Whole 30 DONE!

Aren't you glad? Heh.

I'm not sure why this one went so well. The previous two I've tried were abandoned mid-stream, and the only successful Whole 30 under my belt was the first, in April 2013.

I was so desperate when I started that one. I'd been doing the move-more/eat-less/low-fat plan since Christmas 2012, and by early April had lost seven pounds. To me, that was little reward for great effort. Paleo was my last resort. If that didn't work, I planned to be fat and unhappy the rest of my life.

But it did work, and I kept at it and ended up getting to within 12 pounds of a normal BMI. Oh, that elusive number.

What I need to do is go back and figure out why I quit. What made me think I could maintain a significant weight loss by changing what was working? I blame my slide on the election – too many meals out of my control, too busy to walk, too often choosing food for stress relief.

But there's probably a deeper truth I'm not willing to explore.

At any rate … this month worked, emotionally and physically. I've felt clear-headed, energetic (most of the time), and on task. I still have some right hip pain, occasionally, but it's not debilitating and certainly not as bad as it was last month, when I would have to lie down for an hour after walking a couple miles.

I hit my mileage goal for the year, and have a couple extra miles in the bank. Which is good, since I'm traveling today and Sunday, and I have another short trip planned later this month. I was dedicated to getting my 400th mile in April. I ended up with 124 for the month and I'm at 402 for the year.

YAY, ME!

I'm not planning to stray too far from a Whole 30 plan going forward. I'll add nut flour and honey or maple syrup for an occasional mug muffin. (That one doesn't even use nut flour.) A scoop of banana "ice cream" once in a while. (That one certainly qualifies as Whole 30 as far as ingredients go, except it's served in a dessert bowl, instead of eaten out of hand.) I'll not feel as though my hands are tied when I eat out, or in someone's home.

In other words: 80/20 prevails. Which means four meals per week can be off-template.

Wow, that sounds like a lot. Maybe I'll go with the 90/10 plan. Heh.

Perhaps the best part of a Whole 30 is you only weigh yourself twice – once at the start and once at the finish. If you've been following along, you know I cheated and weighed myself once in the middle, when my enthusiasm began to lag.

But today's weigh-in was the official second one, and produced a grand total of 10 pounds lost.

• That's one pound every three days. 
• That's 2.5 pounds per week. 
• THAT'S 10 POUNDS IN A MONTH!

Day 30 – and Whole 30 – DONE!

But not really. I just won't be yammering about it every day for the rest of my life. Thanks for sticking with me this month, through thick and thinner. I'm off for a little weekend getaway, and not sure if I'll be updating or not. But I'll be back Monday, and I hope you will, as well. Have a GREAT weekend!