Not all size 28’s are created equal.

I bet when you saw “the battle with my body” post you thought it was going to be about weight. This has been an issue of mine my whole teenage / adult life too. Just like most of the world, I’ve tried all the usual diet fads, workouts and supplements. Wishing and praying I was just a size smaller. You’d laugh at some of the doozies I’ve tried! I mean, who doesn’t go through that? My weight is constantly fluctuating I’m starting to think it’s just the circle of life. (Power to those of you out there that don’t have this complex lol!!) But after being pregnant back to back I was feeling very uncomfortable with my body. I was working out 4 or 5 times a week at home but it was barely making any difference. My body was starting to feel the R.A. coming back after the last pregnancy so I was just generally exhausted. We went on vacation last September to Hawaii and I couldn’t find a single picture where I was ok with how I looked. I just looked uncomfortable in every single picture.

My sister was on the tail end of her first Whole30 and suggested I give it a try. So the very next day we returned from Hawaii, I started my first Whole30. At first, yes, I admit, it was about the baby weight and feeling more comfortable in my own pants skin. But what I gained in those first 30 days was a God sent miracle! Before I tell you how or what it changed in me, you should know a couple things… For some reason, R.A. goes dormant when you’re pregnant. I don’t know why, maybe because it would be sheer torture if it wasn’t. So while I was pregnant, I felt great! Very little to minimal pain. But when you’re not pregnant anymore the disease comes back and personally, I felt like it came back worst every time. I started back on injectable meds about 4 months after Z was born and had to promptly stop taking it because I was promptly pregnant again 5 months later. After I had L I didn’t go back on meds because I was still breastfeeding. The last time I went to the Rheumatologist, I had a serious conversation with her asking if it was possible to have my toes removed. I was in so much pain I was choosing to live without toes. I was perfectly ok with that. The pain made me think that this would be a sensible solution! I was in a lot of pain. So, back to the part where I tried whole 30… the first week was hell. I was mad and I wanted a freaking donut. But, then two or three weeks in, we went to Disneyland and after walking the park all day, when it was time to go home, I realized, I wasn’t in excruciating pain! I was walking and I was able to keep up with my husband. I was walking and I wasn’t praying to God up above to please help me make it to the car. I was walking and I wasn’t looking at the kids’ stroller wondering if I would fit and if it would hold my weight, wanting desperately to sit in it, like I would usually. I WAS WALKING and I was not in pain. I was walking. Like normal. Like, hi, I’m just a regular person and I’m walking to my car after walking all day. This was HUGE for me. I was considering REMOVING my toes and now here I was walking -not on meds- and I was ok! I realized in that moment that this diet had to be long term for me. I had to choose if I wanted to eat croissants or keep my toes. It wasn’t about the weight anymore. It’s about my health and not feeding the inflammation anymore. Not just suppressing pain with medication but about TAKING CONTROL over my disease. Taking control over MY BODY. I had to change the way I thought about food. I had to change “I can’t eat that” into “I don’t want to eat that” simply because it doesn’t make me feel good.

I had to change the way I thought about food. I had to change “I can’t eat that” into “I don’t want to eat that”

Yes, I lost the baby weight, and I thought I had lost a few pant sizes until I looked at the jeans I was wearing in Hawaii compared to the jeans I was wearing now and I realized THEY ARE BOTH SIZE 28!! Discrepancy in sizes is so stupid. I am now eating better to feel better. To be comfortable with my body. To be able to walk out of Disneyland.

If you want to know more about Whole30 you can visit their site here. There are books available too but all their information is free and available to you online! Awesome huh?!

If you have tried Whole30 I’m interested to know how it’s changed you. If you’re interested in trying it but you’re hesitant, don’t be! You might just gain a non-scale victory too! If you have R.A and can relate to the struggle, share your story!