Whole30 Reflections and Non-Scale Victories

I got my labs back this week from the end of my Whole30 and I am happy to report that they look great!

• My triglycerides are down 152 points from my labs in March (not a typo)!
• My overall cholesterol is down 38 points!
• My HDL went down a little, so I need to make sure I'm sticking with the healthy fats and get it back up.
• My LDL is exactly the same, still a little high, but I'm going to keep working on it.
• Also, I feel like my hair has been growing faster.  Could that be?  I'm not sure. 

These factors, along with a weight loss of about 14 pounds, I would call my Whole30 a success.  I don't know that I ever got the "tiger blood" feeling that others talk about. I still don't bound out of bed every morning to greet the day, but I never have, so 30 days is probably not enough time to change my entire personality. 

When you make a change like this to your life, it's hard not to ask for the moon.  In 30 days you want to be thinner, healthier, happier, better looking and also negotiate world peace!  

I think the lesson I came away with is that it doesn't happen that way.  Put away the scale (except for maybe once a month), and focus on how you feel.  I've learned a lot about how I use food as a coping mechanism and a social crutch.  I find it hard to plan events and socialize without food and drinks, this is still something I'm learning how to do.

I grew up in a family that feeds you out of love.  "You're sick?  What can I make you to eat?"  "You won the spelling bee?  You're getting a special dinner, young lady!"  "You're sad?  How about an ice cream?"  I'm pretty sure that's in my DNA, and it probably won't ever change, so I need to focus on offering up healthy and whole foods to my loved ones, rather than, you know, carbs and cheese mixed together in some format.  I think being aware of my tendency to use food (and cocktails) as a reward is also a big step forward for me.

Since finishing the Whole30, I've remained (mostly) faithful to the plan.  I have added back a little cheese from time to time, I've had about a glass of wine a week, out with friends and I've stopped worrying quite so much about small amounts of sugar in my sausage and bacon.  I also haven't been as strict when eating out, I don't make the chef come out and tell me exactly what's in the vinaigrette or whether they make their mayonnaise in-house. Oh, and I've had 1 Blizzard.  Frankly, it was disappointing.