Oh man, never have I ever been so disciplined about something it probably my entire life. I’m a person that goes full force when I get my mind set on something. I don’t know if that is discipline or just stubbornness. Who really knows. I started the Whole 30 challenge on January and ended on February 3rd. It has been a definite challenge, but I’m SO glad I did it.
As you may recall, these were the rules of the challenge:
I’m not going to lie, the first few days were HARD. I was going through withdrawls of Diet Coke, sugar, and the tons of carbs that I was regularly shoving in my face. After a few days though, I started to feel great! I was never very hungry because I was always getting plenty of protein and carbs from a LOT of vegetables, meat, and fruit.
Here are my results:
- Clearer skin: My skin looks so much better! I’m not sure if people around me would notice as much as I do, but I’ve always had trouble skin, and this has cleared it up a bunch. Apparently its because of the dairy, which I will happily cut out for clearer skin.
- Better Mood: Winter instantly puts me in a sad, bad mood about 90% of the time. This diet has really helped me to be more regulated in my mood and have a ton more energy. I don’t want to take a 3 hour nap all day every day.
- Better Sleep: I’ve always been a “good” sleeper, but this diet has seriously helped me to sleep better and more deeply. No complaints there.
- Weight Loss:- I have lost 15 pounds in 30 days. It wasn’t necessarily my goal to lose weight while doing this, but I can’t help but be really excited! I’ve lost a lot of fat from my waist which makes me feel so much better about myself!
The hardest thing about this diet was preparation. I really had to be diligent about making a bunch of food on the weekends to have ready for the week. If I didn’t have things prepared ahead of time, I would have cheated ALL the time. Surprisingly enough, I’m done with the challenge and want to keep eating this way. I can’t believe it. It makes me feel so much better though, so might as well keep it going!
Here are some of the meals I ate throughout the diet challenge.:
Salad with “Taco” ground beef, tomatoes, and mushrooms
Chicken, broccoli, and arugula salad
Beef curry with red peppers and broccoli
Egg, sausage, and mushroom frittata
Taco salad with avocado
All in all, I’m really glad I did this challenge. It made me cook more than I have in a long time, made me more aware of what I’m eating on a daily basis, and just made me feel better!
-Maria
Yay! I need your frittata recipe- I’m still obsessed with the sweet potato thing.