Most likely, the majority of you have heard of the Whole30 diet by now. If you haven’t, then you might wanna go ready up on it at Whole30’s website so that I don’t mess up the description. If you have heard of it, then you probably think one of two things about it.
1 – That looks like something I might want to try one day!
2- NEVER, EVER, EVER, in a million years, I’d rather die, count me out, NOPE!
A little over a month ago, I would have fallen into category 2! Wow, how things have changed. Keep reading to hear my thoughts!
The word ‘diet’ has a nasty reputation so for the purpose of this blog post, I will be referring to the following definition of the word.
DIET: the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.
I just don’t want you guys to think of Whole30 in the ‘fad diet’ or ‘trying to loose a ton of weight’ way.
Before Whole30, I would say my personal diet with very similar to that of a spoiled 5 year old. Think -I want a cookie, and I want it right now- or -EWWWW that’s green. I don’t like green-! I’m pretty sure those are things that I said pretty regularly. Don’t get me wrong, I know how to loose weight. I know exactly how many calories my body has to take in and burn in order to drop the weight I want to. But my personal philosophy was that you should eat what you want and just limit the amount.
It’s honestly not a terrible plan. It has always worked for me in the past. The problem is, it’s totally not sustainable. I was eating the things that I loved like chicken nuggets, pizza, and absolutely no veggies and just trying to avoid the REALLY bad stuff. So I’d loose the weight. But the second I ate a cupcake… BAM it was back! The way I used to eat was making me tired, hangry, and less than satisfied.
THEN I GOT PREGNANT! Woah. Do pregnancy hormones send you on a ride, or what?!? Fast forward after 9 months of eating whatever the heck I wanted. Here I was, 40lbs heavier and trying to use the same techniques to loose the baby weight. Ok… I lost 20lbs pretty quickly, but the second half of the weight was REFUSING to leave my body. I was exhausted, hormonal, and heavier than I wanted to be.
My bestie, Elizabeth, had been on operation ‘Get Kassy & Keith to do Whole30’ for quite sometime. At the time, I thought she just wanted someone to share in her misery. Boy, was I wrong. After a very persuasive conversation with her (seriously, she should be paid by Whole30) I told Keith I wanted to try Whole30. He was baffled, but 100% on board (he’s a category 1 guy)! My mom also decided to join in. So we discussed our goals. Here is what I was hoping to gain from Whole30.
1- A kick start. I needed to basically start over after a 9 month hormonal rollercoaster.
2- I wanted to learn to like healthier food. No one was more bummed that I didn’t like vegetables than me. It would be nice if I could see a pot of steamed veggies and actually want to eat them. Then I could create a better, healthier, more sustainable way to maintain my weight.
3- Weight Loss. I was 20lbs heavier than I wanted to be and I needed a healthy way to lose it.
Here is a brief run down of what Whole30 is in case you didn’t know. Basically, it’s no dairy, no grains, no legumes, and no added sugar. You just read that and probably want to exit this blog post now. But hang tight. You can have all of the fruit, meat, veggies, & potatoes (among other things) that you want. There is NO CALORIC RESTRICTION. Eat until you’re good and full. It’s kind of similar to the paleo diet. It’s removing all processed foods from your diet and going back to the basics of what your body needs to function at it’s most efficient.
I’m a breastfeeding mom so there was a lot to take into consideration to make sure that Kate was taken care of. But after reading more at the Whole Mamas Website (it’s an entire page of stuff just for Whole30 moms) I realized that the diet gives me everything I need and MORE to make sure that I’m getting good nutrients to nourish Kate and keep my milk supply from dropping. I was getting good fats from avocados, carbs from veggies and potatoes, and natural sugars from fruits. My milk supply hasn’t dropped or altered at ALL!
There are a couple things that Keith and I discussed before hand We decided to make our own little rules about a couple of things to align with our lifestyle and goals. I’m going to tell you what they are not to say that you should or shouldn’t do this (the plan is better if you follow it entirely) but to be 100% transparent about my journey.
If you start reading about Whole30, you’ll hear a LOT about Larabars and RX Bars. Most of them are Whole30 compliant, but you’re only supposed to use them in emergency cases like when you’re on the go and can’t stop or need a pick me up in the middle of a meeting. But I broke that rule and ate one everyday for breakfast. I knew that in order to make myself eat breakfast (I don’t like to) I was going to have to find something quick & easy that didn’t require any thought. THAT was what was going to work for me, personally.
You’re also not supposed to have pre-packaged plantain chips. Even though all of the ingredients are Whole30 compliant, you’re not supposed to. I think the reasoning has something to do with snacking… IDK! But one of the things I knew I’d have trouble with is getting the right amount of calories to sustain my milk supply. So some snacking was necessary. Plantain chips and some potato chips cooked in avocado oil were a lifesaver for me!
So now I know you’re dying to know my results and thoughts, right? Just DYING I’m sure!
Well. I lost… 11.8 lbs!!! I just about fainted when I got on the scale, you guys! Not to mention I could see serious improvement in my thighs and butt which are my problem areas. Keith lost 8 lbs and my mom lost 5! So I WON! JK, it totally wasn’t a contest and I had the most to lose. It was so good to see that the scale moved after almost 2 months of stalling out with my postpartum weightloss.
The even better part is all of the ‘Non Scale Victories (NSV)’ that we all had. My energy and productivity levels are up a ton! Even if Kate has a bad night, I’m not getting tired or seeing a lag in my work. My skin is looking clearer and brighter and I’m not having any stomach cramping or issues at all. I’m sleeping sounder as well. I also noticed that I don’t get hangry. And I’m much easier going that I usually am when trying to lose weight. I’d say it’s brightened my mood significantly!
Keith used to get bad migraines. He hasn’t had one since we started Whole30. That totally could be a coincidence, but maybe not! He’s also noticed a lot more energy in is workouts. He hasn’t been able to take any pre-workout because of the ingredients in those, but said he’s gotten some great workouts despite that! The first week or so we saw a drop in energy, but after two weeks, it’s like a crazy difference how much better you feel. No 3 o’clock crash. He’s also noticed that his bloat is completely gone. He went from having a flat stomach to a completely ripped 6-pack again in 30 days with just a change in what he ate.
My mom said she’s seen crazy improvement in her joint and muscle aches. She’s an avid cross fitter, and used to get knee aches and back aches from the workouts pretty regularly. Since she’s been on whole30, those have drastically improved. She’s sleeping better, she has more energy as well!
Those are just a COUPLE of our NSVs. I think we can all agree that the biggest change has been in our relationship with food and how it affects our lives.
Can I still have sugar and dairy and all that now that it’s over? Totally. If I want. But after I finish the reintroduction period (v. important part of the whole30 journey) I’ll know exactly how each food affects me. So I’ll be able to decide whether or not the cupcake is worth it or not.
For instance, I decided to take the slow roll reintroduction plan. There isn’t necessarily a day where you reintroduce sugar specifically. But I was wanting to see how sugar affected me by itself. I really wanted to start drinking my no-cal fizzy waters with artificial sweetener again. So on day 31, I tried one of my drinks. I wasn’t even halfway through it and I got a splitting headache and my teeth started to hurt. How crazy right?
So I’ve been able to see how quickly and negatively artificial sugars affect my body, and I know that they’re not worth it to me. I have tried some coconut sugar and honey since and those don’t seem to bother me near as much. I haven’t tried actual raw sugar yet, but I’m sure I will soon. It was so eye opening to see how my body reacted to that ‘foreign’ substance. I’ve heard before the artificial sugars were super bad for your body, and woah do I believe it now!
So where do we go from here?
I’m going to slowly try and reintroduce dairy, gluten and non gluten grains, and legumes. I want to see how each affects me so that I can make educated decisions about my diet. I’m pretty sure that I’m going to be gluten free from here on out and limit my non gluten grains as much as I can. That is for sure!
Keith and I have decided to keep our house Whole30 approved from here on out other than his coconut sugar for his coffee. When we go out, we will have the opportunity to decide if we want to have non whole30 approved foods. And we’ll know exactly what our consequences will be. I know it will totally be worth it to eat the cupcake sometimes. But there will be others when I’d rather not.
That’s what this is all about. Food Freedom. Being in charge of your food instead of what you eat and your cravings dictating your whole life. I have learned not to mindlessly eat food out of the bowl on the table. Or grab a handful of candy when it’s there for the taking.
I have also realized that fun & food are not necessarily connected. We can have a great time with family and friends and still eat healthy or not eat at all. I grew up in a Baptist community so this was a huge hurdle for me to get over. Food is fellowship. I thought that doing this meant giving up our social lives completely. And for the first 30 days, it did take a hit. But not that we’re off of it, we’re prepared to enter a restaurant and have a great time with out the food guilt and over eating!
The last thing and biggest thing that I’ve learned is confidence when it comes to what I’m putting in my body. And more than that, what I’m putting in Kate’s. When Kate starts to eat solid food, I’ll be better prepared to make good choices for her little body as well as mine. I want Kate to have a healthy relationship with food and to understand that WHAT she puts into her body matters. I plan on keeping her food as clean and unprocessed as possible. Sure, there will be times when she gets to eat cupcakes and pizza and stuff but at home, we’ll try to eat clean!
All in all, Id say I’m a changed woman. Changed for the better! Do I love ALL veggies now? No. But I’ve been trying more and more. God made us these wonderful, amazing, capable bodies. We should be nice to them and fill them with fuel that will make them work the way they were meant to! Now I can’t wait to do it again!
Have you tried Whole30? What were your thoughts? Are you thinking about trying it? Comment below! I wanna hear all about it!
BIG TIME TIP: We used an app called ‘Real Plans’! You have to buy it, but it was 100% worth it for the month. It has a HUGE database of whole30 approved meals (double check the ingredients always) and other diets as well. So you choose your diet, the number of people you’re trying to feed and it automatically adjusts the recipes to fit and provides a shopping list. You can schedule your meals out for the week and it will tell you everything you need! It was easily the best thing we did!
