Down 7 lbs in 30 days?

[Verna]

I know i shouldn't focus on the little plastic thingy in the bathroom, but I sacrificed for 30 days and lost only 7 lbs!? That is annoying as h311! My runs have suffered also! I guess my eating wasn't that bad before i tried this food experiment. I missed out on ice cream for 30 days! Curious to see what kind of feedback I get on this post.

[laura_juggles]

Weight loss isn't linear and 7lb in 4ish weeks averages out to nearly 2lb per week. That is a perfectly sustainable weight loss. 

 

Whole30 isn't a weight loss diet. Some people don't lose anything at all; it all depends on what your body needs to do to heal itself. 

 

Anything feel better? Sleeping better? Fewer digestive issues? 

[jmcbn]

Hey Verna

 

Whilst this is not intended to be a weight-loss diet many people do find they lose some weight as a side effect of eating wholesome, nutritious food. HOW MUCH people lose depends very much on where they were health- wise coming into this. I see that you're a runner though and my immediate thought when I read your post was that there may well have been an issue with the composition of your meals - runs will suffer for the first two weeks, but by the end of the 30 days you should not be struggling.

So I went in search of your posts and came across this unanswered one (apologies for the lack of a response  - the moderators volunteer their time here and it's often hard to get through all of the Group threads on top of individual posts/queries) talking about being an emotional wreck...

Day 10 and I'm an emotional wreck. Following the program with fidelity. I'm emotional like it's PMS time. Is this normal? I just came back from a run and that didn't help. What's your emotional status?

For me this kind of cements the fact that perhaps you weren't composing your meals as well as you could have and with some tweaking you may have had better results - particularly on the runs. If you'd like to post a few days worth of your food intake we could take a look and see if any tweaks could be made going forward - assuming you want to continue eating this way.

As far as your 7lbs weightloss is concerned, seriously? You're annoyed as heck? What were you expecting? This is a perfectly sustainable level at which to lose weight, and to be honest anything more and it would likely come back, hard & fast, on the rebound. Slow & steady wins the race.

Instead of focusing on the number on the scale think about how your clothes feel? Is it possible you traded fat for lean muscle? Ask yourself is your skin clearer? Is your hair shinier? Are your nails stronger? Is your mood more stable? Are you sleeping better? Do you feel 'healthier'? And then ask yourself if the number on the scale matters more than that...

[Verna]

First, I love the forum! I think it's helpful and supportive to have this realm to discuss all things Whole 30. 

 

Now, I guess my frustration comes from my last dr visit for a virus (I'm a K teacher) in March. I'd been running consistently for 1 year and while i had lost weight since the last visit, the first thing on my summary sheet from the visit is 'obese'. So frustrating especially when drs (my dr) do not give suggestions for weight loss. I do not see obese when I look in the mirror. 

 

I do feel great! I was hoping for more, clearly. My sleep is better - not a full night's sleep, but restful that's for sure. I'm proud of myself for sticking with something food related for 30 days (w/o family support). 

 

Now, for the food part...i do not eat 3 full meals a day everyday. We are not on a schedule during the summer and sometimes breakfast is later than usual, therefore lunch or dinner may be smaller than prescribed. 

 

it's hard to wrap my brain around the fact that I need to eat more even though I'm eating so well! 

 

Today's breakfast was 2 eggs over sauteed onions, spinach and tomato with a 1/4 of a sweet potato and hand-sized serving of berries. Eggs cooked in bacon fat.

 

Last night's dinner was at Texas Roadhouse - salad - lettuce tomato, egg, salt/pepper, vinegar, 6oz sirloin, 5 shrimp and a baked potato w/ butter.

 

What do you think jmbcn?

[Staggolee41]

Just a quick note about running and weight loss - hoping jmbcn gives you a more detailed response - one way that you can burn more fat and develop the next level of cardiovascular health is to do sprints/high intensity interval training. Sprint for a minute (fastest you can run), then walk for a minute, then sprint, then walk, and so on. One easy way to do this is to find a local track - like at a high school - and sprint the straight 100m parts while walking the curved 100m parts. This can be too much for some medical conditions, though, so I would consult your doctor, and if your doctor is categorizing you as obese, this is definitely a conversation to be had with them. I've been just a little heavier than other girls my age, size, and height for most of my life, and I never understood why, until my doctor provided some more details about my body composition and let me know that a little heavier (though not obese) was acceptable for me. I'm not saying this is necessarily the case for you, but a doctor can provide a perspective most others can't.

[Verna]

Just a quick note about running and weight loss - hoping jmbcn gives you a more detailed response - one way that you can burn more fat and develop the next level of cardiovascular health is to do sprints/high intensity interval training. Sprint for a minute (fastest you can run), then walk for a minute, then sprint, then walk, and so on. One easy way to do this is to find a local track - like at a high school - and sprint the straight 100m parts while walking the curved 100m parts. This can be too much for some medical conditions, though, so I would consult your doctor, and if your doctor is categorizing you as obese, this is definitely a conversation to be had with them. I've been just a little heavier than other girls my age, size, and height for most of my life, and I never understood why, until my doctor provided some more details about my body composition and let me know that a little heavier (though not obese) was acceptable for me. I'm not saying this is necessarily the case for you, but a doctor can provide a perspective most others can't.

I run for the health benefits not necessarily weight loss although it has been a benefit in this year. Interval training is included in my weekly running plan, btw. The standards that the dr is using is outdated and based on one demographic in our society (a conversation for a different forum).

[Staggolee41]

The standards that the dr is using is outdated and based on one demographic in our society (a conversation for a different forum).

 

Hmm. Might be time to find a new doctor. They should be helpful, not dropping you into a category and not helping you improve. Maybe see a Nurse Practitioner? They have been more helpful with the day-to-day changes that need to happen, from my experience.

[jmcbn]

First, I love the forum! I think it's helpful and supportive to have this realm to discuss all things Whole 30. 

 

Now, I guess my frustration comes from my last dr visit for a virus (I'm a K teacher) in March. I'd been running consistently for 1 year and while i had lost weight since the last visit, the first thing on my summary sheet from the visit is 'obese'. So frustrating especially when drs (my dr) do not give suggestions for weight loss. I do not see obese when I look in the mirror. 

 

I do feel great! I was hoping for more, clearly. My sleep is better - not a full night's sleep, but restful that's for sure. I'm proud of myself for sticking with something food related for 30 days (w/o family support). 

 

Now, for the food part...i do not eat 3 full meals a day everyday. We are not on a schedule during the summer and sometimes breakfast is later than usual, therefore lunch or dinner may be smaller than prescribed. 

 

it's hard to wrap my brain around the fact that I need to eat more even though I'm eating so well! 

 

Today's breakfast was 2 eggs over sauteed onions, spinach and tomato with a 1/4 of a sweet potato and hand-sized serving of berries. Eggs cooked in bacon fat.

 

Last night's dinner was at Texas Roadhouse - salad - lettuce tomato, egg, salt/pepper, vinegar, 6oz sirloin, 5 shrimp and a baked potato w/ butter.

 

What do you think jmbcn?

Ok, so a couple of things strike me here....

Sleep - not a full night's sleep - how many hours are we talking here? And what steps are you taking to improve on this? Are you taking a magnesium supplement? Do you practice good sleep hygiene? Do you get plenty of time outdoors? So many people underestimate the impact sleep deprivation can have on their overall health - often it's one of the final pieces of the puzzle.

"...I do not eat 3 full meals a day every day... we are not on a schedule.... breakfast is sometimes later than usual...' Yeah, so make a schedule. Eating breakfast within an hour of wakening is absolutely key in balancing hormones, one of which is cortisol. When cortisol is raised your body is stressed. When your body is stressed it hangs on to every ounce of fat it can for survival. When you don't eat breakfast your cortisol levels rise in order to stimulate glycolysis or gluconeogenesis to raise your blood sugar so that your body has energy for whatever it is you are doing. MAKE breakfast (within an hour of wakening) a part of your morning schedule and stick to it. Every day of the week.

The two meals you've listed really don't give a big enough snap shot of your 30 days for me to comment on what you could have done differently - they look okay to me (was the butter clarified?), although personally I don't tend to eat starchy veg in the morning as it can impact blood sugar (& in turn energy/appetite/mood etc), and you could probably do with a little more veg with your steak, and more fat in both meals for sure - and a daily lack of fat would undoubtedly have effected your runs. If you'd like to list out a few more meals I'd have a better idea of what you should tweak...

As for the 'obese' label is your Dr measuring this by your BMI?? Because it's entirely possible to be within the obese range for your height according to BMI yet be classed as 'athletic' as far as body fat percentages go - body fat is a much better indicator of health. Interval sprints & running are great for cardio vascular strength, but if you're looking to reduce body fat further then the best thing you could do would be to add in weight/strength training to your routine so as to build muscle. Not only is muscle more dense than fat, meaning it takes up less space (but weighs more which is why the number on the scale is irrelevant), but it also has a higher resting metabolic rate than fat meaning that it burns more fuel just to  'be'. It's also known to be of huge benefit in the fight against osteoporosis.

I think you're completely on the right path. You just need to make some adjustments to see improved results - and one of those adjustments might be seeking out a more sympathetic doctor.

[Verna]

Ok, so a couple of things strike me here....

Sleep - not a full night's sleep - how many hours are we talking here? And what steps are you taking to improve on this? Are you taking a magnesium supplement? Do you practice good sleep hygiene? Do you get plenty of time outdoors? So many people underestimate the impact sleep deprivation can have on their overall health - often it's one of the final pieces of the puzzle.

"...I do not eat 3 full meals a day every day... we are not on a schedule.... breakfast is sometimes later than usual...' Yeah, so make a schedule. Eating breakfast within an hour of wakening is absolutely key in balancing hormones, one of which is cortisol. When cortisol is raised your body is stressed. When your body is stressed it hangs on to every ounce of fat it can for survival. When you don't eat breakfast your cortisol levels rise in order to stimulate glycolysis or gluconeogenesis to raise your blood sugar so that your body has energy for whatever it is you are doing. MAKE breakfast (within an hour of wakening) a part of your morning schedule and stick to it. Every day of the week.

The two meals you've listed really don't give a big enough snap shot of your 30 days for me to comment on what you could have done differently - they look okay to me (was the butter clarified?), although personally I don't tend to eat starchy veg in the morning as it can impact blood sugar (& in turn energy/appetite/mood etc), and you could probably do with a little more veg with your steak, and more fat in both meals for sure - and a daily lack of fat would undoubtedly have effected your runs. If you'd like to list out a few more meals I'd have a better idea of what you should tweak...

As for the 'obese' label is your Dr measuring this by your BMI?? Because it's entirely possible to be within the obese range for your height according to BMI yet be classed as 'athletic' as far as body fat percentages go - body fat is a much better indicator of health. Interval sprints & running are great for cardio vascular strength, but if you're looking to reduce body fat further then the best thing you could do would be to add in weight/strength training to your routine so as to build muscle. Not only is muscle more dense than fat, meaning it takes up less space (but weighs more which is why the number on the scale is irrelevant), but it also has a higher resting metabolic rate than fat meaning that it burns more fuel just to  'be'. It's also known to be of huge benefit in the fight against osteoporosis.

I think you're completely on the right path. You just need to make some adjustments to see improved results - and one of those adjustments might be seeking out a more sympathetic doctor.

Sleep - I fall asleep between 10:30/11 straight through until about 5ish. I do occasionally wake about 2am, but that has happened maybe twice in the 30 days. I do not take a Mg supplement and what is 'good sleep hygiene'? I run outside and we spend most days at an outdoor pool - yay summer break!

 

I'll skip the potato, sweet or otherwise from breakfast. More fat, huh? Most meals I do add 1/2 an avocado. I've been reading many of the comments about meals and portions (even your comments on other threads) and I have taken those recommendations.

 

I am still eating the Whole 30 way #Day31; I'm sure i'll need more tweaking as the days go on, and I do believe I'm on the right track also. 

[ladyshanny]

I'm on my phone so cannot link but if you Google "whole30 sleep" you'll find an article called 5 things you can do before lunch to improve sleep and you'll find another called 3 things you can do after lunch to improve sleep. The suggestions are all relating to good sleep hygiene. ☺

[jmcbn]

Here is a link to all of the Whole9 SLEEP articles:

http://whole9life.com/category/sleep/

 

 

[jmcbn]

Verna - one thing we didn't cover here.... What have you been doing as far as pre and post WO meals are concerned?

[Verna]

Verna - one thing we didn't cover here.... What have you been doing as far as pre and post WO meals are concerned?

I appreciate all of your feedback! I think most of my problem is all in my head!  I'm still a Whole30er, though. #Day 37. I donated blood today and had to ingest processed food for recovery! Ugh! Back at it tomorrow!  All the best to you!