Whole30 - Day 31!

I made it through my Whole30 without dying from lack of pepperoni! YAY!

My Whole30 adventure is complete. I have made it 30 days with no sugar, no pizza, no chocolate, no bread...no soooo many things. I didn't cheat even once and I am feeling pretty proud of myself. Jack also made it through and it was a great thing to do together as a couple. I am really glad we did it that way. This was a very eye opening experiment for us and showed us many, many things that we could do as parents to create a healthier household.

The journey really isn't quite done yet. I can't go all hog wild on the pizza place right now. There is a period of reintroducing food categories back in to see how they affect you. This lets you identify foods that trigger bad reactions. Today we begin with dairy, then add back in grains and soy and peanut and so on...all the groups that are prone to causing issues. I am interested to see how this plays out. Wouldn't it be funny if my love of peanut butter since I was about 3 is something that upsets me? Living with issues on a daily basis makes you less likely to notice the havoc they create - you think that is your normal. It should be an interesting experience.

We are also going to continue to incorporate many Whole30 ideas into our everyday diet. We plan to stick pretty close to it while eating at home, with a few exceptions like adding cheese back to things :) I am going to continue to make our sauces and dressings most of the time. I am also going to experiment a bit with making my own bread a few times a week to try and make my love of bread a little healthier. We shall see how that goes.

As for results, I lost 17.5 pounds in 30 days. My stomach upset and heartburn and all that general gut unease has been gone right from the beginning. I am sleeping easier and better - even with two toddlers intent on joining my bed every night. I don't have any sugar cravings or bouncing sugar levels at all. I found that I love cashews. On a slightly sad note, I did continue to have gallbladder pain across the middle of my back every time I ate even a healthy fat - which means it is likely that my gallbladder is just going to have to come out. However, I never had any attacks and the pain was tolerable with a few ibuprofen. It is much less than it was before Whole30.

All in all, I am very happy with the Whole30 experiment. Hopefully, things continue to go well as we navigate this reintroduction period and find a way to incorporate the old and new in a way that is sustainable on a daily basis. Thanks to all for the thoughts and motivation and atta girls...I really appreciated it all. Now someone pour me a glass of wine...