How I Ate To Lose Weight and Felt 10 Years Younger

The Whole30 lifestyle helped to pull me out of the depths of depression, got my health back on track, and made me feel like I was back in my 30s.

Healthy lifestyle…

I have always been a healthy person. My fondest memories were of playing sports as a young child, my parents coaching from the sideline. I was a college athlete who played sports throughout my 30s and who exercised 5-6 days a week. I watched what I ate (mostly) and read lots of books and magazine articles on health and nutrition. I made working out and eating organic, whole food meals a priority. Then I had my second child in my 40s and it all changed.

Motherhood later in life took a toll…

My body was able to bounce back from my first child because I was so active and in my 30s. But then a funny thing happened when I hit 40 – my body began to have “issues.” Looks like all of that activity throughout my life took its toll and I started to develop serious joint issues that made exercising much more painful, which also made exercising less frequent. Then I resigned my teaching position, we moved, and I got pregnant. My 42 year old body just couldn’t come back from this second pregnancy. Combine that with starting a brand new life in a brand new place, not sleeping for 2 1/2 years (yes, seriously, for two and a half years I did not sleep a single night without being wakened up at least 3 times), and not living the very active lifestyle that I was accustomed to. It was a recipe for disaster. I was diagnosed with depression and knew things had to change. But change was slow to come.

Paralyzed from making a change…

I wasted a lot of time treading water and not doing the things that I knew I needed to do. I honestly felt like I was trapped in a nightmare where I was paralyzed from doing anything. What made everything worse was that I didn’t recognize myself or my unwillingness to change. In the past, I had always been self-reliant and able to power through any obstacle thrown my way. Not this time; I was an absolute stranger to myself. And I was caught in an unhealthy cycle of eating (and drinking) for comfort.

Enter Whole30…

Then one day, I stumbled on a recipe that was labelled “Whole30” while searching through Pinterest. I had a vague notion of what that meant but essentially dismissed it as the latest “fad diet.” Soon after, a friend of mine called to hang out and I discovered that she was on a Whole30 round, which consists of eliminating inflammation-causing, gut-disrupting, and hormone-unbalancing foods like sugar, dairy, and grains for 30 days. After talking with her and discussing her desire to discover which foods were making her feel “bad and achy”, I grew curious about this “diet.” I was most intrigued by my friend’s insistence that she was doing this to find out how different foods affected her body. This triggered in me a long held belief that food can heal or food can make you sick. I went home and read all I could on Whole30. It seemed like Whole30 helped to detox your body from foods that had detrimental effects so that you could figure out how particular foods affected your body. This was all in the quest for food freedom; the insight gained from detoxing your body from addicting foods, thus rendering you the power over food and cravings. I have to be honest, after talking with my friend and doing a bit of research, Whole30 seemed daunting and impossible. But, at that point, I had sunk so low that I found myself (finally) up for the challenge.

Week 1 (Withdrawal)…

I did my first Whole30 round in May, 2017. The first week was both really tough and fun. I made the mistake of giving up my coffee cold-turkey so I didn’t know if the weeklong headache was caused by sugar withdrawal or coffee withdrawal. I also felt extremely tired that first week. But I found the meals to be really delicious and fun to make. I learned so much about this new approach to food. By the end of the first week, I felt the fog lift, the headache slowly subsided, and I felt less bloated. My clothes fit me better and I noticed that my face looked less puffy. You’re not supposed to look at the scale while on a Whole30 round but I was curious; I lost 7 pounds that first 7 days.

Week 2 (More energy and motivation)…

The second week started really strong; I no longer suffered from a constant headache caused by withdrawal and I was feeling lighter and more energetic. I also fell into a really good cooking rhythm. Discovering how to cook with flavors that I hadn’t used before was exhilarating and I was loving every minute of it! I felt a stabilization in my mood and I experienced less cravings. Instead of feeling full and bloated after eating, I felt completely satiated and balanced.

Week 3 (Tigerblood)…

Week 3 was a revelation for me. I had so much energy! Tigerblood was real and I wanted to share it with the world! For some, Whole30 tigerblood can be elusive, but for me, it was incredible and life changing. I literally felt 10 years younger. I hadn’t felt this good in years and I wanted more. I was sleeping better and I didn’t have any lingering cravings. The Whole30 meals that I found were delicious and satisfying and all of my bloating was gone. My joints were less achy; my clothes were fitting better; and my face looked brighter. I was totally sold on this new lifestyle.

Week 4 (Food recognition)…

The 4th week of Whole30 was eye-opening. I began to seriously take stock of my relationship to food and started to notice the patterns that led to poor food choices. I observed the foods that set my cravings loose which led to overeating and foods that made my body “feel bad.” I have to admit that in the last week or so of my first Whole30 round, I began to grow tired of the constant prep and cooking. I definitely got cooking fatigue, even though the meals were spectacular. I realized that my approach to Whole30 cooking was not sustainable for me because the meals were often time consuming and laborious. This realization helped to sustain me through two more rounds because I sought out easier and quicker meals that led to less cooking fatigue. By the end of this first round, I lost 12 pounds but more importantly, I gained an understanding about how my body could feel and how food can heal our bodies.

Growth in the process…

It isn’t an exaggeration to say that I learned a great deal about myself through this process. While I still have more work to do to get back to my old body, I feel like this lifestyle gave me a new perspective on my old habits and emotional crutches and empowered me to make a positive change in the right direction. With each successive round, I’ve learned even more and feel like I am in a really good place to take the next step in my journey to health and well being.

Next steps…

I have committed to make this next year, 2019, a year of health. I am starting the year off with a Whole30 reset, beginning on Monday, January 7th, 2019. This year, I will also begin my journey to heal my diastasic recti and work to strengthen my core. Additionally, I have promised myself to dedicate 5 days a week to exercise – cardio and strength training to be exact, like I used to. Reclaiming my health and getting back into a lifestyle that promotes exercise is a main focus of 2019 for me. I invite you to join me on this journey through the Make n Curate newsletter and/or the Make n Curate Whole30 Success Support Group.

My sincerest wish for you is a year of growth, renewal, and health in 2019. Happy New Year!