Yesterday was the first day off of Whole30. The only thing I did that is totally non-Paleo is I had a quarters worth of Hot Tamales from the machine at work. Silly hot tamales just suck me in. Everything else I stuck to Paleo. I had some vanilla almond milk in my coffee. It’s not great. Kinda left a weird after taste. I may have to go back to regular flavored creamer. Since I never use a lot of it I hope it won’t mess with my system too badly. Last night I had my first bite of the Coconut Almond Bark. Yes it’s heavenly. I love the combo of the sweet chocolate and the salt on top. I’m pretty sure I could eat a whole batch at once. I didn’t, and I won’t, but I certainly could. I also made some chocolate covered bananas. I found the idea (although not rocket science) on Pinterest, but they add peanut butter to the melted chocolate. I left that part out. Those things are darn good, yes I may have had one this morning with my eggs and almonds. Just one piece – they taste like ice cream. You can’t even tell it’s a banana. I’ll definitely be making more of those. A good healthy snack that also satisfies the sweet tooth!
Ok so lemme get on with the Whole30 wrap up and go into more details of my personal results. My starting weight was 132. Ending weight is 127. But like I said my goal was not weight loss. I was hoping for more energy, better sleep, less headaches, clearer skin and a flatter tummy. Some of these I got.
More energy = yes. Not tons but enough that I could feel myself working harder, longer and stronger in my workouts as well as feeling more able to get the things I needed to get done, done.
Better sleep = no. At least not better. I think I got more sleep, more consistent anyways because I didn’t wake up near as much as I usually do, but only about 50% of the time did I wake up in the morning feeling truly rested. A lot of times I woke up feeling great only to feel not so great by the time I got to work. (and being at work may be to blame for that, not so much sleep or lack thereof).
Less headaches = yes. Make that NO headaches! Aside from the initial sugar withdrawal headache, I haven’t had one since. Well I have had one. But I could tell it was an ‘I’m not feeling so good headache’ and not just a headache that shows up simply because it wanted to and decides to take up residence.
Clearer skin = no. Not at all. My skin is still terrible and worse than it’s ever been. Any suggestions on that I’ll take ‘em! PLEASE! I’m willing to try anything. And I’ve already tried a LOT!
Flatter Tummy = yes. Although it’s not as flat as I would like, it’s definitely flatter. I don’t have near as much of the ‘pooch’ that I felt prior to starting. I think I posted during the challenge that one day I just felt like my stomach had deflated. That is a good feeling. So that I for sure want to keep up. I have a feeling that is the elimination of gluten/grain. If I do decide to have some of that I will be sure to keep an eye out for the tummy ‘pooch’ and make sure I don’t eat a lot if that is indeed the culprit.
I think overall I have learned how important it is to look at labels on the foods I put in my (and my family’s) bodies. There isn’t any need for a lot of the ingredients that are in foods. As much as I can eliminate those unneeded things I will. And if I can find healthier alternatives to the things I like, those will most def be permanent changes.
So, overall this experience was very much worth it. I have learned a lot about myself and my self-discipline. It has also allowed me to try many new foods that before I wouldn’t have given a second thought. Steak, pork, butternut squash and coconut are some of the few. Another positive from this experience is all the wonderful support, encouragement and help from friends, both old and new, that I have received. As well as the inquiries from a few people who are interested in trying Paleo for themselves. I would love to be able to help people on their own journey with Paleo and/or Whole30. I have really enjoyed sharing what I have learned with people who are interested or intrigued. And I hope that continues. I also hope I continue learning more and more. I’m currently waiting for my copy of Paleo Confort Foods to arrive. It’s taking a lot longer than I wanted it to. I want to start using it already!
Final thought – if you are remotely entertaining the idea of trying Paleo – DO IT. It’s always worth a try. If you discover you don’t like it or it’s not for you, that’s fine. Just stop. But think of what you may gain from just trying. And when you do try please let me know how it goes!!
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