Day 28 - Finish line in sight!

I'm not going to lie, this challenge has been a bit of a roller coaster. Although I've mostly felt great, I've had some serious mood swings, bloating, tired spells and immense hunger! Although today feels like a bonus day as somewhere between days 24 and 27 I lost track of time... I was certain that yesterday was day 26, right up until late evening, bonus!

Despite the negatives, I can honestly say I've loved doing the Whole30 and intend to keep my diet W30/paleo friendly, with the occasional treats chucked in. I definitely have more energy and brain power, I'm feeling leaner and stronger, I'm not craving food (95% of the time anyway), my skin is starting to clear up although I'm still seeing a few break outs. With regards to food, I'm enjoying eating, even cooking and I'm being more creative and actually fuelling my body with real food, which it needs for my job and lifestyle. I ate well before, but believe I eat healthy now.

I'm both excited and nervous for my reintroduction stage. I've carefully thought about the foods I've missed, and then tried to find the cleanest version of non compliant foods. For example I've decided to add back in gluten free oats first, in the form of muesli. I'll have it for breakfast on day 31, along with almond milk. The only thing not compliant in this muesli is the gluten free oats. Fingers crossed that upon reintroduction I don't notice any negative side effects. If I'm not missing a food, I'm not reintroducing it!

If the oats are good, I've then found a gluten free granola, the only other ingredient being honey (be careful with gluten free products, often laden in sugar), so this way I get to test how I react to honey. I'll test this out two days after trying the muesli as this gives me enough time to note any negatives. Fingers crossed, honey (added sugar) won't be too detrimental, so I then plan to test out some Greek yogurt. I believe milk was causing the majority of my problems before (two skinny lattes and generally two bowls granola/cereal per day). I'm really, REALLY hoping that a little bit of yogurt won't be too severe. Other than that, the only other things I've missed are chocolate, so I'll treat myself to a little dark chocolate at some point, and hummus! I also can't stick to the three meals a day rule. I'm happy to go three hours between meals, but I get so hungry it hurts! I've stuck it out for 28 days and will complete the W30, but just saying that on day 31 I plan to eat a little more frequently!

I'm also interested in trying my hand at some paleo bakes, just to vary up my diet a bit and feel as though I'm not missing out on the good things in life! I also intend to revisit the W30 fully whenever I feel I need a reset!