Day 4 - what's different this time?

[howswelegant]

I'm on Day 4 of my 3rd whole 30. I know, it's super early and i have 26 days left. Im not freaking out. But, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on subsequent whole 30s and how they may be different. My first time around, my clothes immediately started fitting better in the first week. This time around...no change. I had mild hangover symptoms day 2-3 (moderate headache). I'm getting around 7 hours of sleep. It has been tough to drop off, one of the things I'm hoping will improve. The biggest changes between then and now is 1) I'm planning a wedding, sooooo probably a stressor and 2) instead of crossfitting 3x/week, I'm doing a heavy weightlifting progression 3x/week.

Anyway. I'm not throwing in the towel, I'm just curious if anyone has ideas about this. One other thing that has occured to me is that a few months ago I was experimenting a bit with very low carb/high fat diet. I have since heard that going low carb can damage your metabolism. :/ womp womp. I've maybe been hitting the fruit a little hard to get over the hangover...but within meals and still around 3 servings per day.

Thoughts? Anyone else have subsequent whole30s that seem different?

[ktothev]

I'm on day 26 of my second. Did my first in January of this year.

 

I'll be completely honest. This one has been horrible. Granted, I am going through stress due to work and relationship issues...but I was going through something similar my first one. In fact, I specifically choose to do a second one right now with the hopes that I would get similar results as before: better, more consistent energy levels, improved mood, better focus at work, better sleep, and yes, weight loss.

 

Note that prior to my whole30 I had been eating primal/paleo about 80/20 for about 3 months. After my whole30, same thing. So it isn't like I was coming from a SAD either time.

 

I am getting...none of that right now. I can tell I'm not losing weight by the way my clothes fit. And I am...miserable. Depressed. The sleep? it's hit or miss. The focus? a struggle. The energy and improved mood? No way.

 

I have thought a number of times about throwing in the towel. But, if nothing else, I'm going to get one thing out of this: I'm going to prove to myself that I can make it through a very difficult period without alcohol (a very important lesson for me) and without reaching for comfort foods. I am trying to tell myself that even if that is the only benefit I get this time around, it's worth it. I'm not quite believing myself yet, lol.

 

Another weird thing...this time it seems to be taking FOREVER to get through the 30 days. Even my close friend, who has done 3 of these, has joked that this is the longest whole30 ever (only 1,000 more days, she said to me yesterday, lol). I'm not saying the first one was a breeze...but this one has just been dragging on...

[Bricka]

I'm on day 2 of my first ever Whole 30 challenge. Maybe it wasn't a good idea reading this post!

[LadyM]

My second W30 was so much better than my first! And then my third one was a breeze. I took what I learned from the first one and applied it to my subsequent ones with a much improved attitude and spirit of calm benign acceptance. Oh, and lowered expectations. I just keep getting more and more healthy, though that hasn't corresponded with dramatic weight loss. Lots of other benefits to focus on, though!

[howswelegant]

Yeah, my primary goal is to feel better...I had just been straying too much from paleo and was noticing symptoms. Really wanted to dial it back in. I think I'm starting to feel a little better, digestion wise... So weight loss is not my primary goal. Although, a month before the wedding, a little bit of loss would be nice

[Carlaccini]

I'm at the end of my 5th whole 30 (Day 28) and each whole 30 has been entirely different from the one previous.

 

This one has been a breeze and I have lost count of certain days at some points because I just didn't care.

 

I did a whole 15 prior to this one and wowza was that one hard!  My brain whinned at me the entire time.  I had super high stressors though - mother was ill, work was crazy, and I was having some health issues of my own.

 

So yes each one has been a different learning experience.  If your anxiety/stress is up, then it will be more difficult.  A whole 30 will help with the anxiety and stress but your cravings will be pretty high.

[LisaLulu]

I'm on day 17 of my second one and this one is much easier. Physically the first 4-5 days were hard both times because I felt really hungry, and both times around days 9-11 I felt really nauseous and had no appetite. I think that's when I switched to fat burning metabolism because afterward I found myself not feeling hungry if I waited a while before a meal.

 

I think mostly it's just easier mentally this time. I'm not having cravings, or feeling like it's a long time. I know how short 30 days is, how good I feel, how much easier it gets over time and how the other foods will always be there. I also take it one day at a time on this one 'I'll just do ONE more day, and then I will re-evaluate'. Having done this before I know that every single day of clean eating is worthwhile so even going one more day is good for me. And then one day I woke up and I was more than halfway done and perfectly content to just keep going...