My Whole30 Paleo Challenge

I decided to start this blog to help myself keep a track of goals, achievements and recipes.  However, if it helps anyone else along the way, that will be a huge plus.  I have to admit that I was a huge skeptic of the paleo diet when Sam first started following it, but more recently I have become more open to exploring it for myself.  I have notice a huge difference in Sam's body structure and he is constantly telling me how much better he feels when he is not eating a lot of carbohydrates and processed food.  Add to that the fact that I have been frustrated with my weight and body shape for a long time and have never been able to stick to eating better when I have tried previously.  Those things bring me to where I am today.

I have Leeny Hoffmann to thank for me completing the paleo challenge, which included me sticking to a paleo diet for 6 weeks so far.  She started a group challenge back in January through Crossfit St. Louis.  I asked her if I could join the challenge even though I was not a gym member.  The challenge consisted of before and after pictures, a before and after fitness assessment, sticking to the Whole30 plan for 30 days and then adding back a few "treats" for a couple of weeks.

I kept a journal for 30 days and stuck to the regimen as described-no grains, no dairy, no alcohol, etc.  It wasn't anything like as bad as I thought it would be.  At the end of the challenge, I lost 8.8 lbs (although I didn't think I'd lost anything at all) and I lost 2 inches from my belly and hips.  The before & after pictures were striking (but I'm only publishing the back one for now-maybe one day I will be brave enough to show the others!!).  You can see the amazing difference.  This is all due to diet alone.  I don't exercise much at all and didn't increase my exercise over the 6 week period.  However, my fitness improved so that I did 48 burpees at the end of the challenge compared to 32 at the beginning.

The picture at the top is of our final meeting.  These ladies were with me the whole way through and all had success stories.  Leeny is standing on the right of the picture.

The challenge has given me the start I needed and I am hoping I can keep this up.  The journal was a huge help and I'm hoping this turns into my long-term journal.