Tag: dieting

So that’s it.  Thirty days of whole30 done and dusted.  It certainly has flown by and was nowhere near as difficult as I thought it would be.  Once I cracked the shopping bit and realised I might not meet absolutely every strict criteria on the organic front it was much easier.

Now there is so much I cold write about, and I will week by week, but for this post I think there are some high level goals that I would reflect on.

I wanted to generally feel better physically because I was feeling a bit rough and rather old and achy and you know what I do.  My knees don’t ache like they did, the walk up the hill to walk no longer leaves me out of breath and overall I just feel far more comfortable in my body.   Oh and my blood pressure seems to be improving so that’s a huge plus.

I wanted my family to eat better and they have.  They are also more aware of the effects of food and are making their own decisions about what is good for them and which isn’t.  They have both also lost a bit of weight whilst eating more than they ever did and seem happier and healthier for it.  That isn’t to say they didn’t gobble down the cup cakes I made for them yesterday.

I wanted to lose some weight and I did.  I need to lose lots more, and I now have some realistic targets, but losing weight was something I needed to do.  I am not getting any younger and fall into the morbidly obese category I think – I probably don’t quite look it but I am.  So how much I hear you ask?  Well as if this morning I have lost 11.1kg in 30 days.  That is just short of 25lbs I believe.

I know losing more wont go as quickly as this has gone and I am happy with that.  I am more concerned with changing my lifestyle and my families and losing weight for the last time.  I hope to lose another 45KG by the end of the year.  I know that seems a lot but I can afford to lose it.

I am going to do another 30 days of this because I have enjoyed it so much and at the end of that I plan to do it again but this time I am going to start introducing things back into my diet.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

Did I mention I am addicted to Salsa?  Its been a revelation for me.  That and Guacamole.  I had only ever had stuff from the store and never made it myself.  Oh god how good is it and why did no one ever tell me its that amazing!

Oh that bottom photo…I made a kind of coconut milk Ice Cream.  Not particularly sweet but just cold enough to give me a bit of a desert when combined with pecans, banana and cinnamon.

Okay so four weeks in and just a couple of days to go until my 30 days is up.  This week’s been pretty easy for the most part and things are starting to feel very much habitual and as the cupboards and shelves have been emptied of the things I should not be eating and I have been shopping regularly for the right stuff it has become progressively easier.

I know I am not quite buying all the proper organic stuff and whilst I do so where I can I don’t intend to beat myself up over it.  I have eaten well and eaten lots and am starting to feel some real benefits.

I feel less bloated, which I noticed within days, but my energy levels seem to be much improved this last week and my knees are feeling much less painful than they were.  The wright loss is starting to show which is always encouraging.

On the downside I am noticing a change in my breath so having to keep an eye on that and I seem to have developed an addiction to homemade salsa which whilst not the end of the world feels rather foreign.

Today was actually probably the only day where I wilfully decided to not be overly strict.  We went to a food fair (bad Idea I know) and I ended up eating a slice of wood fired pizza an having a bite of our Toms burger and one of our Sam’s chicken wrap.  I rather enjoyed it though I was super chuffed with myself that I didn’t indulge any more and for the rest of the day was back on it (with the exception of I think 4 nacho crisps).

Ill give you the numbers when I do my final weigh in on Tuesday morning…

Okay so three weeks in and still on track. Clothes fit better, my cravings seem to have gone and I am for the most part into the new routines of having to cook and wash up considerably more and go shopping far more than I ever did before.

I did find myself somewhat weary last week and I think my body has been getting used to not eating all the delicious stuff I used to put into it and is adjusting to something just wholly different.

One of the unexpected side effects has been how much I spend on food.  I had expected to spend more but because I am now shopping more carefully and throwing very little away I am actually spending less for the family than ever before.  I stopped shopping at Tesco (which I had been threatening to do for a while) and started going to Lidl and Aldi.  That alone reduced the bill by about 40% and I’m probably another 20% better off because I am far more focussed on what we all eat and planning meals more carefully.

I do find I am not quite able to get all of the grass fed or organic stuff I would like but I am not going to beat myself up over that – I think it is going well regardless.

You’re probably wondering how much weight I have lost right?  I will tell you I promise, just not today. 🙂