Weight gain after whole 30

[jen_oro]

I was just wondering if people after whole 30 ended up gaining weight when they started reintroducing food back into their diets. Im on day 13 and I cant decide if I should turn this into a whole 60. My hopes are that when Im finished with this I do lose some weight and change my eating habits. However when Im done with this I would like to be able to keep eating like I have been theses last 2 weeks but maybe once a week still be able to go with my friends to our weekly morning starbucks trip and be able to have a coffee and muffin. But Im scared I would gain the weight I have worked so hard to lose. Anyone????

[misshannah]

Try not to let that fear ruin your experience. There is so much more that you'll gain from doing this....SO MUCH MORE. I know it's very hard to not focus on that number. I'm a big fat lady and have been pretty much my entire adult life. I won't lie and say I don't want to weight less/be smaller. HOWEVER, what I want most is to be healthy. I don't want to be a burden when I'm old, I want to be fit enough to run a 5K, to pull myself up over a wall if necessary (don't ask) (just kidding), and to feel the sense of accomplishment and self-efficacy that comes from working with this miracle of a body that's got me this far -- instead of against it. 

 

I'm on day 29. My next whole 30 starts in 2 days because I need more time learning how to trust my own body. One thing I'm not doing is caring if one single ounce comes off. Because if I start caring about that, I miss the real amazing stuff that's happening. 

 

My 2cents, from a super newbie just finishing her first whole 30 is: relax. Trust the protocol. Use the template. Stick to the guidelines. After it's over, do the reintro protocol for real. Learn what feels good to your body and what doesn't. Then when you're going to Starbucks, you can choose with the full knowledge of what your choice means for you. 

 

My husband and I are using 2 questions as our guide: 1. Is this healthy for *me*?  If not: 2. Is this *special*?  That's it. I'm hoping that will keep me reminded of what's important to me. 

 

Good luck!!  Don't be scared!

[amberino21]

I love the questions Hannah posted at the bottom of her post...

Of course it's possible to gain weight when you reintroduce food (bloat, water, fat..) - if you let those foods and bad habits take over and replace the ones you've had during your whole 30. If you're kind of sticking to the template most of the time, with a few extras thrown in ocassionally, you'll likely be able to maintain what you've got (or keep losing if that's the plan)

You may find after the whole 30 and reintro's that the muffin doesn't make you feel so good anymore! You can still go to Starbucks, you can still see your friend...just make a different food/beverage choice!

A whole 60 would benefit you by giving you longer to develop good habits the longer I do things, the easier they get and I'm more used to them being my "normal"

[lexes42]

Different days during my whole 30 I obsessed about going longer, reintro, etc.  My boyfriend would plan great treats we would have when this was 'over' and I scowled at him because THAT IS NOT THE POINT!

 

Now here at Day 31 I can tell you there is no question in my mind that

 

I'm going to Day 45.

I will do this again in January

The sugar dragon will drag me back into his lair someday... but I know how to escape.

 

 

I have lost weight, but no more then I ever do after 4 weeks of a 'diet'. As a yo-you dieter who has lost and re-gained the same 30 pounds my ENTIRE life I can tell you I am perfectly capable of gaining it back thankyouverymuch.

 

But it's different now.... I've learned a lot... and I know what 'drives' my binges and weight gain.  Even today after whole30 and longer without white flour, I don't NEED the starbucks muffin like I used to and anything 7-11 sells just sounds disgusting.  I assure that wasn't the case 3 months ago!    It's only 30 days is a good mantra at Day 13  as is, Ride Your Own Bike.  If your weekly Starbucks muffin with friends is important then you shall have it again in a few weeks!  But you may not want it.... (the muffin I mean) and/or the weekly muffin may turn into the daily pizza, mini candy bars and ice cream 'treats' because you have fed the dragon... thereby making the muffin 'not worth it'... or your own personal drug that sends you down the slippery slope.

 

It's a wee personal journey this whole30 thing... and if you get wound round the axel about weight you will miss the rest of the landscape.

[missmary]

Ok, sorry folks but I'm going to bring out the tough love a little bit. Here is the reality: how you eat the majority of the time (over the course of years) is going to have the most impact on how healthy you are and how much you weigh. If you have a diet that supports inflammation and weight gain, you are going to be inflammed and gain weight. EVEN IF YOU TAKE A BREAK FOR 30 DAYS. one time.

 

The whole30 works because it turns a light-bulb on for folks and teaches them how to eat long term. Some people choose to ignore that information and go back to how they were eating before. Those people will gain the weight back.

 

What this means for me? I know if I were to have a starbucks muffin, I would start getting congested and have trouble breathing, I would sneeze constantly and crave sweets and sugar and bread for a day or two. It's not worth it to me. If I have a "gluten-free" muffin from my co-op, I'll just have the cravings. The starbucks muffin has not been worth it. I thought the co-op muffin was worth it, maybe once? and I knew I had to steel myself against cravings for the next day or two. But it wasn't really good enough, and I walk by usually without a second glance now. Starbucks in my town sells bananas. and unsweetened iced tea. and unsweetend iced espresso. The rest of that stuff is not food.

[bep0819]

Miss Mary - oh how right you are! I completed my first Whole30 in June and then went through reintroduction. Then I reintroduced WAY too much. It was too easy. I was bloated and miserable again. So, here I am again eating from the template. I'm elated. I feel so much better. I do have dairy but not loaded with sugar. My limits are grass fed butter and half and half. If I stray to ice cream or really any sweets I open pandora's box.

I love Starbucks with my friends and I either drink it black or have a breve every now and then.

Jen-oro - foods will taste so much different but you'll need to find that out on your own. We are all different and what's worth it to you may not be worth it to me etc. It's another journey but one to be very careful on.

You will change and it's fun to see where you go.

Good luck on your personal journey!

[AnnaMae79]

@missmary - thank you for your post. I literally just typed in "weight gain after whole 30" and this thread came up. I joined the forum a couple days ago when I got to a point of frustration of "what now?" after my whole100 ended about a month ago. (I've also done a few whole30s previously). I read most of Food Freedom Forever and wanted to just "find my own food freedom," but indulging in sugars here and there leads me down a dangerous path. I love breads and I love sweets and moderation seems impossible to me -- so I've already gained quite a bit of the weight I lost from the whole100 back. I'm not  a fan of scales, but I jumped on one this morning as a reality check.  My question to those who have completed whole30s and maintained really healthy eating afterwards -- Do you essentially eat whole30 most of the time? Or just avoid trigger foods? I like what @missmary said about realizing the gf muffins aren't worth it either. I have this idea that I can just eat paleo, but I love to bake, and I feel like banana bread made with almond flour and honey etc. will just lead me to a bad place. Maybe I am answering my own question, but just feels good to type it out. Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks.