My Whole30: The After (Photos included)

The time has come to share the before & after comparison photos as well as my updated measurements and other updates on how I feel since my Whole30.

First, the photos:

Here I am in my yoga pants and workout shirt.

And because it is nice to see the Before & After in my favorite jeans (a more realistic depiction of what the difference looks like in my “everyday clothes” here are the shots of me in my favorite jeans with a basic white spandex top (because it shows EVERYTHING) – I am happy to report that technically these jeans are too big on me now, but I plan to slim down a bit more before buying new clothes… so for now, these are still my favorite jeans.

And although I had not originally included this “before” shot in my “The Before” blog post, I thought it was a good show of what my total body transformation has looked like (so far). Including my face which has even slimmed down a bit.

Okay, so now on to the measurements (in inches):

Before is gray and after is RED:

Thigh: 23.5/23
Lower Waist (where my jeans actually sit): 39.75/36
Hips: 42.25/39
Arm: 11/11
High Waist (the narrowest part): 32.5/31.5
Weight: 178 lbs/171 lbs

Total % weight loss: 4%

Total Inches Lost: 8.5

Acne/Uneven skin tone

My acne has cleared up considerably. I occasionally get a pop-up zit, but it is a small one that is easy to get rid of. My skin feels smoother too.

Tight muscles (especially back and neck)

I have not struggled with “chronic” muscle soreness since about my 2nd week of the Whole30. I have dealt with some soreness due to workouts and improper back alignment which was quickly fixed after a chiropractic adjustment, but the typical mid-back and neck pain have gone away.

Lower back pain/Hip pain and cramps or numbness in right leg

What pain? Whatever it used to be is now gone. It’s funny how when you live without it, even for a short period, you take it for granted.

“Irregular” (you know what I mean)

I honestly think regular is all relative, but for me, I have stopped having issues with constipation. I will leave it at that.

Fuzzy brain/memory struggles

I still struggle a bit with having a great memory – but we are leap years ahead of where I was. My head actually FEELS clear and I think more clearly, I just can’t always remember something specific immediately… honestly, that may be an age thing and a mommy  thing too!? Either way, it has improved.

HATE waking up – and never feel well rested – Always feels like I JUST went to sleep.

I had not really thought about this one since typing it. I don’t HATE waking up any more. There are the occasional mornings when I would like to sleep a bit longer, but in general, waking up is more pleasant. I feel rested and I usually wake up before my alarm clock. I wake up earlier than I used to now and feel great about that!

Not a deep sleeper and sometimes takes long to fall asleep.

This is not a problem any more. I sleep very well and have no trouble falling asleep when it is bedtime. In fact, I often go to sleep a bit earlier than I used to – no more “waiting” to get tired to some ungodly hour.

I get tired during the day (like want to take a nap kind of tired).

No more naps for this Mommy! Not only don’t I need them these days, but I don’t really even want them. I love how much energy I have and how it stays consistent and level throughout the day!

Not a lot of energy (would like to be able to keep up with my kids and still have energy left for me to workout, or do something more than sit on the couch after they are in bed).

See above – I have plenty of energy and it is the consistent, level kind not the constant ups and downs of before. I also have enough energy to workout on some days during naptimes AND… the test of all tests – I actually took my first run the other day… AFTER THE KIDS WENT TO BED. So that was 15 hours into my day and I still had enough energy to run (and run well).

I would say that this Whole30 proved a lot to me. It proved how much healthier and fitter I can be with the right foods in my diet. It proved to me that I can have self-control and discipline and that I can make the right choices. It proved to me that I wouldn’t feel like I was missing out on food if I wasn’t eating my typical “junk”. It proved that I can choose to change my life and make it better simply by eating responsibly and what the fitness & Paleo people would call “clean”.

I have chosen to continue this journey by adopting the Paleo Lifestyle (a less strict version of the Whole30). More on how I am doing with that in a post soon to come. I have plans to do another Whole30 sometime again in the next few months mainly because I think my body would benefit from another “cleanse/hard reset” – Since I am just starting out on the clean eating journey, this was a good place to start and it got me on the right track, but I believe a second Whole30 would really help me step it up when it comes to my fitness goals… but that’s for another day. Today I celebrate all that I accomplished this past 30 days and encourage you to be brave and try it out – you really have nothing to lose and EVERYTHING to gain!

So what are you waiting for???