Guest Post: Heather's Whole30 Results!

More results people!  My friend Heather surprised me when she told me she was joining me for my April Whole30.  It's always fun when I learn that people read my blog (so feel free to leave some comments, you silent lurkers from Facebook)!  Please congratulate Heather and her husband because they rocked the Whole30 and earned some awesome results!  I'm so proud <3

I was never in terrible shape until I turned 21.  Being 21 led to Happy Hour every day after work, partying every weekend, eating greasy bar food plus whatever else I felt like eating.  This was my fiancé John and my lifestyle for a few years.  Awful, I know. I packed on the pounds and John never gained any weight at all.  He had a very physical job and played a lot of sports. We got married in October 2011 and shortly after, I learned I was pregnant.  I gained 33 pounds while pregnant and lost it soon after our little girl was born (July 2012).  I figured I would lose the rest eventually.  As our baby became more and more mobile, it hit me:  I do not want to be that Mom at the playground who is out of breath chasing her kid.  I don’t want to be so preoccupied with how I feel in my swim suit on family vacations that I’m hiding behind my towel instead of building elaborate sandcastles and splashing in the ocean with my child. Above all of that, I want to be around to see my baby grow up.  I knew I needed to make a change. 

I asked my husband if I could buy an elliptical with some of our tax return money.  I figured after our daughter goes to bed, I can use the elliptical while my hubby and I caught up on our favorite shows.  I bought my elliptical and lost 12 pounds the first month.  Meanwhile, I was continuing to read Amber’s blog and Sarah’s guest post.  I knew this was something I wanted to do.  I figured my husband would tell me “good luck” or “have fun with that” when I presented it to him.  To my surprise, he said he wanted to try the Whole30 with me.  (He got hurt at work back in July 2012 and has gained 50 pounds since then).  We began researching recipes and went grocery shopping. We gave all of our non-compliant foods to our neighbor (out of sight, out of mind).  We were ready!!

Let’s get right to the results.  In the month of April, I lost 17.8 pounds and 17.75 inches off of my body. John lost a total of 16.5 pounds and 10.5 inches! We are believers!! I experienced so many other benefits other than just losing weight…here are a few:

1. I slept like a rock!! This was the part of the Whole30 that I was excited about the most! My daughter has slept through the night since she was 3 months old; however, I almost always woke up several times every.single.night. UGH! If it wasn’t work I was thinking about, it was my sweet baby, family, and so on. During the month of April, I woke up every morning feeling refreshed and ready for anything!  
2. I was never hungry!! After reading Sarah’s post, I thought that this part could never work for me! I always thought I was eating such a healthy breakfast--Kashi Go-Lean Crunch or Total Raisin Bran. I was always starving by 9:30-10 and ate a snack at work. The same thing happened after lunch, around 2pm I had another snack. During the Whole30, I literally was never hungry between meals. I ate my 3 meals a day and sometimes a snack after dinner. That’s it. This was HUGE for John as well. He was the biggest snacker, especially at nighttime. He would eat leftovers from dinner, make sandwiches, etc. and that all has stopped!
3. I’ve never drank so much water!! The biggest thing I was worried about doing the Whole30 was giving up my diet green tea and diet coke (sooooo bad!) The more water I drank, the more I wanted it! We are finished the Whole30 and I haven’t had anything to drink other than water and coffee (well, maybe a few beers this past weekend!) :-)
4. My energy is through the roof!! I feel great and my energy levels remained even throughout the day. No more after lunch crash!!!
5. We have tried so many fantastic recipes!! As I have read in Amber AND Sarah’s posts, we also ate the traditional protein, starch and veggie combo every night for dinner. The Whole30 challenged our views on dinners and we tried recipes we would have never made before. Some of them we enjoyed so much, we are still making them. We tried new vegetables (I may have developed an obsession with fresh spinach which I never ate before), new spices, and John made his own compliant “ranch dressing” that he likes even more than regular ranch dressing now!
6. This has not been another “diet” but a true lifestyle change!! I went into this with the intention of making eating better a lasting part of my life. I also vowed to exercise every day of the Whole30 trying to make this a part of my routine. For the entire 30 days I did some sort of exercise. Whether it was walking on my lunch break, doing the elliptical or some days both, I did something every day. I find myself looking forward to my workouts now and feeling guilty if I don’t do it. YEAH!

There seriously have been so many benefits I could continue this list on and on. The website is right, the Whole30 changed my life. We went to a wedding this past Saturday and I was fully intending on eating whatever I wanted. I ended up filling my plate up with veggies, protein and had a salad. I did enjoy a delicious roll, but pre-Whole30 I would have eaten mostly carbs! I love the way my body feels and I want to keep fueling it with good, nutritious foods. I was able to go shopping for a new dress for this wedding and it was a few sizes smaller. Numerous people at the wedding commented on my weight loss. Co-workers, family, and friends have all commented on how much energy I have, my weight loss, and how my clothes are falling off of me. Since February, I am down 29.8 pounds. I have a lot more to go, but I am so proud of myself and think this is a terrific start! Thanks Amber for all of the inspiration and information on this incredible program. Also, thanks to Sarah for sharing your story. Both of you really made me want to give this my all.