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no weight loss, no benefits, really disappointed :(


Pudding-Girl

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Hello! So I finished my Whole30 yesturday and today I stepped onto the scales and took my measurements. I was really excited as despite feeling awful and having no energy throughout the entire month and having gastro upsets and mostly 20 days of diarrhea or very loose stools I thought I might have lost weight as my tops were slightly baggy. Jeans were still tight though but I put that down to being bloated out all month because of stomach upsets. I'd even eaten sauerkraut and taken digestive enzymes during the Whole30 to help my stomach out as I was struggling. There were a couple of days where I forgot to have vegetables with my breakfast but apart from that I did really well and ate only the 'legal' stuff and only snacked on nuts and coconut chips really in the first week whilst adjusting.

So when I looked down at the scales today and took my measurements I was majorly disappointed. I've lost 1 kg and overall about 2inches. I started the Whole30 at 75 kg and now I am 73.4 kg. Before the Whole30 I used to fluctuate weekly between 72 kg and 75 kg and my weight would never be stable and around my period I always put on around 2 kg so the fact the scales said today I had lost 1 kg meant nothing to me. Over the last 10 years despite watching portion control and being gluten-free I have noticed the weight creeping up and despite how much exercise I do i seem to be getting larger. I have a sweet tooth so figured it was all sugar. I have size 10 clothes in my wardrobe which I really want to get back into but in 2 years have gone up to wearing size 14s and feel frumpy and rubbish. Last June I was measured for a bridesmaid dress (wedding is this year in June) and then over last summer and this Christmas I noticed I had gained a bit of weight again. So i thought the Whole30 would be awesome (having bought the book and been inspired by the success stories) and I could finally drop the excess weight I'd put on over summer and xmas and maybe if I was lucky would lose a little bit extra, get into my size 10s and have to have the bridesmaid dress taken in!

I measured myself today and I have lost a couple of inches overall but still not enough to fit into my bridesmaid dress. Am really gutted and there were quite a few tears as I'd hoped this was my final resort and would be the one diet that would work. I had high hopes for this plan but my results are lousy. It's so unfair because everyone seems to be raving about their amazing weight loss and inches lost and new found health and energy and cured ailments and everything else being improved. I also haven't seen any benefits, other than realising how much sugar and rubbish goes into food and condiments, and wanted to feel amazing and full of energy, which I don't. I am so tired in the mornings and find it actually harder to get up now than before and I've been forcing myself to work out during the Whole30 even when I think I'm going to faint because I have no energy. I still crave sugar but haven't given it at all! I am now reintroducing dairy slowly and following the book's protocols so can see if any food groups disagree with me but to be honest I wouldn't really know as this paleo based Whole30 hasn't agreed with me from the start. My stomach and intestines have been a right mess and with cramping and painful spasms. Real IBS characteristics. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this result or if there is something wrong with me? Maybe my body is just a lot slower and doesn't work? I have Hashitmoto's Thyroiditis but my endocronologist says it is inactive at the moment and my latest blood work shows my thryoid is fine and i'm on the right dose of thyroxine. I've noticed that since being diagnosed in 2007 with an underactive thyroid the weight has been creeping on despite meds and blood work being 'normal' and doctors think there is nothing wrong with me other than being a bit overweight for my height.

I'm going to finish the reintroduction phase like the book states and see which groups to leave out. I think legumes and gluten will definitely be one along with processed sugars but then I aim to eat mainly paleo with a few gluten-free grains and try another Whole30 in a couple of months. Maybe I need to give my body a chance to get used to the change and eating so much meat and fish everyday as before I was only eating them 3 times a week. What do you guys think?

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also just to add I was eating usual small portions, couple of days when i was really hungry i had bigger portions and i ate a lot of sweet potatoes and carby veggies, also fats in form of avocados, nuts, ghee and coconut oil. My workouts were jillian michaels dvds, zumba and jogging.

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also just to add I was eating usual small portions, couple of days when i was really hungry i had bigger portions and i ate a lot of sweet potatoes and carby veggies, also fats in form of avocados, nuts, ghee and coconut oil. My workouts were jillian michaels dvds, zumba and jogging.

 

Hello! So I finished my Whole30 yesturday and today I stepped onto the scales and took my measurements. I was really excited as despite feeling awful and having no energy throughout the entire month and having gastro upsets and mostly 20 days of diarrhea or very loose stools I thought I might have lost weight as my tops were slightly baggy. Jeans were still tight though but I put that down to being bloated out all month because of stomach upsets. I'd even eaten sauerkraut and taken digestive enzymes during the Whole30 to help my stomach out as I was struggling. There were a couple of days where I forgot to have vegetables with my breakfast but apart from that I did really well and ate only the 'legal' stuff and only snacked on nuts and coconut chips really in the first week whilst adjusting.

So when I looked down at the scales today and took my measurements I was majorly disappointed. I've lost 1 kg and overall about 2inches. I started the Whole30 at 75 kg and now I am 73.4 kg. Before the Whole30 I used to fluctuate weekly between 72 kg and 75 kg and my weight would never be stable and around my period I always put on around 2 kg so the fact the scales said today I had lost 1 kg meant nothing to me. Over the last 10 years despite watching portion control and being gluten-free I have noticed the weight creeping up and despite how much exercise I do i seem to be getting larger. I have a sweet tooth so figured it was all sugar. I have size 10 clothes in my wardrobe which I really want to get back into but in 2 years have gone up to wearing size 14s and feel frumpy and rubbish. Last June I was measured for a bridesmaid dress (wedding is this year in June) and then over last summer and this Christmas I noticed I had gained a bit of weight again. So i thought the Whole30 would be awesome (having bought the book and been inspired by the success stories) and I could finally drop the excess weight I'd put on over summer and xmas and maybe if I was lucky would lose a little bit extra, get into my size 10s and have to have the bridesmaid dress taken in!

I measured myself today and I have lost a couple of inches overall but still not enough to fit into my bridesmaid dress. Am really gutted and there were quite a few tears as I'd hoped this was my final resort and would be the one diet that would work. I had high hopes for this plan but my results are lousy. It's so unfair because everyone seems to be raving about their amazing weight loss and inches lost and new found health and energy and cured ailments and everything else being improved. I also haven't seen any benefits, other than realising how much sugar and rubbish goes into food and condiments, and wanted to feel amazing and full of energy, which I don't. I am so tired in the mornings and find it actually harder to get up now than before and I've been forcing myself to work out during the Whole30 even when I think I'm going to faint because I have no energy. I still crave sugar but haven't given it at all! I am now reintroducing dairy slowly and following the book's protocols so can see if any food groups disagree with me but to be honest I wouldn't really know as this paleo based Whole30 hasn't agreed with me from the start. My stomach and intestines have been a right mess and with cramping and painful spasms. Real IBS characteristics. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this result or if there is something wrong with me? Maybe my body is just a lot slower and doesn't work? I have Hashitmoto's Thyroiditis but my endocronologist says it is inactive at the moment and my latest blood work shows my thryoid is fine and i'm on the right dose of thyroxine. I've noticed that since being diagnosed in 2007 with an underactive thyroid the weight has been creeping on despite meds and blood work being 'normal' and doctors think there is nothing wrong with me other than being a bit overweight for my height.

I'm going to finish the reintroduction phase like the book states and see which groups to leave out. I think legumes and gluten will definitely be one along with processed sugars but then I aim to eat mainly paleo with a few gluten-free grains and try another Whole30 in a couple of months. Maybe I need to give my body a chance to get used to the change and eating so much meat and fish everyday as before I was only eating them 3 times a week. What do you guys think?

I also didn't have stellar results on my whole30. It sounds to me that you did have a few victories worth celebrating, like losing some inches. I am disappointed that I didn't lose any weight or any inches. I think the scale is not our friend because we feel so defeated when we don't see the number we want. Perhaps we both need more time for improvement. I noticed that you said you may have an underactive thyroid. I know many people with thyroid issues have been helped with the auto immune protocol, maybe that would help you. Here are some links to the information. Good Luck and keep trying. http://whole30.com/2013/06/expanded-iswf-shopping-lists/. http://www.thepaleomom.com/autoimmunity/the-autoimmune-protocol.

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I am totally with you.  And the lack of results is that much harder when folks are talking about 15 pounds lost and tons of wonderful energy.  That being said, I don't know why I'm surprised, I have ALWAYS struggled to lose weight, even when doing things "right" no matter what the diet.  Weight watchers--FAIL  Atkins--FAIL  Personal nutritionist--FAIL Vegan--FAIL  The only thing that ever worked for me was taking Adipex, an appetite suppressant.  I lost 30 pounds and kept most of it off for 3 years until about 6 months ago when I had surgery.  

 

I am now going to try to go back on the medication, but continue to eat paleo.  While I don't feel any better than I did before starting Whole 30, I have no desire to add back in sugar or dairy or grains.  It just doesn't sound good.  And I believe avoiding artificial chemicals is a good thing for my health.

 

Just know that there are more of us than you would think who don't have good results, we just tend to sit on the sidelines rather than proclaim what feels like a failure

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awww thanks guys! makes me feel so much better! I thought I was totally alone sitting under the cloud of "failed" lol. There isn't a board for "not successful" lol. I agree with you Fahrenam that I think it has opened my eyes to how much rubbish goes into our food and i'm going to avoid gluten and sugars and live more paleo. I will check out that protocol for autoimmune Tina thanks for the link. I'm thinking of maybe giving my body a chance to adapt to paleo then trying another Whole30 in a couple of months and so will try the autoimmune protocol one. Xx

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I'm sorry you didn't see the results your were hoping from your Whole30. 2 inches and some realizations about eating habits are pretty good successes though. 

 

This blog post might have some insights for you: http://whole30.com/2012/10/six-reasons-why-the-whole30-didnt-work-for-you/

 

Also if you want some more detailed advice on what you might need to tweek you could post a thread in the troubleshooting section and include some sample food logs, sleeping patterns, activity level, and what the biggest changes were from what you were eating before.

 

I really hope you find the successes you are looking for and if I or any of the other moderators can help you find that success in any way we would really like that.

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I didn't lose much weight either, maybe a few pounds but nothing to sing from the rooftops. This was my 3rd w30. The first one I lost about 7 pounds and a bunch of inches.

 

Here's the thing for me, this time around I didn't go into it with any expectations of weight loss. My main objective was to tame the sugar dragon and get a handle on my food again. And I have accomplished that, and feel better in a whole lot of other ways. Last night I was thinking that I feel ready to let the weight go, and that felt huge (no pun intended).

 

I totally understand how disappointed you feel about lack of success in this area since it sounds like that was your primary intention. Maybe continue and add tweaks from the link Physibeth posted? That's what I''m planning. Staying the course!

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Just came back from the doctor's and am now even more confused/discouraged.  

 

First, he told me I'm not overweight.  I understand that there are BMI guidelines, however I'm 5'6 and 165 with a recent 15 pound weight gain after a surgery.  To tell me I should be happy at a weight that is overweight seems ridiculous--am I supposed to keep going until I'm obese and then he will pay attention?  It's not like I'm aiming to get to 110, I'd be perfectly happy at 140, which is not a skinny weight

 

Second, he said the real issue the past month was that I was eating too much meat and too much in general.  He wants me to switch to a plant based diet.  I was on a vegan diet for 3 months in the fall and I gained on it.  At least I didn't gain on the Whole 30, I just didn't lose

 

Where he might be right is that I could have been eating too much.  Considering that I am totally sedentary right now (not by choice, limited by pain and surgery recovery) maybe I don't need 3 full meals.  Or maybe I should be eating a smaller portion of protein with my meals

 

I know everyone says to not focus on weight loss with the program, but if we want to lose and it doesn't happen naturally, what are the tweaks to make it more effective?

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Just came back from the doctor's and am now even more confused/discouraged.  

 

First, he told me I'm not overweight.  I understand that there are BMI guidelines, however I'm 5'6 and 165 with a recent 15 pound weight gain after a surgery.  To tell me I should be happy at a weight that is overweight seems ridiculous--am I supposed to keep going until I'm obese and then he will pay attention?  It's not like I'm aiming to get to 110, I'd be perfectly happy at 140, which is not a skinny weight

 

Second, he said the real issue the past month was that I was eating too much meat and too much in general.  He wants me to switch to a plant based diet.  I was on a vegan diet for 3 months in the fall and I gained on it.  At least I didn't gain on the Whole 30, I just didn't lose

 

Where he might be right is that I could have been eating too much.  Considering that I am totally sedentary right now (not by choice, limited by pain and surgery recovery) maybe I don't need 3 full meals.  Or maybe I should be eating a smaller portion of protein with my meals

 

I know everyone says to not focus on weight loss with the program, but if we want to lose and it doesn't happen naturally, what are the tweaks to make it more effective?

 

I agree with your doctor that you are not overweight. You may need to focus on body composition issues but for your height that is a perfectly healthy weight. On the issue of eating too much are questions: did you feel like you were eating too much? Did you feel stuffed and uncomfortable? Were you eating at the low end of the template recommendations? I'm completely convinced that the longer we eat the way our bodies were designed to eat the more our bodies will tend toward their healthiest composition. 

 

Your weight is just a measure of your body's relationship with gravity. It isn't a really good marker of true health. Now you said you had no other benefits from your Whole30 either. Perhaps focus on what tweeks you need to make for those benefits (better sleep, more energy, etc) to come forth.

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No, I felt comfortable with what I was eating, not over stuffed.  And I went out of my way to get enough sleep on my Whole 30, I just didn't feel any bursts of energy or that my skin got clearer.  In fact, I was tired a lot

 

I realize by BMI standards I may not seem hugely overweight, but I do believe we all know our bodies and what is normal/what is not.  This is a high weight for me.  None of my clothes fit.  I hate seeing pictures of myself, I look bloated and have lost my waist.  A healthy weight for me is in the 140-145 range.  I am happy there

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I hear you all about your disappointments.  I did my Whole 30 and had no physical results, was hoping for more energy or general physical "feeling better", but nothing.  If anything I felt more tired and had worse sleep on my Whole 30.  I never tamed the sugar dragon, had the same cravings before, during and after.  I didn't have any changes during reintro, other than noticing that sugar really does zap my energy, and I love it so.  But, I knew that already, go through times of "no sugar" to try to get myself off the habit as truly, the more I eat or the more I open that window, the more I want and enjoy it.

 

I enjoyed trying lots of new recipes and learning about "replacement" products for things I wanted to avoid, and while it was an interesting experiment, I must be one of those people who doesn't really have real trouble with the things that Whole 30 wants to avoid.  I had no nasty side effects on any of my reintros, in fact my gut/energy seemed to do better off plan than on.  Or perhaps if I tried a Whole 100 I would have different thoughts … not sure that is going to happen.

 

I agree that it really is good to read that you're not the ONLY ONE who didn't have results.  The forums and book and blogs all make it sound like it will work, no caveats, when in reality I think there are lots of us who tried it and didn't see any changes.  I didn't post much during my Whole 30 or during my reintro week because I felt discouraged that everyone was feeling all these great changes and I wasn't.  I read the forums and was always able to find a post where someone got feedback that I could try, so I never felt that I had a reason to get specific advice.

 

I know that the fantastic results get more people to try it, but it would be nice if there were some disclaimers to let people know that it isn't going to work for everyone (at least not in 30 days, like I said, maybe if I did it longer I would see something different).

 

I wanted to post some ideas about the weight loss issue.  First, I am also 5'6"  and very uncomfortable with my body if I get over 140, and I am pretty muscular, so if I wasn't I think I would be even more uncomfortable with 140.  I think weight/height is a tricky thing, body types are so different.  I have little hips and butt and a small chest, so when I get over 135 it goes mostly to my gut, so I know it's not healthy.  Even at 140 I know that I shouldn't be walking around looking pregnant (yes, people have asked).  Yet, I have friends who put weight on in their hips and chest and butt, and while they may want to be thinner, I don't think it is as unhealthy for them to gain weight, they're just curvier so they can handle it.  So, the number really isn't the thing, you have to know your body and what is healthy.

 

Lastly, I have some ideas about the weight loss.  I think paleo is a great way to lose weight and be healthy, but I think you have to really watch your servings of starchy veggies, fruit and nuts, particularly later in the day if you want to lose weight.  I wonder if you tried a 30 day paleo with no nuts and sweet potatoes/squash/root vegetables/fruit only at breakfast if that would give you the results you want.  You have to up the veggies at lunch and dinner so that you don't go so low carb that you feel yucky … think big salads and lots of broccoli/cauliflower/kale/tomatoes/peppers.  Just an idea, works for me.

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I don't know how much help I can provide but I thought I would chime in here to say I can relate! I finished my whole 30 last week and I actually gained weight and inches- particularly around my waist and hips. This was not a surprise to me when I weighed myself because my pants felt tighter from about the 6th day and never loosened up again. I think in the beginning it was digestive bloat/adjustment to the program but now it is pounds added.

I was not overweight to begin with, (nor was I underweight) but I certainly didn't want to gain. I felt pretty rotten during my Whole30 all the way up to day 28 or 29. Then my sleep and pain began to improve a bit. Nothing miraculous but enough to make me feel more like my age (46) instead of 100 years old. I am now in reintro and I am hoping against hope that I don't gain any more weight as the month goes along.

During my Whole30 I feel that I was to the letter. I ate according to the template, and then some because I did the autoimmune protocol in every sense except that I still had between 1 and 2 cups of coffee a day. I was having such bad headaches until at least the 3rd week that I couldn't imagine compounding that with cutting the coffee. You see I also have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and my main symptoms for the last 3 years have been debilitating fatigue, insomnia (can't sleep more than a few hours most nights) and chronic muscle pain.

On the autoimmune protocol I cut out eggs, nightshades vegetables and spices, and nuts and seeds, in addition to all the other stuff. I tried to limit chicken because of the high level of omega 6 fatty acids, which can exacerbate inflammation. So my diet was mostly fish, beef, and pork, with some chicken. I did eat plenty of veggies and fats, and lots of sweet potatoes. They may have been the culprit for my gaining weight, but my understanding is that people with autoimmune disease need extra starchy veggies in order to feel good and have enough energy. So it's all very confusing. And indeed, whenever I tried to scale back on the sweet potatoes I felt very hungry between meals and lower energy for sure.

The only other things I probably could tweak at this point are fats and portion size. In the beginning I probably overdid the portions of sweet potatoes fat and protein because I had read all these posts about troubles people had when not eating enough. So since I was feeling pretty rotten during my Whole 30 and my main goal was not weight loss but improved sleep and energy, I made sure that I was getting plenty of all of those. Maybe it was all just too many calories. Perhaps in the end, the calories I consumed this past month were more than my body has been used to. I only gained 3 or 4 lbs but that is a lot on me as I am only 5' 4 1/2". I can see by looking at my body shape that the weight is NOT muscle. My belly is larger, as are hips and thighs. It's actually kind of a shock for me, since I have been the same size for years and in spite of the autoimmune hypothyroid condition, have never yet had a problem with my weight or gaining.

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Despite loving sweet potatoes and nuts, I ate very few of them on my Whole 30.  A little almond butter here and there, but that's it.  I didn't even eat that much fruit.  An occasional Larabar or apple when traveling, that's it

 

What I do wonder about is I ate a lot of sausage--all compliant, but I found it easier to use the sausage out of the casings, which is already spicy or seasoned, cook it up and put it over spinach.  That was sort of my go-to dinner.  As I said, the sausage was compliant, but I wonder if the fat content was too much. I know you aren't supposed to worry about that, but it's a possibility.  

 

I have found that I have pretty bad stomach problems with re-intro, of both dairy and gluten.  Dairy gives me a stomach ache not long after I eat it and now I get massive diarrhea (sorry if TMI) with gluten.  I'm fine to not reintroduce those, particularly gluten, which has been easy for me to give up.  IT just makes me think I need to find a way to balance my protein/fat/veggies in such a way that I manage to lose weight.  I have totally regained my 2.5 pounds lost, btw, which doesn't surprise me, that's basically water weight

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What I do wonder about is I ate a lot of sausage--all compliant, but I found it easier to use the sausage out of the casings, which is already spicy or seasoned, cook it up and put it over spinach.  That was sort of my go-to dinner.  As I said, the sausage was compliant, but I wonder if the fat content was too much. I know you aren't supposed to worry about that, but it's a possibility.  

 Interesting that you should say this. I ate home made sausage every morning for breakfast, and I have been wondering the same thing. It was a 50/50 mix of beef and pork, but the ground pork, while local and pastured, was very fatty. For this reason I skipped the added fat at breakfast. Since I was limiting chicken, avoiding eggs, and I can't stomach the idea of fish first thing in the morning, this was my go-to alternative.

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I also had no improvement. I extended to 40 days, but I'm now getting ready to move on to reintroduction. Eating to the template was a massive change in way of eating for me; prior to this, I didn't eat much junk, but I normally had meat once per day, had a lot of fresh fruit and agave daily, gluten-free grains a few times per week, didn't eat breakfast upon waking, etc. I have plenty of excess stored body fat, so I did expect *some change in body comp.

 

I plan to keep most of the 'forbidden' W30 foods out of my diet (though I am going to test dairy), but now that I know that eating so much animal fat and protein doesn't seem to benefit me, I'm not going to eat as much of them. I am going to go back to eating more vegetables (it was hard to eat more than 2 cups per meal with all the meat and fat).

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  • 5 months later...

I'm curious if you all ate the 'best quality' type of meats or ate conventional. Did you eat organic and clean 15 fruits/veggies or conventional? If eating more conventionally, maybe the added hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, GMO's and toxins are still being ingested and having a negative effect on your bodies and therefore not completely resetting your systems.

Thank you for your comments. I plan to start my first whole30 soon.

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I'm sorry that some of you have been disappointed with the weight results.  I had been eating somewhat 'clean' before starting Whole 30, and the reason I did the Whole 30 was to see if I had allergies to anything (currently on day 26).

 

But my experience with weight loss over the past few years is that my body is a chemistry set and I've had to learn what works and what doesn't for THIS chemistry set.  I've done months and years of logging to see what is the right combo of fat/carb/protein seems right for me.  I define 'right' = I feel great and am losing weight at a small-moderate but steady amount.  

 

My couple of takeaways from this are:

1) understanding what that ratio is and

2) don't eat past 7pm  ...  if I eat after 7pm it somehow slows down my rate of weight loss.

 

I want to give everyone a high-five for sticking with the program for the 30 days and  encourage you to look at what you have learned about YOUR chemistry set.  Also, really the purpose of Whole 30 is to find out what you are allergic to, so the findings from re-introduction is really the name of the game from a health perspective.

 

Good luck to everyone in your nutrition journey!

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I think many of those of us who struggle with health and eating problems realise that there is no one easy answer and it takes time to get it all happening. Whole30 has fixed many things for me but not yet my skin or weight but 'dieting' and meds don't really fix this either so its worth pursuing. I feel I will live longer this way at least so that's worth much!

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