30 Things I Learned During the Whole30: The Recap Post
Monday, February 4th, 2013 | Posted under Whole30
Last Wednesday was the end of our amazing Whole30 experience. Erik and I have learned so much about ourselves and how food affects how we feel. I’m really glad we did the Whole30, although I’m definitely glad that it’s over and we can relax a little bit on what we can eat and drink without feeling like we’re going to end up in Paleo jail!
Since I’ve been doing pretty extensive recaps week-by-week about what we’ve been eating and how I’ve been feeling, I thought I’d mix things up by doing a list of 30 Things I Learned During the Whole 30!
1. Real food made at home tastes even better than restaurant food.
2. Preparation is the key to success. Meal planning keeps us from getting bored with our food because we mix things up, and we only keep healthy stuff around so we don’t feel guilty about eating something when we’re hungry.
3. Men lose weight easier than women. I lost 4 lbs. Erik lost 13 lbs.
4. But weight doesn’t necessarily correlate to body size. I lost 2 inches on my hips, and an inch on my thighs. Woot!
5. Protein keeps me satisfied much longer. On the days when I skipped protein at breakfast, I was starving almost the entire day. Eggs are my friends.
6. My energy level improved. For the last week, I’ve regularly woken up before my alarm without the sluggish, “five more minutes, Mom” feeling. Erik has also reported more stable energy levels throughout the day.
7. Taste buds change over time. Fruit tastes sweeter. Even almond butter tastes better than it did when I first had it. Unsweetened drinks, like black tea and lattes, have a whole new flavor to them.
8. There is no food neutral. One of the main principle’s of It Starts With Food is that the food you’re eating is either making you healthier or less healthy. Our goal should always be to eat as much of the healthier food as we can.
9. My relationship with food is about progress, not perfection. It’s called the Whole30 because the strict rules are to simply give you a reboot on your health and your relationship with food. It’s not the Whole365, and you’re not expected to give up everything forever. Case and point: Super Bowl Sunday.
10. My blood sugars are the best they have been in years. That alone, to me, is worth it.
11. I eat less calories naturally on the Whole30. For about a week during the Whole30, I counted my calories to see what kind of difference it was making. I naturally ate 1400-1550 calories a day and I never went hungry.
12. I no longer have to worry about the quantity of my food, because I’m focused solely on the quality. Quality trumps quantity.
13. I’m an abstainer, not a moderator when it comes to food. It’s easier for me to say “No” than “Just a little.”
14. I love the Paleo community. I haven’t really made any Paleo friends yet, but there is such a positive energy in all the blogs I read. Everyone is so excited about the Paleo lifestyle and figuring out new ways to be the healthiest you can be while still enjoying food.
15. It is definitely harder to find Paleo-friendly meals at restaurants, which is why I want to find ways to socialize that doesn’t involve eating. (It’ll save me money, too!)
16. My skin is clearer! I’m not sure if this was from the sugar or the dairy or the grains or what, but my skin has definitely improved.
17. This doesn’t have to be a low carb diet, so I never felt like I had spikes of high and low energy. I ate plenty of carbs from fruits, starchy vegetables and nuts. Grains are not the only places you can get carbs.
18. After 27 years, I have finally acquired a taste for plain water.
19. Sweet potatoes, kale, coconut oil, almond butter and ghee are all new favorites in the Nimlos household.
20. Having treats on special occasions is great, but special occasions should be special. Not just a random Tuesday afternoon because you’re bored.
21. I actually can cook. And I’m not too bad at it either. (But I still don’t really like it.)
22. I think everyone should read It Starts With Food because it basically answers all the questions everyone asks me. (Besides, it has 325 5-star ratings out of 362. I think that says something.)
23. I have less bloating and gas. Hey, I’m just speaking the truth here.
24. It’s sustainable because it’s real yummy food, not crazy bland diet food.
25. No more stomach aches. I don’t know if I got them because I have a food intolerance (I could never detect a correlation) or if it’s just because I wasn’t eating as much on the Whole30, but the stomach aches were gone.
26. Spices are the spice of life!
27. I don’t need a dessert to feel satisfied at the end of the meal. I’m no longer bound to my food rituals.
28. My life didn’t radically change because of the Whole30, but I have a new appreciation for the variety of foods available to me and how they make me feel. In a word: better!
29. I can do anything for 30 days. So can you.
30. This is something that we will be continuing. Not as hardcore, and we’ll definitely be incorporating some non-Paleo foods into our diet. But it’s nice to have a framework for how I want to eat. Something that guides my food choices. And I’ll be blogging all about it so stay tuned for more!
If you have any additional questions about the Whole30 or the Paleo diet, feel free to email me or leave a comment!
Comments on this post
Sounds like it was a great experience!! Meal planning really changed how my husband and I eat too. A typical Sunday afternoon/evening will see me making one main dish for a few days of the coming week in the oven (for example, a lasagna or a casserole) and setting up the slow cooker (we love Crockpot365!) to do another main dish we can alternate with it. One dish has meat in it, one dish is vegetarian (occasionally even vegan). We buy a selection of fresh veggies – broccoli, green beans, carrots – to steam each day for sides. We swapped to brown rice a while ago and we eat a lot more lentils and beans a lot less pasta than we used to.
I started eating more fruit last year myself. I try to eat 2-3 pieces a day. I used to think I didn’t like oranges but I have discovered I actually do.
I keep a 1 liter Sigg bottle on my desk at work to make sure I drink water. My goal is to drink 3 liters a day. It’s easier to do with the water bottle sitting in front of me than if I needed to get up and refill a glass.
Keep up the good work!
5. February - 9:27 amYou know, I’m finding myself developing a taste for plain water, too, from my soda fast. I still don’t drink enough, but I find myself WANTING it more and more. And I drank WATER at my Super Bowl party which astounds me. AND I WANTED IT. That’s so weird to me.
I really need to read that book but Whole30 scares me. It’s such a huge step outside my food comfort zone and I’m not sure I can handle it. But this list gives me the motivation to at least READ the book and see what I think about it.
5. February - 2:49 pmSo great to read this! Good for you! I’m a mom of a 12 yo T1D and have insulin resistance. I’ve lived mostly paleo for many years. Lots of food allergies make it an easy decision becuase it’s a “must do” food lifestyle instead of a “should do” food lifestyle. We recently started getting together once a month to make paleo meals with an awesome family whose daughter is also T1D. So great to have delicious meals together!
We both have Sarah Fragaso’s Everyday Paleo book and have made about 20 of the recipes in the book. It does not disappoint! Photos are great, and the food is amazing and actually looks like the photo in the book! How often does that happen!? Highly recommend this for new Paleo eaters!
I often have friends and family who flat out refuse to consider a step like turning to a paleo lifestyle. And, if you don’t like to cook and are always relying on a drive-thru for your food, it would be a challenge. But TAKE IT! You’ll be happy you did.
My biggest happiness in this lifestyle is in finding out that I love coconut milk! One big step for anyone who is wanting to kick dairy to the curb but likes a creamy dish is to make a cream sauce using whole fat coconut milk and organic chicken stock. First, try a 3-to-1 ratio (whatever your desired amount). And convert to unrefined coconut oils for cooking and baking. No cholesterol, and all delish!
Eating out is so difficult, that it’s made me want to open a Paleo restaurant in our town. Now, where’s that millionaire with lots of faith in me my great idea??
Good luck everyone!
5. February - 5:36 pmSounds like an amazing 30 days! I can’t wait to read this book. Slowly I am eliminating the sugar, dairy and grains in my attempt to go paleo. Great chatting with you last night on @paleochat.
7. February - 8:33 am