This is not a number game (or) The powerful pull of numbers

[Guest WholeStanley]

Today was my first weigh in following my first whole30, it was also day 9 of my second whole30, but also day 45 of my first whole30 (with 2 peanut butter cups in between hence the need to start again at day 36!), but yes I don't have a scale so weigh in had to wait till i had a session with my Personal Trainer.

 

So I'm not really a numbers girl (or at least I thought I wasn't) the 'no scale' rule of the whole30 was a moot point for me, I don't own a scale and have never been one of those people who could tell you how much I weigh. I will probably weigh myself (at the gym/friends house) every couple of months so will have a rough idea but nothing more than that. I couldn't really understand those who finished their whole30 and were dissappointed with the number of lbs they had lost, firstly I don't really have a concept of lbs or kgs so I don't know what is a good number or what isn't and secondly I always found myself thinking but 'you just said you feel great, and you're clothes are loose, and you have more energy, better skin and sleeping better than ever before - who cares what the numbers says??'

 

Until I had to stand on the scale.

 

Now, before I jumped on to find out my 'number' I knew I had lost weight on the whole30 - why? Because I felt slimmer, friends and family had commented and my clothes were looser (I could fit into my favourite jeans for the first time in nearly 2 years). But I also knew my whole30 had been a huge success story for a number of other reasons, I sleep nearly 8 hours a night these days, I feel rested and have more constant energy (no more falling asleep in client meetings - yes that did happen  ), I feel fitter and stronger, my skin is the best it has been in forever (i've struggled with acne since I was 11 so this was a biggie for me), I don't suffer from food guilt anymore, my moods are more even and I have loved all the new recipes I now have in my life.

 

But I stood on the scale and I seemed to forget all that just for a moment, my trainer said: "you've lost 3.5kg" and my thought process went 'o, ok, is that good? 3 doesn't sound very high, I'm sure I saw someone dissappointed on the forum with a three'...and these were my continuing thoughts as I walked into work 'only 3 huh? maybe this wasn't really worth it - i thought the whole30 was great but maybe I was kidding myself, maybe its not meant to be this easy, maybe I was meant to have felt hungry more. Should I just stop now? Or maybe I should keep going but just cut out every single nut in my diet, I tell you what I'll start by not finishing all my breakfast as it is a huge tuppaware (of mackeral, greens, parnsips, tomatoes, avocado and red cabbage and carrot slaw)'

 

I mean how crazy, stupid irrational is that?!?! And do you know what really made me realise the stupidity of our focus on numbers?? Well when I got into work and onto google I transferred my weight loss from kgs into lbs and found out I lost 7.7lbs, and I was immedieatly happier - you know, because 7.7 is bigger than 3.5. Had I magically lost weight over the course of 30 mins, did my body suddenly look drastically different - of course bloody not but just that shift in numbers actually made me feel better. Madness.

 

So never again will I dismiss fellow whole30ers concerns when they get hung up on a number, numbers are powerful, and hard to ignore and impact on us all. But I've also realised they are really arbitary and a ridiculous way of measuring worth and progress and I will keep offering support and emphasising that point in equal measure!

 

 

So i'm going to start this success story all over again: yesterday was day 9 of my second whole30 and someone at work said my lunch of chopped liver, greens and coconut flakes looked delicious - I told her about whole30 and she said she wanted to do it too because my skin looked amazing - yay!

 

And yes I've lost weight which I'm happy about, I feel myself now, I'm really connected to my body and don't feel i get into bed nursing a food belly or a sugar hangover. I feel strong and confident, and from someone who used binge eating as a form of self harm and promised myself I would just starve myself from now until summer - feeling this great and not once going hungry is the biggest revelation for me. Ask my family, i don't shut up about it!

 

So yes thanks whole30, to melissa and dallas for sharing their knowledge and exprience and doing the reseach, tweaking and hardwork so that when you asked me to hand myself over to the program for 30 daysi felt confident in doing so (you've got me for a lot longer now and I'm trying to tackle the other 9 areas too) and finally, most importantly, thank you to everyone on the forum for the questions you asked and the answers you gave which also offered guidance and support for my journey. Much love, Sophia xx

[healthyAbby]

Congratulations on all your successes! Good luck on the rest of your journey!

[GlennR]

This is such a nuanced, insightful narrative on why we should not focus too much on the scale. I hope it's more widely read!

 

(Mods, maybe it can be posted in the Whole30 Facebook page?)

[Dewdrop75]

What an inspiration! This was exaclty what I needed to read. I'm starting my first Whole30 on Sunday, so it is so wonderful and refreshing to hear your story. Congrats on your success, I'm hoping to have the same success as you.

[Guest WholeStanley]

Thanks guys, glad you liked what I had to say - sorry it turned out longer than planned! Best of luck with your whole30 dewdrop!

[Dewdrop75]

Thanks WholeStanley! I am on Day 1 and so far so good.

[WholeReese902]

This is an amazing perspective on the power of numbers and how easy it is to get hung up on them! It's so ingrained in us!!!! Good for you for recognizing that and being able to separate it out in your success story! Thanks!!