Photo courtesy of Google

Today is Day 30 for me.  That is if I had stayed on the program.  But about 10 days ago I attended an after work party and had a glass of champagne and a few appetizers.  Nothing big, just a couple stuffed mushrooms, some brie and baguette slices, a couple or three deviled eggs, and a treat that is named “Crispy Truffles” which were these amazing balls of mashed potatoes with bits of chives and truffle, which are then deep-fried and served with a creamy ranch-style sauce – Yum!  And two pieces of pizza.  But that was it.   Seriously.

I didn’t feel very good the next day, BUT I didn’t gain any weight, so lucky me – or so I thought.  Since I didn’t gain any weight and I had gone off program, I decided to extend my good fortune and stay off the diet the next day, as after all it was Halloween.  So now I added eating sugar – just a few candies since it was a “holiday” and I was being festive at work.  Well maybe it was more like a few handfuls since it was candy corn, and who can resist candy corn on Halloween?   The next day was the weekend and of course I rationalized since I had already messed up for two days, I might as well live it up over the weekend and go back on program on Monday.

According to Dallas and Melissa Hartwig (creators of Whole30), when you go off the program, by eating anything not on the program, you are supposed to start again at Day One – don’t think so.  After all, I have dieted a few decades or so and know that  I can pick-up where I left off and do just fine – right?

I can honestly say I am thrilled to death that I did go off the program, and here is why.  On Days 18-21, just before I took my first “leap at leaving the program”, I was feeling pretty darn good.  My skin looked good.  My hair was shiny and for some reason I had gone a full week of not having a single bad hair day – this was a new concept for one with curly hair in the middle of Seattle rain.  I have had Sciatica on/off for the past two years.  But the last two weeks before “the leap”, I had minimal sciatic pain – this was a good thing.  Sleep was definitely getting better, not perfect, but better and was sleeping more through the night.  No stomach aches, no indigestion right after I ate every meal (which had become the norm), and my sinuses were even better.  And when I woke each morning I was actually ready for the new day, as opposed to waking up in a fog slowly making my way to the shower.

I think you know what I am going to say next – all the above, CHANGED within days of going off the program, and I was back to being my old self and generally feeling achy, tired, icky, yukky, all over again.  And of course I started to gain back the weight I knew I had lost since my clothes were starting to feel a bit large.

So while I would love to say I had completed my first Whole30 – I can’t.  But I CAN say I have gone back on and started over to Day One as Dallas and Melissa recommended, since maybe they know more about this stuff than I do, even after decades of dieting (that alone is probably a clue they know more).

By the way, I couldn’t resist and had to weigh myself – and found that I have lost 13 pounds over the last 30 days.

So back on program – back to eating fresh, whole foods; back to eliminating alcohol, sugar,gluten and processed foods; back to starting to feel better again, back to walking towards 10,000 steps a day (I’m at about 6800 ea day), back to taking the stairs each morning, and back to looking forward to both feeling great and losing weight.

Will keep you posted on my progress.  And look for a great salad recipe from Geoffrey Zakarian (co-host of The Kitchen on Food Network). A great cucumber/apple salad that is Whole30 compliant and tastes great for lunch!