weight loss advice, and pins & needles

[Kari30]

Hi, I'm on Day 14, and haven't had any cheats yet or any major issues. Weight loss is one of my main goals. I don't feel like I've lost any weight yet (but haven't weighed). Am I eating too much/too little? Are my meals the right balance of protein/fat/veges?

 

A typical day (breakfast and lunch is pretty much the same every day, only my dinner changes significantly):

 

 

Breakfast: small slice of frittata (sausage, mushroom, red pepper, onion), smoked salmon, half an avocado. Black coffee.

Snack: banana (mid-morning, only when needed - about every 3rd day)

Lunch: salad of lettuce, roasted carrots and parsnips, chicken, olives, homemade mayonnaise

Snack: small handful of macadamias/hazelnuts (again, only if needed - about every 2nd day)

Dinner: thai curry - coconut milk, prawns, curry paste, selection of veges (eggplant, zucchini etc) OR steak and veges with mayonnaise OR canned tuna, canned tomatoes and mushrooms, with zucchini 'noodles'.

Snack: tablespoon of coconut flakes after dinner (pretty much every night)

 

Any feedback on this would be great please - am I doing the right things for weight loss?

 

Also - I've been getting pins and needles a lot more often since I started, sometimes waking up in the night with them in my hands or feet. Is this something to do with salt levels? Too much? I'm not sure whether I should be concerned about this? It's happening every 2-3 days.

 

Thanks!

 

[Tom Denham]

The magic that has led to 93 percent of people who do a Whole30 losing weight is improvements in their hormonal rhythms. Achieving good hormonal rhythms takes time. For some people, it takes two weeks, but for some people it can take 6 or 8 weeks. Two of the most important things for getting your hormonal rhythms in a good place - aside from eating the right foods and avoiding the wrong foods - is eating breakfast within an hour of waking in the morning and eating enough to genuinely nourish your body. Delaying breakfast and eating too little is really hard on your hormones and makes losing weight steadily very difficult.

 

Your meals sound good, but if you need a snack every few days, you probably need to eat more at your regular meals. Your breakfast might be too small. I can't judge what is a small slice of frittata. If the slice includes about 3 eggs, you are good. If it includes less than 2 eggs, you need more breakfast. I find that eating a too small breakfast makes it hard to do well throughout the day. 

 

The sensation of pins and needles usually has to do with posture, not your salt intake. You are very unlikely to be eating too much salt. Not eating enough during a Whole30 is much more common. 

[Guest Andria]

Consider having your B12 levels checked. This can be a symptom of B12 deficiency. I was having the same symptoms; I couldn't even lay on my side and prop my head up with my hand without it falling asleep and found out my B12 levels were tanked.

[fitisthenublack]

You probably shouldn't be snacking so much to be honest. Also, I would try to eat less nuts and fruit.

[MeadowLily]

"       but I'll add the "official Hartwig opinion" here.

 

There are very few reasons I can think of to give up fruit entirely, or purposefully limit intake. For one, let's not confuse fruit with fructose. Fruit isn't sugar - fruit is a whole food, with a whole host of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, fiber, water. And yes, it contains some sugar, but that's not the same as sugar.

 

We believe eating whole, unprocessed, nutrient-dense foods in their natural state makes you more healthy. Fruit falls into that category, and we encourage consumption on the program. Now, we prioritize veggies because, as Renee said, they are more nutrient-dense as a whole. But nobody ever hurt themselves eating a few (3, 4, 6!) servings of fruit a day, in the context of a nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory, whole-foods based diet like ours. This is especially true when consumption follows a general seasonality - eat more fruit in the summer, when it's fresh and delicious, and less in the winter, when it's less available and not biologically "normal."

 

Reasons to limit fruit consumption may include fructose malabsorption (for those folks who don't tolerate fructose well and experience digestive distress when eating too much fruit at once), or for those who find they use fruit to prop up sugar cravings. In those instances, we don't recommend you eliminate fruit, only change how, when, and how much you consume it.

 

The idea of a "detox" program that limits fruit but promotes "sugar-free" pancakes, muffins, and donuts baffles me, to be honest. That's all I'm going to say on that subject.

 

I hope that helps. As for your consumption, don't be afraid of a few pieces of fruit! Enjoy them, especially while they are in season, as part of your healthy Whole30/Whole9 varied diet.

 

Best,

Melissa"

[MeadowLily]

"The point of the Whole30 is to change your relationship with food, heal the gut, reduce systemic inflammation, restore a healthy metabolism. Sites like these keep you focused on numbers that, truthfully, don't mean a darn thing in terms of any of those health metrics. You don't need to worry about calories, 6:3 ratio, fiber grams, or any such nonsense during your program, and you certainly don't need a computerized system passing judgment about whether you're "strict paleo" or not!

During your Whole30, focus on the food, the mealtime experience, your body's signals, the results. If you choose to track your food after your Whole30, that's entirely up to you... but there's a reason that tracking/logging/weighing/measuring made our top five list of "most common errors for first-time Whole30'ers."Best,


Melissa" 

 

 

On Day 1, I learned to stay off the scales and that this is not a weight loss program.  I took it to heart and it is wise counsel.