Whole30 - All done! Hooray! Woohoo!

I thought I would post more about the Whole30 challenge that we did this past month.  But honestly, after the first couple of difficult weeks, it became sort of...routine.  Like, "this is just the way we eat now."  Which is really, really great, for someone who can't stick to a typical "diet" for more than a few weeks.

So, the wrap-up.  I should have taken my measurements as well as my weight, but I forgot.  But in completely awesome news, I lost 5.5 pounds in 30 days.  Woot!

I know that doesn't sound like much, for such a drastic new way of eating, but this is why I'm so freakin' excited about it:

1.  Losing an average of *more* than a pound per week is unheard-of for me.  I have always lost weight very, very slowly.  Glacially.

2.  I DID NOT HAVE TO BE HUNGRY.  Not once.  I ate until I was satisfied.  Sure, I couldn't stuff my face with everything I wanted, but not being hungry made me far less likely to *really* want things.

3.  I ditched the diet Coke habit.  On the few times I "slipped" and ordered one while eating out, it didn't even taste all that good.  So I think I'm done.  Good riddance. On a related note, I can now drink tea without sweetener, and like the taste of sparkling water.

4.  I proved to myself I *can* adopt a drastic new way of eating and stick to it for more than a couple of weeks.  And not hate every minute of it.  It really helped me to frame it as "I'm *choosing* to do this", not that I *have* to, or someone's *making* me.

5.  I was starting from a better place than most who do this.  I had already given up grains and sugar, so I didn't get the bonus of the huge water loss at the beginning.  All told, I'm down 13 pounds since I started Atkins in July. 
6.  Did I mention I lost nearly 6 pounds?  And the more amazing thing?  I did not exercise ONCE during this whole month. I'm not bragging about that, because it's something I want to get back into once I can figure out how to fit it into our schedule.  But no exercise, no hunger and I lost 6 pounds?  Holy. Crap.

7.  Eating "clean" really agrees with me.  I cannot argue with how *awake* I feel, how I need less sleep, and don't want to nap anymore.

Today BabyT and I had breakfast with friends in Seattle. We went to one of my all time favorite breakfast joints, The 5 Spot.  I gave myself permission to order a non-Whole30 approved breakfast.  When I saw pumpkin pancakes on their menu, I knew it was fate.  But, when they arrived, I only ate one and a little piece of the second.  That was enough for me. I *like* the new way of eating.  So I think I'm going to stick to it.

The person who should *really* be blogging about Whole30?  My fabulous husband, who surprised me by even agreeing to do this in the first place, and who was instrumental in keeping me on track.  Just knowing that he was doing it made me choose better food.  He was starting from a more difficult place than I did - tons of sugar, Coke and lots of white bread products.  He lost a jaw-dropping 22.5 pounds in 30 days.  Yeah, you read that right.

I'll admit to a slight bit of envy when he told me that, but more than that, I am so darn proud of what we both accomplished in a short 30 days.  The next thing I want to tackle is consciously eating more vegetables.  We did better, because of all the cooking, but I found myself eating a lot of protein and nuts, and not as many veggies as I could have.

Yay!!!