Day 23...where is my flatter belly??!

[whole30rocks]

ok so I know I have a week left so probably the answer to my question is be patient but I'm still waiting for my pants to feel just a little bit looser!

I ate pretty well and worked out regularly before starting the whole30, but ate a lot of low fat dairy and whole grains. I have started to feel like I am sleeping better, I am a night shift nurse, working 3 nights a week so sleeping better is HUGE. I also feel that my cravings for sugar are more under control. I am very happy about both of these things! However, my 3rd main goal was to feel a little leaner and have my clothes fit a little looser. Per the rules I have not gotten on the scale.

I'm afraid I'm eating too much, is that possible? I've been eating until I'm full, never really snack except pre/post workout. But with my night shift schedule sometimes I end up having extra meals.

Example of the last few days, off the weekend, then worked Monday night and Tuesday night, then off tonight

8am breakfast 3 eggs, (or 2 eggs and an aidells sausage or leftover protein) half an avocado, 1/2c blueberries, spinach and tomatoes sautéed in coconut oil, salt and pepper

12pm mixed green/kale salad with salmon, olives, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar

1 - 4 nap

4:30 apple with almond butter or larabar (not the best snack?) then workout

9/10pm dinner half a sweet potato, turkey burger (homemade, compliant) roasted asparagus, broccoli, and/or Brussels sprouts

2/3am 2nd dinner 2-3c spaghetti squash, homemade tomato sauce with lean ground turkey, zucchini, and roasted eggplant pieces

8/8:30am - 4/4:30pm sleep, same apple and almond butter or larabar when I wake up then workout again

6pm mixed green/kale salad with a turkey burger, half a sweet potato, half an avocado, tomatoes, compliant mustard or balsamic

10/11pm meal 2 - repeat of something already listed

3/4am meal 3 - repeat

8am - 12/1pm sleep, about half a meal when I wake up, not usually very hungry

6/7pm meal - repeat

9/10pm sleep - back on normal people schedule for a few days!

Any thoughts or suggestions? Do I need to just wait for another week for some physical changes? I also drink 2-3 cups of black coffee overnight at work, and water. Sorry this turned into a long post!! Thank you in advance!!

[AaydensMommy]

Wow, that is a tough schedule to manage! But overall it seems you are spacing out your meals pretty well and balancing them with protein, veggies, and fats. You are even getting a decent preWO mini-meal in there as well. It doesn't seem like you are overeating, that's pretty hard to do. As long as you are full and not uncomfortable, then you are meeting your body's intake needs. 

 

What I have had to learn, along with so many others, is that this is a Whole30, not a Whole15 or a Whole23 in your case. You described two HUGE changes, and that is better sleep and better control of your sugar cravings. In 23 days, that sounds like a huge victory! The more I read and network, it seems that everyone has different results and hits their goals differently.  

 

I think your night-shift schedule can prove difficult on any person and your body is working extra hard to adapt to both your schedule and your new eating style. I know my brother who works grave yard shifts as a police officer, still can't quite feel 100% after 7 years of the same schedule. Grave schedules prove difficult on your body, and if you don't notice some results in regards to body composition I would suggest extending a few days, maybe a Whole45 or Whole60, to really help your body catch up. Whatever you decide, don't lose sight of the huge accomplishments you've already achieved. Best of luck!

[ultrarunnergirl]

Your main meals look good for the most part. Make sure you are including enough fat (it appears so, but cooking fat often gets left in the pan). If you get hungry between meals add a few more veggies (the template calls for 1 - 3 cups) or more meat (1 -2 palms is the template recommendation).

 

Larabars are only for true emergencies. They are not approved as a daily snack. You need to remove these from your house (we've all figured that out after awhile ...)

 

When you are hungry, eat a mini-meal including protein and veggies and a little fat, rather than fruit, which we recommend only eating with a meal. If you're not hungry enough to eat something like steamed fish and broccoli, you aren't truly hungry, you may be bored. Take a walk, drink some water, distract yourself. Most cravings pass in 10-20 minutes.

 

You may find Nom Nom Paleo's "Surviving The Night Shift" post helpful: http://nomnompaleo.com/post/55156756199/surviving-the-night-shift

[AmyS]

Have you read Michele Tam's article on working the nightshift? http://nomnompaleo.com/post/55156756199/surviving-the-night-shift It might help you with your specific situation.

 

Generally speaking, it's essential to understand that your body will do what it needs to do in order to be healthy. This may or may not coincide with our society's current obsession with, say, women having flat bellies (frankly, I'm not sure this is anatomically possible for most of us).

 

Also, generally speaking, when you're working night shift, you're working backwards from your circadian rhythm, and so you're putting a stress load on your body that will always be there no matter how clean you eat and how well you are doing. Michele did night shift for 12 years but finally quit, realizing she had done absolutely all she could to make night shift work, and it just wasn't going to ever contribute to her being healthy. She was fortunate to have the option to do that - most night shift workers do not have that option.

 

A quick note on your eating as you report it here: Larabars are for genuine emergencies only. Pre-workout we want you to eat protein and fat (say, for instance, a hard boiled egg) not fruit and nuts and sugar (Larabars). This one element of your daily eating might seem rather small, but giving your body that much of a sugar/nuts hit that often can be very problematic for sugar cravings, alertness, and digestion.

 

I hope some of this helps. Mainly, we women just simply have to come to understand that almost everything we hear about what our bodies "should" look like is a lie. Unless you are 9 years old, or very unusually constructed, if you are a female-bodied person,  you just are not ever likely to have a flat tummy. Not without doing really extreme and harmful things to yourself. Those extreme and harmful things will keep you overworking at the gym and dependent on the weight loss industry, but they won't make you healthy or help you understand that it's all a lie. Your body is fantastic. Really.