Whole30 Recap and Where Do I Go From Here

Happy Friday!

I'm feeling a lot better today than I have been. I'd say I'm about 80%. I was finally able to get back into my routine today. Over my lunch hour, I ran for 30 minutes on the treadmill. Total distance was 3.57 miles. I ran the first 5K in 25:35 and then took it easy for the rest of the time (6.1 mph at 3% incline). I really needed that run. It makes me feel more confident about my running fitness. Only 4 weeks until my half marathon. 

You may remember I provided measurements way back on Day 1. 

Starting weight and measurements
Height: 5'9" (just as a baseline)
Weight: 159 lbs.
Biceps: 11"
Chest: 36"
Waist: 26.5"
Hips: 39.5"
Thighs: 23.5"

Here's the update.

Ending weight and measurements
Weight: 155 lbs.
Biceps: 10.5"
Chest: 35"
Waist: 25.5"
Hips: 39"
Thighs: 23"

I lost 4 pounds and 3.5" total. I'm pretty happy with that. I exercised consistently the first 25 days - up until I got sick. I rode bike on the trainer, ran and we even went hiking up Lookout Mountain once. Everyday, I did 100 squats, 100 sit-ups and 25 push-ups. I built some muscle and lost a bit of fat during the month.

What were my thoughts of Whole30? It was a positive experience. I was anxious in the beginning, thinking I'd be hungry or wouldn't know what to cook. I've been Paleo since June 2012, so I'm not sure why I was so apprehensive about it. I made something different for every dinner. We ate outside the home five times. Two times we ate at Mmm...Coffee and also took home soups for lunch the following day. The way it works at our house is we take leftovers for lunch the following day. Since I didn't cook dinner those nights, we needed lunch. The fifth outing was Whole Foods. I made a salad from the salad bar. My husband bought a piece of rotisserie chicken from the hot food bar and made a small salad.

There were a couple times when I craved a treat. I think about food a lot. Food is a passion of mine, so I'm constantly thinking about it. I'll be eating breakfast and already thinking about lunch or dinner. It's incredible how much life is centered around food. I was able to pin Paleo treats and not crave them. There were social situations where temptation was sitting right in front of me and I said no. I stayed compliant. I held myself accountable. Others were trying to bring me down, but I didn't let them. Our minds are more powerful than we realize.

The biggest thing I gained from doing a Whole30, sugar doesn't have a hold over me. My sugar addiction has been broken. I no longer need sugar on a daily basis. It used to feel like my day wasn't complete until I ate a dessert. I've mentioned it previously that I grew up in a house that always had homemade goodies. My mom is an awesome baker. She made from-scratch pie crusts, pies, cakes, cookies, etc. She baked cakes for everyone's birthdays. She even would bake her own Spice Cake with Coffee Buttercream Frosting. One of my brothers always requested black raspberry pie. I typically had my mom make me chocolate cake with buttercream frosting for my birthday. To this day, I actually can't remember/don't know what my other brother's or dad's favorite is. One of my favorite desserts that my mom made was key lime pie with graham cracker crust. Yum! It always reminds me of our Florida vacations as a child. We went to Florida at least once, and sometimes twice, per year while I was growing up.

Tonight, my husband and I broke the Paleo rules and went to our favorite Indian buffet, India Oven. They have a nice selection of main dishes and sides. I haven't had Indian food in quite a while. I used to eat two plates of food in the past. I could barely finish my one plate tonight. I still walked out feeling stuffed like a piñata. I ate a samosa, veggie pakora, basmati rice, sweet potato masala, chicken tikka masala, seasoned green beans, naan bread, and a little warm carrot "pudding" (Gajar Halwa). I hadn't tried the carrot dish before, but really enjoyed it. It's made of carrots, a creamy sauce, dates and walnuts with some spices (cinnamon, for sure). I think I could make a Paleo version using canned coconut milk.

While eating, we discussed Whole30. Both of us felt really awesome during the month. Neither of us really struggled (my husband mentioned missing his warm beverage such as hot chocolate or honey and tea when it was cold - instead during Whole30 he drank plain green tea and actually started to like it) and thought all of our meals were delicious. They weren't far from our normal Paleo meals. The big difference came with breakfast (no Paleo waffles/pancakes with maple syrup or microwave breakfast cakes). We enjoyed eating clean. We believe it's something to do every 6 months, so we'll do another Whole30 in late August... after my birthday on August 14th. We's decided we will eat two clean meals out of our three daily meals moving forward. That'll give us a little flexibility to have Paleo granola (honey or maple syrup-sweetened) for breakfast or have chicken and Paleo waffles with maple syrup for dinner. We don't have to have sweets if we don't want, but the flexibility is there. I think we might indulge two or three times in a week at most. I've been enjoying omelettes and eggs for breakfast. I just have to keep finding different ways to make them. We may do stretches of 7-10 days completely sugar-free, depending on how we're feeling.

There's another thing I'll be focusing on moving forward: watching my portions. I definitely need to control them. Even if I cut my portions back by at least 10%, I will easily be able to drop the additional body fat I would like to lose. Do you struggle with portion control? It's such a simple concept, yet difficult to do. I'm focusing on one thing at a time. Since I broke the sugar addiction, I can now focus on portions. I may need to buy smaller plates. How do you manage your portions?

Well, I'm off to bed. Hope you all have a great weekend!