Today (Wednesday when I am writing this) is the last day of Whole30.
I'm super excited to be completing the program.
First - I wasn't perfect. Close, but not really. So if you're a purist, I did not complete Whole30. But I did adjust my diet for 30 consecutive days. I did remove all dairy, gluten and all forms of real or artificial sugars. I didn't eat any peanut butter and (this should be no surprise given that I'm pregnant) I didn't have any alcohol.
Second - I gained four pounds in the five weeks between prenatal appointments that spanned about the same time period as my Whole30 experiment. I wasn't trying to lose weight (again, pregnant) so I am glad to know that I gained a healthy pregnancy weight throughout. As a sidenote: Paul, my husband, lost about six pounds and he didn't follow the rules as strictly as I did.
SO WHAT DID I THINK?
Overall ... it was a good exercise. As mentioned, we decided to do this more as a "meal jumpstart" to get some new recipes going than anything else.
The best "habit" takeaways :
More veggies at dinner. We ate so much green stuff this past month. It was awesome. I learned better ways to prep (thank you food processor) and cook our veggies (tons of fresh garlic). I see us sticking with tons of veggies at dinner for the long-term.
Left-overs for lunch. We did a decent job making extra dinner food so Paul had something to take to work and I had something to eat the next day that didn't require a lot of prep. This is easy and cheap and something I hope we keep up with.
No random snacking. To be clear, I ate plenty of snacks on whole30 - usually fruit which isn't recommended but it is what it is. What I didn't do was grab a handful of crackers or pirates booty or something else random and "easy" out of the pantry. When I ate a snack it was more deliberate. Something that I quickly prepped and then "took a break" to eat. In general, that's probably a good habit to keep up.
But...
I feel the same physically today as I felt when I started. I felt good when we started. And I feel good now. I never noticed the sugar crash or headache issues that are often talked about. I didn't have a significant lack of or burst of energy at any point. It would be interesting to try it again when I wasn't pregnant to see if I notice a difference when I am more strict with not snacking.
I am going to do the food re-introduction and see if I notice a reaction to dairy or gluten or soy/beans/peanuts. If I do, that would obviously influence my "results" and I'll be sure to report back if anything crazy pops up.
So FOR ME, the reason that the program started to drag on was much more mental than physical. I wasn't physically craving cheese or bread. But I like cheese and bread. When Ellerie asks to make "dough?" I like to make dough and grill a pizza for dinner. I like to go out for coffee and get a really well made cappuccino. I like to stand behind the counter and order my favorite donut on a Saturday morning. I like to look at a menu at a great restaurant and see options, not land-minds.
"Food is fuel." You hear this a lot. I have dealt with "food issues" in years past and have subscribed to this theory. But now? Today? Food is fun. Food is not an enemy or a savor. It's not bad or good. It's a part of life. I like to enjoy food. Whenever possible, I like that food to be whole, healthy, delicious and well-made but I am not adverse to bread, sugar, dairy or alcohol. My food mentality for the past four years has been everything in moderation and it's served me really well. If anything, trying Whole30 helped me to remember that.
So that's my honest take. I'm not going to go crazy and make all this tomorrow, but I'm going to eat some cheese. And in November, I am going to enjoy some wine. (I miss red wine.)
