Whole 30 Positives and Negative

[BJS12345]

I finished my first Whole 30 a few days ago, and went off track on day 31 and 32 eating an overload of chocolate because I was making a dish for a holiday using chocolate that I couldn't resist. I had decided in advance to allow myself to do this because I wanted to get it "out of my system." Needless to say I'm a little disappointed about it now but I actually do not have any regrets.

I'm back on day two of my second whole 30 and I'm feeling great again. The positives of my whole 30 outweigh the ONE negative heavily. My sleep is amazing, my energy level is very high, My overall mood has improved and my stress level has gone down, I'm actually starting to see a six pack! I'm fitting into my size 0 American Eagle jeans and size 2 BCBG dress, Although neither are loose! I'm learning how to listen to my body signals and stop eating when I'm full and eat only when I'm hungry. I actually am learning to leave some food and save it for later when I start to feel full… That's a huge accomplishment for me! I have never been able to leave food on my plate unless I didn't like what I was eating.

Now for the negative… The scale! I weighed myself at the end of my whole 30 and I had lost 2 pounds. I weighed myself at the beginning of my second whole 30 and I was back to square one. So I am starting my second whole 30 at .6 pounds less than I started my first whole 30, 33days ago (which, btw, was a good 6-7 pounds above my weight in the fall).

Overall, though I'm in a better place than I was 33 days ago so I have to be thankful for that. If I could throw my scale out the window I would. I just can't bring myself to get rid of it!!

[ladyshanny]

Sleep is amazing

Energy level is very high

overall mood has improved

stress has gone down

starting to see a six pack

fitting into size 0

listening to my body

stop eating when I'm full

huge accomplishments

And then......it all gets overshadowed and reduced by the fact that the scale rules you. I hesitate to get into this because I know that you know this....but the scale doesn't tell you how your body composition has changed, when the last time you ate was, how much waste is in your bowels, how hydrated or dehydrated you are, where you are in your cycle etc. Seriously, the distress that the scale causes you is ridiculous, throw it OUT! Judge based on how your clothes fit and how you feel! You do not have a lot of weight to lose so you have to understand that any change that comes for you is not going to be massive and fast.

[Loulabelle]

I suggest you read what you have written again as if someone else has written it. You may then see how absurd it is that you have all this positivity in your post & in your life, from sleeping to size, to energy to eating habits, but all that is negated by a little number on a scale. You have a six pack! Does that not tell you more about the state of your body than the scale? Sorry for the tough love but you are doing so brilliantly I would hate for you to throw all you have achieved away over your weight.

[GFChris]

+1 on the above comments.

 

Please read this article for further perspective: http://everydaypaleo.com/attention-scale-addicts-part-2/

 

 

 If I could throw my scale out the window I would. I just can't bring myself to get rid of it!!

 

 

You CAN get rid of the scale (or at least have a friend take it away from you for a while). Do it. 

[shortystylee]

These were my thoughts too about your post. 

 

I went into W30 at 122 pounds and already fitting into a size 2. I don't think we can expect huge weight losses since we are very close to, or already at, a healthy weight. I lost 2.4 pounds during the month and I do understand how it's easy to get disappointed at that when some people lose 20+ pounds, but when you look at the list that ladyshanny posted, the your positives are outweighing your negatives 9 to 1. If your clothes are fitting differently and you are seeing physical changes in your muscle tone, these are the types of changes which are realistic to see, and should be celebrated, along with the mental health/stress changes as well.

 

Also, our weights do fluctuate depending on a boatload of factors and I don't think two pounds is much. Hydration level, what time of day it is, where you are in your cycle, if you haven't gone to the bathroom in a while, etc. I've never paid much mind to the number on the scale, and I know that if I weigh myself a couple of times over the course of a day that it goes up and down about five pounds (because I've legit done that before for curiosity's sake).

 

You did awesome! Don't let your scale tell you that you did poorly on anything, since it's not the case at all

[Physibeth]

Have you ever seen the movie Office Space? If you have you know that scene where they destroy a printer with sledge hammers while "Feels Good to Be a Ganster" plays? Reenact that scene with your scale instead of a printer. It will make you feel so good. You are strong and healthy and sexy regardless of what that demon in your bathroom tells you!

[EmilyK]

I agree with what everyone else has said.  If you can't get rid of it, at least hide it.  You are WINNING.  Don't let a totally irrelevant number diminish the impact of all those positives.

[jmcbn]

I used to weight myself three times a day. I was TOTALLY obsessed (and had all the disordered eating habits to go along with it). Long story short the day before whole30 was the first time I'd weighed myself in a little over 9yrs - the last time was when I was expecting my youngest son & it was a high risk pregnancy so weight seemed to be an issue for everyone.

You CAN live without your scale and you SHOULD - it really is just a number, and one you would appear to have an unhealthy relationship with in an otherwise happy, healthy life.

Great results BTW - you should be proud of your achievements...
 

[BJS12345]

Thank you to everyone for all of your replies. I understand what everyone is saying. I will work on giving up the scale but can't make any promises at this point in time. It's hard to give something up that you have been relying on for a measurement most of your life. I am trying to wrap my head around the number on the scale not having much meaning. I understand a one to two pound fluctuation is expected. I just can't understand a 5-6 pound jump. I will say I was amazed by the article that GFChris posted! I believe it, but it is still hard to believe at the same time!!!

[Maggiedoll]

[..]I'm actually starting to see a six pack! I'm fitting into my size 0 American Eagle jeans and size 2 BCBG dress, Although neither are loose! I'm learning how to listen to my body signals and stop eating when I'm full and eat only when I'm hungry. I actually am learning to leave some food and save it for later when I start to feel full… That's a huge accomplishment for me! I have never been able to leave food on my plate unless I didn't like what I was eating.

Now for the negative… The scale! I weighed myself at the end of my whole 30 and I had lost 2 pounds. I weighed myself at the beginning of my second whole 30 and I was back to square one. So I am starting my second whole 30 at .6 pounds less than I started my first whole 30, 33days ago (which, btw, was a good 6-7 pounds above my weight in the fall).

Overall, though I'm in a better place than I was 33 days ago so I have to be thankful for that. If I could throw my scale out the window I would. I just can't bring myself to get rid of it!!

Smash your scale with a hammer.  No, seriously, SMASH IT.  You're fitting into size 0, seeing a 6-pack, you're responding to your hunger and satiety signals...  and yet you're upset because the number on the scale hasn't gone down "enough" for you.  You really, really, really need to not have a scale.  Your relationship with that scale is unhealthy in every way.  Destroy the scale before it destroys you. 

[AmyS]

I agree with the destruction of the scale. It is one of your worst enemies. Get it the heck out of your house.

 

Also, could we take a moment to contemplate the significance of considering size ZERO a virtue? Why are we women not up in quite literal arms over this? We are told that nothing but absolute size invisibility will make us acceptable - and we believe it. I can't go on here without devolving into intense and prolonged swearing, but think about that. Size ZERO. Completely erased in size - and that's good? No.

 

Smash the scale. We'll all help.

[LucieB]

"Size ZERO. Completely erased in size"

 

Seriously? Because a clothing designer sets a number to the size of my waist and hips, you think me and other size zeros are "completely erased in size"? And no less in a conversation stressing about how 'weight is just a number', how can you say that? Makes me want to swear. 

 

My pants size is just a number. I'm not erased or invisible. I'm size ME. 

 

Lucie

[AmyS]

"Size ZERO. Completely erased in size"

 

Seriously? Because a clothing designer sets a number to the size of my waist and hips, you think me and other size zeros are "completely erased in size"? And no less in a conversation stressing about how 'weight is just a number', how can you say that? Makes me want to swear. 

 

My pants size is just a number. I'm not erased or invisible. I'm size ME. 

 

Lucie

You have understood precisely the opposite of what I wished to communicate. You are not erased, you are not invisible. I object in the strongest possible terms, therefore, to clothing manufacturers naming sizes as if we who are tiny (I am too) don't even get a number. I do not believe you are erased or invisible, nor do I believe that I am. I do believe that clothing manufacturers who continually size numbers down and down and down are telling us that the smaller we are, the more invisible we are, the better we are. I want us to be named, to be numbered, to be sized as if we exist.

 

I am very small. But I will never be a zero.

[LucieB]

Amy I think you and I agree in there is no special virtue in wearing a size zero. The difference, I think, is that to me, zero is just like the number on a scale. It's just a number. We're here to discuss BJS's comments on the scale number and many replies have correctly said "it's just a number". I feel the same way about my clothing size. I don't ascribe anything more to it about 'being better' or 'existing', and I don't feel like clothing designers are making a value judgement on me. I don't attach an emotion to it, because to me that would be like attaching an emotion to the number on the scale. 

 

So we're on the same page, but reading it differently. And I think we both have points relevant to the original question. And I don't mean to argue, rather I just want to point out that on one hand the conversation is saying "the scale is just a number" and on the other hand "zero is more than just a number". Hope this makes sense. 

 

lucie

 

PS  "But I will never be a zero."

Why did you say this? I was rolling with what you said until this. 

[AmyS]

I meant that although over the course of my lifetime, during which my actual body has remained exactly the same size, my clothing size has dropped by between 4 and 8 sizes depending on the manufacturer. And I do not wish to be erased, invisible, a null entity, size-wise. I'm still very much here.

 

Note: the Whole30 addresses the issue of scale addiction, a particular health problem for many USAmerican women. The Whole30 does not address the issue of how clothing manufacturers treat women. My views there are my own.

[BJS12345]

Just for the record...I only have one pair of size 0 jeans and they are quite snug! I do not look like a size 0 by any means and I do not aspire to buy size zeros. I buy whatever size fits my body the best and is most flattering for me. I was only using that pair as a measurement as opposed to the number on the scale!!