Boom! I finished the Whole30 round 2

"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go." -William Feather

10 months in to this healthy journey and this is my second Whole30 experience.  As I round the corner to completing another round I wanted to provide some perspective on Whole30 vs. just eating whole foods/paleo/primal 365 days a year with a few off roading occasions for things that are worth it.

I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts the other day, it's called The Paleo Lifestyle and Fitness podcast, featuring Sarah Fragoso and Jason Seib (pictured below).  I consider these two individuals my go to for commuting to and from work as they are living the paleo lifestyle and answer listener’s questions during each episode giving real time/real life advice.  They have something like 125 episodes, in catching up I recently listened to one that addressed challenges (whole30esque) vs. just making lifestyle changes which made me really start to think about both the Whole30 and life after the Whole30.

Picture sourced from http://everydaypaleo.com/podcast/

The point that was raised on the podcast is “if you eat whole nutritious foods 365 days a year and this is a lifestyle why do you need to go strict for 30 days?”

As I think about their point of view, I am brought back to thoughts of the beginning.  In March of last year, after several conversations with my friend Allison regarding the way she eats (paleo/primal), wanting to losing weight/fat and how bad my eczema was I slowly started to remove items from my diet and eat more paleo/primal.  I was looking at an “after story” in Allison, I was pretty fed up with how itchy and fat I felt and figured what can I lose?  I had some success years ago with weight loss on Weight Watchers but once I stopped living on melba toast and turkey deli meat the weight crept back on.  The whole Eat Less, Exercise More wasn't sustainable for me in this type of way.  I was killing myself at the gym and starving all the time.

When I finally decided to listen and put some of it in to practice, the changes started out gradual, first it was no cream in my coffee, and choosing fish or meat instead of pasta out at restaurants.  I was trying to keep moderation and long term in mind.  It wasn’t working all that well as I still found myself “treating myself” more often than not.  Cookies in the office, a glass of wine after work compounded by treats happening all the time.  

A month in to making initial changes my dermatologist mentioned to me during a very bad face flare up of eczema that while eczema can be caused by any irritant, it could also be diet related and that doing a Whole30 type diet elimination may help me figure out what causes the flare ups.  Allison agreed to do it with me and on April 21^st 2014 I was doing my first Whole30.

At the time it was all new to me, figuring out how to cook, what to substitute (Zoodles) and what tasted good (Bacon).  In May when the first Whole30 ended I had learned a lot of about foods that made me feel healthier and foods that made me feel less healthy or like crap.  On day 31 I started the reintroduction and from that moment forward I ate whole foods (paleo) with off roads as needed depending on circumstance and whether it was really worth it.  From Thanksgiving to Christmas was the hardest time as the choices weren't always within my control and cookies and candy were entering my mouth daily (oh the holidays).

Fast forward 8 months to today, and I am doing my 2^nd whole30.  I approached this Whole30 with a few things in mind, 

• It was a good way to reset, after Christmas
• A way to get to know people from the gym (my crossfit box was doing a January whole30)
• It was Bart’s first Whole30 so why not do a second round?  
• I read online all the time about how people learn something new about themselves each time they do it.  
• I remember feeling fantastic around Day 21 and wanted to harness that feeling back again.  
• I also like how for 30 days you basically kill your cravings.  

Back to the question at hand though: “if you eat whole nutritious foods 365 days a year and this is a lifestyle why do you need to go strict for 30 days?”

I don’t think I would have ever fully gone Paleo/Primal without my first Whole30.  The act of removing food I loved that I was used to eating and saw as indulgent deliciousness was just too hard ad-hoc. Perhaps that means I have an unhealthy relationship with food, well I would agree with that since I write a blog about losing weight and prior to the Whole30 couldn’t pass a plate of cookies without having one.  Today I was at work passed a large plate of rainbow cookies and didn't even think twice about it I just walked by...progress.

Doing 30 days of strict Paleo or whole30 made it unavoidable and I came out on the other side feeling amazing.  I basically reset my body and "gut", learned to enjoy the taste of real food and didn’t crave processed over sweetened/salted foods.

For me personally, I think the Whole30 is a good reset after a few months just to tighten things up when I find myself indulging in too much wine, cheese and chocolates to meet my goals.  For me I have changed my eating habits, and regularly eat paleo/primal so the Whole30 had a purpose and wasn't just a quick fix or a one off experience.  I am also still in fat loss mode and know that alcohol inhibits that despite how much I love it. I took the 30 days of January to learn new recipes and really focus on enjoying the food I was eating and the way I was feeling. 

While the gym group I did it with positioned it as a challenge, I think of it more as a reset/recharge to my lifestyle.  I don’t see this as 30 days of white knuckling through and challenging myself not to eat grains or drink wine, I see it as a healthy reset of my cravings post-Christmas. I also don’t see myself binge eating all the things I didn't eat for 30 days on day 31 but I also don’t see myself never enjoying macaroni and cheese homemade by my mother ever again (get on that mom!)  In that case it is a balance that I am still trying to work on.  Now get my wine glass ready!

While it sucked to say no to a few events in January, the good definitely outweighed the bad.  My final thoughts are once you adopt this lifestyle 80-90% of the time it’s up to you to make the right choices and stick with it and decide what is truly worth it.  I find the Whole30 as a helpful tool, I do not find the word or act of moderation helpful but that's what works for me.  

I definitely at delicious during January, sample meal below.

30 days ago I was the same person I am today minus a few eczema patches, inches and pounds and now for the results:

Skin – Improvement even over last time, No flare ups and even has a glow at least that's what people in the office have said.

Weight – down 7 pounds

Energy – Not boundless but good amount, no afternoon slump and have been much more in to working out in the evening and then cooking dinner when I get home.

Other – Smaller sizes of clothes are starting to fit better, and I am enjoying the act of shopping more.  Crossfit did a baseline workout at the beginning of the Whole30, I did it in 7:55 and at the end I did it in 6:30. improvement!