My Whole30 Journey

The older I get the more I am learning to really listen to what my body is telling me. My whole30 journey started years ago… when I was in my mid 20s I suffered from severe cystic acne that was so painful it felt like my face was on fire. I knew something was wrong and acne medicine was not the solution. After seeing several dermatologists I saved my pennies and took myself to a holistic clinic. They did a number of tests on me including blood work, a glucose test, an extensive allergy test, and they had me tracking my ovulation by waking up at the same time and taking my temperature. After rounds of tests they determined that I was allergic to a lot and that was causing my acne and we also found out that I wasn’t ovulating! I left one appointment with a full page of food that I was allergic to and instructions to start eliminating them from my diet. The big troublemakers, gluten and dairy. Slowly I started changing my eating habits and kept my plan consistent for months! Suddenly, my skin started to clear up, I lost a few pounds too which was a plus but more importantly, my body just felt so so so much better! And as y’all can see from my growing family, I started ovulating again!

When I heard of Whole30 it seemed like the perfect transition for me since everything that was not allowed or against the rules, happened to be something I was allergic to. 6 rounds and a few years later I decided to start 2020 with a Whole30. My biggest goal was to start losing this baby weight but throughout January I found myself focussing more on how my body with feeling than a number on the scale. Here’s what I started noticing!

My knees weren’t hurting and I could easily get up and down to play with Jax. The extra weight I was carrying took a huge toll on my joints. I wasn’t clearing my throat anymore. Almost instantly after eating dairy I would start clearing my throat because it felt like there was mucus back there but after eliminating it from my diet completely, my throat was always clear. This also made a huge difference in leading worship and my voice when I sang. My skin was clear, even my nose (which is where blackheads like to live). My hair was growing! Y’all know what post partum hair can be like… to have it grow instead of fall out is a big deal! No bloat, that meant my clothes fit better and I could actually start seeing my stomach getting smaller and I said adios to wearing maternity jeans and put on some real denim. My energy was through the roof! I woke up actually feeling rested, and that’s saying a lot since I still am getting up during the night with a newborn. And on top of all of that, I lost 20lbs! (keep in mind that I had 20lbs to lose, I had just had a baby so this number is HUGE compared to what you will see from others.)

So what happened to sticking with that eating plan? Well, dirty not so whole30 food happened. It started on Feb 12 when Fabian and I celebrated our engage-aversary. We went to a Fondu Restaurant and indulged in cheese, bread, chocolate, and cookies. I could tell before we even got to the chocolate fondue pot that my stomach was not happy with me. It took me 4 days to recover. I had the worst stomach cramps, I felt tired and bloated, and could feel the poofyness in my face. The next couple of weeks were a mixture of eating for myself and then actually eating for my body. Half of the day would be clean and then I would eat something that wasn’t whole30 and think, “well I screwed up the day already I might as well start over tomorrow.” That thought has been one that has self sabotaged me for years. Instead of learning to enjoy a moment of indulging I turn it into a day of indulging. (that could be a whole new blogpost in itself) The inconsistency of my eating left me feeling nauseous, sometimes dizzy, and so very exhausted. I would eat and instantly feel tired (this never happened on whole30). I welcomed back the bloat, and my pants were the ones to tell me. My regular trips to the restroom became not so regular, if you know what I mean. I was hurting my body and knew it but somehow still decided to eat the plastic cheese with my nachos one weekend.

To make all of the bad go away and bring back the good I knew I needed to jump back onto my whole30 lifestyle. This time not for the weight loss but honestly, for a regular trip to the restroom. All the benefits that my body was receiving by eating clean were TOTALLY worth it! The older I am getting the more I am realizing that my body is telling me exactly what I need to do, I just need to always be listening.