Hello friends!

I have officially completed the reintroduction phase of my Whole 30 Challenge…so now what?  I know I am not the only one asking these same questions, so let me share what I found to be most beneficial.

If you have been reading a while, you know that 44 days ago I embarked on my first nutrition self-experiment journey called the Whole 30.

You can read some of my previous posts by clicking the links below:

• Whole 30 and Why I’m Doing It
• How I Prepped for My Whole 30 Challenge
• Whole 30 Week 1 Review
• Whole 30 Week 2 Review
• Whole 30 Week 3 Review
• Whole 30 Week 4 Review
• Whole 30 Challenge Day 30
• Top 5 Products I Couldn’t Live Without During My Whole 30

So, for the past 44 days I have been living with very extreme food rules.  I realize that, and now that I have completed my challenge and have a better understanding of what foods work and don’t work for MY body life should be easy right?

Well, for me, it would be EASY to just stick with the Whole 30 food rules forever and leave it at that, but this challenge is not called the Whole 365.  We can’t live day in and day out worried about our foods being “compliant” with the rules, as even that goes against one of the Whole 30 good food standards (see number 1 below).

Whole 30 Good Food Standards

1. Promote a healthy psychological response.
2. Promote a healthy hormonal response.
3. Support a healthy gut.
4. Support immune function and minimize inflammation.

Even in the book “It All Starts With Food” they give reason after reason about why sugar (among many other things) are not optimal sources of nutrition for the body BUT they then mention that they are not saying to NEVER eat these delicious and tasty treats ever again.  They simply want us to make educated decisions and enjoy the treats when and if we choose to eat them.

They aren’t food robots and they don’t want us to be either…that is what I have to continuously remind myself.

Because, as I mentioned above, it is EASY for me to stick to the rules and honestly it is hard and scary for me to sometimes just live a little and enjoy the tasty-non-whole-30 treat.

So, I still haven’t really answered the question…”what’s next?”

I honestly really enjoy the Whole 30 way of eating for my regular day-to-day meals.  I EVEN enjoy the pre-workout hardboiled egg and coconut milk iced coffee 🙂  I have found that I am more conscious with my food choices, I am eating bigger meals that are leaving me satisfied for longer, I am trying new-to-me recipes, and I am loving the way all of the fresh foods are making me feel.

That being said, I will continue to eat Whole 30 or close to it on a daily basis and I will continue to practice living in moderation and enjoying treats occasionally. For me, it is all about moderation and living a balanced lifestyle.

What foods didn’t work for me? 

Gluten-free grains were great! Thank goodness, because I did miss my oatmeal and quinoa.

Dairy was great!  I will still limit this and make it an “only sometimes” food, but it’s good to know that I can still enjoy froyo as a treat!

Honestly, I even felt fine when I ate some foods containing gluten (and by fine I mean I had great energy all day, no bloating, no cramping, no moodiness, no headache).

The food that didn’t work for me?  LEGUMES!!!

The below picture is blueberries, bananas, and my beloved peanut butter. 🙁

I enjoyed peanut butter and black beans this day and had a horrible headache.  Honestly, I am pretty bummed about this because I love beans, lentils, and peanuts.  So, what am I going to do?  Try it again!  Hopefully I don’t have the same reaction.

Just like I did DURING my Whole 30 Challenge I have completed a daily journal regarding how I felt during the whole reintroduction process.

Feel free to read if you wish 🙂

Day 31 (Legume Integration)

• Woke up hungry (as usual).
• Had peanut butter with breakfast, and was VERY hungry by lunch so had peanut butter with lunch too.
• Felt pretty good throughout the day.  Ran after work and had good energy throughout the run.
• Had black beans with dinner.
• Started to get a headache after dinner (it was a late dinner) not sure if it was from eating later, being tired, or from the legumes.

Day 32 (Whole 30)

• Woke up with a headache and a rumbly tummy.
• Headache went away after I took some headache medicine.
• Made sure to eat only Whole 30 foods today to see if the legumes had an effect on me.

Day 33 (Whole 30)

• Woke up feeling bloated and not that hungry.
• Woke up at 6:15am feeling wide awake with no alarm J
• Enjoyed a delicious breakfast, then snacked a little during meal prep so I was not hungry for lunch.
• Still was not very hungry for dinner but made sure to eat something with protein, veggies, and fats (very whole 30).
• At the end of the night still felt bloated and uncomfortable.
• Had good energy at the end of the night.

Day 34 (non-gluten grains)

• Woke up feeling much the same as yesterday.
• Enjoyed 1/3 cup oats with 2/3 banana, 2 egg whites, some blueberries, cashew butter and a coconut milk iced coffee for breakfast.  It was tasty!
• Drank 2 bottles of water (my big 24 oz bottles) before 7am hoping this would help the bloated feeling.
• Felt great all day and strong during my workouts…I could have lifted more during Bodypump.

Day 35 (Whole 30)

• Again felt great today.
• Was able to run a quick 4 miles before work.
• My breakfast lasted me all the way until 3pm…was busy at work so had a late lunch.
• Felt strong during my CXWORX class that I taught after work.
• Felt great all day.

Day 36 (Whole 30)

• Woke up starving.
• Was planning on attending yoga this morning, but the weather was bad so I decided to just go into work rather than try to make it to yoga.
• Was still hungry after eating my usual breakfast, so drank a ton of water to help fill me up even more.
• Was very hungry at lunch time.
• Ran 5 miles outside after work and felt very energetic the entire time.

Day 37 (Dairy)

• Hungry upon waking, but not starving.
• Honestly, felt very normal all day.  No bloating or uncomfortable feeling in my tummy.

Day 38 (Whole 30)

• A bit tired upon waking, but felt “normal.”
• Thought I was getting a headache, but realized it was because my hair was up.
• Was a little bit irritable after work even though I had a Larabar as a snack.  I think I was just tired from the long week (maybe it was the dairy!?)

Day 39 (Whole 30—alcohol in the evening)

• Felt great when I woke up.
• Woke up at 5:30am with no alarm J
• Tummy felt a bit rumbly in the morning, like I ate something strange—I did have some dates after dinner the night before and maybe that upset my tummy (I haven’t done that since I started the Whole 30)
• Went to Brian’s Dental School Valentine’s dance and for dinner, the dish was veggies, potatoes, and tofu.  I ate most of the veggies and ate a couple of bites of the tofu even though I know the tofu was not Whole 30 compliant.

Day 40 (Whole 30)

• Was VERY tired upon waking.
• Had a headache throughout the day, but generally felt ok.
• Tummy felt bloated throughout the day.
• Went to bed early.

Day 41 (Whole 30)

• Still felt a little tired upon waking with a slight headache in the background, but made sure to drink lots of water first thing in the morning.
• Was a little tired throughout the day, but then had great energy to teach my evening workout classes.
• Was not very hungry after teaching my group fitness classes, but ate an egg and some sweet potato immediately after and when I got home had a small portion of cod with some broccoli as a light dinner.

Day 42 (Gluten)

• Went to bed not hungry but woke up hungry!
• Wasn’t sure what “gluten” to add in, and this made me realize that I usually don’t eat gluten…only on a sometimes/when I’m out to eat basis.
• Enjoyed pita chips with lunch and part of a homemade granola bar before my run in the morning.
• Tummy felt good all day!!

Day 43 (Whole 30)

• Went to bed late last night, but felt great this morning upon waking!
• Was hungry, and I don’t think I packed enough food for the day.
• Was able to get through my hunger, and ate the sweet potato and egg I packed for after my run with lunch…I’ll just get something at home after.
• I know that I am tired because I was up late last night, but I really feel great.  I can just tell in my eyes that I am tired.

Question of the Morning:

• How do you practice moderation and balance with your diet/healthy lifestyle?