Whole30: My Thoughts At 15 Days

Wow, I cannot believe it’s been 15 days already! Well, in some ways it feels like it has flown by. In other ways, I cannot believe I’m only at 15 days…It’s all about perspective.

Whole30 has been an interesting journey so far and I’m excited to share my halfway thoughts with you.

The biggest question I get asked is “how is Whole30 going?” and truly I never know how to answer it. I always heard Whole30 was really hard. The book even warns of side effects like “sugar hangovers” when your body adjusts to no added sugar. I was determined from the start of Whole30, but I was a little scared from everyone’s “warnings”. I’m not sure if it hasn’t hit me yet or anything, but I have not experienced weird side effects. So that’s good. Obviously the hardest part of Whole30 is not eating from the Not Allowed List (alcohol, grains, dairy, legumes, added sugar). I have struggled with my own cravings, for sure, but I’ve found they aren’t as bad as everyone made it out to seem in my opinion. They were definitely stronger in the beginning but after the first week or so, I barely notice my cravings.

In terms of mental health, I am feeling strong and confident. I’m so proud of myself for setting a goal and focusing on it every single day. Whole30 requires your full dedication each and every meal. If you slip up a bit, you’re supposed to start over. Truthfully, I’ve had nightmares about accidentally eating something from the Not Allowed List and then crying about it hahaha. And I mean I’ve had that nightmare several nights now. Despite my dreams, I have not done so in reality and I’m really proud of that.

I will say that on the 16th day I realized my Vitamins had 1% added sugar. I was upset but vitamins are important and I’m not going to let that deter my progress so far. The book talks about accidental slip ups and the fact that we are adults. We can choose if this will end our progress or if we wish to continue. I’m really trying to focus on progress versus perfection. I had never thought vitamins could have sugar so it was a shock but again, I’m still so proud that my conscious decisions have be in the direction of my goal.

I started Whole30 because I felt controlled by my cravings and food. One of my favorite things about Whole30 at the moment is that I no longer feel controlled by food. If I have a craving, I know that I don’t NEED that right this moment. I can calmly honor the craving and continue about my day without indulging. I also have a plan of what I’m going to eat and when so I’m not stressing over what to make and what sounds good versus what is good for me. It has freed up so much mental space for me to not always be thinking about food. So in that aspect, Whole30 is working exactly how I wanted it to.

I think that’s part of my success on Whole30. I went into this hoping to change my eating habits. I wasn’t intending to lose weight or restrict myself. It was all to learn how to control my cravings and emotions around food, rather than having food control me.

On that note, I’m sure you’re curious about the physical health aspects of Whole30. While that has not been my focus, I have noticed my body composition changing a bit and definitely leaning out. I will share more in my final recap at the end of Whole30 so stay tuned if you’re curious. Aside from aesthetics, I physically have been feeling pretty good. I honestly haven’t felt a big difference in how I feel. I actually journaled (I journal every night on Whole30) one night the following:

Am I really feeling “healthier” now that I’m on Whole30 or is it just because I’m eating what society deems as “healthy” that I feel better?

I noticed I didn’t feel much of a difference. I also was frustrated for the past few days because Whole30 can often be said to help clear skin and my face broke out more than normal during the past 15 days! It’s been frustrating but I’m still not giving up.

Overall, I’m feeling pretty good. I’m still inspired, I’m still motivated, I’m still ready to kick the next 15 days in the butt. To anyone else completing Whole30 with me, we got this! I’m so proud of how far you’ve come.

My Whole30 Journal

I decided to document this journey so I could track meals, effects, thoughts, etc. I started by measuring and weighing myself, as recommended by the book. Again, my intention was not necessarily weight loss, but I still wanted to track that. The rest of the journal I fill at the end of every day and here’s my prompts:

Today’s Thoughts

Feeling (1-5)

Energy Level (1-5)

Skin (1-5)

Favorite Meal

Cravings

Realizations