After the Whole30: What do I eat?

They don't tell you at the beginning that coming OFF the Whole30 is kind of difficult. Because after all, I'm treating my body as a giant science experiment. Eating clean for 30 days was just the first part, as I created my control condition. Now I get to play with the variables, also known as finding out which foods don't agree with me.
Yesterday, Day 31, seemed fine at the time, but it made today, Day 32, pretty sad. Below is not an exact representation of what I ate, but the caterpillar pretty much represents how I felt today.

"That night he had a stomachache!"

I didn't think I was going that crazy, but I had things like aioli, ranch dressing, wine, half & half, cheese, other cheese, salami, pepperoni, teriyaki steak tips--all of those are off plan (the cured meat because it probably has sugar, the teriyaki because it probably has soy). I'm starting to wonder if I'll even be able to eat "normal" food again. Or if I'll want to. I went back to Paleo food today to try to regain equilibrium. Can you believe I'm saying that?? That Paleo food is now what seems normal?

Ah, sweet paleo dinner: salad, chicken & acorn squash.

Because the Whole30 is over, I also got to weigh myself. I didn't weigh myself before Day 1, but I know what I usually weigh. I was VERY SURPRISED to find that I am now about 17 pounds lighter. That's over 10% of my body weight gone. And it felt like it disappeared in the first few days--I felt less puffy almost immediately, and started getting comments early on. That makes me think there is something to this inflammatory foods thing. I don't think I lost fat, I think I lost inflammation! I can't put it any better than just saying I feel less puffed up. (That phrase always makes me think of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.")

More good news: For those who have read some of my Whole30 posts, I would like you to know that the broken owl mug with the condensation forever trapped inside is no more. Here's the replacement:


woohoo!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Woo hoo for the new coffee cup! Not-so-woo-hoo about your tummy ache, though. Maybe you need to take it slower - like one "off plan" food per day just to ease into things. (I realize how hard that has to be, but it's kind of what the elimination diets recommend.)

Alice said...

Yes, I agree with ValleyWriter. Slowwwwly introduce those yummy things. I loved your post and the hungry caterpillar reference. I confess to giggling at the smorgasbord-like list of foods you ate. Hooray for the new coffee cup as well!
How was your first alcoholic beverage?