**I’m thrilled you’re all here checking out my Whole30 results. You can join me for LiveWhole365 and download all of the tools in this post. You can also see all of my Whole 30 archives, including meal plans and recipes by clicking here.**
I finished up Whole 30 last week and I’m currently on day 2 of 20 before vacation. I debated whether to even call it Whole 30 anymore, because I think this is going to pretty much be a lifestyle change for me. I’ll probably follow the 85-15 rule and splurge at times, but I want my main method of eating to be aligned with Whole 30. Either way, I’m going to be strict and not cheat for the next 20 days before we go to the beach. I’m incredibly close to fitting back into my pre-pregnancy clothes and two weeks of eating right will save me money when it comes to purchasing new clothes for vacation.
Let’s get right to the results. I finished up Whole 30 last Thursday and weighed in for a final time on Friday morning. Just so you know, I gained a whopping 47 pounds with Judson. I lost 20 pounds fairly quickly within the first few weeks. At the end of Whole 30 I had lost another 14 pounds. That leaves me with about 13 pounds of pregnancy weight left. I was definitely pleased with the results as far as weight loss goes, but I am also pleased with how my energy increased, my skin looks better, and I feel better all around.
I can’t wait to see the changes the next 20 days brings.
I also want to take some time to answer a few questions I get asked about Whole 30. I’m by no means an expert, but I’m pretty proud of the fact that I actually stuck to a diet for more than 24 hours.
Did you workout too? Yes. I have a treadmill, weights and a mat in the garage and a membership to Pure Barre. Honestly, it’s really hard for me to go to Pure Barre these days because it takes about 2 hours out of my day. I absolutely love Pure Barre, I think it’s the best workout, hands down. But, two hours is a lot of time with two kiddo’s and no child care on site. Lately, I’ve been spending about 40 minutes on the treadmill and doing a quick ab, leg and arm workout. Just a mixture of squats, sit-ups, push-ups, lunges, and planks.
What can I eat on Whole 30? I printed this list and left it on our refrigerator, it’s a great resource. I’m documenting all of my meals this week and I’ll give you a detailed post about what I eat next week.
How do you not get bored with food choices? The honest answer is I do get bored. Sometimes the thought of another egg makes me want to gag. But, it always passes and I just choose something else until it does. The biggest advice I can give here is to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Try new things, think outside the box, make a batch of Chia seed pudding, grab a Lara bar.
What happens when the 30 days is over? Ideally, you would continue to eat Whole 30’ish with a few indulgences. I think it’s different for everyone and you have to find your own balance. For me, I’ll just have to evaluate whether or not a splurge is really worth it, and keep a good check on my eating so I don’t fall back into old habits. And if I do fall back into old habits the program recommends do a reset, maybe a Whole 7 or Whole 14. I promise that once you see how good your body can feel, you aren’t going to want to eat the same things you were eating before.
Aren’t you going to gain your weight back? Obviously, I could gain my weight back if I choose to eat the things that caused me to gain the weight in the first place. Ideally, the answer is no. This isn’t like a juice cleanse where you’re going to pack on the weight because your body is in some type of starvation mode, but eating the things that made you unhealthy will cause you to gain weight.
What did the rest of your family eat? I only cooked one dinner each night. Sometimes I supplemented Braylen’s dinner with other fruits and vegetables that I know she likes. For example, we had artichokes one night and she wasn’t a fan so I gave her a handful of raw carrots (that’s her favorite) in place of the artichoke. We did make a rule that she has to at least try new things that we’re eating. Sometimes she liked them, we discovered that she loves spaghetti squash, and sometimes she wasn’t a fan. Allen always ate the same dinner as me, he stuck to the program about 50 percent of the time (maybe a little more) and he ended up losing a good bit of weight, too.
What did you use for salad dressing? I found a great recipe for (I didn’t use shallots) that I used during Whole 30.
Did this affect your milk supply? I’ve had mixed reviews from people who seem to think Whole 30 might have a negative impact on feeding baby Jud. Rest assured, he’s still exclusively nursing and we haven’t had any problems. In my head, I never thought we would run into any issues. Whole 30 allows you to eat as much good proteins, fruits, and vegetables as you want. Along with good fats, nuts, and eggs. I’m definitely eating more food now and it’s better food. I honestly think the impact would be positive because I’m eating so much better.
Where do you get recipes? Pinterest and Instagram! There are so many fantastic Instagram users that post yummy recipes. Just search #whole30, #whole30recipes, I even have a few under my hashtag #jenngdoeswhole30
I also want to share a few resources from around the web, the Whole 30 site is fantastic >and full of free resources.
And you can follow along with a few of my favorite bloggers who are also on a Whole 30 journey, AP and Heather have blog posts up today, too!
Way to go! Those are incredible results!!!
WOW! You look great! I am thinking about trying this. I am doing ww simple start now. I know you have done ww. How does this whole 30 compare to simple start? Thanks for any info you can share.
Amazing! Talk about some hard work showing off!
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Congrats on the great results! It’s amazing how much better your body feels when you are putting good food into it. And you look fabulous too. :). I am surprised that people were concerned that Whole 30 was going to inhibit breastfeeding – you are eating healthy foods, not starving yourself.
Way to go on the exclusive nursing! It can be hard work at times, but so worth it.
Congratulations! You can defnitely see a great improvement, you must be feeling really good about it.
You look so great!!! Thank you so much for posting on this.
This is something I definitely want to try after Stella is born. I’ve gained about 30 pounds so far and I still have 6 weeks to go. I know I’m going to have quite a bit to lose. And, unfortunately, it’ll be during the holidays. I’m really amazed at the transformation it’s done for you, great job!
Wow, you look amazing!!!
I can’t wait to get back to eating like this, the 1st trimester totally blew my whole 30 real quick with a meat aversion. I’m trying to work veggies back in without gagging this week, it’s the little things lol.
youve inspired me to keep going. I’m on day 11 of the whole 30 and have lost 4 lbs. but all in the first 4 days. I have 10 lbs to go of the baby weight. Thank you for inspiring.
YAY! Happy to hear that, I promise it’s worth it!