I start every year with a Whole 30 Challenge. Not because I over indulge over the festive season, but because I always feel great completing the challenge. Many people use the challenges as a “diet” or to boost weight loss, but this was not the intended purpose.
Whole 30 is about finding your food freedom! Recognizing which foods make you feel “crappy”. If you already follow a low carb lifestyle you probably will find Whole 30 very easy, but it does come with some challenges. No dairy and no sugar even the low carb approved sweeteners. The biggest challenge for me was eating breakfast, and I must be honest, I didn’t get to eat my breakfast every morning as the rules suggest.
Our meals didn’t change much from the usual, except for no cheese and cream sauce. We kept to simple meals, nothing expensive or fancy and even ended up eating out about 3 times. Breakfast was mainly boiled or scrambled eggs with dump ranch. Lunch was salad or leftovers from the night before and dinner was protein and vegetables. We did include more sweet potato and carrots to our meals and still managed to get some great results.
The biggest challenge for me was drinking black coffee. During my previous rounds I stocked up on Almond milk, but this can become expensive so I decided to skip it this round. I did enjoy two Almond milk cappuccinos from Seattle Coffee Company and I might even stick to them going forward. I also enjoyed the bottomless iced brew coffee from Mugg & Bean – obviously without the milk/hazelnut syrup/condensed milk. I even made them at home and it was perfect for the heatwave we experienced during January.
The no sugar rule was also a bit of a challenge, but we made it. We added some strawberries or blueberries to our salads or even with breakfast, so I didn’t feel like I have no sugar. It is really scary to see how many things contain sugar, even when we are already a sugar free family. I had to skip my occasional sugar free flavoured water and the sugar free cordials (sweetened with xylitol) I so enjoy with soda water. But I survived.
So lets get to the part everybody want to know……RESULTS. I will start with my Non-Scale Victories. I never do a Whole 30 to lose weight, but it is a great perk of the process.
Non-Scale Victories:
- No more bloating
- Clear skin
- More energy (I completed a 10km race without any training in a personal best time)
- Improved focus
- Less mood swings
- Working out in the gym 3 – 4 times a week (and enjoying it)
- Saved some money (no more cream coffee or sauces)
- I didn’t die (from drinking black coffee)
Yes, I did lose some weight. A total of 2.8kg in 30 days. But I’m more impressed with my cm’s I’ve managed to lose. A total of 13 cm – 3cm from my chest area, 7 cm around my hips and 3 cm around my waist.
So the next step of the Whole 30 program involves re-introducing food back into your diet. I already know I do not deal well with gluten, dairy and sugar. And because we follow a low carb lifestyle I wont even try soya and legumes. I’m also considering extending it to a Whole 60 to see if I can completely eliminate dairy from my diet. I know it will be hard, but I’m willing to do it to help my body heal.
Have you tried completed a Whole 30? what was your experience? Will you do it again? Remember to follow us on social media to track our progress and share in this amazing journey – Facebook and Instagram
For the love of...... 