Sleepiness, Rashes, and Weight loss (oh my!)

So, yesterday I decided to allow myself a little cheat. I had some tortilla chips. I really love tortilla chips, especially whenever there is guacamole around (and there was guacamole around!).  Just a few couldn't hurt, right?

Uh.

Within a couple hours, I was itching. My shins itched. Tiny bumps popped up on my shoulders and on my stomach.  And Nolyn? The same appeared on his arms.

And, soon after consuming said yummy guacamole shovelers, I felt so tired.  Then my husband called just as I was crawling into bed for a little shut-eye (at about 3pm) and said his brakes had gone out on his truck so he needed me to drive across town to pick him up from the job site.

Oh crud.

I realize now that I've had this itching problem for some time, but I actually never noticed that it had disappeared during the Whole30 challenge.

See, I never thought I really had a problem with corn.  And you may not think you have an issue with wheat or vegetable oil or dairy.  But maybe you do, and have never noticed because you've been consuming it for so long.  That's what so amazing about the Whole30/Paleo way.  Maybe you'll add back dairy and be just fine, but maybe, after 30 days of clean eating, you'll add back a food that causes your stomach to grumble and twist or a migraine to invade your head.  Whether you choose to continue on with a Paleo diet after a Whole30 challenge is up to you, but you just might find that it works best for your body.  One thing is for sure, you will learn a lot about what your body loves and dislikes!

Another fascinating aspect of Whole30/Paleo is that once you get rolling, the weight often melts off. Maybe you feel discouraged because, after 25 days of eating healthy food and avoiding the fresh bread counter at the supermarket (which was tough, because the scent was intoxicating), you haven't lost a pound.  Maybe, like Brandon, you realize you are looking slimmer, maybe even gone in a few notches on your belt or are having to tug up your pants more often, but the scale hasn't budged.  This is one reason why we encourage you to take measurements and photos of your body, because the scale is not reliable.

But, eventually, the scale will begin to show your progress.  Maybe, at the end of your Whole30 challenge, you step on the scale and realize 10 pounds have disappeared.  Then, a couple days later, you step on it again and 10 more pounds are missing.  It's crazy how it works.  The weight loss seems to happen suddenly for some people.  The scale hardly moves at all, and then BAM, 20 pounds seem to melt away in a week.  Where did it go? Tap, tap. Is this scale broken?

I can't explain it. I'm no scientist. I just know it happens like that for many, many people.  Brandon started out at 285 pounds (appx 130 kilograms).  He was at 265 (120 kg) when we completed our Whole30 earlier this week, but in a matter of days, he's lost 5 more pounds.  The same has happened for me.  Five more pounds have disappeared over the last couple days. (Not that I needed to lose anymore weight. I do plan on putting it back on in the form of muscle. I haven't weighed this month since I was a teen!)  So, Brandon has lost 25 pounds in about 35 days (the weight loss only showed up in the last two weeks though), and I have lost around 15 pounds.

We weigh at the same time every day (the morning, typically before we step in the shower).  If you weigh yourself throughout the day you will notice your weight fluctuates 2-5 pounds.  Weighing yourself when you wake up is great because your body is not loaded with food or bloated.  Before I started the Whole30, my weight fluctuated between 125 and 135..... ten whole pounds of difference throughout the day.

Since being on the Whole30 and continuing to follow the guidelines (most of the time), I have found my weight stays a bit more steady throughout the day, only fluctuating a couple pounds.  I am a very petite person (I'm a little under 5'4, have a tiny frame, and big ears... which, btw, are looking all the more bigger as my face gets slimmer.)  When my husband and I married (I was 18, he was 21), I was a whopping 95 pounds fully dressed and soaking wet (and I was actually three months pregnant then).  I was able to pack away a lot of food (everyone always asked if I had a hollow leg), but my diet was very poor. Lots of unhealthy fat. Lots of fried food. And lots and lots of grains, specifically bread (Donuts? King cake? Chips? Texas Roadhouse rolls? Hushpuppies? Yes please!)

Brandon, Mandy, and Merikalyn (4 months old)

Weight loss is going to be different for everyone, and while dropping pounds will definitely make you feel like an excited mad scientist ("It's working! Muhahaha! It's working!") you absolutely cannot judge your overall progress on how much the scale moves.

I have friends who are the same height as me, have a similar body type, and eat very healthy but are twenty or so more pounds than I am. Right now, fat is falling off my body, but I'm working at putting muscle on which means I will eventually gain weight (hopefully).