oils like sunflower, coconut, avocado or olive oil

Final weight: 157.2
Bust:35
Waist: 33
Hips:38

Total weight lost: 8.4 pounds
Total inches lost: 6 inches

Off to my next journey, Racing Weight......

~Swimbikerunfuel