A Lovely Life Update: Whole30 and Beyond!

Eric took these of me, this weekend, at Caumsett State Park.

Lovelies, it's been over 60 days since I started my first Whole30 (I started my first one on August 14th, and went straight into a second one). I've gotten a lot of questions about the why, the how, the life after, so I thought I'd address everything in one big post. During my second Whole30, I decided I was becoming too reliant on fruit (crazy, right?), so I decided to give the 21 Day Sugar Detox a go...I have a week left. To be honest, that hasn't been too hard for me. I wasn't eating sugar beforehand, so all I was "giving up" were sweet potatoes, yams, and fruit (and just for 21 days). Why did I do this? Well, I've come to find that I'm the type of woman who will always look for some sort of "sugar" to fill my stress cravings. When I'm tired, stressed, anxious...I will always look for something to eat. I was getting way too reliant on eating way too much fruit. After a Friday afternoon full of eating two bunches of green grapes, and then two oranges (purely from stress), I knew I had to take a step back and see what was going on (furthermore, the day after all of that fruit, I broke out again!). I'll let you know how I do in a week after I finish the 21DSD.

As for the Whole30, I do have to say it is life changing. But, it's not life changing in the ways I thought it would be, to be honest. For me, it's small, subtle changes. If you remember, I started the Whole30 to clear up my skin. So, how's my skin now? Well, I'm on a lower dose antibiotic, and two different topical medications. Oy. I don't want to be on these forever, but for the time being, my outbreak was so bad (and hurt so much!), that I needed something for a quick fix; I am hoping and praying that in the long term, eating Paleo will help my skin. My skin is indeed better in a lot of ways; my breakouts have slowed and lessened; the redness is slowly going away; it's smoother. As you can see in the photo above (bottom left), it's not perfect (I broke out this weekend on the random top of my cheek, as you can see, and the bottom of my chin is still residual from this summer), but it's getting there, I hope. It is still a cause of stress for me (hello, stress cycle), but, I started with a new doctor, and I am fairly confident that my eating is also helping my skin.

Energy levels are pretty good. Nothing really new there. However, let's chat about sleep for a moment. I always thought I was someone who had serious sleep issues; for the past six months I was taking melatonin to sleep every night. After much research, I realized I probably shouldn't be taking it every night, as I was getting to the point that I was afraid to not take it. Furthermore, a lot of people who had done the Whole30 were raving about their sleep getting better, and mine wasn't. I was still waking up a lot. Well, the whole thing for me with the Whole30 was balancing my hormones, and melatonin is a hormone. I decided to stop taking it, and low and behold...I've been sleeping great. Better than I have in years! I feel much calmer when going to bed now. I know the Whole30 has helped with that.

Weight? Well, after my first Whole30, I lost three pounds, and was the lowest weight I had been in...seriously, can't even remember. And, after my second Whole30? I was exactly the same weight. Down to the ounce! Which tells me that my body is exactly where it's supposed to be.

Other things I've noticed: my hair isn't as knotty (!), my nails seem healthier, my overall skin tone is more even, I feel better about myself, I'm not bloated, and...I don't go on those wild and crazy weekend binge eating sessions!

Now, for the question everyone asks: what do you eat?! Well, here's a bare bones outline of what I'll eat in a day:
Meal 1: Two eggs (yolks and all! I've never eaten yolks in my life before this!), with avocado and some vegetables, like this morning I had baby carrots and cucumber.
Meal 2: Some vegetable (salad/spaghetti squash) with a meat (ground beef, chicken), avocado, olive oil, peppers, cucumbers, other veggies. Sometimes if I am hungry after school I'll have some veggie soup I made (loving zucchini soup lately; tonight I made broccoli/cauliflower curry soup).
Meal 3: Veggies (spaghetti squash/salad) with meat (meatballs, chicken), maybe some veggie soup, and sometimes mashed cauliflower, steamed veggies, etc.

Basically: lots and lots and lots of vegetables, organic, lean meats, coconut oil for cooking, olive oil for dressing, eggs in the morning, vegetable soups, and sometimes fruit (usually one piece a day, when I'm not on the 21DSD).

Do I miss "junk food"? Not at all. Just the other day we went out to Mexican food and I had a "chicken stew salad" (chicken stew over lettuce with peppers), and guacamole; I make sweet potato fries; I eat lots of coconut, or heat up pumpkin with coconut flakes. I cook all the time, all the time! I am loving making roasted chickens, soups, and experimenting with spices. I eat a ton of food! And, I feel like I'm doing marvelous things for myself when I fill my body with healthy vegetables.

This way of eating isn't for everyone, obviously, but...there's nothing wrong with trying! I've learned more about myself mentally, then anything else while doing this. It really does force you to grow, expand your mind, and literally: go against the grain. It's not easy changing your lifestyle, but man, it's not hard either. I am the only one who puts food in my mouth, and I am pretty sure I can control that much! I implore you to try something new in your eating life: Whole30, not the Whole30, whatever it is, stretch your boundaries and see where it takes you.

Any other questions? I'd love to chat!