Post Whole 30 Reflections

 

We officially ended the whole 30 and started introducing foods back into the diet in December. The first thing we tried to re-introduce was soy. I made my own soymilk and sweetened it with a couple of dates. 

Soy caused us all to be really gassy but then it went away. 

We then tried grains like quinoa, rice and oatmeal. No issues. I did however at this point start to feel a bit more tired in the afternoon and didn't feel like I had as much energy as I had before introducing the carb-rich foods. 

We then did wheat, gluten containing and things were ok. We made the mistake by going big and getting doughnuts. Everyone was just fine except for Hailey whose eczema flared up and at night she woke up every 2-3 hours complaining that her butt and stomach hurt. We later figure out that there is also milk in the doughnuts... so we had to take a step back to see if it's the gluten or dairy that affected her. 

After 2 days of getting back onto the whole 30, we tried bread again. We found that a slice of bread was ok, but bread, pasta, and cookies made her tummy hurt, so we are going to limit her gluten intake. 

I knew dairy was a culprit, so I decided to take things slow and try yogurt one day (in a smoothie), which seemed to be ok; butter, in a dish, which ended up being a no-no for Hailey; and then lactose-free milk in cereal, which caused her belly to immediately hurt. She also started to wake up at night all through those few days. We finally stopped dairy and the night wakings have also stopped. 

What I'm taking away from this experience 

After a whole month of eating whole 30 I felt like I was slimmer and trimmer. My weight didn't change too much, but I felt like my clothes fit better. As soon as I started to incorporate carbs and sugar back into my diet, I feel a bit more..."puffy." With it being the holidays, I have decided that it was worth it to enjoy a cookie after dinner or add a splash of egg nog into my coffee in the morning. Will I continue to do it after the holiday season is over? Probably not, but you only live once, right? 

We are eating more veggies at most meals. I used to check the veggie box off by always serving at least 1 veggie at dinner. Now, I make sure I try to incorporate at least 1-3 different veggies at each meal (except for breakfast, which I'll talk about in a separate section). So, basically veggies for lunch and dinner. I don't make the kids finish all the veggies, but I usually ask them to pick 1 that they would like to eat and have them finish those items. 

Breakfast is now more hearty. It's a pain, but I've been incorporating eggs into our breakfast. The kids love their cereal. It's convenient. Instead of allowing them to eat 3 bowls of cereal in the morning, I am having them add other items such as an egg, a slice of frittata, or a piece of avocado toast to their 1 bowl of cereal. This also tends to hold them over until lunch. (I do let Hailey have fruit and/or nuts when she wants a snack) 

Steve says that besides the initial weight loss, he did not feel any different than before he started the program. The kids also agree. I feel like carbohydrates make me feel sluggish and I'm always feeling like I am in need of a snack especially in the evenings. This didn't happen before I started the program. 

Going Forwards: 

I'm going to continue cooking nutritiously balanced meals for my family, but I'm going to rely less on grains as I did in the past and if I do have to, I would use a mixture of the brown version of the product (rice or whole wheat). Half of the plate will be veggies, and not just 1, but a good assortment. 

I really believe that kids can listen to their body and figure out what their body needs. It's the sugar and the ingredients in the processed foods that may lead their tastes astray, so if we don't offer those things as an option, we can let kids eat what they want and I think that they will grow up just fine. In fact, Hailey has shown the fastest rate of growth these past 2-3 months than she has grown since she turned 1). There was a period where she wasn't growing much, but she's catching up. 

Overall, I'm glad I went through this journey with the family. What you put in your body can affect how efficient your body functions. It's made a believer out of me. I feel like I'm less inflamed over -all when conforming to Whole30 rules. But I am curious into the Paleo / keto lifestyle and will be doing more research over them in the future.