Happy Sunday friends! If you follow me on Instagram, then you probably know I spent the majority of January and the first few days of February completing a round of Whole 30. If you’re not sure exactly what Whole 30 is, you can read a much more detailed description of it in a previous blog post I wrote about it. In a nutshell, it is a 30 day clean eating regimen used as a mind and body system reset that helps improve gut health, sleep and a number of other positive changes in the body. It is not a diet, but as long as you’re following it correctly, you are pretty much guaranteed to see weight loss results as well.
I did my first full Whole 30 back in April of 2015 and had awesome results which I talk more about in the post mentioned above. I’ve tried and failed several times since then, but this time, I really wanted to stick to it. I posted meals and updates here and there on my IG stories to not only hold myself accountable (which honestly was the only thing that kept me going some days), but also to hopefully inspire other people to give it a try as well.
The great thing about this program is you literally don’t have to buy anything special to do it. No shakes, no workout plans, no fit tea, no meal suppressants or replacements. The only thing you need to buy are good clean foods. However, I would highly recommend reading It Starts with Food, written by Dallas & Melissa Hartwig, the founders of the Whole 30 program. The book is really informative and really goes in depth about how and why the foods we eat affect our bodies and what following the Whole 30 guidelines can do for you.
Whole 30 is definitely a little challenging, especially if you’re doing it alone. However, the benefits far outweigh anything else. The hardest part is hands down the constant meal prep. It can be really time-consuming and if you don’t do it, you are setting yourself up for failure. Trust me – I know from the many other times I’ve tried and failed at this lol. If you don’t have your meals prepped and ready to go, you’re more likely to cheat and it just all goes downhill from there. It’s also really difficult to turn down things like date nights out, dinner with friends or even cake for special occasions. It’s a constant decision every day, 3 or more times a day. However, it’s just 30 days and it gets easier with time because it becomes routine.
My Whole 30 Results
There have been a lot of really good things that have come out of me doing Whole 30 and sticking to it. The biggest one that stands out to me is that I’m now aware of my eating habits. Before this Whole 30, my eating habits were a mess. I knew it, but I don’t think I realized how terrible they really were. It was not uncommon for me to not eat breakfast, then drive through some fast food place for lunch and if I wasn’t doing that, I was probably getting Starbucks on the way back to the office. Dinner was either eating out (way too frequently) or fixing some unhealthy meal like pizza or a casserole at home for dinner. I’m disgusted just typing that – eek!
Anywho, my gut was a wreck. My mind felt cloudy. I wasn’t sleeping the greatest. My clothes were too tight and the bloat was too real. I felt so sick all of the time which is really what inspired me to give this another go. I just genuinely did not feel healthy and couldn’t stand the way I felt. ALL of those things went away with Whole 30 which is huge! I also dropped 7 lbs! Here are my before and after pics:
Obviously, I’m not too proud of the before pics, but I am so excited to show you guys just what losing 7 lbs and eating right looks like and what can be accomplished in just 1 month if you really try! You can clearly tell how much bloating went away and my back fat is disappearing lol! Although it’s not easy for me to post these pictures, you can even see how I miserable I look like I feel in the before pictures compared to the afters.
So what did I eat on Whole 30?
Well, I tried to have a variety of different meals, but I’m also a creature of habit so if I found something that worked for me or if I knew it would make several meals for me for the week, I tended to remake some of the same things. I ate a ton of fruits and veggies, turkey, chicken, salmon and potatoes. Pinterest is hands down the greatest place to find recipes and get creative with your Whole 30 meals. Here are some of my meals:
What’s next?
I finished up Whole 30 a week ago and have started incorporating some of my old eating habits back in. Being completely honest, I already don’t like how some of the foods I’ve been eating are making me feel and I actually WANT to stick with a clean eating lifestyle. It really makes me happy that I am able to step back now and realize this and make changes to my diet so that I don’t let it get out of control again.
Overall, I don’t know that Whole 30 is something I could 100% stick with all the time, but I definitely feel like an 80/20 or 90/10 clean eating lifestyle is doable and that’s what I plan to do. I am setting some pretty big weight loss goals for myself this year to improve my overall health and I feel like this was the perfect way for me to motivate myself to start working towards those goals.
Well, I’m off to spend my evening getting some meal prep done for the next few days. My goal is to get back on track this week and keep this progress going. Have you tried Whole 30 and if so, what were your results like? Would you be interested in joining me for accountability if I do another round soon? Let me know! If you have questions or comments, leave them below.
XO,
Ashley
This post contains affiliate links, which means that I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you purchase products through the links that I share with you.
Leave a Reply