Losing too much weight?

[whitewillow]

I've been eating a lot less now on the W30 because I used to be a huge snacker... I'm eating large meals but a lot less calories because I'm missing the snacks in between.

 

I've already lost about 3 or 4 pounds in my first week which isn't a good thing, I've always been underweight. My BMI at 118 pounds was 17.5%    I'm losing too much weight! (I was 109 when I started the W30 and now I'm down to 105)

Any advice on how to keep the weight on during my W30? I've been eating small fruit servings in between meals the past couple days to try and keep my calories up but I don't want to eat too much fruit.

But honestly I don't have time to cook any more than I do (full time work, part time student, wants some kind of social life hahaha).

 

Just wondering if anyone has any quick-prep mini meals to share other than chicken salad... which I'm already beginning to get tired of.

Thanks!

[GFChris]

Um, why are you weighing yourself?     Toss that scale to the curb for the rest of your Whole30!

It's hard to give you specific advice without seeing your food log.  Maybe you could post a sample log for the past 2-3 days?

You want to avoid having fruit between meals. Fruit should be consumed as part of or immediately after a meal.

 

If you're hungry between meals, have a mini-meal, including a protein and fat.

This article that Whole9 posted Friday on their Facebook page has 10 snack ideas: http://www.sarahramsden.com/whole-food-snacks/
 

Leftovers also work.

I like sardines, sauerkraut and avocado for a mini-meal.
 

[missmary]

First, stop weighing yourself! It's likely that you lost some inflammation due to removing irritants or allergens from your diet. This is a good thing, it's not like you are wasting away muscle so quickly.

 

The whole30 is NOT concerned with calories, so try to let go of that mindset. Instead focus on getting the most NUTRIENT dense foods you can, and make sure you eat at least the bottom end of the meal template amounts at each meal. This means a palm-size of protein, lots of vegetables and a thumb-size or more of fat. If you are still worried you are losing weight, add a 4th meal fitting the same template (not just fruit! you need protein and fat each time you eat.), or add up to another palm-worth of protein. You might find it helps to make a double portion--or more--whenever you are cooking. It is not that much more work and sets you up for a second meal or a mini-meal in the future.

[amberino21]

You could try increasing fats in meals, and eating more starchy veggies?

[Peaslepuff]

I know Whole30 says not to count calories (or weigh yourself), but I disagree with that. If you're already underweight and you're losing more weight, then that's unhealthy and can become quite dangerous. Could we take a look at your food log? Are you eating at least 1200 calories a day, and do you know how many calories you burn in a day? You say you're eating large meals, but if they're 90% vegetable and 10% fat/protein, then you may be able to up your caloric intake by adjusting those percentages.

 

Also, if you're on Pinterest, I would recommend checking out this thread: http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/6746-my-paleo-pinterest-boards-add-yours - lots of Paloe/Whole30 boards with great meal and snack ideas.

[missmary]

I know Whole30 says not to count calories (or weigh yourself), but I disagree with that.

_______________________________________________

 

Peaslepuff, I know you mean well, but not counting calories or weighing yourself is a key part of the whole30. The OP CAN keep her food intake up and avoid dangerous weight loss by simply following the meal template, I would encourage her strongly to try that first before going to the extremes or weighing and measuring and calculating (an in-exact science at best). Your bodies' intuition is better than any calculator. The whole30 is helping us learn how to listen to it.

[annabel]

My weight can fluctuate 3-4 pounds in a single day, so long as you're eating and not starving yourself and have energy to do everything you want to do during the day, don't worry too much about your weight right now.  BMI isn't entirely accurate anyways.  But add a 4th meal in if you're still concerned.  And maybe some extra fats (I've started sending my husband to work with a bag of nuts, as he's not a big eater but desperately needs the calories-- he's lost 9 pounds in the last month that he's been working 12-hour shifts).

[Peaslepuff]

_______________________________________________

 

Peaslepuff, I know you mean well, but not counting calories or weighing yourself is a key part of the whole30. The OP CAN keep her food intake up and avoid dangerous weight loss by simply following the meal template, I would encourage her strongly to try that first before going to the extremes or weighing and measuring and calculating (an in-exact science at best). Your bodies' intuition is better than any calculator. The whole30 is helping us learn how to listen to it.

 

~~~~~

 

I do mean well, but that's just never going to be a part of the program that I agree with. I don't think people should weigh themselves every day or count every calorie obsessively, but I think you're going to have a hard time finding a credible medical person who says that you don't need to worry about starving yourself or being in an unhealthy weight range, and one way to make sure that neither of those things are happening is to use a scale and/or calorie counter, at least in moderation.

[anaxg]

Can you find plantains or yuca where you live at?  

If you can, those are both easy to cook and delicious, and will last for a week on the fridge, or add some sweet potatoes to your diet!

Yuca:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cooking-live/yucca-with-garlic-sauce-yucca-con-mojo-recipe/index.html

Plantain: http://www.dominicancooking.com/532-mangu-mashed-plantains.html

 

Make some Lara bars, eat them after meals.

[Kirsteen]

If you truly follow the meal template there is no possible way you could be starving yourself. You don't need calories or a scale to tell you that

[Physibeth]

Yup what Kirsteen said. The only times I've been hungry on my Whole30 have been when a meal didn't fit the template quite right.

[Seraphim]

I'm the type of person who needs data to validate what I'm doing, especially if I am my own science experiment, so against those rules, I count calories and weigh myself, and that tells me exactly where I'm not getting enough calories. A recipe I thought was good actually ended up with only 230 calories per serving when calculated. I've lost 5kg in 4 weeks, and I was only 61kg to start with. I weigh the same at 33 as what i did at 16. I've lost 4 cm off my hip measurement, and each thigh. I know exactly which meals are meeting my needs and which ones aren't, so now I can fix it. I'm consuming 1000-1800 calories, with an average of about 1300, and trending upwards now I know which meals are better. Eating about 50% fat, 25% protein, 25% carb, and I know this because of the fact I've tracked it.

[missmary]

Seraphim, I used to think that way too, but I don't believe it anymore. My body is way more complex than calories in/calories out, and counting them just distracts me from listening to signals and providing nutrition when/where/how it is really needed.

 

Maybe this article will help?:

 

http://www.gnolls.org/3374/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-calorie-to-your-body/

 

or this one?:

 

http://primaltoad.com/calorie-counting/

[CRCBN]

First off, how do you feel? Tired, hungry, weak? If so, then yes, IMO you do have a good food deficit and you need to increase your food intake. Instead of eating between meals, I think you should increase the size of your meals. It may be hard for you to eat a big meal if you are used to snacking all day but it is a good habit to start. If you are trying to gain weight then you should be eating the high end of the food template (AKA:   1-2 thumbs of fat: choose 2 thumbs. 1-2 palms of protein: choose 2 palms) Choose higher calorie veggies to add to your meals like pumpkin, sweet potatoes, etc.

 

As to weighing yourself. I have an obsessive relationship with my scale. I cannont see a scale without jumping on it. Most days I weigh myself at least 5 times. I get panic attacks if I don't weigh myself or if I see a scale and don't jump on.  Since I felt it was more important to clean up my diet than it was to try to work through my scale obession, I chose to ignore that part of the program. It is definately NOT part of the Whole 30 to weigh yourself and It IS an important part of changing how you view eating & body image. but I will work on that aspect next month when I start my second Whole 30. Unless you have a similar obsession, I would recommend staying away from the scale and focusing on how you feel.

[Seraphim]

It's mostly that I need to understand for myself what is happening. Telling me to just trust that what I'm being told is true without investigation is anathema to me.

Having counted the calories, I know now what combo of meals is going to get me enough nutrition for the day, so I'm not accidentally having an 800 calorie day and wondering why I'm hungry before bed, and then I won't have to count the calories anymore, and can *trust in my own experience* to tell me what is enough.

I'm not counting calories to try and get under a certain number, firstly it was a stocktake, and now I'm trying to get enough *in* that my friends stop enquiring about my health. People are concerned about my recent weight loss, I'm concerned about how fast it happened, but I can tell exactly why!

[missmary]

Telling me to just trust that what I'm being told is true without investigation is anathema to me.

____________________________________________

 

This is the opposite of what we are telling you to do. We are telling you that once you eliminate processed foods/allergens, distracting info like calories and weighing, etc. and start providing regular, nutrient-dense meals balanced according to the template, your body will provide signals to your brain telling you exactly how much food you need to eat to maintain a healthy weight. We ask you to investigate this by trying it for 30 days. After 30 days you get to decide if this approach works for you or not. Keep in mind that this is 30 days--lots of people don't get the signals right during the first week, but if they stick it out for a little while longer eventually it starts to click.

 

If our bodies really operated like a furnace, counting calories would be a great approach, but instead, we've got hormones and activity and psychology and nutrition to account for.

[Renee Lee]

Hey Seraphim,

Missmary's speaking the truth here. I totally understand how attached most people are to using calories as a metric, but it does NOT promote a healthy relationship with food.

We didn't evolve equipped with bomb calorimeters. It doesn't make sense that knowing and tracking how many calories are in a food should be a requirement to be happy and healthy. Our bodies are equipped with signaling to tell us when something's enough. Period.

I do understand the "making sure it's enough" thing. I used to do a mental calc in my head at around 3pm and realize I had unintentionally only had 500 calories and panic, so I get it...but it's still not a healthy behavior.

The food template has been put through the wringer by a number of skeptical docs and nutritionists. It is _enough_ calories no matter how you slice it. M&D (and those docs) have done all the calorie counting work FOR you.

We really encourage you to give it 30 days without counting and just trusting what your body's telling you!!

[MrsStick]

Well said, Renee! 

 

Seraphim - if you're only eating 1000-1800 calories per day, with an average of 1300, you aren't following the template properly. There's no way the calorie count is that low, if you're consuming the amount of fat, protein, and veggies you're supposed to. Looking back through my W30 food log, I'd estimate I was eating at least 2500 calories of food daily minimum, and I wasn't working out or anything (I'm 5'10.5" and about 150 lbs, for reference). Unless you're super short and tiny, your calorie count is low. Too low to lose weight the healthy way - if you aren't short on calories, your hormones will start to heal and you will lose weight. Even if you eat fat. Promise! 

 

Have you read It Starts With Food? Or printed off the meal template to make sure that you're eating by the template at every meal?

[MrsStick]

p.s. the data to validate what you're doing needs to be long-term data, not short-term! Your weight can fluctuate 5 lbs in a day easily based on your eating, drinking, and using the restroom. Make your shortest term data "How do I feel after eating? Am I hungry? Am I satisfied? Why/why not?" and, at the end of your study, you can go back through and look at how your body did on the program. If you want to, keep a log of what foods you ate and how you felt after each meal. Then, and only then, you can count up the calories and correlate that to how you wrote that you felt. 

 

Maybe that would satisfy your scientific mind?

[Seraphim]

I'm just over 30 days in - started mid June, then had to restart the count two weeks in after a pizza incident (I do Emergency Services work, so sometimes you just have to eat what's given to you at 2am). I've hardly ever felt hungry, only a couple of times, so my body's signals haven't been particularly trustworthy, especially when those hungry times have been when I've actually had a good three meals that fitted the template really well!?

 

Any ideas why I'm not feeling hungry when I'm apparently chronically underfed?

 

What do you do for the days when you wake up and it's already lunch time - eg my weekends?  Do you try and squeeze in an entire extra meal?  

[MrsStick]

It can take people more than 30 days to respond to the W30 program. The 30 day timeline is an estimate based on the average person. Hunger is based on your leptin/ghrelin balance, so give yours more time. If your meals fit the template and you're still hungry, try going to the higher side of the template. If I don't have 2 palms of protein, I'll be starving again in no time, no matter how much veg or fat I eat. So I eat 2 palms of protein and by the template on everything else (1 thumb of fat, etc.). I've always been a protein-eating person, ever since I was a kid. 

 

As for the night shift work, have you read Nom Nom Paleo's guide to how she survives the night shift? She's been doing night shifts for years now, and has her system down for making it work Paleo/W30 style.

 

If you have a short day for whatever reason, still eat your meals with 5-6 hours in between. I've had to do a random 24 hour shift before, and I eat my meals that day 5-6 hours apart (so 4-5 meals during that period) and then crash. When I wake up, I usually just do 2 meals - a "brunch" and "linner" meal, if you will. I hate those stretch shifts with a passion, because I've been sleeping 8 hours a night for years now and staying up all night...sucks. I'm so delirious by the end of it, I'm not sure if I'm safe to drive home really.

 

Anyways, stuff to think about. Not trying to attack, just help. 

[Bet]

I would eat a full meal within an hour of waking up, regardless of the time of day. On weekdays, I get up at 5:30 am. I have to take my thyroid pill and can't eat anything for one hour. So I take a shower and do some chores, then start making my breakfast and eat it at 6:30. On weekends I usually get up by 7am and also wait an hour. I used to sometimes wait longer, but that caused problems.

 

If you are never feeling hungry, you may have some type of hormonal imbalance and perhaps you need to get that checked out.

[Seraphim]

_{Unfortunately, I'm a volunteer rural fire fighter, and emergency management advisor, so there's never any schedule of night shifts, events just happen, so staying up through the night is never planned, and the location is never planned, so I can't stash meals or ingredients and just have to eat the food that's given to me  - a three of our fire crew are vegetarians, and even they will eat meat just to get food in when there isn't anything suitable for them - one of them is nicknamed T-Bone.}

 

_{We've had a massive windstorm, and randomly two bush fires (in one week, in winter!) in the time I've been trying the Whole30.}

 

_{Thyroid and everything checks out fine.  I was seriously low in iron about 6 months ago (ferritin of 9), but that was rectified with a course of iron tablets and my diet has improved since then.}

 

_{Blood sugars are absolutely perfect at the moment - before starting W30 I'd get serious lows in the mornings and had to eat pretty much every two hours or get cranky - classic sugar addict!}

 

_{I do tend to sleep in on weekends so two days out of seven I'm down to two meals in a day, I'm almost always eating within an hour of getting up throughout the week.}