The scale isn't moving

[MBC]

I know if serving sizes are too large that could be another culprit.

Try having 2 eggs and less fruit.

[ladyshanny]

I know if serving sizes are too large that could be another culprit.

Try having 2 eggs and less fruit.

 

I know the temptation is to reduce the amount of food that a person is eating in order to see weight loss but this is not at all the protocol of the Whole30.  

 

Eggs, when they are a singular protein, is the amount you can hold in one hand without dropping.  For most women that is at least 3, maybe 4.  By reducing the protein content of the breakfast she would more than likely be setting herself up for hunger between breakfast and lunch, thus requiring snacking and thus not regulating blood sugars and hormones as well as she could do, thereby possibly perpetuating the issues that she is having.

 

I do agree, however, that there is a lot of fruit going on including a dessert of "monkey salad" which also does nothing towards achieving optimal results.  

[MeadowLily]

Lady Shanny, you're so right.  If we start over-restricting we'll end up that much further in the hole.

 

Up those eggs to 4 and add some fish, GFBeef, other real food proteins in.

 

Forget desserts and snacks.  These are the culprits every single time.    The Whole 30 template works.  It's taking liberties with it and adding in all of the snacks that spoils results.

 

“The data are quite clear,” says David Levitsky, Ph. D., a professor of nutrition at Cornell University. “When people complete their dietary treatment, they gain most of the weight back within one year.” The reason for that is complex, Levitsky says, and has to do with losing motivation once the weight stops dropping away, becoming bored or complacent about your new diet, and a host of other factors. 

 

If we become complacent with the Whole 30 template, lose motivation, become bored.......

[evaq]

 

I do agree, however, that there is a lot of fruit going on including a dessert of "monkey salad" which also does nothing towards achieving optimal results.  

 

Hi Mamaclark, good on you for troubleshooting instead of giving up or giving in. I'm only on day 8, but I was attracted to whole30 because I wanted to give my "oversaturated palate" a reset. I have a pretty healthy lifestyle but have a fierce sweet tooth and even though I tried to set boundaries, it was too easy to let "a few extra snacks and treats" into my day. Especially over the holidays.

 

Like ladyshanny, what jumped out when I looked at your meal was how much fruit/sugar you have in every meal. It's almost like fruit is your dessert. I don't want to come across as a meanie - I just recognize a simliar pattern with myself, which I'm trying to break.    Sugar (even when it's with the added benefit of fibre, vitamins etc in fruit) is a gateway food for me. Ditto for carbs. So in order to get my eating/portions/palate back in line, I try to treat fruit as a "condiment". Instead of treating it as a separate course or portion, I add a few strawberries or 1/2 grapefruit into my salad. The key for me is truly eating the "sweet" with the fat and savoury. It helps me break the "dessert tooth" cycle.

 

Hope this helps and good luck!

[mrs.machase]

This has been a great read for me, today, as I am on Day 51 of my Whole30.  I weighed myself at Day 31, and had lost 14 pounds; at Day 47, I had a checkup, and I cheated by looking at the scale.  Depression set in when I realized form Day 31 to Day 47 I lost no more weight.  Since the doctor appointment, I have stuck to Whole30, but have begun dream about hideous sweets...UGH!  I know I was expecting another pound or two off, and staying the same shocked me.  (I have a lot of weight to lose.)

 

This thread, however, has helped me.  I'm going to try limiting my fruit intake to see if that helps.  I have no intention of getting on the scale until the Day 95 (which takes me to Easter Sunday.) 

 

My doctor is the one who told me about It Starts With Food....she's a blessing for me.  She did send me for thyroid blood work, but only the normal test (and it came back at 1.48.)

 

Mary

[missmary]

  She did send me for thyroid blood work, but only the normal test (and it came back at 1.48.)

 

What level came back at 1.48? I would recommend doing the full thyroid panel if you suspect something is up. The reference ranges doctors use are not particularly helpful: they just tell you averages, not optimal levels, and the group being averaged skews toward people with problem thyroids.

[RuthintheDesert]

Thanks Karen. I started the synthroid a week after I started my second whole 30 ( 3 weeks ago) I'm only on 25 mg. My functioning was low, but still making some hormones. She said given my symptoms, hasimotos antibodies present and family history ( mom and maturnal grandmother both have hasimotos and low thyroid) she wanted to start the meds before my thyroid stopped working. I'm going back in March for more blood work and to see how/ if things are working. So far I haven't felt any different from the meds. I attribute the changes to the whole 30; better sleep, no cravings, stable emotions etc.

Can you put off the doctor appt. for a month or two? Give yourself a bit more time to adjust to Whole30 or Whole60 or whatever?

[missmary]

Can you put off the doctor appt. for a month or two? Give yourself a bit more time to adjust to Whole30 or Whole60 or whatever?

 

I would not do this.  Best practice is to retest levels about 6 weeks after establishing the starting dose. Basically what happens is the body perceives this extra hormone in the system, so ramps down what little production it was doing and the medication needs to be increased. This is normal and should be addressed. Keep checking over time because the consistent diet will change things too and dosing may need to be adjusted repeatedly to respond to the current context.

[cinagain]

I'll 2nd the recommendation to reading http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/.  Thyroid issues are common in my family, but my thyroid tests have always been "normal."  Normal despite having many other indicators that could be related to low thyroid (low B12, low iron, weight issues, hair loss, no libido, dry skin, excessively cold...and the list goes on).  I think we too often look to our doctors for *the answers* when most of the time, they don't really know.  Or they're limited in what they can do by insurance, fear of malpractice suits, etc. 

 

I'm not the type of person to believe what my husband calls "whoo-whooo" claims.   Homeopathic medicine where there's one drop of a compound in a gazillion gallons of water or being able to alter our "energy flow" with hands held above the body.  Not trying to offend anyone who DOES believe that...sometimes believing it IS what makes it work.  Just saying...I'm a "show me the statistics and research" type of gal (I majored in Biology/Chemistry, grad school in Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry).

 

Anyway, all that is just to preface that, after reading stopthemadness, I ordered a thyroid supplement to try. I have no desire right now to try to convince a doctor...yet again...that I know my body better than they do.  My mom's doctor is talking about increasing her Synthroid (he tripled it recently) AGAIN because it's just not working...how happy would he be (not!) if she went into his office to explain to him how that's just wrong, wrong, wrong...

[SPOTTYTHECAT]

Ask your doctor if he/she prescribes WP Thyroid or Armour - they both have T3 and T4 in them.  It has taken me 6 months to get to the optimum dose.  I go back next week to see if the current dose is working.  I have lost several inches, but very few pounds.  I also take progesterone to balance my estrogen dominance.  My doc wants my TSH to be just below or just at 1.0.  Many docs believe below 5.0 is optimum.  Good luck to you.  I went through 3 doctors until I found my current one who also has hashimotos!  She has encouraged me to try Whole30 and I think I might be up to it!  Best, Pam