Day 15- Whole30 reflections at my Halfway Mark

I have been a bit of a Whole30 rollercoaster for the past several days. I had a few days (Days 11 & 12) where I was angry at the Whole30 program, and myself. I asked myself "Why did I decide to do this stupid Whole30 thing anyway!?" . Whole30 is tough in that way- it's an intense change from the Standard American Diet, even for those of us who were already eating a lot more healthily. Since it's a self-imposed diet & lifestyle change for me, at times it can feel ridiculous.

Om nom nom. Bacon!! and a Carrot-orange-ginger Juice

I quickly found out that I was also starting my period on Day 11, which that explains the over-emotional reaction as well as the 3 minute mini-breakdown I had where I whined to my hubs, "Whyyy-ah? Why can't I just have some breaad-ah?". He reminded me that I'm doing a really great job, and that I would be upset with myself if I "cheated" now. Thanks, man! :)

Other than that little break in confidence, and the occasional nightmare in which I consume non-Whole30 compliant foods and wake up thinking that I really ate those things, I have been feeling really great. I mean REALLY GREAT! You feel great when you regularly eat bacon for breakfast, I've found ;)

It's hard to describe the changes and improvements I've been seeing, because I think the main change that I see is the absence of certain symptoms of the foods I'm not currently eating; of stomach issues, irritation, or inflammation. The important thing to note about this change is that I do not have any (known) allergies, but despite that, I have definitely noticed these Things I am no longer feeling in my body: (These are not particularly gross but TMI warning if you can't handle normal human body functions):

• No more uncomfortably full feeling I would get at least 4-5 times a week after a meal
• No more need to run to the bathroom after eating cheese or dairy products
• No more inflated-stomach feeling I get when I eat most grains (esp. gluten)
• No more 3-4pm energy crash 

Other positive effects I am noticing:

Awesome Salad- Roasted Beets, Butternut Squash and Kale!

• More steady energy throughout the day
• More recognition of sugar cravings AS sugar cravings when they happen, and being able to re-direct them (sometimes!)
• Little-to-no bloating/water retention while on my period. Usually my weigh goes up by 1-3lbs while on my period, so I just stopped weighing myself for that week. I happened to weigh myself today, and I am down 1lb from my weight as of 2 days ago. That's the opposite of a typical period week for me!
• Feeling that my body is able to actually utilize the calories I am feeding it, rather than just storing them

It's Day 15 of the Whole30 Program, and I am feeling glad that I committed to this challenge. 
Here are my goals for my next 15 days of my first Whole30 program:

1. Continue to reduce my sugar intake, even though it's all from fruit
2. Make 2 new crockpot recipes per week 
3. Find two new breakfast options that are still "breakfast-y"
4. Cook something with turkey (roasted turkey, turkey burger, etc)

Thanks for reading! If you've done Whole30 before, please comment on this post and share your thoughts! If you're interested in knowing more about my Whole30 experience, send me a message!