Gaining weight. Freaking out. Please Help.

[tgipaleo]

OK, I KNOW we're not supposed to weigh in but I forgot to take a day 0 set of measurements so I hopped on the scale this morning (I'm 6 days in to my W30 after a false start last week).  

 

I gained 2 pounds.  And maybe it's all in my head, but I feel and look bloated.  I've been in yoga pants all week because, frankly, I'm afraid that my clothes are tighter and that I'll want to quit if that's the case.

 

I've been worried that perhaps I was eating too much--especially around dinnertime--but I added an afternoon snack that functions more or less as PWO to curb the hunger later on and it's been working well.  I feel like I'm eating more than I'm used to in general but I'm also not having daily glasses of wine or twice weekly trips to the froyo place.  Admittedly, last night I was craving something sweet and made myself a little bowl of sliced banana, raw cherries, and a little coconut milk but that's the only "indulgence" I've allowed myself all week and I would hope the fruit wouldn't have the same effect on my body that the booze and sugar do.  Other than that, I only have fruit once a day (PWO banana).

 

A sample day looks like this:

 

Breakfast:  4 eggs cooked in coconut oil, sliced avocado

 

Lunch:  Salad (this is where I get the bulk of my raw veggies), chicken thigh, half an avocado

 

PWO:  Banana, kombucha, hard boiled egg

 

Dinner:  Ribeye (8 oz), baked sweet potato with coconut oil, small salad with oil and vinegar

 

My workouts are heavy lifting 4 x a week and one hard rowing session on Wednesdays.

 

My current stats are female, 5'8", around 135 (until now...it's rising.  Ugh).  Sleep has been pretty normal, around 8-9 hours a night.  Supplements are fish oil, multi, Vitamin D, and magnesium citrate at bedtime.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[missmary]

First: BREATHE. 

 

There is a reason the whole30 rules say don't weigh yourself. This is why.

 

You are currently at a pretty low weight for your height. It's hard to say without meeting you if you are underweight, but considering your strength training you might be very low in body fat at 135lbs. Consider the possibility that you could be healthier weighing slightly more than you do right now.

 

It is also possible to gain 5 or more pounds just due to water fluctuation, or undigested food in your stomach. In fact it is very unlikely that you gained 2 lbs of fat in 6 days.

 

Maybe it's time to do some hard thinking about why you are freaking out. How do you feel? Do you have the energy you need to do what you want to do? Focus on that. FWIW there isn't anything in your food plan that suggests you are eating too much. You need non-starchy veg at meal #1 and probably more at meal #3...maybe more protein at lunch also....so yeah: eat more. IF you want to get really picky, you could swap out that banana postWO with sweet potato or squash, and go for a lower fat protein source at that time (chicken breast instead of egg, for example), but these are minor tweaks for performance and recovery--not really related to weight gain or loss.

[GFChris]

First off, toss the scale for the rest of your Whole30.  It does nothing to serve you during this process. http://everydaypaleo.com/attention-scale-addicts-part-2/

Secondly, take a look at the Whole30 timeline. Pay particular attention to days 8-9 (re: bloating that may occur and should ultimately go away shortly). http://whole9life.com/2013/08/revised-timeline/
 

Looking at your food log, it doesn't look like you're eating too much. In fact, your breakfast looks too small: it's missing vegetables. Add 1-2 cups of vegetables to that meal.

The post WO snack should be a protein and carb-dense vegetable. No fruit.

You mention raw vegetables - that can cause bloating.  Consider having more cooked vs. raw vegetables.






 

 

[Ravin]

You might try shifting the starchy veg to earlier meals. You can also try more veggies in your breakfast. My dinner is usually low carb, just non-starchy veggies and meat and fat. The sweet potato is an energy food. Why eat it at the end of the day? Have the salad at dinner. You could also boost your midday protein intake. Eat that hard boiled egg with your lunch, and a little fruit or starchy veg.

[amberino21]

I'll echo what the other ladies have suggested! Great advice...

For someone who trains like you've suggested, I'd say you aren't eating enough, or fuelling your workouts/recovery properly. Is your "PWO" pre or post? You should have both! Your one HB egg, banana and kombucha doesn't really fit the template for either a pre or postWO meal....

I can change 5-6lbs in a day (sometimes more). weighing randomly isn't really going to give you much of an idea. It's a number significant only to that point in time. Get off the scale, and focus on your health for the rest of your whole 30....if you do gain, and you aren't happy with that, deal with it afterwards, but at least get through your 30 days free of the scale!

[amberino21]

You might try shifting the starchy veg to earlier meals. You can also try more veggies in your breakfast. My dinner is usually low carb, just non-starchy veggies and meat and fat. The sweet potato is an energy food. Why eat it at the end of the day? Have the salad at dinner. You could also boost your midday protein intake. Eat that hard boiled egg with your lunch, and a little fruit or starchy veg.

Eating the majority of your carbs around training can be beneficial in maintaining physique! I usually train in the afternoon/ evening so have most of my carbs then...

[Ravin]

Eating the majority of your carbs around training can be beneficial in maintaining physique! I usually train in the afternoon/ evening so have most of my carbs then...

That makes sense. Most of my exercise is walking to/from public transit and climbing the 5 flights of stairs at my work. After dinner I don't do much.

[Bet]

You aren't following the template, no veggies at breakfast. Also, I'm only 5 feet tall (and I wish I weighed 135) and I eat more than one chicken thigh for lunch.

 

Also, it's day 6, don't look for any weight results until two weeks at LEAST. This is all about resetting your body, not a quick weight loss program.

[Renee Lee]

EVERYTHING that these ladies said. BREATHE!!!

You're ok. 2 lbs is insignificant and could have been cause by literally anything. Bad sleep, saltier food, more food or water in your stomach than normal at that time of day, didn't poop yet, etc. SO MANY DIFFERENT VARIABLES!!

Breathe

[tgipaleo]

Thanks for the advice...I'm re-doing my meal plan for the week and making sure I get the veggies, nix the fruit for the time being like I'm supposed to and re-working some peri-workout stuff.

 

Also, I guess I didn't think I'd have any digestive issues at this point since I've been Paleo for a while, but damn...starting yesterday and into today....MAJOR bloat and unpleasantness.  I guess that means it's working?

 

Again, thank you all so much!

[Bet]

Try taking some digestive enzymes, they do help.