troubleshooting weight gain

[ADEROUEN]

So I am on day 22 of my first whole30 and there is no real magic happening. I ate pretty clean for years before this but I would have whole grains during the day but never at night. I have been doing crossfit for 2 years about 4x a week on average and I am fit/slim at 5'7†– 130#. I am pear shaped with a very small framed so I know I can weigh a good be less and have (I've been 115# before). I would like to lose the extra weight so that my all my efforts in the gym show on my body! I realize that this is going to be hard as I am already a size 2/4 but believe me I have weight that can and should come off in problem spots (ahhem my thighs in particular). Now I know I am not suppose to weigh myself during the whole30 but I have 3x now… I just couldn't help myself. In the beginning I dropped 3.5 lbs and gained one back right before I started my cycle and now 1 more pound gained after it is complete. I have had some minor cheats but nothing that I could imagine would make me gain weight. I drank some unsweetned coconut milk that had carrageenan in it on accident and I have had 2 grilled chicken breast that were cooked with canoila oil and I have had a snack on 3 days (either fruit or nuts). I don't know if this would be considered a cheat but I do not have a 4^th mini meal or pre/post WO snack if I go to the gym. I get up at 4:30am to go to the gym so I am not hungry befire the gym and could not hold down food during the workout if I did eat before. I try to eat breakfast when I get home from the gym but if I know I missed the 15/30 minute window then I just wait till after I get dressed to eat breakfast (which is typical). I commute a hour to/from work and work a full 10+ hours everyday which puts me getting home around 7pm. My husband cooks dinner so I eat around 7pm (lunch is noon). To get the full 8 hours of recommended slepp I need to get in bed for 8:30 which is hard since that would mean I only have 1.5hrs to eat, relax, talk to my husband, clean up dinner, take care of house and prepare for bed. So I usually don't get the 8 hours of sleep but I am almost never in bed later than 10:30pm (which is 6 hours of sleep).

Now, that I have all my confessions out the way, does all that add up to why I am gaining weight on the whole30? I wasn't gaining weight before the program eating similarily but not as healthy (less fat, more grains, some sugar). And techinically I haven't gained weight since I am still down 1.5 pounds but itI would be disappointment for me to cut out foods that I loved and not get a weight loss in the end. My goal is around 125# but mostly I would like to lose at least an inch in each thigh

[side note… my husband is doing the whole30 with me and has lost at least 15#]

 

I have 3 days of food logs below just to help figure this out so I can accomplish my goals.  

Day 1:
Breakfast: Large piece of bacon (compliant), egg, sweet potato, zucchini  hash/casserole,
Lunch: beef grass fed hamburger patty (5 oz.) with lettuce, onion, and pickles and home made mayo and ketchup also had a banana,
Dinner: Red Wine Vinegar marinated Pork Chop (4/5 oz.) sauerkraut on pork chop with Leeks and Red Beets cooked in coconut oil and Steamed Broccoli + Tessmae Italian dressing

Day 2:
Breakfast: Ground buffalo with onions and peppers with half of a medium/large garnet sweet potato
Lunch: home made chicken salad with celery and lots of broccoli and cauliflower and some panrty viniaigrette
Dinner: Dill-ious shrimp from week night paleo (mayo, dill + onions) zucchini and eggplant sautéed in ghee and about 1 cup of carrot souffle

Day 3:
Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs in avocado oil, zucchini sautéed in ghee and 1/2 a grapefruit
Lunch: 4/5 oz. of grass fed steak with smothered onions and mushrooms, mashed cauliflower and a small handfull of trail mix (cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds, raisins and dried cranberries)
Dinner: trout almondine with ghee with whole medium white sweet potato with ghee and chives, lots of green beans in ghee and a dinner salad with pantry vinaigrette

 

Thanks so much for any help! And I'm so sorry it is so long... wanted to be specific.

[GFChris]

A couple of quick thoughts:

- hide that scale for the remaining 8 days.  It does not serve you one iota.  Take a look at this: http://everydaypaleo.com/attention-scale-addicts-part-2/

- yes, inability to get 8 hours of sleep consistently could definitely be affecting your weight loss results. 

- I wonder how healthy 115 lbs is for your size?  I recommend trusting this process, continuing to follow the template, and see where you end up on day 31. Did you measure yourself with a tape measure before you started?

- Are you hungry between lunch and dinner, given the time-span between them?  Could you have a mini-meal then?

 

 

[msssjenna]

I think you aren't getting enough sleep, aren't eating enough (Pre and Post W/O are needed) and I think you are a perfect size for your height.  If you really feel you need to lose weight then get more sleep and eat more food.

[ADEROUEN]

115# is really not my goal weight I was just using it as an example but I do not believe it was unhealthy just a low body fat %. I tend to be what I call skinny fat if I do not exercise. My body does not gain that much weight but after college I was 34% body fat and 133# which is just not good. Right now I believe I am in the range of 24-26% body fat and would like to be in the high teens (17-19%). Becasue I do lose muscle tone so quickly I valued working out over getting the extra sleep. But I will try to finish the last 8 day with 8 hours of sleep.

 

As for the extra meals pre/post WO, like I said before I can't eat at 4:30am. I am not hungry and I can make it through the intense workouts without vomitting because it doesn't have time to settle before the work begins. Post WO I could definitely do a better job. Only things is my lunch hour is not flexible so I would have 3 meals in roughly 5 hours then nothing for another 6ish hours. Is that better? And I am hungry in between the lunch and dinner, I was trying not to snack between meals. I figured it wasn't a good time to add the extra meal because it would be hours after the workout. 

 

 

 

[GFChris]

 Post WO I could definitely do a better job. Only things is my lunch hour is not flexible so I would have 3 meals in roughly 5 hours then nothing for another 6ish hours. Is that better? And I am hungry in between the lunch and dinner, I was trying not to snack between meals. I figured it wasn't a good time to add the extra meal because it would be hours after the workout. 

If you're legitimately hungry between meals (especially where you have such a long span without food), then EAT  .  You're right, it wouldn't be a Post WO meal, it would be adding a fourth meal to your day, which is ok too. Just be sure it meets the template of at least a protein and fat, with a vegetable if you can include it too.

[Mom2A&M]

Not to mention, you ARE down 1.5 lbs in three weeks. A half pound per week on a "slim" frame, sound pretty good to me.

[jillian]

I, too, am fortunate to be at a healthy weight for my size - though I wouldn't mind losing a few pounds just to look more svelte. I've noticed that a good-size portion of starchy veg at every meal actually helps me lose weight. I think my body feels less stressed when I'm having a steady supply of good carbs throughout the day, every day.

 

That said, in the grand scheme of things, the reason we're supposed to ditch the scale is so we don't obsess over 1 to 5 lbs - which frankly can be a result of fluctuation in water weight, muscle growth, and/or hormone levels.

 

I know you don't want to hear this, but I'll still say it anyway: Ditch the scale. Love your thighs. Fat on thighs is healthy and important in regulating our hormones. Free yourself of this concern.

 

If at the end of your Whole30 you find that you have gained 6lbs - then maybe troubleshoot and assess how you want to proceed with your lifestyle when it's time for you to "ride your own bike".

[Tom Denham]

Carrageenan disrupts your gut. it is a big deal. Your count for the Whole30 restarts when you drank that coconut milk. Being an accident does not erase the reality that you ate something that has a real impact on your gut and stopped your healing process. 

 

There are no minor cheats during a Whole30. If you cheated, you denied yourself the full experience of the program. That is a big deal. You may not think you deserve the real deal, but we do. Do it right. 

 

Weighing yourself is another way that you cheat yourself. You are denying yourself the full experience of the Whole30. Stop short-changing yourself. And really, you are talking about being up or down a couple of pounds across several weeks that include the coming and going of your period. You are not dealing with meaningful information. Stop weighing. And as one neurotic to another, "You are being neurotic. Let it go."

 

The real issue with your weight is sleep. You can't fix lack of sleep by eating better. 

[ADEROUEN]

Tom,

I wasn't expecting the coconut milk to make me re-start the 30 days but I appreciate the frank-ness in your reply. I actually agree I am neurotic!  I can let the number in my head of what my "ideal" weight should be go but not the image. I have no problem working hard to get there either. THANKFULLY, I drank the coconut milk early in my whole30 so it does not reset me that much. I have kept a food journal and I drank it on day 5.

 

But here is my real dilema... I only have time to workout in the morning so do I get the extra sleep or workout? They both seem to be a big deal and my work hours are not going to change anytime soon. So what's more important? just an FYI, I work with computer softwares so I do not get much activity at all in the day.

[Tom Denham]

My guess is that you would lose more fat over the next 30 days if you slept 8 hours per night and did not make it to the gym at all. Honestly! The biggest factor in weight/fat loss is hormonal and sleep has more to do with your hormones than exercise. You might try it as an experiment.

 

I was a committed CrossFitter for 3 years before I did my first Whole30. I was frustrated because after having lost 15 pounds during my first 6 months, I hit a plateau and held at 215 pounds. I started sleeping better and longer two weeks into my Whole30 and proceeded to lose 30 pounds and got down to 185. Sleeping made the difference for me when exercise was ineffective.

 

I spend my day at a computer too, so I understand the need to DO something physical. I am maintaining good muscle mass and gaining a little strength working out 30-35 minutes three times per week. I try to go for a walk that lasts an hour or more once per week, but don't succeed regularly with the walking. When I say 30-35 minutes, that includes warmup, work, and putting away my kettlebells. I workout in my garage (or driveway when the sun is shining) nowadays. I sustained too many injuries doing CrossFit, so I hired a kettlebell coach to train me and I do my own program at home now. I've been logging lots of my kettlebell work. You can see an example at http://www.tomdenham.com/2013/09/squat-focused-total-tension-workout/

[Guest Andria]

PLEASE lose the focus on scale weight in order to accomplish body recomposition!!!! I think most people who classify themselves "@ a healthy weight" need to stop saying "I want to lose a few pounds/weight so I look more fit/toned/svelte"!!! You, likely, do not need to lose "weight" but need to lose "fat." In order to look different you need to focus on body recomposition. This means you need to retain muscle mass and lose fat. This may not change your scale weight much at all, or it could go up if you are gaining muscle mass. There has been a link on this forum to a great article about ditching the scale, but I can not find it. It is written by a trainer and shows a client of his who stayed the same scale weight but after proper training and several months she look leaner! Why? Because she gained muscle and lost fat.

Since you are nourishing your body with great food, via the Whole30, you could be packing on more muscle with your crossfit workouts. You would, however, achieve better results if you ate your postWO meal.