Whole 30 Reflections: Days 8-14
Since my last post I have a few updates. Most importantly, I’m excited to say that Whole 30 isn’t nearly as rough as it was the first week. What do I mean by this? A whole slew of things.
Before I go into the details of my second week, I want to make something clear. I did not begin Whole 30 to lose weight. I decided to start it, and stick with it, for a bunch of other reasons as I mentioned in my last reflections post. I wanted to figure out why I felt bloated all the time, why I felt weird abdominal pains and how to prevent my body from developing another ovarian cyst. The result of enduring the “deprivation” of the diet for the first seven days resulted in positive results that I had not had from any other diet.
That being said… How do I look?
In just seven days, I dropped ten pounds. This morning, back at school after spring break, I tried on my favorite pair of jeans. They’re a simple chic pair of skinny jeans from Joe’s Jeans (and if you’ve ever tried jeans from this brand, you know that they are the softest and comfiest respectable non-legging pants out there) but they are also my tightest pair of jeans. At least they used to be. Even with a belt on, I found myself constantly pulling up my pants all day. And it’s only the first week.
It’s so unfathomable to me how much digestive inflammation I’ve been living with until now and how uninformed I was before the Whole 30 program. I was amazed drop that weight simply by switching up my diet to unprocessed whole foods with no changes in the amount that I exercise (this week I just did yoga went on the elliptical, which is less than the yoga, HIIT, elliptical combination that my weeks normally include).
How do I feel?
Besides the fact that my pants no longer fit (and I gave up shopping for lent… oops) let’s get into how I’m feeling on my second week of Whole 30. In a nutshell, AMAZING.
Physically, I feel stronger, leaner, more flexible and more energetic. I’m able to workout harder than I was before and I’ve seen an increase in my workout motivation. Yeah, waking up at the crack of dawn to cram in a workout has never been easier.
Mentally, I’m appreciating this shift in mind-body connection. Did you know that 50% of your dopamine levels are in your gut? Which means that an unhealthy (and unhappy) gut can lead you to be more depressed and experience higher levels of low moos and anxiety. Now just think about what happens to your mood when you gain that 50% back with a healthy anti-inflammatory diet. *Insert endorphin dance here.*
What’s next?
Week 3, of course! We’re heading into the homestretch here people – I mean, we’re basically half way there. Admittedly it is still difficult to go out with friends to brunch or dinner or God forbid, happy hour. On this plan you get to be the sober wing woman for a month while your friends drown themselves in cocktails at boozy brunch or delicious crispy fried wings with Ranch at happy hour… I digress. There’s always Whole 30 approved sweet potato fries!
It’s also difficult to keep coming to the realization that I need to cook for myself even more than usual. A lot of planning goes into sticking with Whole 30. You need to have the right ingredients to make yourself food because most likely, the restaurants and fast food spots around you won’t have much that’s Whole 30 approved. (How sad is that?!) For example I realized this last night at 11pm, where I dragged myself out of bed and away from my laptop to whip up some string beans and grilled chicken – I made it with olive oil, salt, pepper, and then squeezed some lime juice and juice from an orange on it… YUM.
Whether you’re in it to feel better, look better or simply challenge yourself, do yourself a favor and give Whole 30 a whole-hearted try. After a few days, you’ll start to experience some of these feelings yourself.
Stay Classy! xx