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While I loved losing the weight, I didn't actually feel great on the Whole30. Very weird. For me, a more balanced and unrestrictive diet seems to do the trick. I added back in several foods and immediately felt better. Repeat: very weird.

What I'm retaining is the avoidance of most grains and sugar. I'm also carefully picking and choosing what I eat at meals and what I snack on. For example, we got Chinese food as a celebration at the end of the 30 days. I focused on the veggies and protein, didn't eat the rice, and only had a nice normal portion of food with no seconds. Also, when I need a snack, it's an apple with a bit of almond butter, not sugary snack bars, crackers and cheese, etc. These choices are totally sustainable for me. Fortunately, I don't have a sweet tooth, and I don't crave carbs!

Looks like we landed on the same two core changes, sugar and grains. Interesting outcome!

I think they are some of the most inflammatory things we eat. And grains, whether or not you have a specific issue with them, tend to convert to sugars. And sugars tend to be stored as fat. (That's not what you'd call a scientific explanation, but it's my story and I'm sticking with it!) Anyway, I may need to be reminded on multiple occasions, but overall this feels like a sustainable plan!