Weight loss has been an uphill battle for me since having my son back in 2015. It seemed that no matter what I did, I just could not lose ANY of the 20+ lbs that I had put on after his birth.
After recently having my second baby in December 2017, I decided that not only was I going to lose the weight I put on with my second, but would even begin to finally shed the 20+ lbs I put on with my first.
As of today, I am just 14 lbs away from my pre-first baby weight–a huge feat considering I nearly gave up after hitting a plateau where the weight just wouldn’t budge for 2 years. I didn’t feel healthy. Instead, I was bloated, tired, and lethargic 80% of the time.
What is the Whole 30?
I decided to try something different this time as nothing else had seemed to work in the past. My colleague told me about the Whole 30 diet one day during our morning meeting and that was it. That was what I was going to try in order to kick start my “operation get healthy again” plan.
I’ve always been anti-diet but this seemed both reasonable and doable so I was game.
The same day, I printed a list of compliant food and went to my local grocery store to pick everything up. Since the Whole 30 is an elimination diet which helps you identify and eliminate inflammatory foods, there’s a wide variety of foods that you cannot have on this diet.
The foods that you cannot have are:
- Legumes
- Grains
- Dairy
- Sugar
- Carrageenan, MSG, or sulfites.
This meant that even foods typically deemed as healthy (beans, yogurt, even who grain bread) had to go. The idea is to slowly re-introduce these foods one-by-one after the 30 days to see which ones are responsible for any particular health problem(s) and/or symptoms.
The foods that you can have are:
- Unprocessed meats
- Seafood
- Vegetables & fruits
- Nuts & seeds
- Select oils and ghee
- Eggs
Although the Whole 30 isn’t considered a “weight-loss” diet, many people report weight loss in varying degrees and I hoped to be one of them.
How I felt on the Whole 30
The first couple of weeks were tough. I was hungry, tired, and grouchy a great majority of the time but was determined to keep going.
During the first 5 days I did notice that my skin was brighter, clearer, and had less breakouts. Even fine lines had seemed to smooth out. I stopped wearing makeup for a few weeks and loved it.
I also finally fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans comfortably since I had noticeably less bloating as well.
I began noticing that even though there were many foods I couldn’t have on the whole 30 diet, I still had a huge variety of recipes to choose from and found myself cooking every single day.
That was probably the hardest thing out of the whole experience–the need to cook so much. I do have to say though that it was well worth-it.
By day 22, I had lost nearly every craving for processed sugar. In fact, I was only eating sugar from fruit which was allowed in small amounts. By the time I hit day 30, I really didn’t have any desire to change my eating habits back but knew that eating this way just wasn’t sustainable for my busy lifestyle.
What I think of the Whole 30 after trying it
Here are my overall thoughts on the Whole 30 diet. As you can probably tell, there were definitely more pros than cons in my opinion:
Cons
- Too much animal protein
- Cuts out healthy foods such as beans and grains
- Difficult to maintain with busy lifestyle
- Can get expensive
Pros
- Clear skin
- Nearly zero bloating
- More energy
- Less need for food
- Less need for snacking
- Teaches better eating habits.
What the Whole 30 taught me
Round one of the Whole 30 was a huge success for me. I lost a few lbs but more importantly, I changed my eating habits and began incorporating healthier options during each mealtime.
I no longer have a strong need for carbohydrates to be full and no longer feel like I need sugar after every savory meal, something I was notoriously known for prior to this diet.
Overall, I had a positive experience but will likely not be completing a round 2 any time soon. I just cannot eat the amount of meat/animal protein required for this diet on such a constant basis.
After slowly re-introducing whole 30-forbidden foods into my diet, I really didn’t notice a whole lot besides the bloating and occasional tiredness. Other than that, I felt physically fine, indicating that I likely wasn’t negatively affected by those foods to begin with. Although I have yet to re-introduce processed sugar and dairy.
I would recommend this diet for those who want to identify real inflammatory issues within their body or for anyone who wants to kick-start their health plan.
I’ve been very pleased with what the Whole 30 diet did for me and am still benefiting from the results!