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I want to weigh in, remind me why its not a good idea!


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I'm on day 5 of my 1st whole30. My first motivator for starting the whole30 was to shift some kilos. I know its not a weight loss diet but I also know if I stick to it a bonus result will be weight loss.

 

I have chosen to do the whole30 for a myriad of other reasons too, to combat my psoriasis, to combat my psoratic arthritis, to change my relationship with food and to break my snacking habits plus more reasons. 

 

I guess I'm just fearful today that maybe it wont work? what happens if I get to the end and I haven't lost weight? Looking for some reassurance :)

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Don't do it.  Just focus on how you feel and the weight will come off.  I've been in that position before.  Weighing myself can lead to some less than desirable behaviors and sabotage my efforts:

 

"I lost 1 kilogram.  I'm doing so well I can eat that pizza!"

or

"I haven't lost as much as I 'should have.'  This isn't working.  I may as well eat that pizza."

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what happens if I get to the end and I haven't lost weight?

What happens?  Well, generally, you feel so good that you don't care.  Generally, regardless of what the scale says, your clothes will be fitting better.  Your body composition will be changing.  

 

Don't weigh yourself, because an *important* part of the program is NOT weighing yourself.  Because you trust Dallas & Melissa and you believe that their program was purposefully designed.  So you respect their rules, because obviously, since they have devoted their entire lives to this program, they must know some stuff you don't.  ;)

 

It is common for people to see or feel the weight loss toward the very end -- another reason why many folks decide to continue.  Be patient and trust the process.  What happens if you get to the end and you haven't lost weight?  Well, what happens next is whatever you decide.  But give yourself the satisfaction of finishing a Whole 30 while following the rules, and then see how you feel at the end... because there is NO way you can predict that now.

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Here is some more information for your arsenal.

 

http://whole9life.com/2012/03/5-reasons-to-break-up-with-your-scale/

http://whole9life.com/2012/08/new-health-scale/

http://everydaypaleo.com/attention-scale-addicts/

http://everydaypaleo.com/attention-scale-addicts-part-2/

 

One of the things Whole30/Paleo has done for me is greatly evened out my mood. I think this is partly because of the cleaner diet and partly because I no longer step on the scale every dang day and let that stupid number tell me how my day is going to be.  :ph34r:

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I get worried when women post pictures of themselves with their babies and then talk about wanting to lose weight. Our bodies change so much during pregnancy, and one of the things we have to do is to figure out what our bodies want to do/be NOW, after the baby is born. This is not a linear process, and our bodies continue to change, hormones shift, sleep patterns (or lack thereof when babies are in the house) affect how our bodies work, and we are just different people now.  Weighing ourselves can become a trap of trying to become, again, the person/body we were before our babies were born. And that person ain't comin' back.  Even if weight returns to pre-baby weight, the body will look and will be different.  If the pregnancy was difficult, there were complications at birth, or if the baby takes more than an hour of your time a day (haha), your body will be a mama body.  My girls are 11 and my body still shows clear evidence that I once carried twins.

 

Another aspect of this that I like to bring up in general, whenever someone posts about weight, is that women deserve to take up physical space in the world. Often we weigh ourselves because we believe we need to be smaller. Some of us might get smaller eating healthily, but some of us might not. But we all get to take up exactly as much space on the planet as we take.  Feel the power!

 

Hide your scale. Then once you've gotten over the panic of not weighing, give it away.  You'll be so much happier.

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Thank you, each of you, for taking the time to respond and offer support, its really appreciated. You each make great points and fighting weighing is just another part of this journey. You are right, the scale dictates my mood too much and I shouldn't bow to that! Plus you are also right that so much more will be gained by doing this than weight alone. I am on day 6 and I feel pretty good, going through some of the normal things but mostly I feel pretty good.

 

That 'baby' in my photo is my 4th child and he is almost 2, so not really  baby anymore. I accept completely the physical changes that come with having children but my weight is unhealthy at the moment and I don't wish to ignore that. I can set the 'weight' part aside though and continune my focus on eating well and exercising and just let everything happen over time. 

 

Thanks again guys!

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I was a slave to the scale and completely understand where you're coming from. I've made it to day 26...when I used to weigh myself EVERY morning, which only set the tone for the rest of the day.

 

What helped me was to keep a visible list of all my non-scale victories achieved. Mine looked like...1) feel less bloated and uncomfortable; 2) have more energy; 3) have more patience; 4) less cravings. This kept me focused. 

 

Best of luck to you!!! 

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Photomiss-  

 

First of all, you are so smart and so good to yourself to reach out for help right away when the scale is calling to you!   Please listen to all the great advice here and let your Whole30 play out without the influence of the scale.  I think especially for those of us who are significantly overweight and have tried for so long to lose weight,  the scale seems like it could be an ally and a cheerleader.   But really it is a  frenemy.... the friend you used to have that you finally realize just takes too much energy to be around and makes you wallow in negative self talk etc.  

 

I want to share my battle with the scale during my Whole30  journey because I think it might resonate -  and maybe help if  that frenemy continues to whisper to you over the rest of your Whole30.

 

I started my first Whole 30 on Aug 1.   I had some stumbles along the way and restarted on Aug 15.   On Aug 31 I decided I would continue through for a total of a Whole66 from my original start date because I still had one habit I had not shaken-  the scale.       This is what I wrote that day:

 

In my  Whole 30 Daily  this morning I learned that science shows it takes 66 days to really form a new habit.   So I am thinking of extending my Whole30 to a Whole66 (from my original start date of August 1).   Not only will this help solidify the shopping, eating, fueling habits that are becoming second nature..... it will also give me another 30+ days to work on a remaining habit I just have not been able to shake.  Confession time (please be gentle with me):    I am still addicted to the scale.  I am so close to not being classified as obese...  just 2 more pounds!   Every morning I think -  you don't need that scale for validation, you know how you are feeling,  you know that number does not show you all the progress you have made.   But every morning I think.... "but maybe today is the day"    So, I asked my husband to hide the scale.   And this is day 31 of my Whole66. 

 

Just a few days later I wrote:

 

My AWARE moment this morning.... before the scale disappeared I would not even take a drink of water before I would weigh myself!  This morning I was thirsty waking up and by habit almost stopped myself from taking a drink...... and then I happily drank a whole glass sitting on my nightstand before I even stood up.   And I thought my habit of weighing myself was no big deal! 

 

I was really good about not weighing in for several weeks, and it really freed my mind to focus on other parts of the journey.  Then I got to a "milestone" -  the end of my Whole30 from my restart date of Aug 15.   Everyone on my support  thread was going to be posting about weigh ins and other success metrics.  My frenemy was whispering very loudly-  actually it was shouting- "you need me, you need me"...  and I gave in.    This is what I wrote that day:    

 

I weighed myself yesterday since it was the end of my Whole30 1.5. I have lost quite a bit of weight (~13lbs) but I shouldn't have done it...  I went right back into my hyper focus on the numbers. How much did I lose per week?  Could I tweak things to lose more/faster?  How much could I lose in the next two weeks???....  what is possible by Christmas???...  how long until I reach my final goal.???   Forty minutes, two Excel charts and several graphs later I realized how far down the rabbit hole that one weigh in had taken me.  The  impact of this type of thought process was still with me all day..  kind of a downward spiral of negative self talk.  So the scale has been banished again and I am contemplating giving it away.   I liked the past few weeks better, where I was focusing on how I was feeling or how clothes were fitting or the great ways my body can move.   yep -  I have a lot more head work to do.  

 

Today is my last day of my Whole66.    Tomorrow I will weigh in ---but not at home.   I have decided that the scale is permanently banished here and I will only weigh in with my trainer or other professionals outside of my house.     Here is what I wrote yesterday: 

 

My Whole66 ends on  Monday with official weigh in, body composition testing, fitness testing and bloodwork.  I am really excited to get all of the numbers,  but trying to focus on how I feel as the most important outcome.    And I feel really good!    I am doing great in all of my workouts and through out the day with energy.   But one of the best parts of feeling better is very subtle-  it is in how I feel when I am just walking through my day-  just going from the car to the next place, from my desk to a meeting, from the kitchen upstairs to the bedroom.   Before this process it was as if my body were something separate...and not very well liked at that.  Now I am in my body, and I like it!!     I like how my body moves, I enjoy the feeling of these motions, I feel at peace and at home in my body just the way it is today.     That doesn't mean I am done with wanting to lose weight, increase my flexibility, build lean strong muscles, or increase my endurance.     It just means that I am able to really enjoy the behaviors right now that will get me to those outcomes in due time ---and that each and every step along the way can be savored as a good place to be,  instead of just a marker on the journey. 

 

As you can see, when i gave myself time and space away from the scale, the magic of the Whole30 approach really worked not only on my body, but also on my mind.     Give yourself that chance too!   

 

All the best to you as you continue your journey!  

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My AWARE moment this morning.... before the scale disappeared I would not even take a drink of water before I would weigh myself!  This morning I was thirsty waking up and by habit almost stopped myself from taking a drink...... and then I happily drank a whole glass sitting on my nightstand before I even stood up.   And I thought my habit of weighing myself was no big deal! 

I read years ago that it is a good habit to drink a FULL glass of room temperature water when you first wake up.  Helps flush out toxins from overnight work that has been done by your liver, etc.  Made sense to me, and this is how I have started my day for a long time now.  

 

Congratulations on how very far you've come!  :)

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Jump4life what an incredible post, thank you so much for sharing. I can relate to a lot of what you have shared. 

I've been moving my focus more and more away from just my weight, though realistically I am overweight and do need ot lose BUT I also know I chose this program for many more reasons other than just 'losing weight' 

 

I'm committed, I will NOT weigh until the end of my whole30, the scales are packed away. 

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I guess I'm just fearful today that maybe it wont work? what happens if I get to the end and I haven't lost weight? Looking for some reassurance :)

 

I lost a little weight on my Whole 30, but you know what was weird, is that I was still a good 15-20lbs above my low/goal weight... and yet I not only looked better, I felt like I looked better. (Because you know how some days you "feel" fatter than normal but your weight hasn't actually changed? You can also feel thin and fabulous regardless of what the scale says.) For me personally, part of it was that my tummy bloat went away. Now, I didn't have a six pack or anything ridiculous, but I just felt like I looked the way I was supposed to, if that makes sense. Plus, clothes started to fit me better.

 

So I guess what I'm saying is, in all honesty -- you will probably lose weight! But if you don't, so what? You're going to look and feel better. What does that have to do with your relationship with gravity? That's all that number really means. 

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