Whole 30- Round 1 Update

Hello there! This past week I completed my first round of Whole30, so I wanted to give an update on the process, my results and thoughts on the program.

If you are not familiar with Whole30, you can read more about it on the website or in the book It Starts with Food. If you are interested in the program I highly recommend getting the book. It contains a lot of information on why certain foods are unhealthy, and what they do to your body. I'm the type of person that needs to know that information, because if you just tell me: ok- no more bread and dairy, I'll say yeah, ok and go back to eating my ice cream. 

Whole 30 Overview

The idea behind Whole30 is to cut out foods that cause unhealthy tendencies like over eating, foods that do not nourish your body, and foods that cause systematic inflammation. I won't go too much into the science information, the book explains it way better than I ever could. To follow the program, you cut out all wheat, dairy, sugar and unhealthy oils for 30 days straight with no cheats. This is pretty similar to a Paleo diet, but not exactly the same. The approved list of foods includes meat, seafood, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats (such as avacado, coconut fat, and olive oil).

I first heard about Whole30 around Christmas time. It is becoming pretty popular and I know a few people who have tried it and liked it. I bought the book and began reading it, but kept putting off starting the program. Then, at the beginning of February I decided enough it enough and I began my first round on February 8th. 

Health History

For a little history, I have always struggled with my weight. When I was in high school I decided to stop eating junk food and began excising. I was able to lose 30lbs in about 3-4 months by just eating better and running at night. Then, when I went to college I became less concerned with my healthy. I gained some of the weight back and just could keep it down. Then, when I was pregnant with Nora I gained 65lbs. I was at my highest weight ever and needed help, but I couldn't make myself stop eating junk. I finally realized that if I am going to set a good example for my daughter, I really need to start living a healthier lifestyle. This eventually led me to the Whole30 program, and out of all of the weight loss programs out there, I am so happy I picked this one. 

The Process

My first day of Whole30 was a breeze. I started on a Sunday, which conveniently enough is grocery shopping day in our house, so I had plenty of good food to eat. I felt like my first week was pretty easy, despite the fact that it was the week of Valentine's Day and I was offered cupcakes or cookies on no less than 5 occasions. Madison and I also had to change our Valentine's date plans from sushi to steak, which worked out fine for us. 

Meal planning is key to succeeding on the Whole30 plan, so we had everything for that first week planned out ahead of time. This just made the week easier in general because we knew what we were cooking for dinner before we got home. For breakfast I had an omelet almost every day of the program. My go to was spinach, onion and prosciutto. Super tasty, I recommend it. Since I'm a coffee drinker, I didn't want to cut that out. In place of cream and sugar I used unsweetened coconut milk. It took a while for me to get used to it but now I really enjoy it. For lunch, I brought a salad to work and made sure I had some protein too, either some chicken or nuts. Dinners were mostly centered around meat and veggies. I grew to love roasted Brussels Sprouts, which I never thought would happen. 

The second week was a little more challenging. I had a lot of cravings. My diet previous to this consisted of lots of grains and dairy, so it was hard to get used to that. I stuck to it though and kept at it. My goal is to lose weight and feel healthier, so I didn't want to jeopardize that for a bowl of cereal.

The third week was similar to the second week for me. I was starting to get bored of my meals, it felt like I was having the same thing over and over again. Madison and I varied up dinners a little bit by including more fish, which helped to get out of that rut.

The fourth week was pretty easy. Most of my cravings were gone. I had come so far that I felt motivated to finish. I was also starting to see results so that made everything a lot easier. 

I actually only ended up doing the program for 29 days. On my 30th day I woke up so sick with a stomach bug and needed to leave work early. I didn't think a salad or grilled chicken would sit nicely in my stomach so I ended up eating some oatmeal and it was really fine. I still consider myself finishing and I'm not going to beat myself up over it. 

Results

When my program ended, I had lost 6lbs, 3 inches from my waist and 1.5 inches from my hips. I do not have before and after photos to show but I can tell you I feel better overall. I fit into pants that I haven't worn since before Nora was born and my coworkers are noticing that I have lost weight. At first I was a little disappointed with my results, I though that there would be some miracle and I would lost 15lbs in the month. Then I remembered that 6lbs is still huge! Most people lose weight averaging around 1lbs a week, so I passed that by a bit. Also, I only exercised probably twice during the whole month, so those pounds and inches came off by only changing the food I ate. It's really amazing what can happen when you are truly nourishing your body. 

Besides the weight loss, I just feel better overall. I don't have any bloating or cramps and I have more energy during the day. No more 3pm crash at work. Another reason I began this program was in the hopes that it would help the horrible onslaught of adult acne I have been dealing with for a few months. Unfortunately, I think it did nothing for that I have been seeking out alternate methods to fix that problem. 

Life After Whole30

The week following the completion of my program, I tried to stick with it as best as I can, but not entirely. I have been eating some wheat and dairy products, but not as much as I used to. I really do not want junk food anymore. I made chicken nuggets for Nora the other day and tried one to make sure it wasn't too hot and thought it tasted awful. There have been a few other foods I have tried that I just don't think taste good anymore. I had been craving pizza and cupcakes throughout the whole program so yesterday Madison, Nora and I went down to Connecticut to visit Madison's mom and had pizza in New Haven and got some cupcakes later. I really enjoyed it while we were eating, but that night I got so sick and I think it's going to be a long time before I try that again.

Recommendations

If you are thinking of trying the program I say just go for it! Clear out the cabinets, through away all the junk and start fresh. Something that helped my tremendously through the program was Instagram. There are a lot of Whole30 accounts with plenty of meal ideas and motivation. Some of my favorites are @whole30, @whole30recipies, @holymamamoly, and @teamwhole. There are a ton more if you search #whole30. There is a great community of people who just want to see each other succeed which is always nice to see. If you are already taking part in the program and are struggling, just try to remember why you started in the first place. It is impossible to change you life if you do not commit to eating healthy. As cliche as this sounds, we only get one body, so why not take care of it? 

I plan on doing another round of Whole30 soon. If not this month, then again in April. Possibly when the new Whole30 Book comes out. If you're interested in following along or need some Whole30 encouragement, I will be posting about it much more regularly here, as well as on Instagram @hellokelcey.

I hope this helped anyone out there who has been curious about the Whole30 program! If you have any questions for me about my experience feel free to leave a comment. 

Where Have You Been?!

Hello! It's been a while since I updated this space. Last year felt so crazy that I needed to take a break from regular posting, which turned into a much longer break than I expected. Recently I came back to reference an old post and remembered how much I loved having this space to record all of our family memories. All of our photos are buried in folders on my computer, it's so much better to have them neatly complied with captions to remember the special moments we've shared as a family. So here I am! Back at it. I'm excited to utilize this space again.

So without further ado, here is a massive update of everything that's happened in the past six months!

Nora became an official toddler! I held on to the baby stage as long as I could but there's no denying it anymore. She's a big sassy toddler. She likes to dance (specifically on tables), play with blocks, do puzzles, sing songs (it's incredibly cute) and probably watches too much Paw Patrol for her own good. Her hair is long enough to be put in pigtails. She can count to 10, and sometimes throws in 11, 12 and 16. She's going to be 2 in April and we can already see the terrible twos coming. She's definitely opinionated and stubborn, but maybe we should have expected that give who her parents are... Regardless, she's the sweetest little girl ever and when she gives you a hug all of your troubles melt away.

Adorable 16 month old Nora. She's so sweet.

Here she is in her makeshift reading nook. It's just a pile of extra pillows and blankets but she loved it. 

Flash forward- 17 month old Nora! Looking at these pictures is making me miss Summer so much.

We had a moment where Nora didn't want to nap so Madison thought if he snuggled her in her crib, she'd fall asleep.

It didn't work. 

This is probably one of the cutest picture I've ever taken of Nora. She was a little Native American for Halloween. We didn't go trick or treating, because Mama does not want to deal with that sugar high, and stayed in to hand out candy instead. She was super confused at first, then got really excited about it. She would run up to the door and watch us hand out the candy, and as soon as the trick or treaters left, she'd says "tricky? tricky?" and look for more down the street.

In October, we went on our first family vacation ever! Madison and I have actually never taken a trip together before this, so it was a long time in the making. We flew out to Sacramento, California to visit Madison's dad, step mother, and sister. I'm going to write a separate post about that trip soon. It was so much fun and we want to go back soon. 

Probably the biggest update of all is that we moved back to Massachusetts, got a new car, I went back to work and Madison got a job at my company! While we were on vacation we decided to make the move back, so within 2 weeks of coming home we leased a new car, rented an apartment, and got our old jobs back. I definitely appreciate the time I had at home with Nora, I really think part of the reason she is so smart and wonderful is because she got so much one on one time with me at an integral state of her development. While I love working, at times I do miss being able to play with her all day and taking our daily walk to the park. I have tons of great memories from our time in Connecticut that I will cherish forever.

Our new car! We leased a 2013 Toyota Camry. After being carless for 10 months, it was so nice to finally have a new vehicle again. Freedom!!!

We celebrated Thanksgiving in our new apartment with just the 3 of us. Usually we go and have dinner with family on Thanksgiving, but we decided to have a quiet day in this year. It was really nice. We relaxed and decorated our Christmas tree, and didn't have to get stuck in traffic on the Mass Pike. The year before this, it took us 3 hours on the Mass Pike to get to my family's house, when they only live 1 hour away. Yikes. So glad we didn't have to deal with that this year.

Wearing a super cute sweater dress her Auntie Merrill got her for Christmas last year. She's still so small.

Excited about something.

Nora was very interested in decorating the tree this year. She was my little helper and would hand me ornaments to put up.

He loves her so much. 

Decorating trees is hard work.

Nora's second Christmas was such a success! She finally understands presents, and that if you unwrap them- there are nice things inside! Christmas morning we spent at home opening gifts from Santa, watching movies and having a nice big breakfast. In the afternoon, we headed out to Western Mass to my cousin's house to celebrate with my family. 

Santa came!

 

This kitten was her favorite gift. She carried it around with her everywhere we went for a week. Now it sleeps in her crib with her every night.

Close second for favorite gift was this tiny Paw Patrol chair. 

This was Nora's Christmas outfit. We got this dress so long ago and it finally fits her, even though the tag says 6-12 months. Santa brought her the sparkly silver shoes. We finally got a bow in her hair. She looked great. We got to my cousin's house, and what is the first thing she did? Found a full cup of coffee on a side table, grabbed it, and dumped it all over herself. She spent the rest of Christmas in the pajamas we brought to take her home in. 

Feeding her new baby doll that her great grandmother got her for Christmas.

And then it started snowing. And hasn't stopped.

Her first braid! I can't believe how long her hair is now.

Part of the reason I have neglected this space was because of how busy life has been since our move. Madison and I are both working full time Monday-Friday jobs. This is the first time in our relationship that we have had nights and weekends to spend together, so we have been relishing that, as well as trying to fill our days with lots of fun activities to do as a family.

We're still in the process of filling our home with things we love, so I don't have any photos of our new apartment just yet. We are hoping this is our last year renting and are looking to buy our first home in the near future.

Nora is in day care now and she loves it. She's learning even more now and comes home almost everyday singing new songs they taught her. Probably the cutest thing was their Valentine's Day party. I have never cared for Valentine's Day, but when it came to making Valentines for all of her friends at school I was so excited. Holidays are 1000 times more fun with kids around. Here's her outfit for the party, picked out by her Daddy. He's better at dressing her than I am.

As for personal updates, I started Whole 30 last month! If you don't know about the program, you can read about it on their website, www.whole30.com. Since having Nora, and honestly for a long time before that, I stopped taking care of myself the way that I should be. This program is basically a very strict Paleo diet that you follow for 30 days. It is tough, I still have cravings for unapproved foods, but I feel so amazing that it outweighs that feeling. My first week was rough because it was the week of Valentine's Day and I was offered cupcakes and cookies on 5 different occasions. It is so hard to say no when you have as big of a sweet tooth as I do! But I did it, I resisted the sweets and lived to tell the tale. I'll post results and my feelings on the program once my 30 days are up. I'm really excited I finally found something that works and I can stick to!

If you made it this far, thanks so much for reading! I'm looking forward to updating here more often. One last baby picture for the road: