I have a freebie today, but first I wanted to blab a bit. So yesterday was the last day of my Whole30 and I got on the scales this morning for the first time in a month. I lost ten pounds and the majority of my abdominal fat thanks to eating healthy foods and daily exercise! I can't believe that I made it an entire 30 days without dairy, legumes, grains, added sugar, and wine. Best of all, I eat as much as I want in every meal and I never feel hungry or deprived. Yes, twice pan-fried plantains (in coconut oil) and yummy dates rolled in coconut flakes are allowed!
My mom is doing it with me and she lost 10.5 pounds and my sister Heather is almost finished and she swears she lost some belly fat (ha, she is so fit she just had a bit of loose skin). I dream I could have Heather's body, but she also works out like crazy and has never let herself get out of shape.
But it is not just the weight-loss that excites me. I have more energy, feel more relaxed, my little aches and pains are gone, my face has completely cleared up, my blood pressure is incredible, and I am actually addicted to exercise. If I don't get out there and walk, bicycle, hike, or do an exercise tape every day, I feel like I am really missing out. Last month I felt my age (or older), but the last week or two I have felt decades younger.
We feel so good we are all doing another 30 days. I am still concerned that my chip-addiction is not completely cured, so I think an additional month of eating within the Whole30 boundaries will be good for me. However, when I finish I hope to introduce a few basic foods back in my diet; like cream in my coffee, a bit of cheese and homemade yogurt, and an occasional glass of wine with company. But I am swearing off chips (unless they are homemade plantain chips) and added sugars (thank goodness I love fruit) because both are EVIL (and unfortunately delicious)...
It is really funny because my other sister is also following an eating plan to get in shape, and is in a bit of competition with the rest of us. She is doing the "Eat for Life" diet which is low fat, lots of veggies and some fruit, grains and beans, no dairy, and no meat (just some fish). For a while she was eating a pound of lettuce and a pound of raw veggies a day! Lately she is "almost-vegan", except for the occasional fish. I want to note that she is not eating meat because she thinks "meat is murder" or religious reasons, but rather feels meat is not healthy and should not be a part of anyone's diet.
She has lost some weight, but she is always hungry. I mean ALWAYS hungry. And to be honest, because she is always starving-to-death, she can be quite grouchy (sorry sis!). Her only daily fat is a small handful of nuts, and it takes a heck of a lot of rice, veggies, and fruit to kill those hunger-cravings. Unfortunately this often leads to snacking on sweets like cake (her husband is quite the baker).
You should see us when we all get together. Those of us who eat meat suggest she try a tiny portion of grass-fed steak so she would feel more satiated, while the almost-vegan tells us that she never uses oil to pan-fry anything, she just uses water. My husband noted that it would be technically called boiling rather than frying. ;-)
Since everyone else in our family eats meat (including her kids and husband), she gets the bad end of the stick. I noticed that she was a bit miffed last weekend when she had to pick all of the stew meat out of the beef/veggie soup mom made for lunch. After her bowl of meat-less veggie soup she finished her meal with a piece of cake, and someone made a huge error of judgement and mentioned that a bit of lean grass-fed stew meat might be better for her than a piece of high carb/sugar cake if she was trying to lose weight, and there was a huge explosion. I love family gatherings!
Anyway, enough about my crazy eating plan. I feel good and I wanted to share with you just in case any of you are personally feeling a bit down about your low-energy and midwinter weight-gain. Whole30 really made a huge difference in my life. Remember, I used to be the type of person who ate bowls and bowls of Flaming Hot Cheetos while I was pregnant :-O, so I can't judge anyone else.
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