Today is the first day after my Whole30 experiment. It’s crazy to look back and think that I’ve been living without grains, legumes, sugar, dairy and alcohol for 30 days, 90 meals, 720 hours. Crazy.

I know a lot of other bloggers have done this program – each for a variety of reasons. I entered into this healthy eating plan not as a way to lose weight but as a way to kill my migraines and complete better workouts. For the last several years, I’ve been trying to eat better – increasing the amount of protein and iron-rich foods I eat, decreasing the amount of carbohydrates. Those little changes all made a difference but I was ready to make serious changes to my diet.

My Results from the Whole30:

Decreased headaches – This was my big hope. I’ve tried so many different drugs, homeopathic remedies, acupuncture, holistic medicine, everything and nothing ever worked. Many things worked for a moment but then the headaches returned quickly. Other times the supposed cures made it worse And everyone has a suggestion, a remedy, a story – it gets overwhelming to have to keep smiling and saying thanks for the suggestion. Normally every 4-6 weeks I’ll be totally out of commission for 3-5 days with the brain splitting pain. It’s gotten worse as the years progress but on the Whole30 I was not in bed one moment and my every day headaches were significantly less painful.

Weight loss – I didn’t drop some crazy amount in the 30 days – just 5 pounds. But I wish I measured inches at the beginning of this because I can tell my stomach is flatter, my face thinner, my arm muscles more pronounced, etc… (I also amped up my workouts during this time so that also contributed to the more toned body.)

Clearer complexion – My face and skin has NEVER looked so good. No matter what soap I used or how often I changed my pillow case, my face always had a couple pimples. As the 30 days progressed, I noticed my face began looking better and better. It was a happy unexpected side-effect of this whole process.

Less cravings – I love cheese of all kinds, and certain kinds of chips/crackers, beer, cheesecake, peanut butter, the list could go on and on. And while I wasn’t in the habit of giving in to all these cravings, I ate a good amount of those items throughout the week. But after 30 days without them, I don’t want them now. I don’t look longingly at lasagna or oreos.

Better workouts – I never reached the ‘Tiger Blood’ stage, in which you are supposed to feel like you have unlimited energy, but I can say I was able to push harder with the weights, squats, jump rope, etc… I also found results coming faster because of the new diet – flatter stomach, more muscle definition in my arms and legs, etc…

More awareness – I’ve never been one to read the labels on food products but on the Whole30 this is a must. You’d be shocked at the number of things that contain sugar or sunflower oil or a whole slue of items I can’t pronounce. Now I read the labels before purchasing trying to go with the things that are most natural.

Creative cooking – Making 90 meals is no easy task especially when you can’t use a lot of the items you are used to cooking with. Eliminating all grains and legumes means a serious re-wiring of my cooking strategies. The first two weeks were a struggle, making meals took longer than expected and I spent more time in the kitchen than usual. After the first half, it was a lot easier to make meals, get creative, experiment. Making breakfast is now my personal favorite.

Expanding veggie horizons – Previously, I ate the basic vegetables: lettuce, green beans, carrots, peas and tomatoes. But now I’ve learned ways to cook with a wide variety of vegetables that I actually love: beets, zucchini, sweet potatoes, yellow squash, split peas, parsnips, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, peppers in all their many colors, etc…

The aftermath….

With all these amazing results, and the hope of Tiger Blood coming soon, I’m going to stick with this plan, morphing it into Paleo living. I’m also going to allow myself the occasional beer or slice of cheese or tortilla chip if I want but without going overboard. Most of my meals will stick with the strict no grain, no legume, no dairy, no sugar routine of before. (Although, I will say it’s nice to feel the freedom to have one of those things if I want to. There’s something about the human being that doesn’t like being limited by some outside source.)

During all of this I was seriously exhausted but I picked up The Paleo Diet for Athletes and began doing some research realizing that I needed to eat more starchy items to have the energy needed to workout hard and being totally functional throughout the rest of the day.