Day 14 and feeling discouraged

[Nritchie77]

Day 14 2/10:  TWO WEEKS!!!

 

Like I mentioned last night in NRitchie77 whole30 I do not feel the benefits yet at all.  The only thing I am feeling right now is my pants are too tight now, my craving are getting out of control and I find myself snacking on dried fruit and nuts more and more!.  My acid reflux flared up again yesterday which concerns me because I thought all this stuff was suppose to stop.  The only thing I haven't had a problem with yet is that weird pain I keep getting in my wrist.  Itstopped around day 2 or 3 of my first round and hasn't returned.  I am more worried about the weight gain.  I had to literally hide the scale from myself so I really don't know how much I weigh, but I am growing in inches which could still be the bloat.  My enzymes are suppose to be coming in today (I went with the Thorne brand).  I've been taking the Natural calm but am not going to take it today because it gave me severe diarrhea!!!!  

 

I want to keep doing this so bad, but I am afraid I'm going to be 150 pounds by the time I finish.  When I started this I was 122.  (I lost about 10 pounds from Body by Vi and Almased, both diets of pretty much starvation.  Almased you drink and you can only have that which I did for 10 days.  Stopped and than did it again 1 week later for another 10 days.  Before that I did Body by Vi lost 7 pounds and than gained it right back).  Anyways, so at the end of my second round of Almased I finished reading It Starts With Food and started that weighing 122.  I didn't throw my scale out in the beginning but noticed by day 8 I gained 3 pounds and by day 10 i gained a total of 5 pounds.  GFChris encouraged me to get rid of the scale which I am highly addicted too, but I did it...  So now I am trying to focus on inches based off my pants.  But my pants are getting tighter and tighter.  Even pants I wore 2 days in a row were tight!!!!!  The time line says I should be feeling bounds of energy right now and my pants should be fitting tighter and I am not feeling energy at all if anything I'm tired and feel fat!

 

I am getting very discouraged.  Maybe it is all the nuts and dried fruits I keep telling myself I will not eat anymore but keep doing anyways.  I am going to throw my trail mix away?  Is the natural calm what could be causing my acid reflux?  I'm not going to take it today and see.  

 

Thoughts/comments/inspiration!!!!

[GFChris]

If you didn't see this article from a couple weeks ago, I suggest now is a good time to give it a read: http://whole30.com/2014/01/whole30-tough-love/

If you sense the nuts and dried fruits are not helping things, it certainly couldn't hurt to shelve them for a bit and see if you notice a difference.  Nuts do cause digestive issues for some folks.

 

In reviewing your log, I notice you've been having bacon.  If your goal is to lose weight, I recommend dropping bacon for the rest of your Whole30.  That may also help with your acid reflux, as it seems high-fat meats can aggravate it. http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20443643_7,00.html

To that point, perhaps try focusing on lean meats for your proteins.
 

[missmary]

Oh honey, I feel for you, I really do. I'm not sure I'm understanding the timeline, but it looks like you have swung pretty quickly around 25 lbs or more in just a few weeks? Losing, gaining, losing again, two different starvation diets then two weeks of the whole30?

 

If this is correct, then it's no wonder you are gaining a little now! Your body needs consistency. Lots of it, like weeks and weeks. Give this whole30 time to nourish your body and heal your metabolism. Things will settle down, but not in a day or two. It takes time. Be kind to yourself.

[runninglawyer88]

echoing what missmary has said...starvation diets are not sustainable and the way your body responds to a starvation diet once it gets adequate nutrients is almost instant weight gain. That's normal, that's how the human body works. You lose lots of water, lots of waste, and muscle mass doing starvation diets and once you begin eating normally you replenish your glycogen stores (causing water retention), you have waste in your body from the sheer fact that you're eating more, and because your body "fears" that food is scarce it more efficiently utilizes the energy in the food that you eat and stores any excess for future "famines."

[nikki5577]

Sorry you are so frustrated... I think GFChris is good to point you toward the tough love article... this really is a 30 day journey and depending on where you were when you started your body is going to react differently. I am part of a group of 4 doing this Whole30 (we are on day 25) and it was different for all of us. Just like others have said, you were rough on your body right before you started your Whole30, it may take all 30 days to get back on track. Be patient with yourself...

 

You might be doing these things already, but here my suggestions...

 

- Live by the template: that means dropping the snacks, you might just be making yourself too full (use the steamed broccoli and fish test )

- Eat the recommended foods: We use the Shopping List and stick to mostly the bold items and avoid the "Limit" list (nuts and dried friut, etc...)  http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-shopping-list.pdf

- Drink water - lots of it: You might not feel like it now, but it will help with the bloating.

- Are you exercising? This can help with that feeling (both the bloated and the tired feeling) too, even just walking. 

 

Hang in there, you are half way through!

[Noelle]

Missmary is right. Your body is getting used to the idea that you're actually feeding it again. This may mean a lot of bloating, and it may mean actual weight gain...for a while. If you've been in starvation mode (or on the starvation-binge rollercoaster), your body is going to hold onto everything for dear life for a while. That weight will come off on its own, but your metabolism has to heal first.

 

I think I gained about five pounds when I stopped restricting and started eating (Meal Template) meals again. That weight came off (no dieting, no exercising), plus another two pounds or so. But it didn't happen in two weeks, or even 30 days. 

[Nritchie77]

I am going to read the tough love article now. I have only included bacon in a few meals once with my scrambled eggs for meal 1 and than the bacon wrapped meat loaf and obviously the left overs that went along with it so ya I see your point. I'll drop the bacon. I have clear my cupboards out from buts and fruits I've told myself for 2 weeks now I won't eat them but when they are there I eat them. So out they went. I am drinking 72 oz of water a day.

I am following the template. I decreased the amount of fat I've been using as well so hopefully that will help.

[Nritchie77]

The tough love article helped a lot thank you!!!!  I am following the whole30 100% and have not had 1 slip up!  Everything I eat is home made/fresh grassfed/lean.  The bacon was nitrate free Applegate from Sprouts.  When I make meatloaf I do use 99% fat free turkey meat instead of grass fed ground beef.  But all my chicken is grass fed, my turkey jerky is grass fed (bought on Amazon) and my eggs are free range.  All my fish is Wild caught. The only bad thing i eat is since I've started the Whole30 I've had a total of 4 larabars, I probably have 5 dried plums 4 nights a week and a handful of organic trail mix which is why I think I am not losing the weight!  I've gotten rid of the trail mix and my dried plums.  I had my husband hide the larabars because I couldn't make myself throw them out.  They are expensive and I just love them.  

 

Thanks for the motivation today guys,

 

NR

[missmary]

 The bacon was nitrate free Applegate from Sprouts

 

You are sounding more optimistic, I'm glad about that.

 

Do check ingredients on the bacon. As far as I know, all Applegate bacon contains evaporated cane syrup, which is sugar, so it is not allowed during a whole30.

[TrayS]

The W30, if you're utilizing it to its full advantage, is a great time to get tough with yourself and break the habit of snacking in response to wanting something for any reason other than actual hunger (fish-and-broccoli type hunger). Good for you for getting rid of these things! The habit is hard to break, and your brain will scream at you, but it's vitally important to not give in and it WILL get easier.

 

I think it was Tom Denham who posted on another thread that when we try and speed up results, it often backfires. I would suggest that if you get to 30 days and you are not seeing weight loss results, keep on going. It may take longer for your body to reach a point in its recovery where it becomes responsive to your new good eating habits. FWIW, I am now 42 days past Day 1 of my latest W30 (full disclosure: I did W30 for 31 days and now am 98%, doing some periodic reintroductions with W30 days in between), and I am just now starting to feel my pants ease up a little bit.

[Nritchie77]

I'm in this for the long haul so if it ends up being a whole60 well than 60 it is...Whatever it takes to feel that magical number... No More snacks.  Tough love tough tough tough mind! 

[missmary]

Whatever it takes to feel that magical number... 

Freudian slip? We want you to feel magic, that's for sure. The numbers don't matter...

[Nritchie77]

Oh hahaha took me a second... Yes to feel that magical feeling DUH  Oppsie

[DavidGriffin]

Thanks for sharing...........

[Nritchie77]

David my goal is to look like your picture and it's not happening!!!!!

[MrsStick]

The Whole30 is about attaining and maintaining a healthy body weight for YOUR body and YOUR activity level. If your goal is something that's not realistic for your body, it won't happen for you during a Whole30.

 

If your goal is to look like that photo (which to me looks like a stock photo or other highly photoshopped photo), it will not happen with a Whole30. If your goal is to balance your hormones, sleep better, feel better, get your digestion under control, etc. - it will happen.

 

If you are trying to drop to a severely low body fat percentage (a woman who is an athlete should be 14-20% bodyfat, so anything below that - 10-13% is the extreme limit), you will likely lose your period, which is a sign that you are unhealthy. You will also have to change your diet to the point that you're eating very little actual food and measuring/weighing it to ensure portion size.

 

None of that is allowable on a Whole 30. This is about learning about your body and what it looks like when it's healthy. So do yourself a favor, and stop trying to look like a photoshopped model (anybody else remember when Cindy Crawford, the supermodel, said she wished she actually looked like her published images?) and start celebrating the fact that you look good the way you are.

 

This has been a hard thing for me to learn, because I've always disliked the little padding I have extra. Especially now, after not being able to work out for over a year due to two shoulder surgeries compounding onto each other and the fact that stationary bikes always mess with my knees. I'm not happy about my body comp, but I can recognize that I look awesome. Because despite not working out since the summer of 2012, I still fit into my clothes the same way and went to the ball last night and ROCKED my gown. Yeah, it was awesome.

[Nritchie77]

Well today is Day 30 for me!!!  

 

I don't know what I did wrong, because I followed it to a "T"  I weighed myself this morning and I GAINED 7 pounds... My sleep habits never changed, I'm still getting up at 7:30 AM... I even started going to bed at 8:45-9:00 PM.  I covered every ounce of light in my bedroom and still get up once a night!  I'm still super lethargic and just yesterday I choked on my food again (acid reflux episode; I use to do it all the time... I thought it was gone and then bam it happened again yesterday).  I don't have the energy to do my workouts.  

 

Here were my goals:

 

1) lose 10 pounds

2) sleep throughout the night

3) wake up at 4:45 rise and shine

4) wrist pain to stop

5) acid reflux to stop 

6) happier moods 

7) better concentration

8) stop snacking

9) work out 6x's a week

10) energy levels to be out of control good! 

 

Here are my results

1) gained 7 pounds

2) Still wake up once or twice during the night

3) Still waking up at 7:30 AM

4) wrist pain stopped completly

5) had 2 episodes of my acid reflux one just yesterday

6) my moods are still up and down like a roller coaster

7) didn't notice any change in my concentration; still feeling ADHD

8) I kept snacking on apple, Kale, and sweet potato chips (my fault I know)

9) Had the energy to workout 1 time a week.  I think one week I did 3 times and felt good but than got too tired/lazy to keep going

10) My energy levels are slim to none most of the time.  I think I felt 3 days of the tiger blood and I'm not even sure thats what I was feeling, than it went away and I was back to feeling the same way??????

 

HELP, I know I need to keep going but I don't want to gain another 7 pounds!!!!!  

 

I ran 6 miles yesterday and it about killed me - I was thinking since I was at the end of my program I would have crazy amounts of energy and would be able to push through...but I about died!  Than I couldn't wake up this morning and work out.  I have 4 kids at home and I work an hour away from home.  Two nights a week I have bible study so the only time I can work out is 5AM.  I don't want to leave my 17 month old anymore than I have too.  With work I barely see her as it is.  Her bed time is 8:30 and I typically go to bed 15-20 minutes after I put her down.  If I go to the gym after that I wont be able to fall asleep!  I thought for sure I'd be popping out of bed at 4:45 AM by now, but I'm crawling out of bed around 7:30...  

 

should I just start working out around 9PM and stop trying to wake up at 4:30?  It's not what I really want to do, but I'm up for suggestions.  I'm at a loss for words.  I had such high hopes.  

 

Suggestions, comments, advice....????????????????????????????????????????

[MrsStick]

This is not a guaranteed "you will lose weight" system. This is for you to get HEALTHIER. This won't get you to an arbitrary number that you've decided that may or may not be what your body actually wants. You can say all you want that "your ideal weight is X" but, based on your frame, metabolism, etc., your body/genetics may disagree completely. Kind of like in the post on The Paleo Parents today...Stacy touches on how she will never be a bikini model (like most of us). Her husband told her "some people are meant to run fast, some are meant to run far, and some are meant to pick those people up." Your goals need to be what your body is meant to do.

 

As for your points...

 

1. If your body has been deprived for a long period of time and you gained over legitimately what your body needs, it will sort itself out IF you keep eating properly (by the template). You are not defined by a number on a scale. Instead of looking at a number, how do your clothes fit? Your weight represents your body's interaction with gravity, nothing more. Hormones are a tricky thing and, for some people, a period of more than 30 days is required to get everything back as it should be. Try doing another Whole 30 so your body can understand that it's okay, and see what happens.

 

2. Are you at least waking up less during the night than you were? Or is this unchanged? I've found that I don't sleep through the night if I don't take my magnesium regularly (which sucks because the movers packed mine while I wasn't looking, so I'm going to have to buy a new bottle again...I haven't slept straight through the night in almost a week and am feeling rather zombie-fied). Maybe you can try that?

 

3. Your circadian rhythm may need more time to get set up before you can wake up earlier. Focus first on sleeping all night (again, try magnesium) then try to wake up significantly earlier. Instead of making it an all or nothing thing, try stepping back your wake-up time earlier by 5 or 10 minutes at a time. How long are you sleeping at night total? If you're trying to run your body into the ground with what you are doing (not sleeping enough, waking up too early, working out too much, etc.) you're probably stressing it out too much, which causes you to maintain or gain weight (point 1). Trust your body!

 

4. Hooray for the wrist pain! Use that as one of your signals when/if you reintroduce foods because it sounds like the pain was definitely food-inflammation related.

 

5. Did your acid reflux scale back or is it just as often as it was? If it's an improvement, that's awesome. Again, extending your 30 days into a 60 day trial might be the bump it needs to go away completely. Also, look at what you eat for probably 2 meals prior to the reflux both times - is there anything that is obviously in common that you didn't eat any other times?

 

6. See point 1 regarding hormones. Plus not sleeping can really mess with your moods, so give yourself some time to sleep properly and see if it helps.

 

7. See point 6. You could consider trying the Autoimmune restrictions and see if it helps with the reflux/sleeping/moods/ADHD.

 

8. Stop snacking! If you do another 30 days, do it without snacking. If you're seriously hungry (you'd eat fish and steamed broccoli if it was in front of you), eat a mini-meal by the template. If not, then tell yourself that you're not eating, distract yourself, or drink something (water, herbal tea, etc.) and move on. Eating sweet potato chips and apples without any fat or protein to bring down the blood sugar spike isn't a good idea for energy, moods, or anything else.

 

9. You have four kids at home. Having energy to work out once a week is impressive. Cut yourself some slack!

 

Your key word you need to learn is balance. You mention Bible study - are you spending any conscious time in prayer during your days most days? If not, then work at balancing. I wouldn't recommend working out that close to bedtime, because it will wake you up and you can't get a proper recovery in. So I'd say back off the working out for a bit, focus on getting your sleep in (magnesium supplements, including pills, Natural Calm, or even Epsom Salt baths will help with that!), and continue to nourish your body. The 30 days is an average, and some of us take longer than others.

[runninglawyer88]

Don't forget the impact that the "starvation" diets had on your metabolic rate prior to embarking on the whole 30. The weight gain should be completely dismissed because it was likely to occur no matter what sort of eating plan you went on after those diets (assuming they contained adequate calories). I can't offer much with respect to your other issues but I do hope that you continue fueling your body, treating yourself with kindness, and staying off the scale because it doesn't define you and certainly shouldn't have such an impact on the way you feel about yourself and this accomplishment. 

[Robin Strathdee]

More tough love here:

 

1. Go back to the top of your thread and read through the responses. Especially those that remind you that your body will need to learn to trust you before you will lose weight. You went through a period of serious restriction (at least one, though folks who take those plans on tend to have a habit/pattern of extreme dieting), you have high stress levels, and you are likely under-eating now.  Your body will likely gain weight on its way to health. Then, once it has stabilized, it will release that weight. The best thing you can do for it is take the pressure off.  Buy new pants, toss your scale, take a deep breath and let yourself heal.

 

2. Maybe working out isn't in your health picture right now.  Your body views exercise as stress. You already have 4 kids, a job, Bible study and self-imposed stress from body issues. Adding exercise to that just pushes you farther from health. The human body tends to store energy in times of stress (it's one of the reasons we've survived this long), so adding more stress means storing more energy.

 

3. While the nuts and dried fruit are likely contributing to your bloating and acid reflux, they are not likely to be the cause of your weight gain. (See #1 above)  In fact, you're not likely to pinpoint one food decision - or even group - responsible.  

 

I'd really, really, REALLY encourage you to keep on this path. BUT not with a focus on weight loss or hitting specific goals. Only with a focus on returning to health and balance. Be patient and kind with your body - if you mistreat it, i can guarantee you won't get the results you want and need in the end.

[Nritchie77]

Thank you guys all for your posts.  I have continued on my journey.  I took two weeks off eating completely whole30 but did keep eating paleo for the most part.  today was day 1 back on whole30 "round two"  I'm giving it another 30 days to heal my body completely.