I decided to give the Whole 30 a shot. I had nothing to lose and I was desperate to kick my sugar cravings. I didn’t want to need dessert every night any longer. I learned so much in those thirty days, about food and about myself. I learned that I can survive without bread and the sun will rise again even if I didn’t have froyo the night before. And I am happy to report that I can now drink black coffee without cringing. I felt like the Whole 30 really helped me jump start my weight loss journey again and I would recommend it to anyone who is in need of a re-boot.
While on the Whole 30, I didn’t work out for probably the first twenty days. I wanted to see what clean food would do to my body. I am actually really glad I did that because I saw huge improvements.
When I was ready to begin working out again I knew I needed help. I always know what to do when I go to the gym with my boyfriend because he guides me and we usually do the same workouts together. But he was recently promoted to a Store Manager position and he’s been working twelve hour days, sometimes seven days a week. So I knew if I was going to do this, I couldn’t rely on us going to the gym together five days a week. I reached out to Shaun and Becky of YourFitnessJourney.org. I actually worked with them on my eating plan last summer but I only stuck with it for a month, something I really regret. Anyways, this time I signed up for their training package because I was still on the Whole 30 and I felt like my diet was pretty good.
With their guidance, I began lifting weights five days a week and I spent at least six days a week in the gym. I went from feeling lost and clueless to feeling very confident while lifting weights.
Let me tell you, my diet was another story. When I finished the Whole 30 I wanted to re-introduce all the foods I had removed. I tried to count calories and macros but I know for a fact that I splurged way too many times. I was still seeing results but not as fast as I had hoped. And the scale refused to go down. At first I thought I was just stuck. I had been fluctuating between the same four to six pounds since December of 2012, so I thought for sure that that was the weight I was meant to be at. I thought I could lose inches but it seemed as if the pounds were here to stay.
About a month ago, Shaun asked me if I wanted to try their meal plan. He wanted to help me get my weight down. I told him that I felt like I was okay on my own but if the scale didn’t move, I ‘d add it on the next month. Well, two weeks went by and in those two weeks I really regretted not adding the meal plan so I emailed them and Becky said they’d send it over immediately. These two are so amazing! Not only do they know what they’re doing but they always respond right away and they are always there for support.
I received my meal plan last Sunday and I ended up not starting it until Tuesday because of some things that had happened over the weekend that kept me from shopping and prepping my food. From Tuesday to Sunday I lost 4.2 pounds and I am now under those four to six pounds that I had been stuck in. I am so excited to see where I will be a month from now and I really wish I would have signed up for their meal plan right when I finished the Whole 30. BUT we learn as we go.
Basically what I’m trying to get at here is, it’s OKAY to ask for help. It’s OKAY to need someone to hold you accountable. I’ll be honest, most days the fact that I have trainers in Virginia waiting for my weight and photos once a week keeps me from eating Birthday Cake Ice Cream from Cold Stone. (I also have a great accountability buddy up in Seattle who I text when I’m tempted to eat anything off plan. She always talks me down from ledge.) This journey isn’t easy and if you need someone to guide you, find that someone.
Below are some Then and Now photos. Photos on the left was taken on April 26th 2014, Day 1 of the Whole 30. Photos on the right were taken yesterday, July 20th.
