 |
| Left: Before - 209lbs, 44" bust, 43" waist Right: After - 198lbs, 41" bust, 40" waist |
What I didn't say specifically last time was that I was going to do a Whole30 for the month of November. If you're a longtime follower of my blog, you probably know that I personally feel at my best when I'm following the Paleo diet, and despite what everyone else in real life or on the Internet says, it works for me and I like it, and that's that. (I don't care how you eat. Don't concern yourself with what I eat.)
I am bringing it up, however, because sometimes people just want to know what it is I'm doing. I'm not going to sit here and extoll its virtues or whatever - for one thing, I've done that on my blog before, as have many other bloggers. I'm not here to sell you on it. Like I said, it works for me, and I like it. It might not work for other people, and they might not like it, so you do you. I'm not here to debate Paleo's efficacy for anyone other myself.
I'm also bringing it up because making lasting changes in the name of health/fitness/happiness is a common struggle that many people face, regardless of whatever way of eating you follow, and so, I feel like you could probably relate to that even if you have a completely different eating philosophy from me. I had a good 30 days - I felt like a strict "reset" was in order, not to clear out toxins or whatever, but to retrain my brain and how I think about food. I feel like the most important thing I got out of this month was how to diligently meal plan (especially since I'm responsible for feeding my family as well) and how to handle the temptation to eat everything around me just because it's there, and other hurdles. (I traveled this month, and we also had Thanksgiving.)
I also spent a lot of time reflecting on just what I want out of my general everyday diet. I've learned that my body is happiest when I'm following the strict Whole30 guidelines, but my soul is happiest when I get to have a little pho, cheese, and dark chocolate. I've learned that as much as I LIKE Skittles, cheddar bay biscuits, and Coke, I can definitely live without them (and indeed, thrive).
I know a lot of people would balk at doing the Whole30 after looking at its guidelines, but having now done it three separate times, I have to say that those 30 days are actually the easiest part. Does it feel torturous at times? Sure. But it's easy because it's very cut-and-dried. NO these things, and YES these things. The decisions are already made for you, and you just have to follow through.
It's this part, the part that comes after, that is harder. How much do I loosen up my rules? How do I know I won't totally go off the rails and eat that entire 20-piece holiday caramel sampler I saw at Trader Joe's? HOW MUCH CHEESE IS TOO MUCH CHEESE????
On the plus side, having been through this before, I at least have some sense of what I can reintroduce to my diet without throwing myself completely off. (Cheese on my eggs? Cool. A tall glass of straight-up milk? Not so much - it makes me feel icky even when I have been consistently consuming other dairy products.) This sounds obvious, of course, but it all comes down to figuring out where "moderation" and "reasonable indulgence" lies for me. It's my birthday next week, and if I really want some cake, I should have some cake. And in return, I should enjoy the experience and NOT feel the slightest bit bad about it. But... I should also NOT eat half the entire cake in two days. I should NOT eat cake every day - not because eating cake every day is a morally bad decision, but because if I want my body to perform optimally, then I just can't do that. One of the hardest concepts for me (and probably anyone) to internalize is that there are no "good" foods and "bad" foods, from a moral standpoint. There are foods that work for you, and foods that don't agree with you so well, and it's up to you how you strike that balance, because every body is different. Having seen how my body functions without certain food groups compared to how it functions with them, I can say that I don't have any food allergies, but some food groups in larger amounts (or even in certain forms) do not agree with my body as well as other food groups. It doesn't mean I can't eat cake ever; it means that I should be more judicious about my consumption of it.
(So, to reiterate - I'm not judging anyone who eats cake every day. I'm saying that my body wouldn't be able to handle that, and since I have specific athletic goals I'm trying to meet, I should be mostly sticking to foods that work for me.)
So, as you can see from my photo above, I had some success this month. I'm down about 10-11 pounds (I wasn't very scientific about weighing myself in terms of clothes/shoes/time of day), and I've lost a few inches all over. I am happy about this, because again, I have specific reasons for wanting to lose weight, neither of which have to do with my appearance or self-worth. I don't care if I look "better" or not; in fact, I don't think I look all that different. (I do have a bit more muscle definition in my upper body and thighs, which is cool, but that wasn't the point of losing weight.)
I can feel a difference, though: I haven't really tried to run yet, but my knee is feeling better when I squat. If you'll recall, I was in a lot of pain leading up to my competition last March, and while I did manage to hit all my attempts, in the weeks afterward, I could barely front-squat 80lbs without pain. However, this past week, I managed to get up to 335lbs for my third set of backsquats with no pain, so that's a huge victory for me! The combination of more consistent work plus a little less weight on my frame, plus the improvement of the inflammation (or whatever) in my knee, really made a difference. This is the most important result of all for me, far more important than looking "hotter."
And of course, there were other things that improved, that weren't weight-related at all:
- I have been far less sore after my workouts, despite the increasing intensity.
- I've been tracking various illnesses/symptoms in my bullet journal, and November had far fewer headaches and stomachaches than previous months.
- I sleep more soundly (and it's easier for me to fall asleep/wake up).
- Despite the major drop in temperature all of a sudden this month, I have not gotten sick. (I've been hovering on the edge of feeling sick a little bit, but I haven't actually gotten sick. *knock on wood*)
So I'm feeling good about myself lately, and I am motivated to keep working on maintaining order in my food choices and habits (and of course, showing up to the gym as consistently as possible). I'm not going to do a check-in like this every month, but I did want to give some sort of follow-up to my previous post and let you know that all is well on that front.