We finished the Whole 30 although we are basically continuing it past the 30 day mark. We are trying to decide what we will continue to omit and what we will reintroduce back into our meals. What did we think overall? We loved it. We felt great. We felt lighter and less bloated. Heads were clearer. We didn't drag mid day. I learned how to cook more vegetables than I ever have.
For me, it went way beyond the physical. Being able to think clearly while I forced myself to sit down, research recipes and meal plan was key. Going through the motions and being successful with doing what I had considered "hard" before was a catalyst for moving toward more hard things that I usually avoid that are not related to food.
In the recent years, two areas of my life had grown out of control. Funny, huh, for someone who is very systematic and in control of so many things? My weight/nutrition/body care and finances went off the rails. Once it went so far off, I sort of "piecemealed" it back together here and there but felt so overwhelmed that I could not get a full grasp. I felt like within both of those areas, I lived by sticking a band-aid here and there on problem areas to get me by.
Whole 30 gave me stamina and momentum. I've already taken the past few months and started to really look at spending. I need to see where we actually spent. My budget that I made has been in the file box from the moment I completed it. Each month, I swear I'll use the envelope system (Dave Ramsey style) because it will FORCE me to be more conscientious. Each month goes by and I swear that I'll do it the next month. Another band-aid or two and another month goes by, and then another, and then another. Now we are looking at spending (what we actually spend) in order to modify the budget.
One of the culprits for money loss was harmless stops here and there for a coffee (and then a spontaneous pastry to go with it because it's 2pm and well.....- see this connection?) and dinners out because we had slacked in meal planning or I was tired from a later night at work.
Look at all these transactions:
So, all these numbers are debits for restaurants and coffee shops. Then I found a few more and added them to get these numbers:
WOAH! That's a lot more spending than I expected. I complained about not having money to get some things we needed without realizing where money was leaking from the account. Because most meals were not as memorable or special, I wish we had eat a sandwich at home and stuck that amount in savings!
Then, I looked at how much I had spent since starting Whole 30. I had gone to a few restaurants with the majority being due to work-related reasons (therapy session was lunch, co-worker birthday lunch, lunch on the road between clients). Luba and I had only had 1 meal out together in the 30 day span. I haven't missed restaurants like I imagined I would. I didn't need all those coffees in the afternoons. It was a reminder of how needlessly we had been spending the money and how easy it is to let the budget go out of control!
Because we meal-planned, we had food left over for breakfast ( veggies thrown in or covered with eggs) and lunches. Dinners were automatically lunch the next day. We practiced more portion control. I made the lunches before we sat down to each the dinner to ensure we didn't eat "seconds" just because the food was there.
Who knew a meal plan would change so much, and so much beyond eating habits and nutrition? It's also made me think of how much we think we need across a lot of categories or areas, and then how much we would actually miss it if it were gone? We hang on to so much that is not beneficial for us or good for us.
If you are considering trying it, bet on yourself and do it. You can if you want to. "It's hard" is an excuse. "I can't live without ____" is an excuse or poor reason. Yes, you can live without wine, and cheese, and rice, and creamer, and all the other stuff you think you need. If you do, I'll send you my favorite recipes and I'll be your biggest cheerleader.
Eat well,
Danielle
