amberino21 Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 I finished my first whole 30 a few days, but have continued to follow the template since. I got lots of positives from it! I didn't lose weight or inches, but this wasn't my motivation for doing a whole 30 so I wasn't too bothered, although being a little leaner whilst maintaining strength and performance would be awesome. I don't snack, have had nut butter twice with a meal as dressing, have a small amount of fruit a day. However! over the past few days, I felt like I've been getting fatter - especially around my middle. not something I like! I haven't weighed, but some clothes aren't fitting as comfortably, and visually I can see it as I can generally go by muscle condition i'm getting plenty of sleep - more than ever, really deep sleep barely waking during the night (i was getting up 1-2 times a night before whole 30 training is 4 days a week, with weights, which isn't excessive for me. My husband and I do bodybuilding, so I lift heavy weights - each body part is once a week at the moment. i'm struggling to work out whether my issue is because i'm eating too much or too little. *I definitely don't lack vegetables - I can quite easily eat a whole zucchini, 1-2 cups broccoli/green beans, 1-2 cups mushrooms and a few spring onions for breakfast. most other meals are equally as heavy in vegetables. I've been having starchy vegies with dinner (usually close to one cup cooked whatever - pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot/beet/parsnip). I also have starchy carbs postWO - probably 1/2-1 cup. *protein I think is plenty. I definitely don't scrimp on protein. breakfast is usually eggs (3-4) often with a bit of chicken added, or sometimes salmon, lunch is usually chicken (breast pieces in salad, or skinless thigh in curry), and dinner is more often than not red meat - lamb, beef (steak or osso bucco/casserole) or kangaroo. *fat. hmm. this could be where i'm going wrong. I thought I was getting enough. I would often only have two yolks for my breakfast eggs, but use a spoon of mayo instead (maybe 1.5 tablespoons...maybe two?). I don't cook in A LOT of fat. if I put fat in a pan for eggs, it'd be less than a teaspoon. if i'm making slow cooked stuff, I may add a little fat to cook, but not a lot. the meat would be the fattiest part. we have been having mayo on most things but perhaps not enough. i'll use it on salads, and on vegies with dinner/breakfast. we have fruit with a little coconut milk at night, but it's probably nowhere near one serve - My husband probably has nearly 1/4 can, i'd have 1/8th. and it's reduced fat. I've also stopped coffee this past week - I have no issues drinking coffee or not, but thought i'd try going without. I was having one-two a day with coconut butter/oil. so I haven't had that. I know coconut is supposed to be great for it's fat burning properties - we've been using less CO and more ghee and EVOO recently, so perhaps it's the source that's the problem. i'm going to start using more CO and see if that changes anything. I've decided to experiment and give us a week of upped fat intake, particularly coconut oil, to see if that makes any difference. if I feel like I keep getting bigger, i'll cut it back. if I get better results, then i'll leave it! Does anyone have any suggestions? Or think i need to cut back instead? Whilst I don't feel the need to jump on a scale, I want to be happy with what I see and how my clothes fit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsteen Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 Hi Amberino, congrats on finishing your W30. You've got a solid W30 behind you and now you want to tweak it and fine tune it to suit you and your situation - that's great. I can't give any definitive answers, we're all individuals with individual schedules, work loads etc. I think your plan of increasing coconut oil sounds fine to me and I love your idea of experimenting for a week. Let us know how you get on with it. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberino21 Posted August 9, 2013 Author Share Posted August 9, 2013 Thanks, Kirsteen! I did just have a thought that may also be noteworthy - I've not been feeling the cold as much. I used to think it was just low BF )I'm sure it's partly that)...but could that signify an increase in metabolism too? My previous diet was very high raw (with green smoothies, lots of raw vegies, activated grains/seeds/nuts etc) with some (cooked) meat and eggs. I don't think all the raw was agreeing with me, so have been eating a lot more cooked vegies during the whole 30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish Rose Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 I got some bloating from the higher vegetable intake, maybe it's that? I think your diet sounds great, certainly nothing that would cause fat gain. Half an avocado and a few nuts would up your fat intake. I am surprised that I haven't lost any weight on this plan either but like you, I was hoping for muscle gain and fat loss rather than weight loss on the scale. I am on day 24 and I am going to carry right on because it just hasn't felt long enough to allow my body to adjust fully. How has your lifting been? I haven't been able to do any this month, apart from body weight and kettle bells as I am focusing on karate but I can't wait to see what my lifting is like when I get back in the gym. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bet Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 It is weird because I ate a lot of fat, and I'm talking coconut milk each morning in my tea/coffee, olive oil or bacon fat on my veggies, I cooked in fat (mostly coconut oil). I didn't use ghee because I was on AI. I did lose weight, but then I started being 25 lbs overweight with a lot of fat around my middle. I know I'm going to have to eat a bit cleaner and up the exercise if I want to lose more. I do like the idea of keeping the coconut milk/oil. It's a Medium Chain Fat and it gets used right away for energy, it does not get stored. I did reintroduce dairy yesterday and frankly, the half and half didn't taste as great as I remembered and I still like the coconut milk. So if it's healthier for me and I like it, I'm going to stick to it. I would try using more CO and milk and even eating coconut instead of fruit at night. I usually buy one a week and crack it open and chop up the meat and nibble on it. It's fat, so it has a neutral insulin effect so if I get hungry in late after noon or before I go to bed I have one piece and it ends the pangs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 I think it might be tougher for Amberino and Irish Rose because of their starting points: I think both of you are pretty lean, right? Visible abs, low body fat, etc? I really think the whole30 is about making people optimally healthy, and following the template, hunger cues, etc. will be perfect for achieving that. In this particular situation, I have two possibilities: 1) It takes time. Sometimes you will gain or maintain for a while as your body adjusts and it is great if you can let that happen for a while and be leaner with a better metabolism on the other side. 30 days is not very long at all. 2) Sometimes, the body we want is not an optimally healthy body. If you want to maintain a leaner physique than what is healthy for you, then hunger cues and the template might not provide it. That's when a hard look at priorities might be in order. In this case, it may be a choice between fighting hard to keep BF lower or adjusting expectations on appearance in return for feeling really good. I'm not saying either of you are in category 2, in fact, a bunch of stuff Amberino has said points to category 1, but I felt like putting that out there. Give it time, relax, nourish your body, and try not to worry . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted August 9, 2013 Moderators Share Posted August 9, 2013 Our bodies fluctuate. They don't function like machines. Things vary at different times, maybe in relationship to the position of the planets or influence from moon shadows. So I'm not sure how much concern you should have about the experience of a few days. It may pass as mysteriously as it came. I'm not saying ignore what you are noticing, but you might not have a problem. One note: You know how they make reduced fat coconut milk? They add water. Cost-wise, you are usually better off buying regular coconut milk and adding your own water if you want thinner milk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish Rose Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 You make good points Miss Mary. I am really hoping for health benefits from this more than anything. Mental and physical. I would love to be lean and cut year round , I can't deny that but managing anxiety and keeping free from joint pain are more important. I am trying very hard to focus on performance and well-being rather than appearance : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberino21 Posted August 10, 2013 Author Share Posted August 10, 2013 Thanks for all the responses! I know it could be lots of things - I just get frustrated that I don't know what! Miss Mary, your response is probably close on....time is probably required, and patience! I'd say a little of 1, and a little of 2 is probably accurate. I am enjoying the changes we've made doing a whole 30, and think there are lots of benefits, so reinforcing those in my head at the moment! Ill see how I go this week. Irish rose, it is difficult to judge my lifting performance as we started training with a new training partner at the start of the whole 30....although in the past week I think I've not felt as strong. Hmm. I'm going to increase my preWO to two eggs (was one) as part of my increased fat approach and see if that helps. We've also just changed gyms so the equipment is different... Tom - I know that about coconut milk, but the other compliant brands are always half solid, half liquid, they won't shake together. I usually buy those when I'm sticking a whole can in food (like mass curry), but if I just want a bit it frustrates me to have lumps and water... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyGirl Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Amberino -- I bought a $5 mini mixer from Amazon (uses two AA batteries) and it works great to blend up the lumpy solids and thin liquids of separated coconut milk. I got tired of lumpy coffee and pulling out my larger immersion blender for small mixing jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournegirl Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 I put a can in a Tupperware 500ml shaker/pourer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bet Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 I also use a shaker. And I sometimes nuke my coffee in the microwave so that the coconunt milk melts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberino21 Posted August 11, 2013 Author Share Posted August 11, 2013 we only have protein shakers (with shaker balls/springs) - they wouldn't break the solid up enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Can I just say it's such a relief to know that, despite your picture and advanced status and supportive posts, you can still get frustrated too? Obviously you've done a lot of work, but it's a good reminder that the journey is never over. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberino21 Posted August 17, 2013 Author Share Posted August 17, 2013 I increased my fats, and have been eating less starchy carbs.....I haven't noticed a difference in size either way (which is good considering i'm eating more!) I did enter my food into MFP yesterday, just out of interest - purely guesstimating amounts of fat/protein (from sight, and what I remember from weighing and measuring previously!) - and it came out to 3000cals. this was a workout day, with pre/postWO included. 50% fat, 30% protein, and 20% carbs. whilst not in the spirit of whole 30, I didn't balk at the amount of fat, or calories and it didn't effect how I ate today. I was pleasantly surprised that on those calories I wasn't the size of a house! But! I do need to lose some fat - I have a photoshoot in a couple of weeks, and my dress doesn't zip up. my back is too wide! I know I've put on muscle since it was made, so that makes the issue worse. I've been doing some investigating, and going to play with my food a little more - for the next couple of weeks i'm going to eat a little less of everything, and only have starchy carbs 1-2 times a week. i think i may even eat less vegetables in general - i really do eat mountains, and it's probably not necessary!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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