Sammy’s Journey on the Whole30 Diet

Ladies, do you have a weight loss plan as part of your New Year’s resolution? Today’s post is not about my journey with weight loss but of my daughter, Sammy’s journey on the Whole30 diet that has not just changed her life but ours as well.

The Back Story

Samantha is a fun-loving and happy 30-year-old woman who has Down Syndrome. She has a busy social life, plays sports for Special Olympics and she has been fortunate to work in jobs where the employers delight in her daily presence. When Sammy started to work at the Hyatt Place in the restaurant area managing the buffet line she was weighing in at 113 pounds at 4’10” which was a normal weight for her height. Within 6 months her weight ballooned to 130 pounds and she becomes overweight in a matter of months! This was very alarming at the rate she put on weight and I discussed her eating habits with the manager of the hotel she worked for. I packed her breakfast and lunch so I thought she would be fine until I learned that when breakfast service was over, the staff is invited to eat the leftovers. Sammy would eat a huge breakfast with the staff and sometimes they noted she would eat 8 sausages. Sammy was eating 2 breakfasts and sometimes the staff would have a birthday lunch and Sammy would end up eating 2 lunches!

It wasn’t their job to monitor Sammy’s eating habits so in the summer of 2017, we made a health-related decision that Sammy shouldn’t work in a food-related job because she doesn’t have the discipline to not overeat. The entire hotel was sad to see her go as we made the decision of removing her from the hotel and the job she loved because it was now a health risk for Sammy.

The Fitness Guru

We summoned our oldest daughter Lisa to be Sammy’s personal fitness coach and dietician starting in 2017 when Sammy was retired from the business world. Lisa is a fitness instructor with Lifetime Athletics and has taken nutrition classes as part of her training and certification. She would stop by 3 times a week to train with Sammy in our gym and text her routines when she couldn’t stop by. Lisa was also in charge of teaching Sammy to make healthier food choices.

I wrote about Lisa and Sammy in my Workout Buddies blog post last summer.

Here’s a photo of Sammy last April and she had not lost any weight even though she was exercising 5 times a week. (Sammy also sneaks food into her room which is a bad habit of hers but a very normal one.)

Lisa had told me then that weight loss is 80 percent diet and 20 percent exercise and we knew we needed to change her diet.

Lisa doesn’t eat carbs and follows the bulletproof diet because of her excessive fitness routine and her need for more energy. She suggested we try the gluten-free diet first for Sammy that my husband loves to do.

We started cutting out pasta and switching to spaghetti squash and tried the gluten-free diet over the summer. Then we used gluten-free bread and wraps were used for her sandwiches.

What we didn’t pay attention to was sugar which she was still eating and drinking.

The gluten-free diet didn’t make a difference in Sammy’s weight loss.

Sammy didn’t lose a pound until our daughter-in-law told us how she lost weight on the whole30 diet.

We began this diet in mid-October and Sammy started losing 5 pounds a month while still maintaining her regular exercise plan.

What is the Whole30 diet?

This diet is very restrictive and limits many food items that are considered heart-healthy. During this program, there is no calorie counting, no measuring, and no weighing yourself for the entire 30 days. It’s also for people who like to be focused on doing the program with intention. Sammy loves doing new things and spent the entire month of October writing down recipes and learning everything about this diet. She is an eager learner and we supported her on this journey. It’s not for everyone and I’m still not a fan of a restrictive eating program.

It takes 30 days to push the reset button on your health and change your relationship with food. This is the concept behind Melissa and Dallas Hartwig’s Whole30 program. By eating non-processed whole foods and ditching grains, dairy, and sugar, you will reduce inflammation in your system, clear up your skin, and revitalize your energy stores. These are just a few of the benefits this program boasts.

I also made a commitment to supporting this new lifestyle for Sammy and began cooking dinners from the Whole30 cookbook. This diet is all about fresh food and since I cook from scratch every dinner I found the challenge of cooking dinners to be quite easy since so many bloggers gleefully pin on Pinterest, my favorite one to follow is the Skinnytaste girl, Gina Homolka, and I created a board dedicated to whole30 recipes mostly using Gina’s recipes. We love roasted vegetables and grilling chicken and streak but it’s fun trying out the recipes I pinned to my whole30 board.

A typical whole30 day is a daily ritual of the same foods because it’s so limited

Breakfast

Before: Sammy used to start her day with orange juice and coffee with half & half and Stevia.

Now: She has coffee with a nut pod creamer that is whole30 approved and scrambled eggs she makes in the microwave. She will also make a fruit bowl of bananas, strawberries, and blueberries.

Lunch

Before: Sammy used to have a sandwich with turkey, American cheese, and mayo on whole-grain bread served with taco chips and salsa along with diet iced tea.

Now: Sammy makes a lettuce wrap with turkey or ham sprinkled with shredded carrots topped with a whole30 approved avocado oil mayo. She makes another fruit bowl or cut up vegetables as her side dish and drinks flavored seltzer water.

Snack:

Before: popcorn or nuts

Now: cut up fruit or vegetables

Cocktail every day at 4:00

Before: Sparkling apple cider

Now: Club soda with a lemon or lime squeeze

Dinner:

Before: Whatever I felt like cooking. We had pasta was once a week and cheese was the preferred topping.

Now: Sauteed chicken or any meat without sauce. Sweet potato or spaghetti squash. Sauteed vegetables or a salad with whole30 approved salad dressing or olive oil and vinegar… No cheese in sight.

Instead of milk, she drinks unsweetened tea or club soda.

Because she is a creature of habit I don’t need to be creative with my menus. Special needs adults love to stick to a daily routine and Sammy has had the same menu for the last 2 months and has lost 12 pounds but sticking to this strict diet. She knows what she can and cannot have because she has done her homework for this new lifestyle.

Funny thing is that she doesn’t complain and Santa even gave her a Fitbit Versa which has made this weight loss journey even better for her!

She now tracks her steps and exercises every day to reach her goals. She literally will walk around our house to reach her 10,000 steps. Sammy delights when her phone buzzes and lets her know she made 10K for the day. She tracks her sleep and this has been the best part of having the Fitbit, she goes to sleep by 11:00 to get her 8 hours of sleep. This little watch lets her know it’s time to go to bed! I just love it!

The conclusion of the whole30 diet:

This isn’t for everyone and I’m not a doctor or nutritionist to recommend you to try this diet. It was supposed to be for only 30 days to get you back on the right track but we’re still going strong on the whole30. Will we continue to embrace this strict diet plan? Yes and no.

By eliminating lots of sugar and flour-based foods I truly think that has been the success of Sammy’s weight loss. Cutting out grains and beans I think is unnecessary. Dairy? The jury is still out on it. The whole30 diet is a healthier lifestyle for Sammy but I will update this post in another couple of months and report back to you if this is a sustainable lifestyle.

She has been doing so good with this diet and if we eliminate sugary foods and flour-based food I think she will continue losing weight. My goal is for her to get to 110-113 pounds and stay there.

Sammy has lost weight in her stomach and her face. Her clothes fit so nicely on her and she is wearing some of the clothes that have been sitting in her closet when she started to gain weight.

The photo below is of Sammy in June on her birthday before the whole30 diet.

This was taken in December when we were making cookies for Santa. Do you notice her thinner face and profile?

Sammy last December at the Marriott in front of the tree.

This was shot on Christmas morning before our flight back to Atlanta. You can see Sammy’s face is not as puffy as the first photo.

Sammy’s determination and discipline to lose weight has made all the difference for her and I have lost 5 pounds by cooking differently. (But I still have a glass of red wine every evening which is my sugar fix for the day.) 

What diets have you tried?

Were you successful or not?

I would love to know!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs!