Whole 30 -halfway done!

So I'm halfway done with whole 30 and I'm finally getting a minute to blog about this fabulous life changing experience.  

First I'll begin by saying that my husband is fantastic and has jumped in with both feet to do whole 30 together which I believe is a huge part of my ability to be successful.  

Day 1 for me was Wednesday April 16th. I spent a few days reading up on the requirements and grocery shopping to get ready. I also prepped my pantry by creating yes and no shelves to make it simple and less tempting. 

I first learned about whole30 through a co worker who did it with her son as a means to help his food allergies. When she first told me about it in Dec I was less than interested. A few other co workers tried it. Honestly here on Day 15 I can't clearly remember what sparked me to do it. I was tried of feeling like junk. I had attempted to reintroduce gluten and gained 15 pounds yep 15!!!! In a month!!!! I decided gluten had to go again so I figured I might as well just do whole30. I began at their website which is amazing. Whole30.com it tells everything you need to know here it is in a nutshell...

- no dairy

-no gluten

- no grains

- no added sugar or artificial sweeteners

- no processed foods w chemicals

- no legumes (except green beans)

- no "paleo" versions of sweets

- no giving into sweet cravings with fruit

- not a single crumb or lick of anything that is off limits for a solid 30 days

Oh and no weighing or measuring yourself (to focus your thoughts on how you feel, not the number)

The whole process is intended to heal your body from inflammation, reset your metabolism and your relationship with food and your body. 

Easter was actually not hard at all. I hosted and mom and I worked together to modify the family traditional meal to make it acceptable (cauliflower is a great replacement for potatoes in a roast)

Serving ice cream to students for a reward all day one day and making cheesecake desserts for a jewelry event were also surprisingly easy. Not even a lick of the spoon (or finger)

So far here's what I've found to be true for me. 

- sleeping better

- clothes fit much better (some that didn't fit two weeks ago fit now)

- I've had fewer heart palpitations (never expected that)

- energy level is beginning to go up

- I had much more energy in my workout tonight

- my sweet cravings are beginning to go away and I actually felt bad tonight for enjoying bananas and strawberries with a tablespoon of almond butter after my dinner. Seriously!

I've craved chocolate a lot (not as much now) I think Easter had a hand in that! My husband however has craved cheeseburgers. We are each different. 

My friend Melissa at work (that introduced me to whole30) encourages me daily and is my personal cheerleader here! I'm so thankful for her!

This week after feeling so much better and seeing results I'm excited to be adding exercise back in to merge with the new eating habits. 

Tonight was Zumba. I saw a difference in my my workout clothes for and had a ton of energy to do the advanced options throughout the class. Last time I went I thought I could die! 

I'm just so anxious to weigh. I actually asked my husband to hide my scales. I was pretty sure I would cheat on the weighing. Haha

I'm so thankful that God gives me the strength to stick to a new plan like this. It may seem drastic or crazy but truly as was stated in the book I'm reading "Made to Crave": I'm eating much like an animal in the wild. Meat, fruits, and veggies. We don't see obese animals running around do we? 

I feel that I've worked for many years to lose weight through exercise and diet. It wasn't working so I try something new and more intense. 

I'm excited for these next 15 days!!!

I highly suggest the books "It Starts With Food" and "Made to Crave" pictured below. Starts with food outlines whole 30 and it's science. Made to crave aligns a weightloss journey to a Christian daily walk with God. Both are awesome and I'm currently getting a lot from each of them. 

Btw: I'll write more about this later but after 30 squeaky clean days I'll reintroduce one group at a time (minus gluten-I know it doesn't work for me) to see which I can have in moderation and which I should avoid. 

One week progress picture: left is Easter (day 5), right is a jewelry training (day 11). I could feel a difference in my belt at that point.