Weight Gain Post-Whole30

[pennylane14]

Hi all,

 

 I wanted to see if anyone else had this problem or advice. I did the whole30 in September. Didn't lose weight (which is fine, weight loss wasn't my main goal or expectation) but I did lose inches around my waist. Went out of town right after Whole30 and ate fairly unhealthy for a few days, but got back on track with my pre-Whole30 diet (which wasn't junk food by any means) and eliminated dairy and most gluten. I pretty much ate my Whole30 diet (because I really liked the recipes) and had the occassional glass of wine or beer. 

 

Now, a month later, I've gained six pounds (after staying at the same weight or lower for about four years). My activity level is the same (I run at least once a week, and do spin/bootcamp class/weights class three times a week). Clothes are tighter and I can notice the weight gain in photos.

 

So my question is, did the Whole30 "reset" make my body more sensitive to the things I've added back in (like sugar, alcohol, the occasional dairy or gluten item) to the point that it's caused me to gain weight. I'm feeling fairly discouraged and negative about my Whole30 experience now, but don't want to blame it unnecessarily).

 

Thanks for any advice. 

[MrsStick]

It can. In the nine months since my last W30, I gained a bit of fluff around my belly. About ten pounds, I think. Now that I've cleaned back up to W30, I'm back to the smallest hole on my belt. Don't know what weight, but feeling and looking great.

Sugar will cause your body to put on fat - it's a survival mechanism. Store the energy when you can get it so you'll have it for when you don't have access to enough food. Your body's response to fructose (high fructose corn syrup anyone?) is to immediately store it as fat. Source

 

Source 2 (my favorite quote from it)

 

Unlike glucose, which is metabolized a number of ways by your body, fructose is only metabolized by your liver. When the liver receives more fructose than it can handle, the excess sugars are turned into fats in the form of triglycerides, which are harmful to your arteries and your heart.

There's much to be learned about how our bodies react to fructose, but researchers do know that fructose doesn't stimulate production of insulin, leptin or ghrelin, all of which play a part in telling the body how much it needs to eat [source: Havel]. Without receiving these internal signals to stop eating, it becomes that much easier for us to continue chowing down on that pint of double-chocolate fudge ice cream.

[pjena]

I feel your pain.  I feel like just looking at sugar now makes me gain 10 lbs.  I lost 5 lbs during/soon after my W30 in April.  I kept it off all summer through reintros.  Then, I had a week at the cabin with some less than stellar eating, gained it all back and cannot make it budge for anything.  Even another almost W30 didn't move it.  It's very frustrating, I know.  I don't know what else to do but keep trying new things.  Right now, I'm trying keep as compliant as possible, especially sugar, and am going to experiment with eliminating FODMAPS for a bit.  I may be more sensitive to them than I was pre W30. 

[Zoodles]

Happened to me too, I've put on 8kg since the end of my last whole30 at the beginning of this year. The thing is, I've been pretty compliant except for 3.5 weeks in Italy (5kg) and 1 week away at a conference (2kg) with a couple of big food events in between. And no it's not water weight. When I eat "white" food now, my body hangs onto it for dear life and nothing I do will make it budge! I'm trying to eat loads more starchy vegs this time around to try and convince my body it's ok, you can let go, there is no carb famine lol! ARGH!

[AmyS]

Yeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhh

 

Speaking specifically of notch on belt - I can eat one meal that includes grains and dairy and POOF, out goes my belly.  Seriously, it's that immediate for me. 

 

Also, chemicals in food (I ate potato chips with flavoring last night, post-most-recent-Whole30) make my joints go kablooey - swell up and hurt like fiends. 

[cayenne]

OK-I was wondering what the heck was going on this week. I had a birthday on Saturday, ate  movie popcorn, went out to eat and then had Magnum icecream! Got right back on track Sunday but weighing today, I was several pounds up from last week so I suspect I am still "recovering" from the "incident". So it seems it takes several days to undo a significant off road thing. I also need to let go of the Larabar at night(full disclosure) otherwise 99% compliant.  Time to take it back super clean before the holidays.

[sjosey77]

OK-I was wondering what the heck was going on this week. I had a birthday on Saturday, ate  movie popcorn, went out to eat and then had Magnum icecream! Got right back on track Sunday but weighing today, I was several pounds up from last week so I suspect I am still "recovering" from the "incident". So it seems it takes several days to undo a significant off road thing. I also need to let go of the Larabar at night(full disclosure) otherwise 99% compliant.  Time to take it back super clean before the holidays.

I read an article once that movie popcorn was the equivalent of eating a double cheeseburger!  I didn't care for popcorn before, but everytime we go to the movies and I see people eating it, I can't think of anything else.  LOL

[PamH]

I say "Yes" removing foods for a time can make you appear more sensitive to them when you again try to eat them.  

 

My belly is much more susceptible to bloating now that I have gone 80/20 Paleo and experimented with Whole30 since June 2012.  Extremely disheartening to deal with the rapid reactions, but also a kick in the pants that these foods are not doing me any good.

 

I find my middle expanded when I hit 45.  Hormonal?

 

There are times when I wish I had never gone down this path, but in the long run I sure do know I am protecting my health and increasing my chances of living a long and HEALTHY life.

[amberino21]

OK-I was wondering what the heck was going on this week. I had a birthday on Saturday, ate movie popcorn, went out to eat and then had Magnum icecream! Got right back on track Sunday but weighing today, I was several pounds up from last week so I suspect I am still "recovering" from the "incident". So it seems it takes several days to undo a significant off road thing. I also need to let go of the Larabar at night(full disclosure) otherwise 99% compliant. Time to take it back super clean before the holidays.

Movie popcorn smothered in salt? That'll make you retain water? And probably make you drink more than normal? I can fluctuate a few pounds in an hour. Manipulating your scale weight isn't hard!

[PamH]

Movie popcorn smothered in salt? That'll make you retain water? And probably make you drink more than normal? I can fluctuate a few pounds in an hour. Manipulating your scale weight isn't hard!

Any restaurant food makes me retain water like crazy.  The next day I am usually up 3-5lbs… at least that is my experience.  I don't weigh myself anymore but I can see it in my fingers and feel it in my calves if I wear skinny jeans (I've got big calves!).  

[cayenne]

OK-I stayed "clean" this week and dropped the few water pounds I gained from the off roading for my birthday. Even after many many months of this, I am still learning and gaining knowledge from this site.  Glad it is here as I will continue on-my body loves this way of eating. I would like to eat carbs and get away with it esp with the holidays coming up, but I am so lucky to have found this.

[lauren.pace04]

I know it has been a while since this thread was posted....but I was looking for some information on the same topic. I finished my Whole30 a few weeks back and the first week of introducing dairy and a few sweetened baked goods, I still lost a pound that week! I was amazed...and then I had family come in. So naturally I splurged more than I normally would have. A week after they have left, I still feel like I'm dealing with either bloat or I just gained weight in general...I can't really tell what it's from. I don't really THINK it's dairy because after 1 week of having it after my Whole30, I still lost a pound. I've been cutting back majorly on the honey and sweet stuff trying to get back to where I was, but I'm not seeing progress. FYI I eat paleo other than some added dairy. Any tips for me besides having to completely go back onto a whole30? 

[ShannonM816]

 I don't really THINK it's dairy because after 1 week of having it after my Whole30, I still lost a pound. I've been cutting back majorly on the honey and sweet stuff trying to get back to where I was, but I'm not seeing progress. FYI I eat paleo other than some added dairy. Any tips for me besides having to completely go back onto a whole30? 

 

I don't really know for sure what's going on for you, but I can tell you that after my Whole30, I did some reintroductions, went back to Whole30 eating, and then decided that since I hadn't had any obvious reaction to dairy, I'd add in some half & half in my coffee every morning because it was the thing I missed the most. After maybe a week and a half, I realized that some aches and pains that had gone away during my Whole30 had come back while I was doing Whole30 plus some dairy every day. So even though I hadn't had an obvious reaction before, it clearly was affecting me by causing some inflammation. Maybe you're having the same kind of thing, where even though you think it's not affecting you, because you don't have any obvious reactions that you might expect, it is having some effect.

 

I'd also point out that, no matter what you do to lose weight, it is not necessarily a linear process, and you can't always tell, based on what you've eaten in one week, whether you'll gain or lose that week. I can't tell you how many times in my Weight Watchers days that I would eat perfectly (by their standards) and only lose a fraction of a pound, and then another week be dreading weigh-in because I'd gone out to lunch with friends or something and totally blown it, and I'd have lost a whole pound. Your body does what it's going to do, all you can do is nourish it and treat it well and let it do its thing.

[cayenne]

^{I can testify that being on this program for a long time, then having to go off for a while due to family issues(hubby hospitalized for 8 weeks then disabled at home) has reaked havoc. I was non compliant for a while after dropping 20 pounds on the program in 2013. This year, in the last several months, I have been 90% compliant but have gained ALL the weight back plus 5. I think it does make you overly sensitive to processed food so when eating this does happen, your body just goes nuts. Dont know if I will ever get this weight off again-I have been compliant now for several weeks and nothing so far-no increase but no decrease either. I think our bodies need a shake up-thats why folks who start this do great initially then over time tend to level out and even go backwards fast if old habit arise. This plan, IMO, really makes you sensitve, therfore maybe even having your body overreact to processed foods. Maybe that is why rotating foods, like interval training, keeps your body in  a state of confusion. I am still figuring all this out and I am confused as ever.}

[MeadowLily]

Family stuff tends to occupy almost all of our brain space.   Some people may have more room on a free wheeling approach to eating than others.

 

The only way to maintain post Whole 30 weight loss is with a Slow Roll Reintroduction or maintenance plan.  

 

I really appreciate the lack of mental drama surrounding food.   I am not on a diet.   I am changing my lifestyle.   Thrill eating will give us a nice temporary buzz.  Thrill eating leads to constant binge eating.   It is a soul sucking cycle.  

 

Six months ago, I embraced the suck as they say....while knowing that at some point it doesn't suck at all.

 

There are no golden trumpets to mark our good choices.   No crowds cheering us on from the sidelines..."You Go, Girl".   Nobody lavishes us with praise.  In fact, nobody notices all of the quiet sacrifices we are making every single day in our snackless corners.

 

After six months, I know what it looks like to pass up immediate gratification for long term satisfaction.   I used to run past every mirror in my house and could brush my teeth without ever looking in that bathroom mirror.   I know what it looks like to be really in the pocket Whole 30 template.

 

I know what it looks like to make the minute by minute, meal by meal, mile by mile choices that will eventually add up to our success.

And then...go on making those same good choices for the future.   

 

So I've told myself,  you'd better get used to it because this is what it looks like.   My snackless quiet corner is now a happy little corner.   The soul sucking cycle and mental drama surrounding food is gone.   Food obsession is not my default setting.

 

No one is cheering me on and there is no band.   Food doesn't occupy my brain space.   This is what healthy and strong feels like.   I will continue to pass up immediate gratification for long term success.

[cayenne]

After 10 months of 99% compliant,and after W90 completely compliant, I actually never thought I would be back where I am-overfat etc. I thought, then, that I found exactly what I could live with forever. And I still believe that for the most part. And I keep coming back to this plan for all the right reasons. At times, however, I don't need to work so hard. At times, I want easy. I know to prep ahead-I do that. I have been successful overall and I like that I dont have to measure etc or be afraid of food/hunger/cravings. I do know that if you tend to stray back to the old ways-and this time of year is rough- that your body may(IMHO) really rebel and stack on the pounds MORE than if you had never gotten clean in the first place.

It seems, for me, much easier and faster to gain weight after W90 than if you just counted those good ole calories. Prior to W90, I would have lost weight on the foods I am eating now-not gain. After W90, I am still eating clean but adding 3 simple things that make me gain weight.....Truvia in my coffee, a small glass of wine and a larabar 3-4 nights a week. .

I hate counting carbs/cals/points etc. But most of all, I get frustrated with the knowedge that my relationship with food is and always will be an epic struggle. I have to cut out massive groups of food to manage, and at my age I had hoped to be waving a white flag and settling down to a compromise of sorts.

I don't expect anyone in my family, close freinds etc to care or even understand this struggle. I want to sit in a room of a variety of food and be able to say, "OK, I can have whatever I want, in an appropriate amount and stop there."  

I know I can do the program-I dont think I need or want to do it again to re-set anything. I am 90% compliant-maybe even 95%(my vice is Truvia, a glass of wine  at night and 1 lara bar) Otherwise I am "good".

My point is.... I dont know that I want to be 100% compliant the rest of my life. Sliding off track seems to be at a higher price that before W9 as your body is now rejecting every processed thing and putting it in the trash(my butt).

[Hutlifr]

Cayenne, I feel your pain. But if you know that drinking some wine and eating larabars make you gain weight, why are you still doing it? And if you know Processed stuff is bad for you, why do you eat it? Your body is trying to tell you something... Listen to what it says please. Your health depends on it.

[MeadowLily]

Hutlifr, as a professional in the culinary world,  I value your opinions.   Your food is art and beauty.

http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/20186-my-whole30-french-style/?p=212527

 

 

You know that good blood sugar and weight numbers continue only if our good habits continue.   Rebound weight gain returns twice as fast as it takes to get rid of it.   Returning to any binge eating inbetween Whole 30's will cause rebound weight gain in less than half the time it takes to lose it.   Rebound weight gain can only be avoided if there's a plan.  We all choose what that plan is after a Whole 30.

 

Some folks can't handle off-roading at all.   The triggers are so intense through the holidays.   The office buffet with more desserts than main dishes.   Eating out and all kinds of celebrations.  It is the most wonderful time of the year but food triggers can overload the senses.

 

For those of us fighting against insulin resistance,  we can't binge our way backwards into the same deep hole we just crawled out of.    We have to go on making the same good choices for our futures.   Circumspect is my middle name.   I know the consequences of going backwards.   

[Hutlifr]

We are all different, yet somehow when it comes to weight loss and regaining that weight, we are all the same! I have yet to meet one person who has not regained the weight they lost at some point in their life. We sabotage ourselves, because we lack something. Yes we lack a good plan that will help us stay on the road to recovery. But we also lack in the area of knowledge. Knowledge is power, right? Losing weight while the training wheels are on (I.e. We follow a given plan) is easier than when those wheels come off. Done with whole 30, done with re-intro, now what? I know I can't go back to the old ways because of health issues. I don't want to be in pain anymore, physical pain, disabling pain, psychological pain. I can feel people's pain in this forum, but we all need to get to this point in life where we decide: enough... Enough is enough... Let me work on a plan that works for me. And I know that this plan does not include larabars, kombucha, or other items on the approved item list, because in MY WORLD, they are addictive triggers, or contain ingredients that are just plain unhealthy and bad for me. I'd love to hear about your plan please. Sharing is caring...

[LadyM]

I have a really hard time believing that eliminating crap and filling your body with whole, real foods for a stretch has negative consequences. The negative consequences come when we eat things we know have a negative effect--either in type or quantity.

 

The magic of W30 for me has not been in weight loss, but in transforming my relationship with food. Sugar is no longer a puppet master. I eat a slightly modified template (a little lighter on fats) pretty much all the time. After a year and a half of a series of W30s and majority compliance in between, I can off road and contain it. I still say no to sugar and processed flours and gluten and legumes and grains (except the odd corn tortilla) and most fruits most of the time, but during the holidays, I'll have a few drinks one night a week or decide and plan for something way off base, like a slice of apple pie on Thanksgiving. But it no longer derails me and turns into an extended binge. I just get right back to template at the next meal and stay that way until the next opportunity that is truly worth it to me, which is generally no sooner than one week later. I am losing weight this way and feeling healthy and sane. 

 

I believe the key is to have a solid foundation of good nutrition, to work with a body that is truly nourished by getting plenty of the right macro and micro nutrients the majority of the time. My body is well fed and so therefore can handle a little wine or chocolate or pie every now and then. It wasn't always this way, it took some doing, and I'm not pretending that the way it works for me is the way it will work for everyone. But this is my experience, and I am incredibly grateful to W30 for all I've learned and gained from it. It's been a game changer, and committing to it in no way set me up for failure later on as has been suggested here by others. 

[MeadowLily]

Hutlifr.    The Plan.

 

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

Hutlifr.    The Whole 30 is the Maintenance Plan.

 

How do I know?   

 

When wicked swarms of scale locusts and sugar demons descend from the sky and wreck havoc on weight loss efforts everywhere....

Do we...Stay inside.   Turn off the lights and cover the windows.  Protect our heads.   Wear a hard hat if we must go outside.

 

Basket case is not our default setting.

 

Failure is not falling down.   Failure is not allowing others to help you get back up on your feet.

 

A W30 member, Travel Photo Writer wrote a very significant post about having a maintenance plan for life.  It speaks to me every day.

 

 

Posted by TravelPhotoWriter on 16 June 2014 - 07:48 PM

 

I'm a Type 1 Diabetic for 31 years. For EVERYONE, bread/starches, lactose (dairy sugars), white potatoes, corn, etc increases blood sugar. The only items that keep my glucose even-keeled are Proteins (meat), low-starch veggies (the ones approved on W30), healthy fats, and sparing low-sugar fruits (like berries, NOT like mangos or bananas).  No amount of avoiding these items temporarily will have them break down any differently when they are consumed.  If you want great #s to continue, your great habits need to continue.

 

Personally, I "triage" things that up my glucose. Example: mashed potatoes are absolutely NOT worth it to me, so I don't eat them, EVER. A fantastic small dish of gelato while walking the streets of Italy, YES PLEASE!  & I just take a little extra insulin to compensate for the spike from sugar and milk. I never drink sweet beverages (lemonade other than made with stevia, regular soda, glasses of juice, "sport drinks," etc), as none of them are "worth it" to me. 

 

The book It Starts With Food (a.k.a. ISWF) goes into some pretty eye-opening description of what dairy does to blood sugar! Yikes, I didn't know when I was slamming quarts of it the years before my diagnosis....

 

No amount of avoiding these items temporarily will have them break down any differently when they are consumed.  If you want great #s to continue, your great habits need to continue.

 

The Whole 30 is the Maintenance Plan.   

This is sustainability.

 

I don't know how many Whole 30's  it will take for individuals to reach the balance they're looking for.   The balance between immediate visceral pleasure...the ability to pass up immediate gratification for long term satisfaction.

 

A lifetime of binge eating can lead to multiple health problems.   The body and metabolism can recover from thrill eating in the teens, 20's and maybe 30's.   There is a saturation point with binge eating.   

 

It often takes a watershed moment or a health scare before many of us reach the point of no return.   We choose not to revert backwards. In the younger years, we can still thrive on the free wheeling approach to eating.

 

Then comes the prognostication of the doctor.   Diabetes.   Heart disease.   High Cholesterol.   Obesity.   AIP.   Fill in the blank.

We come to a reckoning.

 

It shouldn't take a health scare to get us there but that's human nature.   Don't wait until you receive your prognostication.   Acquaint yourself with what healthy and strong looks like in your teens and 20's.    You can't binge inbetween W30's for a lifetime with rebound weight gain or high blood sugar.    Your body and brain will let you know that you're headed for the slippery slope.

 

Some are good at self-monitoring and allowing the occasional well-worth-it-item.  Some are not.   Thrill eating or binge eating won't lead you to good health.   Not now.   Not ever.

 

 

 

 

[cayenne]

^{I have been on board with this lifestyle for some time.  I appreciate all the comments here and I understand them well. I realize the penalty for eating poorly as I see it every day in the mirror. I know I am worth the time it takes to cook a meal. I plan my breakfasts, lunches I take to work and stay on plan.}

^{My frustration comes from not being able to trust myself around stuff that is so tempting that I know is harmful to my plan. My ultimate goal is to be able to trust myself to "taste" someting, like other folks who have a normal relationship with food, and stop when I know I have had enough. I enjoy this plan, as I have stated, and feel like it is the one I can stick with  until.....}

^{But I have to realize I will not have a normal relationship with food as it represents "things" and until that disappears, I just cant trust myself. My mother could keep a package of oreos in the fridge for days-weeks-until she finished them one by one. Who does that????}

^{I guess I have to know that, if I want to have a less stressful relationship with food, that I have to eliminate ALOT. On the scale of 1-10, it is no biggy at all, certainly nothing to whine about.  I am in healthcare so I see what the other chices lead up to-so I am fine with a tiny bit of denial of certain things. I have been through much worse.}

^{I was just hoping that I could trust myself to eat that one oreo, and thats it. I understand, that for me, it is like a little crack to a crack head.}

[pennylane14]

Wow, I hadn't looked at this topic in over a year--thanks to everyone for your insights and thoughts. I'm currently on my third Whole30 and am planning to make it a whole60/whole75 to prepare for a half marathon I'm running in March. I still struggle with being around things that are bad for me when I'm not on a whole30 (like recent holidays in Texas where I ate and drank all the things), but I recognize that a Whole30 is only benefitting me.