Whole30 France: Week 4 “Results”

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The girl with the most cake

I finished my 30 days last week and… drumroll, please…

I lost 2.6 kilos/5.7 lbs! (Week 5 Update: 3.6 kilos/7.9 lbs!)

Tiger blood was still apparent during Week 4, but there were days when I’d lost all motivation to cook anything and I’d eat a banana and nuts for lunch. (Not recommended.) The ravenous hunger I’d had the first week had subsided and I was eating a lot less calories than usual because I didn’t make up in volume what I lost in calories and carbs. Not too many cravings until the last 2 days when I was dying for cake. Day 29, I even dreamt I ate cake. I felt guilty and horrible and was so relieved to wake up. (Yes, it’s a sign I’m fully indoctrinated.)

I celebrated the end of my Whole30 with a glass of white wine at a friend’s concert—and was wrecked the next morning. In the week since, I’ve had champagne, chocolate chip cookies, some bread and rice, a teeny bit of dairy, regular coffee. It all made me feel pretty terrible so I’ve gone back to eating clean. Waking up clear-headed, not bloated and without stomach pains is unsurprisingly addictive. So is looking better in your clothes. There’s also something freeing about knowing what exactly you can and want to eat. It helps with decision fatigue.

One of the greatest takeaways from completing Whole30 is the mindfulness I now have when it comes to my (and the kids’) food choices. There’s no more thoughtless grazing because I’m bored. I don’t accept food simply because it’s offered. Plus, I’ve developed a new superpower: I can taste sugar in just about everything and I don’t miss it at all. So many things taste way too sweet. I had a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice the other day and it made me as light-headed as if I’d had a martini. While I still love #dessertporn, I prefer to see with my eyes and not with my mouth. Even champagne doesn’t taste as wonderful. Maybe that’s not a good thing.

Other changes: In winter, I always get a rash around my waist from the dry weather and it gets worse when I eat sugary things or drink wine. I get unbearably itchy legs at night, too. During Week 3, my stomach rash appeared, redder and itchier than usual. I figured it had arrived for the season. But after 3 days, it completely disappeared and hasn’t been seen since. No itchy legs at all. I know naturopaths often believe when your body is healing, there’s one big flare-up before the disease or allergy goes away completely. (Hey, as long as it’s gone.)

So I’m staying on Whole30, allowing some flexibility when it comes to treats or a cocktail here and there (aka Paleo.) Though I’ve noticed having something off-plan does wake my “sugar dragon” and it’s hard to beat back those cravings. Three of us have finished Whole30—with more in the next week—and some of us in the group are talking Whole100! What’s interesting is that no one wants to go back to a “normal” diet. I mean, I think I’m over rice. Have you ever heard an Asian girl say that?!

Make and eat these pecan bars immediately!

A few final tips if you’re considering or still doing Whole30 (especially in France):

Follow the reintroduction protocol: Hadley had already warned me that if I went straight for a dreamy piece of cake, I’d feel like I was dying. Reintroduction made me nervous because it seemed crazy to suddenly eat bread or have dairy and sweets. I of course did it all wrong and gobbled up Dman’s homemade chocolate chip cookies last weekend. I couldn’t know if it was the sugar, flour or chocolate that made me feel so bad after. Which is why you should follow the Whole30 protocol. Don’t make my mistake!

But definitely make this: After the above warning, Hadley sent me this recipe and it is the BEST. TREAT. EVER. Do yourself a favor and make it because it’s so simple and delicious.

iHerb: It’s hard to source Whole30-compliant products here, so try iHerb. They have the best prices for every kind of health food, supplement and product. They also have the cheapest international shipping. Consider breaking up your order into two shipments to take advantage of their flat rates and also to avoid customs fees. I had to shell out an extra €40 before DHL could deliver my package. Oof.


Read about our Week 1, Week 2 and Week 3. Did you complete your #Whole30? Let us know here or on FacebookInstagram and Twitter. And sign up for our newsletter for the healthiest stories from Paris!

 

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Maggie Kim is a writer, musician and the founder of LES LOLOS.

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