Day 31 - I Survived! ..Now What?

Hello again folks!

We are now at day 31 of the Whole30 diet (we needed to add on a day due to an incident involving my boyfriend and a granola bar on day 1), and I figured I wouldn't leave you guys hanging on how it ended up going (I know you must all be eagerly awaiting the news!). Overall I'd say it was good.. I think I was expecting to see more improvements in mood and energy, however this could have been related to poor management of calorie intake in the last week. I double checked my intake using MyFitnessPal, and was surprised to see that I was hovering around 1200-1500 cals.. which is brutal for anyone who is working out regularly. Oops! The last 2 days I focused on getting in some denser foods (mmmm almonds and cashews) and this seems to have helped a little bit. I may also have been coming down with whatever is going through the clinic.. Thanks guys! But enough about what I didn't see. Here are all the health benefits I DID notice:

-Weightloss! A bonus considering it wasn't an initial driving force.

Day 0: 147.5 lbs

Day 31: 137.2 lbs (That's more like it!)

I'm having my fat percentage calculated soon (using calipers), so I will have a more legitimate understanding of what's going on in there.

-Mental Clarity - Ditching a lot of my "uuuuhhh"s and "ummm"s has been wonderful. I apologize to everyone who has had to stare blankly at me as I fought to remember words in the past.

-Morning energy - I'm sure some people would argue this (sorry hunny!), but I really have been feeling a little more pep in my step in the early am.

-Reduction in cravings - Yes!! This one has been my favourite so far. The mental calmness that comes with no more cravings is amazing. You feel very at peace with yourself and no longer feel like your brain is against you.

I think those have been my biggest achievements, though people seem to also enjoy: reduction in anxiety, improved mood, improvement in skin, reduction in pain and general reduction in symptoms from chronic disease (especially auto-immune conditions). Not too shabby eh?

Anyways, now is the time that we are supposed to start reintroducing certain food groups (one at a time.. no pizza just yet!) to see how our body tolerates each food. This allows us to realize what is actually best for our individual bodies. No two people are the same with how they react to foods, and therefore one diet is never going to be perfect for everyone! First on my list? You guessed it - Red wine :D

Once again, shoot me a message or comment if you had any questions! Stay healthy guys!

Tara