Sieb

I couldnt edit above but I should of said "too low in carbohydrates" in my sentence above..I did lose a lot of muscle which bummed me out which made me think I was way too low in protein.

HI, so excited to read your experiences with whole30 and IM training! I am a 3X IM finisher and several marathons, lots of HIMs ,etc. My experiences are somewhat similar. First IM when I wasn't familiar with the Whole30 at all, I got way in shape as in more muscular and compact. I am somewhat small anyways at 5'2 with a muscular build. Never been the lean body type but the athletic type. First IM I ate SO much and started craving steak and other foods. I always was into healthy foods (so I thought) but it was kind of the first glimpse of realizing to listen to my body and what it was asking for. But I ate a BIG bag of pretzels a night as I was burning the candle at both ends, etc and now I look back and think what I needed was SLEEP! Skipping ahead over the years and more IMs and HIMs and marathons as I adapted to paleo and listening to my body and using the Whole30 for experimentation and resets (I have successfully completed 4 Whole30 and did one that extended to 5.5 months which was amazing and I was learning so much about myself and my habits). I tried making my own nutrition before my 2nd IM while doing HIMs but it was just too much work on top of everything else. So I resorted back to honey stingers, etc while training the longer races. My last IM I was pretty surprised is that by following whole foods and maybe I was much more fat adapted as I have been following rather strict foods that I didn't really eat much different or feel like I was eating more than normal but I did continue to use stinger waffles, gatorade endurance (not sure I would use again) while on those long training rides. It just wasn't worth bonking and the craziness of it all I need to pick and choose my battles. I did lose a lot of muscle which bummed me out which made me think I was way too low in carbohydrates. Anyways, your question @lisac957 was: What have others done in this situation? Do you consider a product with sugar "worth it" for something like this, or have you found another solution? I know following a 100% compliant diet can be done though my personal answer to that is yes, it is worth it for me to still use my stinger products and recently using HUMA gel products but only while on the long training rides and runs. I personally won't do a Whole30 while in the middle of heavy training (beginning is ok) but in the perfect scenario, I try to follow the Whole30 approach and rules as close as possible and use as clean products as I can for training. FYI, I am currently trying to reel my eating back in as I went a bit crazy the last few months so jumping back on the Whole30 wagon.. and in week 5 of 20 for training.

OMG, thank you for this post!

@MeadowLily Yes, I totally agree that weight loss is not the purpose of the Whole30 but it sure is a nice side effect! I do not plan on doing any reintro for a much longer time as I am learning too much at this point of my Whole30 experience. I already know how my body will respond to dairy. And to wheat (I cut both out mostly for about 6 years now, I know how my body responds but dang it.. pizza is so good and usually always worth the pain). I am not eating much different pre whole 30 as I have been following a paleo template for years) But at this point now that I have all troublesome things out of my body for this time being, I am learning how my body is responding to even compliant foods such as nuts, or blueberries. I am also paying close attention to "habits" that occurred during the first 30 days and trying to recognize why and what to do about it. I also want to go through a few monthly cycles to see how even complaint foods effect my cramps and now that I am in training season for racing, I am eating a bit different post the initial 30 days and I want to see how my body reacts to that. I have actually cooked a dish or two which is a miracle in itself and that is only because I am making myself get more variety and if I wasn't working at staying on the Whole30, then I would not be trying new things. Yes, I still want to lose a few lbs (as a racer, I carry more fat than I should) and hormonal wise, I am pre-menopause, etc so trying to keep my hormones balanced is important to me through foods. So, for some people I think there is a lot more work to do and ending the whole30 and to reintroduce immediately might not be the best case scenario. If you have more to learn or more to accomplish, I think more power to you if you can go longer until you have the answers you want. The Whole30 is a great experiment to learn how foods effect the body and mind. Hopefully everyone is also noticing all the other great things that happens as well as possible weight loss.

I am on day 54 of my whole30 and am continiung until June or around that. I too have not lost weight.. i only weighed myself after day 30 and maybe lost a pound or two max but i flucutate by a few lbs in numbers so I dont really know what the number is but I would love to lose 11-15 lbs. I will weigh myself when i hit day 60 but I do not think I have lost any weight, . I get a bit jealous of reading everyones weight losses but proud and motivated by them all at the same time.My pants are not that baggie but I can see a difference in areas and there is less fat on me (my self pinch test) so I can't totally complain. I have felt amazing the last 54 days and so glad I am continuing because I am learning so much and I really feel great and empowered and in control. I am just proud of myself! However. I know fruit has gotten me into trouble but i think i am only now admitting it. Kinda want to have my cake and to eat it too kind of gal. I have had enough days of letting myself go crazy with frozen blueberries (my new found "drug" of choice) plus have had some nights that I had to work through the night and my sleep hours have been pretty bad (except I sleep hard and pop up totally awake the minute my alarm goes off). So that is what i am contributing to my non weight loss. I eat 3-4 times a day, 4-5 hours between but i know i have to follow the guidelines a bit tighter and cut fruit out for a while anyways and see if that helps. this is why i need to keep on the whole30 for several months so i can tweak things. Today I had a small helping of blueberries and noticed i bloated pretty bad after eating it. Which i might have noticed before but ignored it. So I am going to start that tomorrow! So this is why i need to stay on the whole30 much longer so I can tweak bad habits! You can do it with the nuts! With my other whole30s i have done, the nuts actually were my go-to bad habit but i think they did less damage than the blueberries!