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Okay, everyone -- I am DONE with Whole30. I don't know if I would necessarily say it changed my life, but it was interesting. Here's what I learned from this experience, in numbered list format because I like numbered lists:
1) Whole30-ing away from home is HARD.
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Finding prepared foods that were Whole30-compliant was really difficult. I do realize that part of the point of doing a Whole30 is to decrease your dependence on packaged foods and to eat whole, minimally processed foods instead, and while this is generally a good idea, it is not always practical. For example, about halfway through our 30 days, Kevin's grandfather died. Losing a family member is already stressful, and trying to stay Whole30-compliant while traveling for the funeral and burial and eating out with his family just added to that. It was very difficult and took a lot of planning, and thinking ahead, and rearranging menu items, and making weird requests. It wasn't impossible, but I think we would have greatly preferred to not have to think about it during that time. We did get through it, though. The wait staff we encountered at various restaurants were always very accommodating, and while it took some work we always managed to find something we could eat.
2) There is sugar, wheat, corn, or soy in almost EVERYTHING.
This is why it was so hard to find Whole30-compliant packaged foods at the grocery store. If nothing else, this Whole30 taught me to be more aware of what's in the products I buy. Soy, sugar, wheat, and corn show up in places you would never expect them. For example, I had a can of no-bean turkey chili in my cabinet that should have been compliant. So, imagine my surprise when I checked the label just to make sure and found that the FOURTH ingredient was texturized vegetable protein. After doing this Whole30, while we do still buy some pre-made items from the grocery store, I think we're definitely more proactive about checking labels and trying to find the best option - like looking for barbecue sauce where the first ingredient is tomato paste rather than corn syrup.
3) Mayonnaise is really easy to make.
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Especially since I have an immersion blender. I used this recipe from The Clothes Make The Girl, which is in the format of a very helpful video tutorial. One note I have is that I ended up using about 1/3 of a cup less oil than the recipe called for - the mayonnaise looked right before all the oil had been added so I just stopped. It worked beautifully the first time, which was really nice. The mayonnaise tasted okay, although I didn't love it. Probably because I'm used to the flavor of normal mayonnaise. I might try making some again, and if I do maybe I'll make it flavored, like chipotle or lime.
4) So is ketchup.
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I used this recipe from Not In Moderation, and it took like 10 seconds, and it was completely fine. It also uses ingredients that I typically have in my house at any given time - although I only had about 4 oz of tomato paste and so decreased the recipe. It did taste a little different than what we're used to, but it wasn't bad. We used some to top our veggie meatloaf, and then added the rest to a batch of meatloaf burgers.....that sentence makes us sound like we eat a lot of meatloaf. But we don't, really. Oh, also those meatloaf burgers are not Whole30-compliant but it's okay because we ate them after we were done.
5) I didn't exactly see the results I had been expecting.
The main thing I had heard about Whole30 before we started was that the process would eventually make you feel amazingly energized, and that you would sleep like a rock. I am sad to report that I experienced neither of these things. I did have a couple of consecutive days of nice sleep during the 3rd week, but that didn't last all the way through the end. The Whole30 website suggests that for some people, 30 days isn't long enough and that sometimes it can take 45 or even 60 days to feel "the magic." However, Kevin and I had absolutely ZERO intentions of turning this into a Whole45. 30 days was plenty, thank you very much.
6) But it wasn't all bad!
I did lose about 9.5 lbs, which is not at all bad for a month (although, keep in mind that I've also been doing T25 so it probably wasn't all because of this diet). I also noticed that the skin on my face has been clearer and less oily, which is really nice.
7) I did do some things wrong, though.
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Specifically, I ate too much fruit and not enough vegetables. This probably helps to explain why I never really got my carb cravings under control (if anything, they got worse as the 30 days went on). I do wish I had done better with this, but sometimes it was hard. High-protein meals are not always feasible for people (like myself) who are always running late, and fruit is easy.
8) I also didn't drink enough water.
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So, everyone knows staying hydrated is important. It's pretty necessary for life in general, but Steph from Stupid Easy Paleo mentions in her video tips for successful Whole30s that drinking enough is pretty important for getting through your Whole30. I do not drink enough, though. I know this about myself. It is not at all uncommon for me to look up at 9pm and realize that I haven't had anything to drink all day -- even though I did a workout that morning. I just didn't drink anything during, or after, or for the rest of the day. My problem is that I don't feel thirsty very often, and even if I do it's usually really easy to ignore (read: I'm lazy, so if I'm thirsty but I don't feel like getting up, I just won't). I know this is not good, though, and I'm trying to work on it. Which brings us to....
The 30-day Water Drinking Challenge!
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You know me - I love my 30-day challenges. I'm hoping that compelling myself to drink water in a challenge format will make me more likely to actually do it. Most people (including this guy) suggest that we should be drinking about half of our body weight in ounces of water each day. For me this means about 80 oz daily, or 4 20 oz bottles. My goal is to get myself to 80 oz every day, but the jump from 0 oz to 80 oz is pretty huge. I don't want to be peeing constantly (I actually get really irritated when I'm in the middle of something and have to stop to use the bathroom :p ), so I'm planning on starting with smaller amounts and working my way up. Starting tomorrow (November 1st), I'm going to drink 20 oz of water every day for a week. I know this doesn't sound like a lot, but remember, I'm starting from almost nothing - maybe not exactly 0 oz most days, but probably not more than 10 oz. The second week of the challenge, I'll bump my intake to 40 oz, than 60 oz in the third week, and 40 oz daily for the rest of the 30 days. This is going to be more water than I've probably ever had ever, so it will be a big change. Wish me luck!
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