I Tried Paleo and the Whole30 Diet and Lost 120 Pounds After My Pregnancy

From Prevention

I’m Caitlin L. (@thekindredginger), 36. I live in Northern California and am a mom. After giving birth to my daughter in 2014, I struggled with my post-pregnancy weight loss. At 260 pounds, I decided to make some major lifestyle changes and try the paleo and Whole30 diets. It was a marathon getting here, but I’ve lost 120 pounds and *never* felt better.

In December of 2014, I weighed around 260 pounds after my pregnancy. I thought shaking the baby weight would be easy—that maybe, at least some of it, would just melt away. But instead, my weight was constantly yo-yoing. I knew I was worthy of more when it came to my mental and physical health.

At around six months postpartum, I got realistic and decided to come up with a plan of major lifestyle changes that would help me lose weight for good. I was determined this time. I owed it to my daughter to show her what a strong and healthy woman looked and acted like.

I knew that I had to be very careful about the healthy eating approach I chose this time around.

After years of attempting diets and fasting, then failing and gaining back weight I’d lost, I knew I needed to find a healthy way of eating to last a lifetime.

I began by eating paleo and had success with that. I was able to maintain eating that way most of the time for about a year, ultimately losing 110 pounds. Then I switched to the Whole30 diet—and doing it changed my life.

While doing Whole30, I discovered food intolerances I didn’t know existed, I learned how to cook with foods and ingredients that were delicious and ultra-nutritious, and I had so many other non-scale victories. I also lost 10 more pounds, making my weight loss a total of 120 pounds in two years.

Here’s what I typically eat in a day.

Most days, I eat three meals a day that are comprised of half a plate of non-starchy (mostly green) vegetables, a quarter plate of potatoes, and quarter plate of protein. All I have to do is swap out the proteins.

• Breakfast: Eggs or egg whites with veggies and potatoes.

• Lunch: Chicken or turkey with veggies and potatoes.

• Dinner: Pork, beef, or fish with veggies and potatoes.

• Snack: I love chips and salsa!
  

Sometimes I add in bit of fat to my meals in the form of dressings, oils, and sauces. But my motto is: everything in moderation. So when the opportunity comes up for a pizza or burger and fries, I eat it and enjoy it! But I don’t indulge all the time, and I make it worth it when I do.

Before I was pregnant and gained the weight, I worked out occasionally—usually just running and doing bodyweight exercises.

The issue was, I did little physical activity during my pregnancy, and it was hard to get back into it after giving birth. So once I committed to getting healthy, I began by just walking for weight loss. My goal was to make one change at a time and to maintain it for set period. I knew that if I changed too much at one time, the stress and pressure to maintain it all would be overwhelming.

So I started by walking three times a week and had a goal to maintain that for one month. By the end of the month I had added two additional days. From there I continued to add in body weight exercising and eventually shifted to weight training and running.

Now, I workout four or five times a week with a blend of running, HITT, and weightlifting. My workouts are about an hour long. On average, I burn about 600 calories.

Since I started my weight loss journey, I’ve lost 120 pounds and learned a few important lessons along the way.

Starting with the fact that maintaining weight loss is a lifelong journey of staying healthy and not a sprint. It takes discipline and hard work. And once you’ve lost the weight, the journey continues with a mix of balance, lots of self-care, grace, and motivation.

Plus, a change in mindset helps too. My tip? Focus on being strong and capable. When I shifted my mindset away from the scale and from being "skinny" to being strong and capable, my outlook on weight loss shifted from achieving a certain appearance to achieving something so much more. Every workout and every meal contributes to a greater sense of empowerment and confidence when the end goal is to feel strong and capable of any challenge you’re faced with.

My tip to others trying to lose weight? Try not to overcomplicate things.

Eat to nourish your body 90 percent of the time and for pleasure 10 percent of the time. Try to move around most of the day and when you workout, work out as hard as you can. Know you’re capable of so much more than you think, and you are worthy of feeling your best self. That may take some time and it may feel impossible at time, but trust me, it’s worth it!

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