Whole30 x2

I just completed my second Whole30!! This is a huge feat, well, big enough and I have to admit that I am quite proud of myself. Let me set the stage: 
Back in 2015, I went to Africa and on the island of Zanzibar I ate shrimp and got super sick. I saw a doctor when I was in France and I saw a few doctors in the US and no one could figure out why I felt so terrible. I had no appetite, so I wasn't eating much, was exercising and I was gaining weight all while being in terrible pain. (Let me preface by saying that I was by no means fat, but I felt like a stuffed sausage in my all of my once fitting clothes.) Anyway, I was basically feeling sick for over a year. The way I felt became my new normal. I was sensitive to everything or nothing. There was no rhyme or reason as to why I felt so terrible. 
One day, in the summer of 2016, my mom and I went on a walk and she told me that one of her gym-friends was doing the Whole30 and that she felt and looked great. Knowing my issues, she had suggested to my mom that I try it out. I did some research and realized that I didn't have 30 days to commit, but decided to buy the Whole30 book and started following all of their social media channels. I decided that since I was going to Germany, I would begin easing myself into this lifestyle and when I got back from my trip, I would take it on full force. 
I went to Germany, ate way too many sausages and drank my body weight in beer for sixteen days so to say that I was ready for a 'cleanse' of sorts was an understatement. I started my first Whole30 the day I got home and with a full blown cold. Ugh. (PSA: emergen-c has added sugar and chicken noodle soup has, well, noodles :P )
I made it through the 30 days in a breeze. It wasn't hard, the food that I was eating was super tasty and for the most part everyone was supportive of my decision. Another aspect to the Whole30 is to help overcome your food dependencies and bad habits; which I typically don't have. I do not self sooth with booze and I do not punish myself with food - I am not an emotional or bored eater. 
I lost 20lbs - I know that weight loss isn't the intention of the Whole30, it is just a side effect - and I had never felt better. I hadn't had a stomach ache in 30 days. I was eating whole and delicious foods, had great sleep and overall had a lot more energy. 
After the 30 days, I followed the suggested reintroduction plan to see if there were any foods that I was potentially sensitive to; there was nothing. The main thing I noticed was after eating gluten, I felt that sugar coma - that feeling of wanting to just put my head on the desk and take a nap kind of food coma - especially when I am at work. Depending on the gluten, that feeling is worth it; but to be honest, it isn't always. That's what they call Food Freedom; to know how your body reacts to certain foods and to either make the conscious decision to continue eating it, or not. I went into the holidays with this new sense food freedom and I will admit that I over indulged, um, a lot and had a great holiday season, all of my decisions were worth it. When it came to food preparation for myself, I stayed compliant: I ate a compliant breakfast and lunch every day. As fas as dinner and outings and happy hours and dates (oh yeah, I am dating again, more on that later) I wasn't so compliant. But I made the conscious decision not to be. I had a very Merry Holiday Season!
- Now on to the January Whole30 -
Because I was raving about it the first go around, I convinced a few friends to join in the fun and do it with me again in January. I will admit, January proved to be much harder for me than when I did it in October. I think it was harder for me for a number of reasons (1) I went out a lot more in January than I did in October - dating and otherwise (2) Work was really, super busy for my in January with all of my projects coming to a head at the same time (3) I think as a byproduct of the aforementioned things, I wasn't sleeping well and all I was jones'ing for was alcohol after work - which is so so so unlike me! I will say, though, it was interesting with this round of Whole30 because a lot of people made comments about the amount of weight that I had lost/was losing - about 10 lbs since the one I did in October - I have been getting stopped in the hall at work, facebook messages and comments on photos. 
Even though this last Whole30 wasn't as life changing as the first, I know that I will do it again when I need another reset. That said, I know that I will continue on with my Food Freedom and when I want to indulge in that wine and cheese night or have a margarita with some chips and guac, I will.  I will probably do it again in October, before the thick of the holiday season, and possibly a few shorter than 30 days in between. If you are ever interested in doing it, let me know and let's encourage and support each other!
tldr; do the whole30! it is awesome!