30 days?

[Juicetastysoup]

Hey folks,

Finishing up with my first whole 30. I've been doing 2-3 WODs a week, and 1-2 more days training a week, focusing for a competition at the end of February. My maxes haven't increased and I have increased my BF%. I've stuck to the whole 30 protocol 100%.

Three questions:

1. Any good reason to go beyond the 30 days?

2. Anyone have similar experiences?

3. Anyone know a good calculator for macro & kcal intakes?

Thanks.

[jmcbn]

Before I answer your questions I have three questions for you:

1. How do you feel? ie. What other NSVs have you seen?
2. What was  your diet/health like pre Whole30?
3. What were you eating during the 30 days? ie. What did say, three typical days look like when you were training?

In answer to your questions I'd say:

1. Many people continue after the 30 days beacuse they either feel so good and see no reason to change that, or because they are only starting to see the benefits of this way of eating so they decide they need a little longer to feel that they've got as much from the experience as they can.
2. Many people have similar experiences depending on what their diet/health was like pre Whole30.
3. No-one here is going to recommend a macro/kcla calculator because that is precisely what we are trying to STOP you doing here - we're here to teach you how to listen to your body, not feed it according to some app.

If you can answer my three questions above perhaps we can help you make some tweaks that will show you more success going forward.

[Juicetastysoup]

Before I answer your questions I have three questions for you:

1. How do you feel? ie. What other NSVs have you seen?

2. What was  your diet/health like pre Whole30?

3. What were you eating during the 30 days? ie. What did say, three typical days look like when you were training?

In answer to your questions I'd say:

1. Many people continue after the 30 days beacuse they either feel so good and see no reawson to change tha, or because they are only starting to see the benefits of this way of eating so they decide they need a little longer to feel that they've got as much from the experience as they can.

2. Many people have similar experiences depending on what their diet/health was like pre Whole30.

3. No-one here is going to recommend a macro/kcla calculator because that is precisely what we are trying to STOP you doing here - we're here to teach you how to listen to your body, not feed it according to some app.

If you can answer my three questions above perhaps we can help you make some tweaks that will show you more success going forward.

 

 

1. I feel a wee bit better.  I suppose the biggest NSV I've seen is that I am sleeping a lot more "cleanly" (straight through the night, not waking up a ton, etc.).  I also have decreased my coffee intake by 1/3. So that's net positive. 

 

2. Pre-Whole 30 I was basically paleo, but chewed gum, ate artificial sugars (i.e., stevia in coffee) and ate dairy and rice.

 

3. Typical day: 

 

Pre-WO: Egg

Post-WO: Chicken breast and Sweet potato

 

Lunch: Chicken breast or turkey (ground) with some tomatoes, mushrooms, and slivered almonds on salad greens

 

Snack: RX Bar

 

Dinner: Lean protein (see lunch) and roasted veggies and perhaps a side salad with some olive oil-based dressing.

 

"Dessert": Apple, baby carrots, and some almonds & almond butter. 

 

Thanks for all your helP!

[jmcbn]

I don't think you're eating nearly enough.

If you're still finding the need to snack, and are still of the 'dessert' mindset - which looks to me like another snack given that you're listing it separately - then you're not eating enough.

RX Bars are also for emergency use only - snacking is not an emergency.

Eating more at each meal and thereby allowing that 4-5hr window between meals gives your body a chance to tap into it's fat stores for energy. By eating in between meals (& specifically with fruit, nuts, nut butters, RX Bars etc) you are constantly topping up your glucose stores so your body has no need to burn fat.

I'd increase the size of each meal going forward, cut out all snacking, forget about 'lean' meats, eat moe fat, more protein & more veg, and see how you go from there. The meal template is a minimum recommendation, if you are active (as you would appear to be) then it is perfectly okay to eat more. Limiting what you eat is counter productive as your metabolism slows down so as not to use so much energy. 

Hope this helps 

[Juicetastysoup]

Thanks dude! Any good meal templates that you use personally? I'm exercising 6-7 times a week and find that snacking is the only way I survive. However, the typical day I shared has me eating the RX bar and "dessert" immediately after the main meal (lunch and dessert).

[jmcbn]

>This< is the recommended meal template - 1-2 palm sized pieces of protein (the length, width & depth of your palm), 1-3 cups of veg - with 3 being optimum, and bear in mind how much greens reduce down when chewed/wilted so you need to be eating a TON of salad, and a generous serving of fat. Fat & protein will give you a good steady, sustained release of energy so if you really MUST snack, out of genuine hunger not habit/boredom then I'd opt for protein & fat rather than fruit, which as I said before is only keeping your glucose stores topped up.

If you build your meals to match the template and eat enough to keep you satiated for 4-5 hrs or longer (I regularly go 6hrs between meals 1 & 2) & avoid snacks then I think you'll see greatly improved results.

You might also consider that by training 6-7 times a week that you might be overtraining - your body needs time to rest & recover. Over training causes stress. Stress greatly impacts results. Have a read at >this article< which explains it in more detail.

And seriously, ditch the bars 

[laura_juggles]

There's no meal 1 listed in your sample...are you having the pre- and post-workout meals in place of your meal 1? The PWO meals are bonus meals, in addition to the 3 template meals you're supposed to have every day.