So because I am lazy and also busy, I present to you my post-Whole30 thoughts and feelings in bullet form.
No, they're not the most important outcome, but everyone always wants to know so here you go:
Dave - Lost 8 lbs and 5.25 total inches. You can really see a difference on him, no doubt.
Me - I gained .6 lbs and lost 4.25 inches. Three of those supposedly from my thighs. I did not factor in my chest measurements because I am pretty sure the originals were written down wrong. There's no way my chest was 34.25 back in January, my bras are 36 or 38s.
In the interest of full disclosure we are "counting" our weights and measurements from when the Crossfit Paleo Challenge started on 1/14, and not Day 1 of the Whole30. Day 1 of the Whole 30 started the day after the Austin trip, wherein I was up 10 flippin' pounds from 1/14. So I suppose if I wanted to I could say I lost 9lbs on the Whole30, but I just don't think that is honest.
* * Palate Changes
We definitely adjusted our palate. Our sensitivity to sweet stuff is much, much more acute. I find myself now looking longingly at the baked goods (most of the time) not out of an actual craving but out of nostalgia, if that makes any sense. I made Paleo-friendly Bakies (cookie-type thing) last night because I could, and they were "meh." I think it certainly helped that I made them with the 86% chocolate, in that it satisfied my desire for something I hadn't had in awhile, but was not sweet enough to awaken the Sugar Dragon. Score!
I've been reading a lot lately about artificial sweeteners and I'm convinced if I have to have a sugar it's better to just have the real stuff. That said, on the Crossfit Paleo Challenge we're still on, we can't have any real sugar, so just as an experiment I thought I'd try a packet of Stevia in my coffee. I ended up throwing it out. SO GROSS. Which is kinda awesome.
This was me.
Incidentally this drawing is from Natalie Dee. I found a ton of her pics with no credit given to her. Not cool other bloggers, not cool.
** The Diet Coke Dragon Has Been Slayed!
A year ago I cut down from 4-6 a day to 1-2. But even while otherwise doing fairly strict Primal Blueprint since August, I still had 1-2 Diet Cokes a day and Dave the same. I have not had one since 1/14 when the Crossfit Paleo Challenge started, even while in Austin I just had water, coffee...and uh, beer. Dave has not had any since day one of the Whole30. This is probably the most important result of both the Whole30 and Paleo Challenge, quite frankly.
I find this somewhat ironic this road runs through Hazleton, PA. Where I have lots of family whom I don't necessarily associate with "Can Do" - God love'em.
** We can do anything!
Ok, we already had pretty good self-esteem...particularly "couple" self-esteem, if there is such a thing. Parenting, life in general, but specifically our more recent experiences, like the Adventure Races have proven what we have always felt. We're a really kick-ass team. However, when it came to food/drink we weren't always as cohesive and/or supportive as we could be, but as I alluded to in previous posts, this was the first time we had ever really been on the same plan. With our energy and commitment focused on the same goals we were unstoppable. We camped twice with folks who were eating and drinking bad things all around us, we dealt with our crazy-ass schedules and life in general without a single misstep. Sometimes I cooked, sometime he did, sometimes we ate weird meals, and sometimes we had wonderful ones, but we did whatever it took to meet the challenge. And I am super proud of us for it.
What did I not like about the Whole30? Well, for me it made me extremely uncomfortable not to be able to track my calories/carbs or weigh myself daily. However, the Whole30 is about self-discovery and I totally understand why they don't want you to do that. For someone without a history of disordered eating or maybe a lesser case than mine, I can see how it could really help your relationship with food. But for a broken brain like mine, I was getting to a point where my brain was wanting to binge, and working within the Whole30 parameters it was telling me, "Go ahead, overeat those nuts or almond butter, etc. It's not a cheat if it's an approved food!" Yeah, not good. My Crossfit Coach, like most Paleo-folk without eating disorders, seemed rather surprised that I could overeat even on the Whole30. But a messed-up brain will find a way. So now that it's over and I am just on the Crossfit Paleo Challenge I am going to be using MyFitnessPal again. I know they'd rather you didn't. But I have to do what I know is right for me. I'm not restricting my calories big time or anything, I get that. But I need that visual reminder of what I have been putting in my mouth to keep me on the straight and narrow, because my brain does not.
That said, I am really glad we did it. Dave wasn't as strict as I was pre-Whole30, but now that he has been, and has been getting such great results he is jazzed to keep it up. He's definitely gotten the energy boost and clearer head so many who do the Whole30 talk about. I don't think I felt much of a difference in that regard because I was already eating extremely clean, especially Monday-Friday. The only major change for me was giving up the sweeteners and Diet Coke...and alcohol on the weekends.
I definitely think we'll bring it back down to more Primal Blueprint levels, especially when the Crossfit Paleo Challenge is done, but I think we are both super-committed now to a true 24/7 - 80/20 or better. As opposed to the past, wherein the weekends were more 50/50.
So dems the highlights. As I get further out I'm sure I'll have more thoughts on the matter, but for now....
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