Will I slim down?

[Gstar]

Hi so I started the whole30 yesterday I am a teenage girl and I want to lose about 10-15 pounds. I was just wondering if I could slim down doing this. I'm ready to commit to it (well I already have) but I want to know if this promises me to be healthier and slimmer because if it doesn't this is a waste of time. So if you could tell me your experience with whole30 that would be great!

[Derek`]

I think you may be looking at this the wrong way.

 

Whole30 is not a weight loss program.  It is a way of eating that helps our bodies to recover and relearn after years or decades of abuse in the form of eating sugars, grains, dairy, seed oil, processed food, and other nasties.  That said, for someone who is overweight, weight loss is usually a natural side effect of Whole30.  You are very likely to lose weight (fat) while completing a Whole30.  That isn't the goal or focus; it's a side effect like I said.  But there are so many other side effects that you will enjoy too - more energy, improved mood, better sleep, fewer illnesses, and countless other amazing benefits.

 

Don't focus on the weight loss.  Focus on eating real, good food and feeling really well.  The weight loss will come.  In fact, if you've read the Whole30 "rules" either on this website or in It Starts With Food, you will know that Dallas and Melissa - the creators of Whole30 - tell you that you're not allowed to weigh or measure your body during a Whole30.

 

Best wishes to you, and stick around here and follow the program.  You won't regret it.

[1Maryann]

I so wish I could turn the clock back 40 years and be you right now.  I, too, was a teenage girl focused on losing weight.  Over the years, I tried every diet out there, crazy or not.  Sure, I lost weight on all of them, but I never learned HOW TO EAT.  I just learned if I drank this, or didn't eat that, or only ate the other thing in combination with something else, I could look good at the dance/fit into those skinny jeans/be the envy of my friends.  I got on the diet roller coaster and until 2 years ago, I never really got off.  I would lose weight, but as soon as I went back to eating 'normal' food, the pounds would come back on.  I lived in the world of immediate results, not the world of learning how to do it right so I never had to diet again.

 

This is the program that will teach you those skills.  Imagine being a healthy (I didn't say skinny) body weight for life, never being hungry, and having the strength and stamina for whatever you choose.

 

If you are like most teenagers, your current diet is filled with empty carbs and processed foods, the stuff that will keep you overweight forever, no matter how many diets you try.  If instead you take these 30 days to learn an appreciation of real, whole food, without all the crap, you will be so much further ahead.

 

The weight loss will come.  It has to.  If you fuel your body with real foods, in proper amounts, your body will eventually come to its optimum weight.  And it isn't even the number of pounds lost that matter.  Many people on this program may not see the number on the scale move much, but their body composition changes so that they appear more slender.  Remember, muscle weighs more than fat and takes up much less space. 

 

In the meantime, particularly if you do a proper reintroduction, you will find which foods you can safely add back into your diet, and which cause you issues like digestive disturbances, bloat, etc. 

 

What a gift that would be for someone like me, closing in on 60 and only finally learning how to properly fuel my body for health.  I wish you great success.  Please keep checking in and let us know how you are doing.

[Semolina]

Kinda depends on whether or not you *need* to lose 10 - 15 lbs or not ... this is a way of eating that will improve your health for the longterm, and if you can commit to it you will learn a way to eat which will stick with you for the rest of your life and will allow you to get off the diet merry-go-round (something that I am LOVING about the program, having dieted for 20+ years, even though I have never really been more than slightly overweight). If you are carrying extra weight it will come off ... but if you do it for 30 days and then go back to how you were eating before it will also go back on again.

 

I agree with dmh who suggests reading ISWF, if you haven't already. Really, weight is a side issue (I know from where you are right now it doesn't feel like it but as soon as you get that you have overcome one really big hurdle).

 

Good luck.