I’m now two weeks out of my second Whole 30.
Thirty days of no sugar, no dairy, no legumes. I’d completed one round in July last year, and had some really good results. I was expecting something similar this time round. It didn’t quite pan out like that though.

In terms of cravings and how I feel in myself, the cravings were really knocked on the head. Possibly the only thing that I truly missed was a cup of tea, and I’ve since made the decision to reintroduce that into my diet. Life without tea is not a life I want to live! Not permanently anyway.
I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t perk up as much as I had during the July 2014 round of Whole 30. I think it might be partly due to the time of year (roll on lighter evenings!), and also that because our diet was so poor in the run up to the start of this Whole 30, my body took longer to catch on. Now that I’m a couple of weeks out from finishing, and my eating habits have slipped in the last 3 days, in retrospect, I perked up more than I felt I did at the time. Right now, I’m moody, lethargic, sleeping poorly, my skin is breaking out, and I’m battling my sweet tooth again. This is after just three days of poor eating!

Properly mid-grump
I tracked my intake with My Fitness Pal during this round, which I didn’t do in July. I noticed that every now and then when I thought I needed something sweet in the evening, it tended to be when I had a low calorie day. I was also able to start identifying what causes bingeing behaviours (le sigh Nakd bars!), and I am more aware of what I need to be mindful of.

We also gained much more control out of our food budget. I am quite embarrassed to admit how much we had been spending on food, takeaway and sweets before the New Year, and one of the driving factors in doing another Whole 30 was to bring some control back to the budget. This has been completely successful. While the Whole 30 isn’t the cheapest way of eating, it is much cheaper than what we had been doing.
In terms of the stats, I lost 12lbs (compared with 16lbs in July 2014). I haven’t taken my inches measurements since finishing. Matt lost around the same as me, which he is very pleased with. I’m pleased, especially as I think I had more than my fair share of fruit juice. It wasn’t wholly about the weight loss, but having seen such high numbers at the start, it is a relief to be on my way back down.
I know a lot of this has been non-scale victories anyway, but probably the one I am most pleased about is walking. Specifically, being able to walk. Just before my sister left to go home after Christmas, we went out for a walk along the beach with my mum. The intention had been to start a Couch to 5k type walking plan (so quicker walking bits rather than running). I felt low about it anyway, as I was incredibly conscious of how big I had become, but the actual event was worse than I imagined. We only managed a short distance before I had to stop. The pain in my back and hips was excruciating. Mentally, I was already calling Matt to come and pick me up. I felt so embarrassed – we have walked for miles and miles in times gone by, down the beach, Exmoor, Dartmoor. There I was, internally melting down because of what I had been doing to myself. I cried when I got home.

Fast forward 3 weeks and Mum and I were heading out to go shopping. She’d parked the car about 10 minutes’ walk away, up a hill. I was told off for marching ahead so quickly. Matt and I have been out for walks since the end of our Whole 30 too, and it hasn’t been a struggle at all.

We’re now about two weeks out from finishing the Whole 30, and life has carried on reasonably well. The first week and a half or so, we kept eating the same as we had been but reintroduced tea and porridge (for me) and cereal (for Matt). This week hasn’t been as good, and we’ve slipped into old ways a little, which isn’t great. That said, this evening, I’ve made my own mayo, cooked up a breakfast quiche type thing, and sorted out a proper lunch for tomorrow, so we’re getting straight back to it. We’ve realised that just 3 days of eating badly is really beginning to take its toll (bad tummies, moodiness, cravings, energy slumps, poor sleep, not to mention financially).
How was January for you? Well done to the Janathoners and Jantastic people!