Day 21 and not seeing results.

[Liz G]

Good Morning!

 

I am on Day 21 and am feeling like I must be doing something wrong. I am eating three meals a day and not getting hungry in between so that is definitely a great benefit of this plan, and enough to keep me in a Whole 9 plan interminably. However, my acne is not improving, my clothes are not fitting better and I don't seem to be losing fat the way I hoped. I haven't been on a scale but I don't think there would be a change. Also, the boundless energy has not arrived yet but I am being patient about that! Right now I just feel like I should at least be feeling a LITTLE thinner.

 

I am working out 5-6 days a week and getting as much sleep as I can (but I am not sleeping well right now). A typical day of food looks like this:

 

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 strips bacon or homemade sausage, 2 roasted carrots (or a banana)

Lunch: protein (leftovers from whatever I had for dinner), root vegetable, piece of fruit

Dinner: protein (fish, beef, or pork), greens, root vegetable (potatoes, rutabaga, carrots, etc.)

 

I pretty much follow that formula for meals every day, eating a palm sized portion of meat and however much vegetables it takes to fill me up! Is this food too heavy? Should I eat more salads or just fewer carbs in general?

 

Any encouragement would help. I'm starting to feel a little hopeless.

 

Thanks!

Liz

[CaGirl]

What ever you do don't get on the scale.. Continue following the meal template.. all will be fine..  Every BODY is different.. The Tom D guy dropped two pounds a month until he reached his goal..  Some people drop enormous amounts of weight.. Were all different..   

[GFChris]

A few thoughts:

- Lack of sufficient sleep can definitely be a huge factor in both your energy and ability to lose weight. For best results, you want to aim for 8 hours nightly.

- How's your level of stress? If that's challenging, that could stall things.

- What type of workouts are you doing? Depending on the workout, adding pre and/or post workout fuel, per the recommended meal template, may help. 
- Is the bacon and sausage compliant?

- Are you staying sufficiently hydrated? You want to aim for 1/2 an ounce of water per pound of body weight, daily.

 

It doesn't look like you're eating too much, and the carb-dense vegetables are good for your energy:

- For variety, you might try having one meal per day with only greens as your veg (go with cooked vs a raw salad, as salad will fill you up initially, but is not typically satiating)
- You might try upping the vegetables: aim for 2-3 cups per meal.

- Are you having fats in the recommended amounts at every meal? 
 

Oh, and a gentle reminder that it's a 30 day program: hang in there! http://whole30.com/2014/01/whole30-tough-love/

[Meghan]

I was feeling exactly the same way! I'm on day 24 and finally feeling "leaner." I also took some photos to compare to my Day 0 pics and there's definitely a difference. I won't drop 20 lbs or anything, nor do I feel like I have "tiger blood," but I am experiencing other benefits. I'd try eating a lot more veggies, especially greens. And are you eating the recommended fats? Sleep? Water?

Hang in there! I'm eagerly looking forward to Day 31, but I plan on continuing my "30+" afterward. I have more fat to lose, and I'm feeling so good about so many other things, that I know this is the right thing to do. Trust the process and keep going!

[dblazer]

Today is my day 21 also; I actually felt really incredible for one day, maybe a couple of days ago, but the feeling passed. I'm hoping that's what the end result would be, but we'll have to wait and see. I haven't offically weighed or measured, but I've got jeans in 38, 36, and 34 in waists and switched from 36 to 34 because they were really looking baggy, and then had to add a belt to the mix because the 34s were slipping down.

 

I think I'm eating something (potatoes?) that causes me to retain water or something, I'm going to knock them out of the equation for the next 4-5 days to see.

 

Good luck, as they say everybody's different. I'm mostly craving drinks with flavor, and although I'm missing my favorites, pepperoni pizza and good bagels with cream cheese, I can see doing them on rare occasions (monthly, quarterly) and living with it.

 

There's an old saying; "Don't live to eat, eat to live", I really was using eating as my main hobby, Portland is great for that. I need to get another hobby to be primary.

[LeighRich]

I'm new to this topic and Whole 30 but I've noticed with weightloss that you're always the last person to see or be able to tell that you're losing weight. Maybe a mind thing....I'd lost 10lbs once and hadn't even noticed until I was getting out of the shower and looked down and could feel my pelvis bones sticking out.

[MeadowLily]

 I need to get another hobby to be primary.

   Thanks for the giggle, dblazer.

[Liz G]

Thank you all for your feedback! I am now on Day 24 and still going strong. I have made a few changes for this week:

 

1. I am trying to drink more water and have started drinking Crio Bru cacao instead of coffee to ease up on the caffeine crashing.

2. I am being militant about getting to bed earlier, whether or not I actually fall asleep once I get there is a different story. Last night I think I got 7 good hours and an additional hour of laying there restlessly... pretty good for me!

3. Eating a little more fat at each meal, as well as more green veggies.

4. I'm trying to accept that every body is different and since I usually have a pretty tough time seeing results with any program, I shouldn't expect Whole30 to be magical lol!!

5. Trying not to view eating as a hobby and find some other things to do! lol This is tough because my husband is a chef and we love food!

 

In answer to you, Chris, my bacon and sausage is USUALLY compliant because I make it at home but sometimes Whole Foods bacon slips in there. I am doing boot camp style workouts. Not Crossfit but a similar format without the olympic lifts. I have started having a banana before (it's at 5:45 AM) and eating breakfast after. I am working to increase my water intake... looks like I was coming up a little short of the 80 minimum that I need. Managing stress is always an issue for me as I have anxiety issues, but I am working on staying calm and happy... yoga is helping.

 

Thanks again!

[GFChris]

 

In answer to you, Chris, my bacon and sausage is USUALLY compliant because I make it at home but sometimes Whole Foods bacon slips in there.

 

Your changes are good. Consider also making the change to 100% compliance in bacon and sausage (and all foods), assuming your goal is to do a true Whole30.