My Journey Worth Sharing : Whole30 Round 2

Well yesterday completed my second round of Whole30, I can't believe I made it through another round. This time around was so much easier to me than the first round and I will admit I was a little nervous as I had read many posts from people that said the second time around is much harder than the first. I think because I was so focused on stepping up my workouts that I was actually pretty excited to see how this round would go. Since dealing with my planters fasciitis from my race back in April I took most of May off to get it healed and started slowly getting back into running, by the end of May I was given the green light to go back and start running like normal so I thought it was the perfect time to go back on Whole30. I really wanted to put my good eating habits along with working out to the test and see what kind of results I would get this time around. My goal for this time was to do 30 workouts, I didn't have to do one workout each day although that would have been great but I didn't want to over do it and cause my self to stress out so some day's I did double workouts to help with the day's I missed. I used a different jour

nal that I found at Target (www.getfitbook.com) I had bought it a while ago used it here and there when I was on Paleo but thought it would be perfect to use this second round. The book has space to set daily goals for personal and fitness, an area to journal which I used to log and tract my meals and then a section for your daily workouts and overall mood. It was perfect for what I was doing and allowed me to still track my daily progression. I would do it every morning with my cup of coffee and that would help me get through the day as I had to keep my self accountable. The front of my book states "No Goal was met without a little sweat" which is perfect for me as I love to sweat it out during my workouts. After my full 30 day's I managed to get in 22 workouts which I'm so proud of considering I had food poisoning one day, several BBQ's, Memorial Day and Father's day during the last four weeks. I really got back into swimming, cycling and weight training this past month and absolutely loved it. I slowly got back into my running too but the other cross training really helped as I'm still recovering from my planters fasciitis which can be a rather long process to fully heal.

I did prepare my weekly food menu's each week which really helped keep me on track, but I did eat a lot of the same things as I had a very busy last few weeks and didn't have too much time to cook, so I would make lots of chicken for at least 3 or 4 day's and use that for salads, snacks and quick easy dinners. I was very happy with making it through all the BBQ's we attended and hosted, I would make marinated chicken thighs with Whole30 approved marinade along with mixed green salads with lots of veggies and a big fruit bowl. That meal was my saving grace for sure and it became very popular with all the events we attended. The hardest part for me was the alcohol as summer time is here and as much as I love my water, I was so ready for a nice refreshing adult beverage by the pool but I had to wait and count down my days, the nice part is that all my friends were so supportive of me for not cheating or slipping as I was very tempted for sure. I hung in there and did what I needed to do to get through and the best part is I woke up with no hang overs or dehydrated like many others. I'm not a huge drinker at all but for some reason I was really craving a summer drink especially by the pool. I did eat a little more on the day's I worked out as I needed more food, I was starving after most of my workouts but I made sure they were all Whole30 compliment snacks and even got into drinking coconut water with unsweetened passion tea as "natural" electrolytes to h

elp replenish all the sweat coming out of my body during workouts. I made it through the whole month without any cheats or slips and I'm very proud of my self. I have learned a lot again through this second journey and because I didn't have too much sugar while doing Paleo I didn't have the same sugar detox like I did the first round which was life saving for me. It has taught me how much sugar is a drug and how addicting it really is, I realized I didn't miss it and either did my body. As I transition from my second round back into "normal" life I have decided I want to continue following the Paleo Lifestyle as that has worked the best for me and I love how flexible it is. I will be bring Maple Syrup, Honey and Coconut Palm Sugar back into my eating plan it wont be everyday but I want to be able to use it when and if I need it. I'm still going to cut out dairy, legumes, grains, and processed foods. I'm also going to be very careful with what sugars I'm in taking and how much as I will need "natural" sugars during my long training workouts.

Okay I have talked enough about my workouts and nutrition now it's time to get into my overall results which I'm so excited to share. Since I wasn't sure how this round would go I didn't have very high expectations with my results especially that I was disappointed with my first round results but I made sure to take measurements this time around. Unfortunately I didn't do measurements the first round which was a huge bummer so I didn't want to make the same mistake this time. I took my beginning weight, chest, arms, waist, hips and thigh measurements and of course before pictures, I did the same yesterday after my program was complete. Here is a picture of my measurement tracker that I used

I had a total weight lose of 7 lbs this round which was two pounds more than I had my first round, I also lost a total of 9 inches all over my whole body which is amazing. In looking at my numbers I noticed that I had lost inches in my arms, waist, hips and thighs, my chest remained the same which was totally fine. Weight training I think really helped with that, along with swimming and the extra cardio I got it. I am extremely happy with my overall results, since starting my weight loss journey I started at a weight of 230 lbs and now down to 203 lbs, 27 lbs down with lots of inches gone. I started my first Whole30 journey in March and have not looked back since, doing this second round has really boosted my confidence and showed me how hard work and dedication can really pay off. I still have a long way to go but I'm on such a high right now that I need to ride this and keep going in the right direction. Here are pictures of my before and after for round two and then here are pictures of me from when I was my heaviest to today. Wow what a difference in my face and whole body, I'm so proud of what I have accomplished so far and can't wait for this journey to continue.

Thank you to all those who have followed me on Facebook, Instagram and my blog and who has cheered me on along the way. I have been very lucky to have such a supportive family and group of friends to help me through this crazy journey, I could not have gotten through it without all of you. I really want to put a special shout out to my wonderful and amazing husband who has been by my side the whole way. He has kept me in check and focused but also very supportive with my workouts and daily nutritional choices. He is my rock and someone I look up too, he pushes me out of my comfort zone to be a better person for our family. I'm a very lucky women to have such an amazing family who is my side each and every day! Until my next round which I'm hoping will be in the fall, please continue to read my blog and posts and see my up coming challenges, training schedules and races that I have coming up in the next few months as this is my journey worth sharing!