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30 days done and... nothing


bunny_mac

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Finished my Whole30 yesterday and to say I am disappointed/disheartened/downright miserable would be an understatement.

 

When I started out on the Whole30 my goals were to lose weight and increase my energy and concentration. Big fat zero on all three counts. 

 

I lost 2kg... and believe me, I have a significant amount of weight to lose. 2kg is nothing. I've never been one to judge by what the scales say but my measurements tell the same story - zero, zilch, zip, nada. Exactly the same size as before.

 

So weight loss isn't everything... but I haven't felt any of the other great benefits. No boundless energy  - if anything I feel worse now than I did before I started. I haven't been able to do any exercise because I feel so run down that on the occasions I tried, I had to stop because I felt like I was going to collapse! I do yoga once a week and even that kills me. (I've been anaemic before so I thought that might be it, but I've been tested and I'm fine.) My concentration is just as bad as before. 

 

What's gone wrong? Has anyone else had the same experience? Reading back on my journal, I started off well, hit a real low point around Day 13, things improved for a few days around Day 21, then by Day 26 I was feeling worse than ever. I expected to feel like hell in the first few weeks, I was prepared for that. But I thought things would have improved by now.

 

To give you an idea of what I've been eating... 

 

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, salmon fillet & broccoli or an omelette with ground beef & veggies

Lunch: Homemade soup from ISWF or a big salad with leaves, chicken or fish, olives, avocado, beetroot, peppers etc.

Dinner: Salmon fillet, sweet potato & green beans or a steak with sweet potato & veggies or a curry with cauliflower rice or cabbage

 

In the first week or so I would have the odd handful of cashews to keep me going between meals, but by the end I rarely had to do that.

 

I've been drinking at least 2 litres of water a day, but still feeling really dehydrated. 

 

I've been sleeping well, but sleeping is rarely a problem for me!

 

At the beginning I was determined to keep doing this past the 30 days, but with no motivation whatsoever to keep going I'm about ready to quit. I really, desperately want this to work. I want to lose weight, I want to increase my energy and improve my concentration. Most of all I want to be able to exercise again, both for my physical and mental wellbeing. I'm prepared to work for this, but it's hard to keep working for when I'm seeing no positive results.

 

Any help/insights anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated!

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Sorry you're disappointed in your results.

FWIW, you lost twice as much weight as moderator Tom Denham did in any of his back-to-back Whole30s. He kept going and lost weight at 2lbs a month for several months.

 

Would you be willing to keep going if you continued to lose weight at 2kg per month?

 

Your meals look good and it sounds like they're keeping you properly satiated. I assume your portion sizes are meeting the recommended template of 1-2 palms of protein, 1-3 cups of veggies and the appropriate amount of compliant fat.

 

Some thoughts:

- When you have soup for lunch, are you including a protein?

 

- 2 litres of water per day is appropriate if you currently weigh in the neighborhood of 62 kg. If you weigh more, drink more. The idea is to drink at least half your body weight in ounces, daily. 

- How is the stress level in your life?

- Any medical/health issues you're currently dealing with (e.g., adrenals, thyroid, hormones, etc.)?
 

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Hi Chris,

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

In answer to your question, no, I definitely wouldn't keep going if I knew I would lose 2kg a month - not with everything else remaining as is. My ideal situation would be Whole30 + exercise, because then I'm sure I'd lose more. But I can't exercise feeling the way I am. So I'm in a quandary. Do I ditch the Whole30 and exercise or do I forget about exercise and keep going? I want to sign up to a training program that a friend is doing where I would be going to the gym four mornings a week but I know that just wouldn't happen if I continue to feel as weak as I do. The training program includes a diet - but that contains dairy, grains, legumes etc. all the things I 'shouldn't' be eating! I don't know what to do...

 

Yes, I always have chicken in my soup, so I'm getting my protein in there. I've been sticking to the meal template religiously. 

 

I drink a lot of herbal tea - does that count in my water quota?! If it doesn't then I should probably be drinking more...

 

As to the other questions - I don't have a particularly stressful life. I don't like my job, but it's not a stressful one. I'm not in debt, I don't have kids to worry about... all in all I would say no, I'm not stressed. I don't have any health concerns either (that I'm aware of!).

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I agree with Chris that 2 kgs isn't nothing...that is 4.4 lbs which is an average of a healthy 1 lb per week loss. I'm more concerned with the energy issues than with the the weight. I myself only saw a 3 lb change during my W30 but I was also eating pretty close to W30 when I started.

 

How different is eating W30 style from the way you were eating before?

 

Though your job is not stressful if you don't like it that could be contributing to your energy issues. I know that when I have a boring/unsatisfying day at work it just drains me. 

 

I don't see added fat mentioned in your meal outlines. Are you doing that and just not mentioning it here?

 

It is also possible that you need some more carbs though your meals don't look all that low to me. 

 

Herbal tea does count towards your water quota.

 

Have you had your adrenals and thyroid checked?

 

You mention being anemic before. I don't see any red meat in your food outline...would you be willing to add beef to your diet?

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Hi Bethany,

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

I have been eating fats and red meat. Probably have red meat 3/4 times a week. 

 

My diet pre-Whole30 wasn't horrendous, in that I didn't live on cola and fast food, but I ate bread, pasta, and cereal quite regularly. 

 

I had my thyroid checked about a year ago and it was fine. Adrenals I don't have a clue about! Is that something I could find out with a blood test?

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I can't tell by your log, but if you don't have enough energy to work out it is likely you aren't eating enough (possibly not enough starchy carbs). Not eating enough food to have energy means your body slows down all activity, not just exercise, so eating more might allow you to lose more weight. for real.

 

That said, 4.4lbs in a month is actually just about perfect for healthy sustainable weightloss. 

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My ideal situation would be Whole30 + exercise, because then I'm sure I'd lose more. But I can't exercise feeling the way I am. So I'm in a quandary. Do I ditch the Whole30 and exercise or do I forget about exercise and keep going?

 

I know I'd pick ditch the Whole30 and exercise!  Exercise has many benefits other than weightloss, and if you can't do it on the Whole30, that's certainly a majoy detractor! 

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I know I'd pick ditch the Whole30 and exercise!  Exercise has many benefits other than weightloss, and if you can't do it on the Whole30, that's certainly a majoy detractor! 

 WHAAT?? The whole30 doesn't prevent people from exercising. I have better workouts eating the whole30 way than ever before in my life! The OP may need to tweak the way they approach the whole30 (from a food quantity standpoint, or changing how many starchy carbs, etc.) but I reject the idea that it would need to be either one or the other.

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I'm not saying that it does for most people - that certainly hasn't been the case for me.  That was in response to BunnyMac's comment below and I was saying IF I had to choose.

 

 WHAAT?? The whole30 doesn't prevent people from exercising. I have better workouts eating the whole30 way than ever before in my life! The OP may need to tweak the way they approach the whole30 (from a food quantity standpoint, or changing how many starchy carbs, etc.) but I reject the idea that it would need to be either one or the other.

 

 

Hi Chris,

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

In answer to your question, no, I definitely wouldn't keep going if I knew I would lose 2kg a month - not with everything else remaining as is. My ideal situation would be Whole30 + exercise, because then I'm sure I'd lose more. But I can't exercise feeling the way I am. So I'm in a quandary. Do I ditch the Whole30 and exercise or do I forget about exercise and keep going? I want to sign up to a training program that a friend is doing where I would be going to the gym four mornings a week but I know that just wouldn't happen if I continue to feel as weak as I do. The training program includes a diet - but that contains dairy, grains, legumes etc. all the things I 'shouldn't' be eating! I don't know what to do...

 

Yes, I always have chicken in my soup, so I'm getting my protein in there. I've been sticking to the meal template religiously. 

 

I drink a lot of herbal tea - does that count in my water quota?! If it doesn't then I should probably be drinking more...

 

As to the other questions - I don't have a particularly stressful life. I don't like my job, but it's not a stressful one. I'm not in debt, I don't have kids to worry about... all in all I would say no, I'm not stressed. I don't have any health concerns either (that I'm aware of!).

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Hi Chris,

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

In answer to your question, no, I definitely wouldn't keep going if I knew I would lose 2kg a month - not with everything else remaining as is. My ideal situation would be Whole30 + exercise, because then I'm sure I'd lose more. But I can't exercise feeling the way I am. So I'm in a quandary. Do I ditch the Whole30 and exercise or do I forget about exercise and keep going? I want to sign up to a training program that a friend is doing where I would be going to the gym four mornings a week but I know that just wouldn't happen if I continue to feel as weak as I do. The training program includes a diet - but that contains dairy, grains, legumes etc. all the things I 'shouldn't' be eating! I don't know what to do...

 

Yes, I always have chicken in my soup, so I'm getting my protein in there. I've been sticking to the meal template religiously. 

 

I drink a lot of herbal tea - does that count in my water quota?! If it doesn't then I should probably be drinking more...

 

As to the other questions - I don't have a particularly stressful life. I don't like my job, but it's not a stressful one. I'm not in debt, I don't have kids to worry about... all in all I would say no, I'm not stressed. I don't have any health concerns either (that I'm aware of!).

Have you gone through the reintroduction process yet?  I would absolutely recommend that, for any foods you would like to eat again or are curious about.

 

You can especially notice whether putting certain foods back helps your energy levels.

 

At that point, you can decide how to best ride your own bike.  I personally don't think you'll need to decide between strict Whole30 vs. exercise. I think it's your version of healthy eating for you, plus exercise.

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Were you dieting or restricting calories before? Eating nutrient-poor foods?  Sometimes, when we're starting from a negative balance, our bodies are hesitant to increase expendable energy or let go of stored weight because there's a history of being under-fed.  Not sure if this is you, but it's worth mentioning.

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Hi all,

 

Thanks for all your input.

 

In answer to some of the questions - I'm going through the reintroduction process as we speak. Had some dairy three days ago, with no ill effects (or positive ones!) and I'm trying non-gluten grains today. 

 

My diet previous to Whole30 was fairly average. I wasn't dieting in any way, but I didn't eat dreadfully unhealthily. 

 

I've made an appointment to see my GP. I feel so awful, I'm quite concerned for my health.  :(

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