Hello from the very first post on The Life With Lindz! I wanted to start this blog so I could write about my newfound relationship with health and wellness as well as my other adventures as a soon-to-be (virtual) college grad! For those of you who might be reading this and don't already know me, I'm Lindz!
I'm from the Washington DC suburbs but go to school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to study Nonprofit Management and English Literature. I'm 21 and am *technically* graduating next month but because of COVID-19 am writing to you live from my childhood bedroom instead of spending my final months as a college student with my friends :/
I did my fair share of moping around (and still do when the mood strikes), but then decided I was lucky enough to have the privilege of spending my time a little more constructively; I might as well make the most of that privilege! I'm only at the start of my journey to better health and wellness so I might as well document my experience and share with anyone who's interested. My interest in health began with a Whole30 (I finished last week!) so it seemed only fitting that my first post be about that very same experience; enjoy!
A little over a month ago, my little and I, pictured below, were spending our Friday night watching the Love is Blind finale, drinking wine, and binge eating sour cream and onion chips when she told me she was planning to start another Whole30 that Sunday. She and I were both stressed about midterms and some more personal life events and as a result, felt like we were eating terribly.
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| some pics of my little and me on gameday, aren't we cute?!? |
I had actually considered doing a Whole30 before but never thought I could hold myself accountable/had the willpower to get it done. There were always so many events and excuses that kept me from even getting started! But here was my chance to make a change in a big way and to do so with a buddy and I took it. It only took about 2 minutes to convince me and I spent the next day making a monster grocery list and saying goodbye to come of my favorite foods Pad Thai, Sushi and chocolate). We went out with a bang (and maybe went a little crazy) but on Sunday morning I woke up only slightly hungover and ready to kick some Whole30 ass!
I would describe my eating habits before Whole30 as "healthy with extras" and it was the extras that killed. Essentially, I ate fairly healthy meals with limited fast food/crappy meals, but way too many carby/sugary snacks tacked on top of those healthy meals. I've struggled with my relationship with food for as long as I can remember and although a lot had changed since starting college, I was nowhere near where I wanted to be. I stopped eating gluten in high school and about a year and a half ago I went vegan for a few months. I didn't love it at the time but have been Pescatarian ever since.
Given my dietary restrictions pre-Whole30, I knew that cutting gluten and dairy was going to be easy given how little-to-none of both I already ate and that I would be limited in my protein options without meat. Normally, I cook a fair amount of tempeh and Beyond/Impossible meat alternatives but without soy, those wouldn't be an option for supplementing seafood. But I made do, and although it's going to be a while before I crave shrimp or salmon again, I crossed the finish line! So now that you know a little bit about how my Whole30 story began, let's jump into some of my biggest takeaways!
Some of the bigger changes I noticed about myself:
My skin looks so much better!
This is something everyone says, but my skin definitely reacted well to this change in diet. It's hard to know if it was all due to Whole30 because I'm currently taking an antibiotic for acne after my birth control pill practically destroyed my skin, but my skin is significantly clearer than usual and has allowed me to use fewer products to keep it that way!
I have a lot more energy after workouts
I've always been a fairly active person and tend to work out about 3-5 times per week, but prior to my Whole30 I would often come back from the gym and just collapse on the couch, dreading having to get up to get in the shower. But over the last month, I've been energized by my workouts instead of drained and it's been such a game-changer for me!
I lost weight
In all honesty, this was the real reason I started Whole30. While I knew my relationship with food needed work, that wasn't my primary concern. I really wanted to lose some weight and needed an effective way to get started, which this definitely was. Even though it's not the point of the program and is just one of the many positive effects I experienced, it was definitely a huge perk for me personally.
Well, that's all for now! I'm definitely planning to upload Part 2 of my experience to include some of the things I learned about myself along the way and advice I have as someone who just finished, maybe tomorrow? If you made it this far, thank you so much for stopping by to read and I hope you come back soon!
xx, Lindz
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