October 20, 2016

Whole 30 = Done!

Whole 30 = DONE.

I haven’t decided what I am going to eat/drink first because for some reason the pressure feels too great. I also feel like it might be counterintuitive to celebrate with food. So many feelings yet to process. But yeah! 30 days, man. Wow.

What did you eat/drink first when you went through the Whole30 journey?

How did you feel when you did it??

We haven’t talked about the weight part yet, because it’s kind of a big deal.

I lost 10 lbs. in 30 days.

10 lbs. of padding I had to protect me from my feelings.

Ten pounds gone because I was a better advocate for myself.

I said no to certain things because

I have willpower.

I said no because I am putting myself first.

I am going slow

because I am worth the effort.

Ten pounds lost by being mindful.

30 days of saying YES to myself and NO to bad habits.

Ten pounds lost by making the right choices because

I am not rushing into things.

I am allowing myself to feel feelings and when they’re too much,

I learn how to make a quiet space for myself

so I can RESET. I must breathe. I can’t hold my breath.

I am finally learning that I MUST slow down.

Slowing down is hard for someone with my intensity.

When I don’t slow down, my body retaliates.

I have learned that to go slow, I must sacrifice certain things.

The more I know

ABOUT MYSELF,

the easier it is to make those sacrifices because

I AM WORTH THE EFFORT.

When I

GO SLOW

I can evaluate my choices and be better at controlling my

IMPULSES.

Knowing myself, means understanding my impulses because

they’re mostly rooted in feelings.

Numbing my feelings just adds more stress to my life.

I am in the process rewriting the story.

Creating better habits is KEY.

Habits with impact. Habits that will help me reset when I need to

THE MOST.

More soon. Still feeling all the feelings!

There’s a doughnut downstairs on the counter I have to contend with.

It’s cool.

I’ll be happy with my decision either way.

I summed it all up in my bullet journal:

Here’s a look at week 2 and week 3

Thank you for following me on this journey!

Sarah October 20, 2016

CONGRATS TRACY!!! Whole 30s are so powerful and you learn so much about yourself. I’ve followed your blog for some time now and know you love some non-compliant things as much as I do so I can appreciate how challenging I’m sure it was at times. I wish someone had pushed me to follow the re-introduction guidelines (which basically makes a Whole 30 like a Whole 45). The temptation to just reintroduce everything at once can be really strong but fight it if you can. Best of luck and congrats again 🙂

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- Tracy October 20, 2016
  
  THANK YOUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
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Jamie October 20, 2016

Your posts about Whole 30 have been the most raw and beautiful – I feel like you shared the internal process, not just the foods you were into, and that’s so amazing. Thank you for letting me in on your thoughts, Tracy. xoxo

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- Tracy October 20, 2016
  
  thanks for all of your positivity, Jamie. Always!
  
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Alex October 20, 2016

Tracy- Amazing work. As I too am learning about myself, food often serves as a way to push down stress/anziety that only ends up making things worse. You are such an inspiration and it has been so good to follow you on this journey. Congratulations on all that you’ve learned about yourself through this process.

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- Tracy October 20, 2016
  
  Thanks so much, Alex!
  
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ruth October 20, 2016

whoa! 10 lbs and all that emotional exploration? might be something i want to try. eek.

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- Tracy October 20, 2016
  
  it’s definitely work. but really good work if you put the effort in.
  
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Briel K. October 20, 2016

Congratulations on finishing the Whole 30! I’ve never done one but I’ve thought about it a little. Just need to really prepare myself I guess. I should really consider starting now so that it will be over by the time the holidays are here!

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- Tracy October 20, 2016
  
  Sometimes you just gotta jump right in! January would be such a good reboot!
  
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Amanda October 20, 2016

You are a true inspiration! I have read your website for years. I recently lost my grandmother as well. I find myself adding the extra 10 lbs of padding and never slowing down. Thank you for being so open and real!

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- Tracy October 20, 2016
  
  Oh goodness. I am sorry for your loss. Something changes in you when you’ve lost your grandmother.
  
  It’s super hard to slow down with all of the outside influences we have now. It takes practice. SO MUCH PRACTICE. Thank you for sharing!
  
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Corey October 20, 2016

I did my first Whole 30 this summer. I ended up making my a W60, because I needed more time to keep learning. My BIGGEST regret, is at the end of the W60, I jumped back into foods without regard to the reintroduction phase (we had a family vacation planned). I learned so much during my W60, but missed out on the biggest learning opportunity of them all: seeing what foods really are inflammatory or triggering for me. I plan on doing another W30 in January and will be sure to follow the reintro plan as laid out the book. I’m super excited to see what else I learn. Congrats on your Whole 30! It’s such an accomplishment! Also, super excited to try your apple “oatmeal” on my next go-round!

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- Tracy October 20, 2016
  
  thank you for this insight! i really want to see what foods my body doesn’t do well with. what you said is a nice reminder to go slow!
  Good luck with your journey in January!
  
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Sarah October 20, 2016

I’m on day 4 of my first Whole 30 and I want to eat all the things! I keep promising myself that I’m going to stick with it, but man do I feel hangry and full of the desire for cheese and wine. 🙂 Congratulations on making it the full 30 days – it’s very inspiring.

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- Tracy October 20, 2016
  
  it took me about 2 weeks to get into the zone! be patient with yourself and good luck!! 🙂
  
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Leslie October 20, 2016

Thanks so much for sharing these thoughts. I am a long time fan of your blog and feel like I have learned a lot from you! I am just venturing out on a weight loss journey. This is very inspirational!

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averie @ averie cooks October 20, 2016

Congrats Tracy! I don’t think I could do Whole 30 because of the no wine part 🙂 You are amazing and inspiring! And what you said about your first meal after being done, reminds me of ending a juice cleanse and all I think about on the cleanse are cinnamon rolls and champagne and yet when I’m done I can’t even decide what to have because it’s such a ‘big decision’ lol.

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Alyson October 20, 2016

I’m currently on day 11 of my first Whole30. You gave me the final push to get into it. I had seen it all over the place for years and always contemplated doing it. Seeing you working through it gave me the inspiration to finally do it. So far so good (but I really miss baked goods!), mostly doing this for more ingredient awareness and to see if I won’t be so darn tired! Thank you for sharing here 🙂

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Hannah October 20, 2016

Nicely done Tracy! Way to trust the process and to take care of yourself!

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N Rogers October 20, 2016

Loved following your posts on this topic. It’s it’s giving me incentive to try it

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Reannon October 20, 2016

Tracy, I’ve only been reading your blog for a short time & ive found these Whole30 posts really thought provoking. I’m not one for fad diets, especially ones that force me to give up so much food but the way youve approached this, the questions you’ve asked yourself & the patterns you are trying to break have really hit a cord with me. I’m not sure I have it in me to do a Whole 30 but I’m going to keep coming back to these posts in the hope that it’ll spark something that will convince me I CAN do it.
Thanks for sharing x

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Erin October 20, 2016

Congrats, Tracy! I’ve loved following your progress these past few weeks. Are you planning on writing a post on how you prepared for the whole 30? I’m interested to hear about how you mentally prepared, and what you stocked up on to make the transition as smooth as possible.

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Michelle October 20, 2016

I love your mindset through all of this! It’s great to read a perspective about Whole30 that was such a learning experience rather than a “diet”. Thanks for taking us along!

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Rachel October 21, 2016

This is so moving, Tracy. I never thought Whole 30 was something I would ever want to do. I have a healthy relationship with food, I thought. Pasta and bread and alcohol are just as important as kale and broccoli, I said. Everything in moderation is totally more my jam, I told myself. But lately I’ve just been feeling gross. No major body issue stuff. Just kind of gross. And then you started your Whole 30 journey and for some reason, with your words and your attitude and your AMAZING PHOTOS of vegetables. I had a complete change of heart. YES. I need that too. I need a restart, a healthier approach to nourishment. I start on Monday. Wrap it up just in time for Thanksgiving feast and all of the holiday drama. And your words will guide me through. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

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Joy October 21, 2016

CONGRATULATIONS! Not only on the 10 pounds lost, but mostly on the resetting of thoughts and the deep insights you’ve gotten into yourself. You sharing all of this is SO HELPFUL to me, so thank you. I especially love “I am putting myself first.” So wise.

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Tori October 21, 2016

You are such an inspiration. Thank you for sharing!!

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Sara October 21, 2016

You are awesome, Tracy. Thanks for letting us come along on this journey with you. I hope you share some of your Whole30-friendly recipes here! <3

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Cyndi October 21, 2016

Wow & congratulations, well done. Thank you for sharing the feeling & dealing with emotion part of this journey. It really helped me. I can’t out exercise the emotional eating and you gave me some insight on how to coach myself to address this part. Love your blog BTW

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Megan October 21, 2016

The idea of being worth the time and effort to make better choices — you’re speaking to me today, Sister! I’m having trouble breaking out of the “not good choices leads to feeling badly leads to more not good choices” loop, and have loved reading about your experience. Thanks for taking the time to share.

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- Tracy October 21, 2016
  
  yes yes yes!!! 🙂
  
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Judy October 21, 2016

Enjoyed reading your Whole 30 adventure. I am thinking about it.
You share a lot of delicious recipes on your blog….will you share some of the W30 recipes you found? What did you cook?

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Laura October 22, 2016

I did the whole 30 last year and it was hard but I felt SO amazing! I found energy I didn’t know I had and food that I had no idea I could like! Good for you girl- it’s hard but you rocked it. My favorite meal was pork carnitas- add avocados and it’s amazing. Nice work lady!

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Kylie October 25, 2016

If you like mindfulness/tuning into your body/respecting your body, you may enjoy these books: Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole or Body Respect by Linda Bacon. Just a thought. Love the blog:)

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- Tracy October 26, 2016
  
  Thanks for the tip!
  
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Kristin October 31, 2016

Yes!!! Congratulations! I have two days left and am excited but scared–somehow having such black and white restrictions made it really easy for me to eat healthy and I don’t really trust myself without them. I am anxious about reintroducing foods, wondering if I really internalized everything that I learned during the Whole30 process and whether I’ll be able to make positive choices without the framework of the program to help me. It’s been so helpful to hear about your journey–I like the idea of creating a reflection spread in my bujo, which I can do today since I still haven’t made November’s spread. Thank you for sharing with us!

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Libby November 9, 2016

This seems like such a wise takeaway from the Whole 30. I’m impressed and inspired. Good job!

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