My weight is something I’ve struggled with my entire life.
I was a chubby kid, a chubby adolescent and then in college I lost 40 pounds. I did it using Weight Watchers, but I took shortcuts. I ate frozen food from boxes, or skipped meals in favor of eating ice cream. So while I may have been thin, I wasn’t very healthy.
Over time I’ve fluctuated around. At my thinnest I have been 120 pounds, but my happy weight is somewhere around 135. I mostly hovered around the 135-140 range with my weight…until pregnancy. Being pregnant definitely hit me hard in the weight gain department. During my first pregnancy with Fern I gained 55 pounds and with Clive I gained 65 pounds. Yes…65. It’s a lot.
Right before giving birth this time I weighed 210 pounds.
That was scary to even write, because it’s the most I’ve ever weighed, but I wanted to be transparent about it. 210 pounds on my 5’5″ frame isn’t a small amount. I realize I was carrying human life and all of that, but 65 pounds is an obscene amount of weight to gain and I can’t even begin to pretend that a good chunk of it wasn’t contributed to by pasta and donuts and pretty much eating all the things.
I was overweight and overtired and honestly pretty miserable. And so I decided that this time around my post-baby weight loss was going to be different. I didn’t want to carry this weight around for another year like I did after I had Fern. I wanted to kickstart a new life style ASAP before my body got too comfortable being at a heavier weight.
I decided to jump on the Whole30 bandwagon. In my final month of pregnancy I purchased It Starts With Food (AKA: The Whole30 “Bible”) and during those first three weeks postpartum while I enjoyed all the muffins and cookies and casseroles that friends brought us, I read the book. And exactly three weeks after giving birth, I spent all day shopping and prepping food and I started the program.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Whole30 you can read more about it here, but basically it’s a strict version of the Paleo (“caveman”) diet that you adhere to for 30 days. On the Whole30 you can eat: meat, seafood, eggs, veggies, fruit, and good fats from nuts, seeds and oils. For 30 days you avoid: sugar/any type of sweetener, alcohol, grains, dairy, legumes or anything with carrageenan, MSG or sulfites.
It’s not meant to be a “diet”, but a lifestyle change. You adhere to the guidelines for 30 days and then slowly reintroduce the off-limits foods back into your diet to see how your body reacts.
I was a little nervous about doing the Whole30 while nursing. I had a hard time nursing Fern and I was worried the diet might affect my milk supply. I’m currently on day 23 of my challenge and I’m happy to say that it hasn’t had an affect at all. If anything all the good fats I’ve been consuming have increased my supply. I’m also thrilled to say that I’ve lost 14 pounds so far! It’s totally cheating to weigh yourself while you’re on the Whole30, because not weighing yourself is actually one of the rules, but I did it anyway. I know the scale isn’t the best indicator of success and it’s not the only reason I’m doing it, but it was a big reason and I’m thrilled with my progress so far.
It seemed crazy to start this so soon after having a baby, but it’s been so good! The first week was hard, because there’s quite a bit of prep, but I didn’t have that many cravings which totally surprised me since carbs and dairy made up like 90% of my diet before this. I’m a carbs girl through and through, but I feel so much better without them.
Another cool thing about doing the Whole30 is that I got my parents to do it with me. Type 2 diabetes runs in my family and my mom is diabetic. Since starting the program she’s been able to reduce her insulin dramatically and she’s hopeful that if she continues with it she may be able to get off of her insulin altogether. She’s always struggled with weight loss and it’s usually super slow, but she’s lost 15 pounds as well so far. My dad always just tries not eating as his diet plan, but on the Whole30 he’s been eating a ton and has lost 28 pounds at this point! Yes…we all weighed ourselves. We’re a family of cheaters I guess, but I’m OK with it. It’s been really cool getting healthy together though.
At this point I think I’d like to keep this going beyond the 30 days, still allowing myself a splurge here and there, but more as the exception and not the rule. I really want to set a healthy example for my children and I think this is it.
I just wanted to share a little update of how it’s going. At the end, I’ll post a picture of myself and share all my tips and tricks for busy mamas (and really busy people in general) to be successful during the Whole30…think: “The Lazy Girl’s Guide to the Whole30” with all my favorite Whole30 foods and easy meal ideas. Hopefully it’ll be helpful!
Have any of you done the Whole30? What are some of your favorite recipes/blogs/Instagram accounts that I should know about?
Love and health,
Lauren
I loved the Whole 30 and right after I finished it I bought a house and was renovating… which led to takeout for about 2 weeks straight. It was a horrible transition! I haven’t done one since (this was last November) and I’m gearing up for one in September. I loved it and while I didn’t cheat with weighing myself… I did measure myself a lot during the Whole 30 haha
I’ve since divorced myself from the scale, so I’m hoping that the next time I do it I don’t even weigh myself before I start because I keep telling myself I’m doing it because I want to be healthy and then I’d do unhealthy behaviours for my mental health (the only exception to the scale I think I’ll make in the future is pregnancy). I also think I’ll finish reading the book next time… i.e., the section on after the Whole 30.
Good job on 23 days! I bet you feel amazing! I love that it’s safe for new mommas.
Congrats on finding a diet that makes you feel healthy and confident!
Congrats! So glad to hear that it’s paying off and you are seeing a difference. We have done Paleo, but for whatever reason I am super intimidated by Whole 30. Maybe your “Lazy Girls Guide” will help ease my fear. Looking forward to it.
That is so awesome that you are finding so much success. I am really looking forward to your tips for mamas. I love the idea of the whole 30. I am still breastfeeding my daughter at 16 months and I still have 30 lbs to loose. (I’ve only lost 10 :/) I want to hit kinda a reset button for my body and because I am nursing I thought the whole 30 sounded perfect. We tried it and failed after 2 days. I didn’t do enough research or buy enough food. I was so hungry for those two days I felt like I was going to pass out. I knew that wasn’t how I was supposed to feel, cause the idea is eating until satisfaction. So I need to go back to the planning stage and start over. As a weight watchers member myself I think I am going to weigh myself too. I can break that rule. Lol originally I was just going to weigh in and have them not tell me.
@Ashlee – Definitely give it another try. I actually found that easing into it and cutting down on carbs a bit during the week before I started really helped and I barely had any cravings, which really surprised me. And don’t feel bad about only losing 10 lbs. It’ll happen…just takes time. I breastfed Fern until she was 17 months and my body just hung on to that last chunk of weight forever until I was weaned her. Some women really do lose a ton of weight from breastfeeding, but for others it makes them hold on to it…it’s kind of 50/50. And I say totally weigh yourself if that’s your thing. It helps me feel motivated…but I can definitely understand why they say not to do it, because it can be discouraging if you’re not losing as much as you thought.
Wow your description of your body, height, weight gain with pregnancy, comfortable weight, ALL of it describes me to a T. I am still hovering around 144 (would rather be 135 as well) but I feel much better than I did in college. I’ve been doing a version of the Keto diet (also just a lifestyle change that is basically zero carbs) but I think the whole30 is better long term and for kids. How has Fern been taking in? Are you still buying bread, pasta, dairy for her? I’d love to get my husband on board but it’s hard for him when we have that stuff around the house. Zero will power (much like me with chocolate).
@Bryn – You should totally try the Whole30. I’ve been really happy with it. Craig did it with me for 4 days, but it was really hard for him because he’s hypoglycemic, so he’s stuck with some of the changes, but added sugar, carbs and dairy back in sparingly. As for Fern, I’m still buying her “forbidden” foods, but offering her what I’m eating as well. The thing is she won’t really eat ANY meat or veggies, so it would be hard. I still offer her those things, but we still do grains and dairy, otherwise she’d probably starve. I know eventually she’d probably eat what we’re eating, but I just don’t want to make a big deal about it. The Whole30 has definitely been good though and encouraged me to cut back on some things for her and introduce her to others that are more nutritionally dense.
I’m so looking up Whole30! I just did a “clean eating” run followed by a juice cleanse and then more clean eating- the clean eating sounds similar to Whole30 but I’m interested as to what MSG and carageenans are in…
It’s so awesome that you’re having this experience and sharing it with your tons of IG followers and readers! We’ve been Paleo for almost 2 years (I was raw vegan and vegetarian for 13 years prior, and my husband and I both struggled with weight and me with malnutrition from veganism – cavities, muscle loss) and love it so much. I love spreading the world that real, whole food nutrition, like humans have been eating forever, makes health and weight management simple. Go you!!
This is really encouraging. I have been blog-stalking people who’ve been doing the Whole 30, but I’m still too nervous to try it myself. I don’t know if I have the will power. I, too, have always struggled with my weight. I can’t ever seem to get below 160, which is incredibly discouraging to me. Right now, I’m about 10-12 lbs over that. I have a 5 month old and a 22 month old, and my body is hanging onto baby #2’s weight really badly. I loathe the way I look and the way my clothes fit. I refuse to wear maternity pants for the first day of school. I am glad to hear that it hasn’t affected your milk supply, because I was wary of that. I go back to work in three weeks, and I pump 3x a day when I’m working, but I’m worried about my supply plummeting. It was getting low toward the end of last school year. Anyway, I look forward to hearing about your entire journey. I think that I need to be courageous and try this. I think you’re pretty amazing.
@Lauren – Thank you so much for your sweet words! And definitely give it a go. Honestly it’s been the most effective diet plan I’ve ever used, but more than that, it’s really changed my relationship with food which I didn’t even think was possible. Good luck mama!
Thanks for your post on this! I had my baby girl (#2) on July 9th. I have been wanting to diet since exercise is nearly impossible right now! A Friend on Facebook started a group and we all start today. I’m nursing too and my husband is nervous about my milk supply (I am a little too!). I hope it goes just as well for me as it has gone for you! I look fwd to reading more about your tips, tricks, etc.
I so appreciate everything you’ve shared! I’m gearing up to do a whole 60. I have celiac disease, gf for two years but cent stop the cravings. I just had baby #3-nursing. I am desperate to lose the weight (I’m at my heaviest ever) but scared to try while breastfeeding.
I need to reset, get my cravings in check. I’m doing all my prep work now(Info and meal planning) to start in 9days.
I don’t think I’d be doing it if it weren’t for your blog.
I’m going to try this do you have 30 day menu guide thank you for all your info.
I’m glad to read about someone else who did whole30 while nursing their infant. I’m on day 24 and my son is 10 weeks. I’m trying to stock up on milk for when I go back to work in about a week. Did you find any foods that helped increase milk supply more?
@Hannah – LOTS of healthy fats. Avocado oil, coconut oil, almonds, pistachios and guac. I truly believe that the healthy fats helped me have a better supply!
I am on day 24 of whole 30 and my whole family is doing it with me! The community aspect is truly key to being successful with it I think! I have twin toddlers boys age 3.5 and girls 7 and 9. It’s been so good for them! One of my boys who can eat his weight in sugar and bread daily, if I let him! Asked me on day 21 for more carrots and almond butter for lunch!!! Huge victory to see him craving good foods like that! I did not binge before but was nauseous almost everyday since we started, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done! But worth it for all the shift in mindsets toward food, cravings and seeing my family eating healthier! My question is how can I possibly maintain eating like this? I’m so exhausted from shopping, food prep and feeding a family of 6 that can throw it down! And it’s really expensive to eat this way! So as we get close to the finish I’m wondering how should we eat when we are done!? And I love variety in my food, I can’t just keep eating the same things over and over.