Whole30 Wrap-Up

Well, it's over.

Okay, it's not really over.

I still have the reintroduction phase to do for the next few weeks, but my 30 days of no-exceptions clean eating are over.

It has been, yet again, an empowering, rewarding, and challenging experience that I thought I'd wrap up by summarizing some of the benefits I noticed this time around:

*One of the big ideas they talk about in It Starts With Food is the "sugar dragon," or the deep-rooted addiction that a lot of us have to- you guessed it- sugar. I've definitely had issues with sugar for pretty much my whole life (ask my mom), so this was something I really focused on getting control over this month. During my last Whole30, I didn't pay as much attention to this and relied on fruit and (gasp) smoothies to get me by. There were even a few paleo-ified baked goods here and there, which they really discourage, as well as reliance on the always-delicious Larabars. 

This time I still ate fruit, but I treated it as part of the rest of my meal. Instead of saving it for after my meal as a dessert or treat, I either had it mixed in with the dish or on rotated bites so that I didn't let the last thing my brain remembered eating be something super sweet. 

I didn't do everything perfectly this time, there were still a couple of smoothies made for the roommate, as well as homemade Larabars consumed out of sheer convenience, but I feel that I did a much better job of being conscious of my sugar cravings and choosing to eat less sweet, more nourishing foods during those times.

*Over the last few months, I'd suddenly started breaking out around my chin/neck area, which hasn't ever been true for me before. Those blemishes have just about gone away this month, I'm guessing they were related to all the junk I'd been eating during moving/transitioning.

*I've had a very stubborn common wart on my hand for over a year, and just about the time when I think we finally succeeded in freezing it to death, a new one sprung up nearby. That new one has almost disappeared since starting the Whole30, with no freezing. It isn't 100% gone, which is another reason I'm glad I'm doing the reintroduction phase- gives it a little more time to vanish completely.

*As usual, there has been some weight loss and I have definitely felt less "squishy" all month. I still have a little ways to go weight-wise to be at my healthiest, but I'm definitely feeling good. I'm still training for the Turkey Trot 5k, so hopefully as that ramps up, more pounds will be lost. 

* A lot of people in the book and on Whole9's website have talked about better sleep as a result of their Whole30, and I didn't really experience that last time, or very much this time. But just in the last week, I have noticed the ability to fall asleep earlier and wake up more refreshed. I'm not sure if that's a result of different eating, or of actually having a job now and getting up for early shifts, but either way...I'll take it.

* In general, I feel like I've gotten some more good tools under my belt to continue making healthy food choices once I'm back to "regular" life. I can choose not to eat the junk just because it's there, or because everyone else is doing it, or because I've had a crappy day. I've eaten so many tasty things over the last month, and if I could muster up the energy to make that food for 30 days straight, I can certainly keep doing that during the busy weeks that are to come.

Stay tuned for an update once reintroduction is done!