whataboutit Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Hi I know I shouldn't be focusing on this and up until the last 5 days or so I haven't been because I have been feeling a lot of other benefits from the program and I figured I would probably lose a couple of pounds either way. But here I am, on day 19, and while I haven't weighed myself or taken measurement, I can just feel that nothing has come off at all, and it's really discouraging. I am a 24 year old woman at 5'8 and 152 lbs so I know I'm at a healthy weight but I do a lot of heavy weight lifting and I just want the muscles to show a bit, so I need to lose more pounds. I'm not eating a lot of nuts, and I've been having 1, sometimes two fruits a day as an average. Always together with a meal. Not a lot of sweet potatoes, perhaps three during these 19 days. White potatoes only once. Usually no snacking in between meals. But I'm wondering if my meals are actually too big? They're bigger than the template says mainly because it's the only way to keep me full long enough to not have to snack. On my workout days I eat an extra meal and try to keep it at the size the template suggests. What could I be doing wrong? :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 you might not be doing anything wrong at all. in fact, it sounds pretty good. If you want us to trouble-shoot, post an example of your meals on a typical day or two and we can look them over, but in the meantime know that lots of people don't think they are losing weight and find at the end of the program that they did. Sometimes the opposite happens too, but nothing will be gained by worrying about it. Enjoy taking a vacation from thinking about weight at all and enjoy the high quality food and nutrition as if it were a gift (which it is). you are doing great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcbn Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 What could I be doing wrong? :/ You're looking for day30 results at day19. It's a 30 day programme for a reason - it can take 30 days (or more) for your body to heal, for your hormones to balance and for things to fall into place. It's also all relative to how good/bad your diet was pre whole30, and how much weight you are carrying.I'm 5'2" and my meal sizes scare me sometimes, and it's always amusing to see the look on other people's faces when they see my plate. I lift heavy too, and train six times a week, and I know that my body needs that food for my muscles to repair and grow - and just for my body 'to be....'Try to focus on the non scale victories - how are you sleeping? how is your mood? your skin? are you having digestive issues? etc etc...If you post a few days worth of food intake and activity we may be able to point out some areas you could change - or it could just be that it's only day 19.Be patient, stay the course, and eventually it will all fall into place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whataboutit Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 I'm at work now but when I get home I'll write down a couple of typical days for me meal and exercise wise. My skin is sadly not better, it wasn't awful to begin with but if anything but if anything it's gotten a little better. My energy levels are much better though, and I haven't felt bloated or anything remotely to it since I started, which happened on an almost daily basis before so that's awesome! But for me to keep spending this much time and money on food, I would really love to see some results weight wise, even if I am super thankful for all the other health related improvements. I won't go back to my old diet completely either way but it would really help my motivation.. My biggest issue diet wise before was never allowing myself to eat enough so I was constantly hungry, which sometimes led to binge eating etc. But being on this program I realize that it was really the amount of food (or lack thereof), and not the type,that was my biggest problem. Because since I started eating until I get really full, which I do now, I hardly feel like having candy or chips anymore. As long as I get to eat a full plate of meat/eggs, broccoli and mayo I'm pretty content lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeghanOD77 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Your story is my story, @whataboutit. I'm 38, 5'8" and 152. And I strength train 3 x a week. My goal was to finally SEE my muscles. Today is day 31 for me. I finally stepped on the scale. I'm 152. I'm bummed about this... Not going to lie. I've already posted 3 days of meals, and everyone said they were great. And I'm like you I feel maybe I'm eating too much anyway. I don't snack at all, I don't eat dried fruit, nuts are once in a while, not every day. Same with fruit. I am discouraged.... And continuing whole30 because I'm on a roll with it but need something to hold onto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Try to remember that 5'-8" and 152 is already a healthy weight. Really, it is a little on the low side for someone with lots of muscle mass. Whole30 isn't going to help you get to a weight that is lower than optimally healthy for your body, and sometimes getting lean enough to really see articulated muscle will be too low for hormone balance, especially for women. tread carefully with that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFChris Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 I am a 24 year old woman at 5'8 and 152 lbs so I know I'm at a healthy weight but I do a lot of heavy weight lifting and I just want the muscles to show a bit, so I need to lose more pounds. I would challenge you on your need to lose more pounds to get your muscles to show. Allow me to present Exhibit A: http://everydaypaleo.com/attention-scale-addicts-part-2/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ultrarunnergirl Posted April 9, 2015 Moderators Share Posted April 9, 2015 Hang in there. You might lose some lbs, you might lose inches instead, you might not, but it will likely happen near the end if you don't have a lot to lose. I wasn't specifically trying to lose during my first W30 (though I was hoping to lose a little jiggle from my belly) and I did, near the end of my whole30. In fact, since I kept going another 10+ days, it might have actually been then. I honestly can't remember. I ate TONS of food, including sweet potatoes or other starchy veggies usually twice a day. I've always been a big eater, but it was sometimes difficult to finish the last bites of meal 1. I always did, because otherwise I'd get hungry in 3 hours. If you are making it 4 - 5 hours between meals, you are doing great. Keep up the good work. Remember, unless you are getting married in the near future and counting on your spouse carrying you across the thresh-hold, the number on that scale has zero significance to anyone! This post nails it: http://everydaypaleo.com/attention-scale-addicts/ Part 2, even better: http://everydaypaleo.com/attention-scale-addicts-part-2/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whataboutit Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 I would challenge you on your need to lose more pounds to get your muscles to show. Allow me to present Exhibit A: http://everydaypaleo.com/attention-scale-addicts-part-2/ You are right, I worded that wrong. The thing is, however, that I'm not looking to get ripped at 152 lbs but rather at about 135, so I do want to lose some more fat to drop in body fat %. And Im not feeling any change in how my pants fit or see any change in the mirror either, and the type of transformation in your (lovely!) exhibit would mean that I would at least lose inches I'm so sorry to sound negative, I'm just so bummed about this. MeghanOD77 - that is crazy how similar our stories are!! I hope it starts coming off for both of us soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whataboutit Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Hang in there. You might lose some lbs, you might lose inches instead, you might not, but it will likely happen near the end if you don't have a lot to lose. I wasn't specifically trying to lose during my first W30 (though I was hoping to lose a little jiggle from my belly) and I did, near the end of my whole30. In fact, since I kept going another 10+ days, it might have actually been then. I honestly can't remember. I ate TONS of food, including sweet potatoes or other starchy veggies usually twice a day. I've always been a big eater, but it was sometimes difficult to finish the last bites of meal 1. I always did, because otherwise I'd get hungry in 3 hours. If you are making it 4 - 5 hours between meals, you are doing great. Keep up the good work. Remember, unless you are getting married in the near future and counting on your spouse carrying you across the thresh-hold, the number on that scale has zero significance to anyone! This post nails it: http://everydaypaleo.com/attention-scale-addicts/ That is pretty encouraging to hear, thank you for sharing! I was thinking about this whole 4-5 hours between meals - I have to go about 6 or 7 hours since I have breakfast at 6:30 and want my last meal around 7 pm at earliest so in order to only eat three times a day I have to have lunch at about 1 which means way more than 4-5 hours. How do the rest of you do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators ladyshanny Posted April 9, 2015 Administrators Share Posted April 9, 2015 You are right, I worded that wrong. The thing is, however, that I'm not looking to get ripped at 152 lbs but rather at about 135, so I do want to lose some more fat to drop in body fat %. And Im not feeling any change in how my pants fit or see any change in the mirror either, and the type of transformation in your (lovely!) exhibit would mean that I would at least lose inches I'm so sorry to sound negative, I'm just so bummed about this. MeghanOD77 - that is crazy how similar our stories are!! I hope it starts coming off for both of us soon. I'm going to echo what MissMary said. Whole30 will probably not get you to an extremely low, lean weight. To be 5'8" and get to 135#, is, in my opinion going to require eating & exercising in a manner that does not support your natural body processes. The human body (and the female one especially) does not naturally want you to reduce body fat to a very low percentage. Since we are eating naturally and in tune with our natural signals, your body will get there (wherever "there" is for it) in its own time. PS. "There" for your body may not be the "there" that your brain wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcbn Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 That is pretty encouraging to hear, thank you for sharing! I was thinking about this whole 4-5 hours between meals - I have to go about 6 or 7 hours since I have breakfast at 6:30 and want my last meal around 7 pm at earliest so in order to only eat three times a day I have to have lunch at about 1 which means way more than 4-5 hours. How do the rest of you do it? Those are pretty much my timings meal wise. My breakfast @ 6:30 is HUGE and I mean *HUGE* and if I feel any hunger pangs before lunch (which may not happen til 13:30) I have some green tea or water. From lunch, (which is again HUGE) until tea time I'm flat out usually and no time to think about hunger. Incidentally, not sure if I've mentioned on this thread (it all gets very repetitive after a while!) I didn't lose a single pound in 40 days, but like the lady in the link above I did lose fat mass which I believe to be more important - you don't need to drop pounds for that to happen, and with more muscle mass your body will continue to burn fat at a faster rate. Stick with it & you'll get to the right 'there' for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whataboutit Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Those are pretty much my timings meal wise. My breakfast @ 6:30 is HUGE and I mean *HUGE* and if I feel any hunger pangs before lunch (which may not happen til 13:30) I have some green tea or water. From lunch, (which is again HUGE) until tea time I'm flat out usually and no time to think about hunger. Incidentally, not sure if I've mentioned on this thread (it all gets very repetitive after a while!) I didn't lose a single pound in 40 days, but like the lady in the link above I did lose fat mass which I believe to be more important - you don't need to drop pounds for that to happen, and with more muscle mass your body will continue to burn fat at a faster rate. Stick with it & you'll get to the right 'there' for you. Would you care to define a typical "HUGE" meal? Because I don't know what counts as huge in most people's mind since I have an enormous appetite lol. Like I said though, I will try to write down what a couple of standard meals look like in my life: Breakfast at 6:30: A slice of salmon and spinach frittata (equivalent of two eggs and about 1.7 oz of salmon) 1-2 small beef patties (about the area of half my palm each) 2 cups of broccoli 2 tablespoons of homemade mayo Black coffee Or 2 hard boiled eggs 1-2 beef patties The same as above really Lunch and dinner (I usually eat the leftovers from dinner as lunch the day after) 6 oz of meat/chicken/fish (salmon) 2 cups of broccoli 2-3 tablespoons of homemade mayo Or Stir fry with chicken, veggies (zucchini, water chestnuts, bell peppers, onion, broccoli etc) and coconut milk. Close to 7 oz of chicken per portion. 1 avocado Or Bolognese made with ground beef, compliant diced tomatoes, shredded carrots, cabbage. About 4.5 oz of ground beef per portion. Usually eaten with broccoli (I'm a huge fan lol) I don't know, something like this I guess. I eat pretty simple meals, yet I feel like all I do is spend time in the kitchen haha. A typical post workout meal would be half a sweet potato along with some kind of meat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whataboutit Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Oh and thanks for the encouragement! It really helps to hear that it might still happen... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcbn Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Ok, define HUGE..... my dinner plates have a radius of 14cm and they are filled to capacity, sometimes heaped. I don't normally take photos of my food but I this one of my breakfast on St Patricks Day (Green Eggs 'cos I'm Irish!), but I'd already had a pre & post WO meals of x2 eggs pre & some roast chicken & roast sweet potato post) so this one is smaller than usual. This was a nutribullet rammed with spinach, & half & onion & blitzed with three eggs for scrambling. Two slices of bacon, about 8-10 large mushrooms, half an avocado. I'd a mug of green tea with that.I don't measure or weigh anything - I aim to fill a third of my plate with protein then fill the rest with veg & add the fat to that. And I tend to go towards the high end of the recommendation on the template - if it's 1-2 palm fulls I'll have 2... I don't think what you're eating sounds like a lot at all! Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whataboutit Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 That looks like the size of my meals I guess (and it looks delicious!). My plates have a radius of 12.5 cm and I happened to photograph my breakfast just this morning (first time I've photographed food in a very long time haha), here's what it looked like: This kept me full well until 1 pm when I had lunch, which today was salmon and broccoli with mayo. I don't measure or weigh the food itself but I know what size packages I buy and divide it by the number of portions I make from it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcbn Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 That looks good to me (& tasty too although I'm cureently avoiding broccoli - also a fan!) And your avocado looks healthier than mine too LOL although I'd had the other half the night before.Must try me one of these fritattas you're all so good at making....Protein wise I'm usually dishing out from what I've prepped at the weekends - so shredded roast chicken, pulled pork, beef chilli etc.I honestky think you just need to sit it out & let the magic happen... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whataboutit Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Haha mine was freshly cut so that is probably why Frittatas are the easiest thing in the world to make! I had never done one up until a week ago and my first one was success, as was the second and that's the only ones I've made so far! Excuse my getting a little sidetracked here but do you have any tips for prepping food beforehand? Like what are some good foods to make for saving a few days, both meat and veggie wise? Other than the frittata and the beef patties, I usually cook a full meal every night and it would be awesome to save some time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whataboutit Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 And I hope you are right, I am planning on going longer than 30 days although I'm debating on whether to introduce some dairy after 30 days because it would make a lot of things easier. But I'll have to think about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcbn Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 At the weekend I try to prep something in my slow cooker/crock pot, something on the stove top, and something in the oven.I was way for a few days there so my cupboards/fridge were bare yesterday so I bought a whole chicken, sealed it in a large pan, & put that in the slow cooker with sauteed chillis, ginger, a couple of half limes, & smoked garlic and about a third of a tin of coconut milk. I took that off the bone and I can serve it up with a variety of sides most of which I'll prepare over the weekend - oven roasted veg, mixed root veg mash, steamed greens, that sort of thing. Sometimes I'll make something from scratch to mix it up a bit if I've got time.... Oh and adding fried eggs makes EVERTHING taste better! This evening I've made shin - again in the slow cooker with potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, cinnamon, all spice berries & coriander.I'll probably make a pork & leek dish this weekend ofr a bit of variety.There are a few threads in the cooking/recipe sharing forums with great recommendations - popular choices seem to be the kalua pig (by nom nom paleo) & the chocolate chill (by well fed) - there are links to the recipes throughout the threads...The kalua pig is amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whataboutit Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 All of that sounds incredibly delicious, but it seems I've got to get myself a slow cooker asap! How long would you say it's safe to keep oven roasted/steamed vegetables in the fridge? Oh I agree, I love eggs in all shapes but fried are just yummm! Thank you for that tip, I will make sure to check those threads out. Your chicken dish makes me drool just thinking about it, by the way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcbn Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 LOL Thank you - I've been food prepping for a looooonnnnnnnng time so have quite the repertoire - some recipes I've picked up but mostly I make them up as I go along.Not sure where you are but you can pick up a slow cooker in the UK for as little as £15 and you can use much cheaper cuts of meat because the meat cooks for so long. Chicken thighs, shin, brisket...I usually roast veg on a sunday and they're fine til Friday - they may well be okay on Saturday but they're always gone by then! One of my favourite dishes so far was spiced sweet potato, parsnip & brussell sprouts oven roasted in ghee with bacon & fried eggs on top - that was a taste sensation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whataboutit Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Have you been doing whole30/paleo for as long too? I'm in Sweden but I'm sure the prices are pretty similar, maybe a bit higher here but if it's that cheap for you guys it should definitely be affordable here either way. And that is great about being able to use cheaper meat! Oh gosh I would have to make enourmous amounts for it to last that long but it would be so nice to not have to bother cutting and cooking everything every single night. I was afraid it would get bad, or at least mushy, after a day or so but it sounds promising! I'll try to make some this weekend That does sound amazing! I haven't tried ghee yet though, it's really expensive around here and I don't really have much more time to spare for kitchen related work. Does it taste like butter? I have yet to find compliant bacon around here, it would make me so happy, but no such luck yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcbn Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I'm on day 47, but have been paleo/primal for about two years. The only changes for me really from before are no added sugar, and no alcohol - I'd already excluded pretty much everything else. I know that dairy, alcohol & sugar aren't good for me so my plan is to continue as I am and decide which occasions are special enough to warrant me off-roading. Ghee has an odd taste to it which took a few days of getting used to, but I'm happy enoough using it now. I've looked into making it myself, but yeah, the food prep takes up enough time, and generates enough washing up thank you very much!Bacon I buy from a farm butcher - anything I've looked at in the supermarkets has added sugar. In fact I buy all my meat & veg from farm shops these days and they look out for me and let me know of any bargains or interesting things to try - plus they throw in something for free most weeks which helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whataboutit Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Sorry about this delayed reply, my day has been crazy hectic. I see, then you've been doing almost the same thing for a way longer time than only 47 days! From my good ole calorie counting days (insert sarcastic voice) I am pretty sure I can take some dairy, I used to eat a lot of cottage cheese and quark, if you know what that is? Americans don't seem to. Anyway, I used to eat a bowl or two of this every day and I never felt bloated or anything so hopefully I can introduce some dairy. I could care less for sugar and grains though, despite being the hugest pasta and bread lover, I weirdly just don't miss it. So maybe freshly baked bread still smells like heaven but unless I'm exposed to that smell while hungry, I'm alright Haha, maybe I don't have to rush to try it then. I LOVE coconut oil, I could eat it with a spoon! And yes holy crap, the dishes that are generated by all this prepping lmao. I have no idea where to find a farm butcher around here but maybe I should look into it, I live in the second biggest city in Sweden so there should be some, somewhere I guess. And that is very nice of yours to help you out like that! I wonder if ours are as nice, lol. Thanks for the tip And I'm looking into buying a slow cooker, what size would you recommend? I usually only make food for me and my 2 1/2 year old daughter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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