Disappointed in results

[mrsholden9977]

Hello. I did the August Whole30. It was my first time. I really got into it...made my own mayo, bought a copy of Well Fed, read ISWF and kept it by my bed to refer to it often. I love veggies and I was so happy to stop counting calories and eat quality food.

But I never got the tiger blood. I've read several times on here that there's several reasons for that, but I can't seem to find what those reasons are. And I only lost two pounds. I know it's not a weight loss diet but I'm a bit disappointed. It's like election night results are in and people are posting 15 lb losses and I'm not in the winning party.

What I ate:

Breakfast - two eggs (fried in a bit of coconut oil), banana mixed with cashews, coconut flakes and a spoonful of coconut milk (so good)!

Lunch - usually a mess of a cup or two of broccoli slaw, olives, cucumbers, mushrooms, mayo and a protein (usually a can of tuna)

Dinner - protein cooked in coconut oil, 2-3 cups veggies (usually bell peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini), a sweet potato, half an avocado. Usually with mayo or sunshine sauce. I gravitate to grass-fed ground beef (half pound) but ate a lot of tilapia and sometimes chicken.

I ate three times a day and was always hungry before my next meal. Thought I was doing everything right. Maybe I was getting too many carbs?

I would love some feedback because I really enjoyed my experience yet wish my smelts would have been more...obvious in the way I felt and looked.

Exercise - Crossfit and running, exercising 5-6 days a week.

Thanks.

[amberino21]

From the looks of it, you weren't following the template closely enough - your breakfast had no vegies and not enough protein (a serve of eggs is as many as you can hold in your hand - most likely 3-4), and you mention exercise but no pre/postWO!!

If you were hungry between meals, it also suggests you weren't eating enough...

People often mention that having a big breakfast keeps them more satisfied through the whole day compared to having a small breakfast regardless of the size of lunch/dinner!

Eating too little food has a big impact on your energy levels and weightloss!

Perhaps do another 30 days, really sticking to the template for every meal and include pre/postWO meals and see how you go

[mrsholden9977]

Thank you. I was thinking the banana was my fruit/veggie. As far as hunger - I meant I was always ready to eat when the time came - not that I was really hungry between meals. Post WOD I would have about half a package of deli roast beef (about all I could stomach after working out). And I perform best when I don't eat before exercise, but I could try to adjust that? I can't imagine eating more. And not because I don't feel like it...just because of the amount I can put away! I could use my plate to weight lift! Thank you for your response.

[amberino21]

A banana is not a vegetable!! Haha...every meal should be protein, the rest of the plate vegies then your fat.

To me, your meals don't sound overly big...it's hard to gauge in words. If they are actually huge, perhaps you're eating too much fat - you mention quite a few "fats" at your meals, and depending on how much of each you're having you could be overshooting the mark?

Id definitely try for better pre/ postWo meals too - starchy carbs along with your roast beef will help with recovery if you can stomach them.

[Psirene]

Your breakfast looks tiny. If you're eating that AND doing cross-fit/etc almost every day, you've got to get more food in you. You said you were hungry. You should have eaten more! In my experience, you'll only lose weight once your body is sure you're not gonna starve it anymore. 

 

Breakfast should be more like 3-4 eggs, at least a cup of veggies, some fat, and then, maybe, that fruit and nut concoction. 

It didn't look like too many carbs, at all. This isn't low carb, just no grain (again, something I'm struggling with myself). Like you said, this isn't a diet. So you shouldn't ever be hungry (barring scheduling/dining mishaps).

 

Try following the template a little more closely - bump up the food amounts, add in pre- and post-work out meals. If that doesn't give you results, play with what you eat and when you eat. Perhaps your body likes carbs (sweet potatoes, etc.) in the morning. Or perhaps maybe at night. Did you eat dinner at least three hours before bedtime, and breakfast within an hour of waking? There are so many variables with this, because not all bodies are the same.

I'm playing with the same things myself. It's hard for me to eat a lot all at once. I had three eggs this morning and I thought I was going to explode. I find if I scramble them (with omghee), I can eat more than if I just fry them up. 

 

Good luck!

[Robin Strathdee]

I will add that if you're doing CrossFit AND running, your starchy veggie intake probably needs to increase drastically, especially immediately post workout and in the next meal or two.  Activities like that place a high demand on your muscle glycogen and you may not have been giving your body enough to refill efficiently before your next workout. You may also be training at too high of a volume to lose weight at the rate you'd like. I know it sounds contrary, but too much exercise can actually hinder your ability to lose. Your body perceives exercise as stress (especially when it's under-fueled) and too much stress can cause all kinds of trouble. 

I would encourage you to do another experiment - add in some more starchy veggies and cut your training to 3-4 days a week for a month and see what happens.

[mrsholden9977]

Update - I've been off Whole30 for over a week now. One thing I really missed during my thirty days were my breakfast smoothies. I use egg-white protein powder, add coconut flakes and frozen fruit. They're fast and easy and balanced and keep me satisfied until my next meal.

 

Since I've been doing this, my energy has skyrocketed. I've seen improvements at Crossfit this past week, and the sluggishness I experience all through my Whole30 has disappeared. Other meals I've been keeping Whole30 compliant, and I've cut back on some of the fat I used during my official Whole30.

 

This is really exciting. While I was disappointed in my initial results, I'm really happy to find a hybrid program based on the Whole30 that is making me feel so good!

 

Thank you for all of your responses.