What will you do for the next 30 days?

You think change is hard for you? Dogs have you beat hands-down, as this hilarious Hyperbole and a Half article attests to.

Click the image to view the article.

Dogs in panic, copyright Allie Brosh, 2010.

I got the results of my MRI back.  Great news is that there is nothing preventing me from continuing on my goals.  They may be slower, may take more time, but there is nothing permanently damaged.  Bruised Tibia and Bursitis at the impact bruise site.

As we are mid day 29 I am curious who will continue this journey.  I have decided to commit my tri season to this lifestyle.  I want to fuel my body with the best food possible and see how this season differs from last year.  I realize that this is a HUGE commitment, but I am only looking at 8 months of my life.  I have been overweight and unhealthy for longer than that.  My hope is that in 8 months it will be such a lifestyle that I CAN"T go back to my former way of eating.

I want to thank you ladies for joining me on this journey.  I hope that you will use the Clean Eats board as a way to stay in touch and vent about food issues, or questions you may have.

Happy Hump Day.

Welcome to Day 29!

Honestly, we’re running out of ways to say “Congratulations!” and “Good job!” to you. And at this point, we suspect your internal motivation and sense of accomplishment far outweighs anything we could say. You’ve done it. You made the choices. You will succeed.

Today we’re going to ask you to take some time to write your own success story, both as an exercise for your self-esteem, and as a means to motivate others to take on the life-changing program you’ve nearly completed. In fact, once today’s exercises are complete, why not swing by the Whole30 forum and share at least a snippet of your good news? You never know who you’ll inspire.

Have a great Day 29!

Real Life Success Stories: You

Throughout this process, we’ve shared dozens of real-life success stories with you. Now it’s time to write your own. Find a quiet spot and take the time to analyze your experience. Make a list of the ways you’ve changed, using the templates we’ll provide for you today. You might be surprised by what you learn.

Why write your story? Writing about your own successes can feel a little weird. In fact, sometimes it may be easier to write about your failures or the lessons you’ve learned in life than the ways you’ve kicked major booty. However, writing your own success story is an incredibly important part of this experience.

Your success story will create a concrete narrative that will serve as a way for you to look back and view the big picture of your Whole30 journey. Not only does your success story lay out where you’ve been and how you got there, but it creates a map for you to emulate your results in the future. By creating your own success story, you are giving yourself a plan to follow and a way to quantify your accomplishments.

The After Action Report (AAR)

According to Wikipedia, an After Action Report (AAR) is “any form of retrospective analysis on a given sequence of goal-oriented actions previously undertaken, generally by the author himself.” Translation? It’s a report designed to evaluate the success of a project, from the eyes of the project manager. In the case of the Whole30, the project is the 30 day program, and the project manager is you.

The first AARs were developed by army generals, but contemporary examples of AARs include project evaluations in business, as well as summaries of large gaming sessions in videogame culture.

The general (and overly simplified) theme of an AAR is this:

• What went well
• What could have gone better
• What you’ll do the next time

Donna, a Whole30 rock star and prominent contributor on our Whole30 forum, detailed her second post-Whole30 AAR in an insightful and detailed manner here… and inspired us to create our own AAR form for Whole30 Daily subscribers.

Use this Whole30 AAR worksheet to remind yourself of all the ways you kicked butt (yay!), all the ways you weren’t quite on the ball with planning and preparation (it’s okay…), and exactly how you’ll handle those tough situations in kick-butt fashion they next time they come around (hooray!).

Anatomy of a Success Story

Not sure where to start with your own success story? The general template—the one that we’ve seen offer the most context to your experience, and enough personal details to motivate and inspire others—goes like this.

• This is what my life used to be like. Maybe you started your Whole30 overweight, under-slept, depressed, or suffering from a medical condition. Describe the factors that led you to want to undertake a lifestyle change like the Whole30.
• This is how I found the Whole30. This doesn’t have to be long, but share how you found us—through a friend, a book recommendation, or by chance.
• During my Whole30 experience… Tell us how you felt during the Whole30, either week-by-week, or in a big picture sentiment (“at first it was hard, but by week two it felt like second nature”). If things started to get better, describe when and how.
• Now that I’ve finished my Whole30… Share your results, looking back on how your life used to be, and noting how different things are now. This is the part where you get to brag about all you’ve accomplished, so be detailed, and proud of your success!
• Now, share your story! If you want to write your success story just for you, that’s perfectly fine. But you never know who you’ll inspire with your story—and sharing the healthy message of the Whole30 is one way you can pass on your good feelings to others. So consider submitting your success story on our Whole30 forum when you’re done!

For a wonderful, creative example of a Whole30 Success Story, read Jenn L.’s write-up on the Whole9 website. (And click here to read all of our fabulous reader-shared testimonials.)

No Magic for You?

These can be some of the most challenging days for a few Whole30 participants. All around you, you’re hearing tales of magical successes—effortless weight loss, energy through the roof, symptoms that have miraculously disappeared. But what if, by the end of your Whole30, you just didn’t feel the magic?

It can be easy to be discouraged when others are reporting over-the-top results, and you’re feeling like yours are just ho-hum. Pants still fitting about the same? Symptoms still present? Energy still up and down? All is not lost, we assure you—here’s why your Whole30 was not a waste of time.

• Context matters. Your diet, lifestyle and health history in the years leading up to your Whole30 play a huge role in what happens during this month. For example, years of yo-yo dieting makes optimizing your metabolism so much harder, and will take you that much longer of “staying the course” to see results. Longstanding medical conditions don’t always disappear because you’re taking a pass on bread, and you can’t always expect to fix a lifetime of hormonal, gut, and immune system disruption in just 30 days.
• It starts with food… But food isn’t the only factor. If your diet is perfect, but you’re still only sleeping 6 hours a night, your stress levels are through the roof, and you’re either sedentary or perhaps exercising too much, well… no amount of dietary intervention can compensate for those factors. (Read our Whole9 Health Equation for more information.)
• Lifestyle factors can’t fix everything. Even if all of your lifestyle factors are in line, that still may not be enough. There are plenty of medical conditions, hormonal situations, and gut dysfunctions that require medical intervention (like supplementation, or even prescriptions) to correct.

You've got two different options to choose from -- and a third that may be a good idea, regardless of whether you keep going or call it done.

• Option 1: Extend your Whole30. Many people report their “magic” kicking in around day 45 or 60, so maybe your body and brain just need a little more time on the plan.
• Option 2: Proceed with the Reintroduction Schedule. On Day 31, go ahead and reintroduce some off-plan foods, as we’ll outline here. Maybe, just maybe, that will help you realize how truly good you do feel now—and remember how not-so-good you were feeling before the start of your Whole30.
• And in either case you may want to seek out an expert. You may just need more help than our forum or Whole30 Daily can provide. Consider scheduling a consultationwith someone on the Whole9 team, or set up an appointment with your local naturopath or functional medicine doctor to dig even deeper into your particular health context.

Regardless, there’s one more thing we need to point out… you are not the same person as when you started. Maybe you were looking for massive weight loss, boundless energy, or the disappearance of your migraines… and that just hasn’t happened yet. But we guarantee,something has changed.

Think about the little things—your sleep; your mood; your hair, skin, or fingernails; how your clothes fit (far more important than scale weight); your cravings, your hunger regulation, your relationship with food. We promise that if you evaluate all of these factors (and more), you’ll identify some that have decidedly changed or improved with your Whole30 experience.

We’d consider that a success—and so should you.