Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Adios Whole30!



 Like many of you, I've been watching a lot of horrific news footage and been thinking of those in Boston. While I know many runners have quite eloquent posts up regarding their thoughts on this tragedy, I'm not going to discuss it on my blog. It's sickening, and I don't really know any other way to say that. I've decided to return to my normal posting schedule.








Because now I'm free to eat them! Whole30 has been successfully completed!

Yesterday was our day 30. I really wish I'd put some money down on me making it this long, because I'm pretty sure I could have won some cash from friends and family, who (rightfully so) never thought me and sugar would survive this long of a separation.

So, today, you might be imagining me chowing down on nachos for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and a wheel of cheese followed by a brownie sundae for dinner. 




Well, that's extremely tempting, believe me, I've imagined it too. But of course, Whole30 can't make anything simple. The book recommends a strict "reintroduction" schedule.


source
 I've spent the past few weeks growing more and more skeptical of this whole thing, so naturally I was tempted to just scrap it and move back to my former sugary ways. But there was a part of me that recognized that I didn't give up all my favorite foods for a month (and refrain from touching a single piece of Easter candy) just to throw it all away and learn nothing. Also, my mom advised me to follow the schedule, probably so I don't end up curled up in the fetal position crying because I just ate a wheel of cheese. So far, her advice has always been 100% accurate (how annoying was THAT in high school?), meaning that brownie sundae will have to wait. 

When Eric came home last night, I informed him that we were on day 30 and we were supposed to reintroduce foods slowly starting in the morning. The book says you don't have to follow their schedule exactly, so he created his own version of reintroduction.


"29 days and 30 hours is CLOSE ENOUGH"

Good news - Eric has promised to do a guest post on his Whole30 experience.

Nevertheless, I'm ridiculously excited to eat yogurt for breakfast tomorrow and I have super fancy cheese from Wegmans with my dinner. 


I'm a cheese snob

Now that I'm looking at this reintroduction schedule again, it seems pretty cruel to start off with dairy, and then make me give it up again just so I can try beans and lentils. 10 more days is also sounding like quite a long time, too. 

I'm going to reserve completely judging Whole30 until I reintroduce everything, because maybe I'll take a bite of yogurt and feel horrible and only then can I truly appreciate how wonderful Whole30 was. Doubtful, but you never know.

However, I will share some preliminary thoughts:
  • I feel like I ate a lot of delicious food on Whole30 and didn't really feel deprived.
  • Giving up sugar wasn't nearly as hard as I expected it to be.
  • I hit the snooze button hard on Monday (aka day 29), so I think it's safe to say that Tiger Blood energy isn't in the cards for me. 
  • Clear skin is out too, and if I ever meet the person who started that rumor, I WILL bitch slap him or her.
  • Based on my pre and post weigh in, I lost about 4 pounds. Not exactly front page news, but considering I ate a ton, wasn't really ever hungry and didn't count a single calorie, that's pretty good.
  • Similar to my experience with GORUCK, I'm pretty sure this was a crazy idea, don't see myself doing it again, and yet I am still going to pat myself on the back for doing something that I was positive would be impossible for me.
What would a fad diet have to promise to convince you to follow it? The clear skin, Tiger Blood energy and faster running really sucked me in here.




16 comments:

  1. I'm super impressed! Congrats on finishing! Regarding the skin issues, I've heard that some people can have issues with nuts and/or eggs that cause acne. Just a thought.

    Now go get that brownie! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. The faster running, tiger blood energy would reel me in as well. I have to say though I'm glad to get your perspective to know that I don't really need to suffer through the same experiment! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think the same three things that sucked you in. My skin is usually pretty shitty for a nearly 30 year old lady.

    I know diet influencing skin is BS though. I don't eat dairy and my skin is just as shitty as normal. I eat clean 95% of the time and guess what? Still shitty! I like to blame it on the running/sweating combo because it's worse now that I sweat more often.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I thought you said that you were poor, but then you go flaunting your 6 dollar cheese. YOU ARE SITTING ON A THRONE OF LIES.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hahahha :) I'm super curious how the reintroduction goes-- I'm already looking at that as the worst part! Congrats on conquering the beast!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha, the beast is still alive and well, unfortunately. I know as soon as I finally get that brownie it's all over. But at least I know I can do it!

      Delete
  6. Someone at work is trying to get me to do a Go RUck Challenge..I don't think I will.

    Glad you survived your 30 days. Too bad for you cause my skin did clear up when I did it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I still crack up every time you write "Tiger Blood energy." That would have totally sucked me in (and it would be fun to walk around saying if it actually worked). Congrats on finishing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm so mad at Whole30 for lying that the program is 30 days, and then tacking on 10 extra days of restrictiveness. Whole40, bitches.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Just the promise of Tiger blood energy is enough for me to consider doing this program even though you didn't experience it. Although I am fairly certain I would cave on about day 3 and eat sugar.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm with Darcy; this whole program seems like a bunch of lies!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I guess the extra 10 days makes sense, but I suspect you are supposed to be so amazed by Whole 30 that you wouldn't binge on all that stuff. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  12. BBQ Chips, it's whats for breakfast!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting! Comments make me probably more happy than they should.