Restoring my health...

I was a sickly child, and as I grew into a sickly teen and adult, I knew something had to be done. I had always been thin, at times underweight, so when I had a drastic weight gain (65 pounds) during my 1st pregnancy in 2009, I was shocked and didn't really know how to handle it. Due to some stressful life circumstances  I gained even more. In January of 2011, I decided I had had enough and did the Atkins diet until I became pregnant again in May of that year. By that time I had managed to lose 30 pounds but I still felt sluggish and unwell.

After a very rough pregnancy in 2011, I delivered a healthy baby girl in February of 2012 and decided that I needed to do something. I gradually lost the 30 pounds I had gained back, and then my weight loss stalled. Not only was I technically obese, but my health was horrible. I wheezed all the time from asthma, was exhausted from morning until night, had severe intestinal issues, brain fog, and pain in my back, knees, and feet. I was also puffy and my skin hurt when touched. I knew that something drastic had to be done. However, because of an extremely busy summer, it was pushed to the back burner. I *tried* to eat well, but still made a lot of poor food choices, especially with all the traveling we did.

Here are some before pictures from 2012:

It wasn't until September of 2012, that I read about some friends who had done a 30 day diet of only whole foods. I was intrigued. It sounded difficult for sure, but it sounded like the benefits far outweighed the cons. I ravenously studied the website for information and then eventually bought the book "It Starts with Food" by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig.

I started my whole30 on October 8, 2012 weighing in at 199 pounds. Phew, it is hard to admit that number but there you have it! The first week was HARD. The cravings were terrible, and I had full blown flu symptoms (also known as the "carb flu"), and I felt really irritable. When the second week finally came, symptoms were clearing up and I noticed my clothes were becoming loose, my stomach was flatter, and pain was lessening everywhere. By the end of my whole30, I had lost 14 pounds and 28 inches!

It was a wonderful experience, and I knew I wasn't finished after those 30 days. I went on to do another Whole30 in January and lost another 11 pounds. I'm currently at 170 and still have more to lose and more health issues to conquer, but tomorrow is another day. ;-)

Here are some current photos:

Whole30 has changed my life because it works. It has made me think clearly about what I choose to put in my mouth (and also about what I feed my children). I'm not just losing weight, I'm regaining my health!

http://www.whole9life.com