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It’s been a few weeks since Jason and I completed Whole30. You can see his recap over at My Whole30 Experience. I’m the one who introduced the Whole30 and It All Starts with Food to our family. Hopefully, in this recap post where I’m answering the same questions as Jason, you’ll get an idea of my motivations behind that and my experience throughout the month.
Q1: Why did you decide to do the Whole30?
A1: Last year, our son was diagnosed with kidney cancer. He completed chemo in the summer of 2015, and he’s been doing great since. However, last year was life changing for me. I can honestly say that I am not the same person that I was 16 months ago. Even though he is doing well, I’ve still been trying to keep up with any Wilm’s Tumor research, etc. This has led to me reading many articles on cancer in general. So much that I read links cancer to inflammation and inflammation to the foods that we eat. I knew that our kids were consuming too much sugar on a daily basis, and for a little one that already had the odds against him, I felt pressed to change their eating habits. But I didn’t feel right doing that if Jason and I couldn’t get on board. Combine these thoughts with recurrent UTIs, weird dry skin patches, and weight that I couldn’t shake, and I knew that I needed to try something completely different than diets that I had tried in the past. After hearing about Whole30 from a few blogger friends and personal friends, I bought the book; Jason and I read it together.
Q2: What was the hardest thing about the 30 days?
A2: No soda for sure! I shared more about my terrible soda addiction in the post How I Quit Soda in Preparation for Whole30.
Q3: What health benefits did you see after the 30 days?
A3: The weird dry skin patches (that a esthetician told me would only go away with mediation) are gone. No more UTIs. Any leaky gut symptoms have disappeared. Daily bloating ceased. I didn’t lose as much weight as Jason (I only lost about 7 pounds), but combine what weight that I did lose with the lack of bloating and I feel like it made a big difference.
Q4: Did all the benefits outweigh what you gave up?
A4: ABSOLUTELY!
Q5: What was your favorite Whole30 dish or meal?
A5: Jason and I have the same Whole30 favorite meal. I actually requested it on Mother’s Day, too! Since we were on Whole30 over Mother’s Day, we stayed home and had grilled salmon with avocado salsa, asparagus, and roasted sweet potatoes.
Q6: Do you have any favorite Whole30 approved products that you’ll continue using?
A6: I liked all the Whole30 approved products, but I found that once I stopped eating sandwiches and that sort of thing, my need for condiments flew out the window. I do enjoy the sparkling water that they recommend, and I have continued drinking that in place of soda. The Tessemae’s BBQ sauce is excellent as a quick addition to meat, so I will definitely continue that.
Q7: Did anything about the 30 days surprise you?
A7: After reading It All Starts with Food and many of the Whole30 social media conversations, I really expected to have an astounding mental clarity and energy shift by at least week 3. I don’t feel as if I experience this at all. I still had headaches and was pretty exhasuted mid-day on week four. I chalk it up to being a mom of triplets with an insane schedule and lack of sleep. No food plan in the world is going to fix that!
Q8: Do you have any last advice for someone contemplating beginning a Whole30 journey?
A8: Jason and I wholeheartedly agree on one Whole30 prep concept: Read It All Starts With Food and implement recipes into your life before actually kicking off the Whole30. We started a few weeks before our “kick-off” date by stocking our pantry and refrigerator with a few approved items. We cooked all approved dinners for at least a week before beginning. I truly feel like this allowed us to be successful. Our lives are too busy and too crazy to not have had a plan. I also began weaning soda two weeks before. If you’re someone who cannot quit bad habits cold turkey, I highly recommend that, as well!
Do you have any Whole30 related questions for us? Drop them below, and I’ll do my best to answer them!
Read our other Whole30 posts here:
