January Whole30 Results
I’m having a hard time believing that our January Whole30 is already over. It feels like I was just writing my thoughts and observations after Week 1, and obviously, the month went by so quickly that I didn’t find time write any more on the blog about the journey. And now, here we are in February, it’s time to share how my January Whole30 Results.
January Whole30 Results
While I certainly didn’t start Whole30 just to lose weight, I said all along that I wouldn’t complain if that happened along the way. So, let’s get some numbers out of the way:
Results By the Numbers
Pre-Whole30
- Weight: 175 pounds
- Waistline: 37.5 inches
- Pant Size: 8, and they fit snugly
Post-Whole30
- Weight: 161 pound
- Waistline: 34 inches
- Pant Size: 6, and I’m almost to the point sizing down
To say that I’m not pleased with the visual results of my January Whole30 would be a lie. I have a body confidence that I haven’t felt since my early 20s. It just feels good to like what I see in the mirror and to have other friends and family compliment my appearance. However, I have more wins from my first Whole30 to share.
[By the way, the Mister also lost 12 pounds by completing the January Whole30 with me.]
Results By How I’m Feeling
Feeling good in my skin is a huge win. Other non-scale victories include that my skin is clearer than it’s been in years. I feel a lot more energetic and just positive in general.
I’ve been trying to put my finger on the feeling, and the best expression is that I feel like I’m running on high-octane fuel. My life-energy just feels cleaner. My sensei said that he can simply tell from the way I’m moving on the mat what a difference these dietary changes have made.
I did notice that my sleep schedule seemed to be disrupted by the change in eating habits, and I don’t think that’s quite normalized, but since I feel more energetic throughout the day, I am finding that I can tolerate a little less sleep.
The Mister and I are still really enjoying eating at home together. I was a confident cook before we started this challenge, but I’d say that confidence has deepened. We are still using Prep Dish as the core of our meal planning (I wouldn’t waste a year-long subscription), but I don’t have any hesitation about tweaking those meals to suit our taste or putting together a healthy and delicious meal from scratch.
Food Re-Introduction
One part of Whole30 that I’d like to be more deliberate about for the next time is our re-introduction period. I’d like to take it more slowly than we did with this first Whole30. Thus far, I have found that I can tolerate the following in moderation:
- Wine and liquors
- Limited dairy (I’ve really only tested cheese and half-n-half in coffee)
- Limited sugar (mostly just want comes in having a cocktail)
- Peanuts and green beans
- White rice and white potatoes in moderation
What’s not working for me? Too much gluten or soy. I’m good with a hamburger bun, but I found that if I had gluten in multiple meals in a row, my skin broke out and my energy levels dipped. Soy seems to make me congested.
I expected to go back to cream in my coffee, but I’ve found that I prefer my coconut/almond milk. And while I didn’t have a huge sweet tooth before I did the Whole30, I am happy with how little I seem to want sugar now. Fruit salad is a perfectly sufficient dessert if we need to have one.
What’s after Whole30?
I definitely want to try the Whole30 again at some point in the future, but I’d like to finish reading the original Whole30 book and Food Freedom Forever before embarking on the journey again. If you read my Week 1 post, you know that I used the Whole30 Day by Day handbook as our primary resource for January. There were a few references in the book that would have made more sense if I’d read Melissa Hartwig’s initial book before starting our journey.
For now, I’m following a Paleo diet about 85 percent of the time. The Mister has re-introduced more sugar and carbs than I have, but his metabolism is way more active than mine. We are definitely enjoying go out to our favorite restaurants now and then, but we’ll likely continue to eat the majority of our meals at home. Let’s face it; it’s expensive to eat out and really hard to be mindful of the ingredients and quantity when eating in a restaurant.
For my friends who completed the Whole30 last month, won’t you share your January Whole30 results in the comments? What were you surprised about during your food re-introduction? Would you join in another Whole30 challenge?