Meet Tammy! She shares her amazing Whole30 Results below.

I am a 52 years old, and I have been married to the most wonderful man in the world for 29 years. We have 3 beautiful daughters and 2 precious grandchildren. I have had several careers throughout the years. I have a bachelors degree in nursing and worked as an RN in a cardiac step-down unit and then for a prominent pulmonary physician until I decided to be a full time stay-at-home-mom when our daughters came along. Eventually I became certified as a personal chef and ran my own business for a few years, and then I became an ordained chaplain and spent several years working with incarcerated women with substance abuse issues. About 9 months ago, I became a “full-time Mimi”, keeping our grandkids, ages 4 and 1, while our daughter works.

Where/ when did you first hear about Whole30?

I started seeing posts on Facebook about friends and acquaintances who were having fabulous results from Whole30. These results were much more than weight loss, but improved health and well-being, improved sleep quality, and increased energy, as well as relief from a myriad of aches, pains, and maladies. I am generally skeptical of diet fads, so I was slow to come around, but after seeing the same kinds of results from several different people, I finally ordered the book and read it all in a day. I couldn’t put it down! It all made so much sense to me. I had lost about 70 pounds over the last 2 1/2 years through calorie restriction and working out regularly, but as I approached my goal weight, I had found it increasingly difficult to lose that last 10-15 pounds. It seemed that no matter how much I exercised and how little I ate, the very best I could accomplish was one pound a month. Most of the time the scale wouldn’t move at all. My husband was in good physical shape, and does long distance bike riding as a hobby, riding 70-100 miles on some days, working out in the gym 4-5 days a week, and eating “healthy” (as we understood it) but he could not lose his belly. When I started telling him about W30, he was onboard 100%.

When was your Whole30?

We began June 15. Technically, we were supposed to finish a couple of weeks ago, but we feel so great and love the way we are eating, so we really have had no desire to change anything!

What was the biggest challenge you overcame during Whole30?

My biggest challenge was probably wanting flavored sweetened beverages. I had given up sugary drinks a long time ago, but was addicted to tea & coffee sweetened with Splenda. Going to water and unsweetened tea and coffee was tough, and I still crave a sweet beverage sometimes. I allow myself a W30 compliant kombucha here and there as a treat, but I don’t do it often because I know I need the water and I am afraid if I allowed myself I would just drink kombucha all the time.

What are some of the Non Scale Victories you experienced?

Number one has to be the changed relationship with food. I no longer feel controlled by my cravings and for the first time in forever, I’m not hungry all the time! I have started to think of food as fuel and to make conscious decisions on what to eat based on how the food makes me feel. This is nothing short of a miracle! It’s so empowering! Second has to be sleep quality. I used to have real issues with insomnia and I have slept like a baby every single night since about the 5th day of W30. Another miracle. Third has to be the increased energy. I feel better than I have felt in years. And 4th has to be decrease in RA symptoms: feeling achy and fatigued. Finally, getting into some size 6 clothes, which I haven’t seen since college, feels beyond awesome!

What was your scale victory? 🙂

I lost 12 pounds the first 30 days (and yes, those were those pesky, stubborn “last pounds” that I had been trying for 6 or 8 months to get off to no avail) and since then have lost an additional 4, so a total of 16 pounds in 48 days. As for my husband, he lost 15 pounds in the first 30 days, and over 2 1/2 inches on his waistline! He has been trying to lose that belly forever, and Whole30 was the answer he had been looking for.

Do you have any words of wisdom for anyone currently doing a Whole30?

PLAN. Don’t just get a list of do’s and don’t’s and then start. Take time to read the book, “It Starts with Food” and understand the science behind it. Understand the nuances and the psychology of the program. Purge your kitchen. Find great recipes, make meal plans, and make the food delicious so you’ll stick with it. It takes some work, but it is SO worth it. We feel like we have never eaten better, and we don’t feel deprived in the least. But if we didn’t really make it a priority every week to plan, I don’t think we could do it.

I also think having a partner is a huge help. I am so thankful that my wonderful husband was onboard 100% with me from Day One. I also have a Facebook group page of about 35 women that are all on health and fitness journeys that have been such a big help. Many are on their own Whole30 programs now and we all cheer each other on. The accountability and support really made all the difference for me.

What is something you wished you had known before starting Whole30?

I just wish I would have known about it years ago. I feel like a new person, and I wish I could have discovered this when I was in my 20’s instead of my 50’s! But I am so, so thankful I have discovered it now.

Are there any specific meals or recipes you loved during your Whole30?

My go-to cookbooks and their corresponding blogs/websites have been Nom Nom Paleo’s Food for Humans (nomnompaleo.com) and Well Fed (theclothesmakethegirl.com) I cook out of one of these almost every night and we absolutely love the food.

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