Never stopping but weightloss seems stalled

[McBee]

I know, I know, I know. It's not a "diet".  I completely understand that WHOLE30 is a way of rediscovering how your body will work with good quality food. I know.

 

But.

I'm fat.

 

I had a good 65 lbs to shake off.  I am thrilled to report that just about 18lbs melted away during my first WHOLE30 which ended last week.  I loved the experience. I learned so much about the food we are presented with (so much freaking sugar! SO MUCH!!!!). And I love how I feel.

 

Now, let's get down to business. I plan on continuing my new eating habits. I do not intend on reintroducing dairy or processed carbs or grains. I will have to bend a bit on the veggie oil rule in order to eat out. Legumes seem minor to me - aside from the garbanzo bean in a salad or hummus I can't seem to find them in my past diet so I'm not really missing them. 

 

The only thing I will go back to is alcohol. I'm not a huge drinker (two glasses of wine per week and a margarita on vaca) but I know this is something I want back in my world.

 

Here's the catch. My WHOLE30 ended last week. I have not reintroduced anything yet (haven't gotten around to that glass of wine, if you can believe it!) but I haven't lost a pound in over a week.  Is there a "plateauing" zone? I have the weight to lose. I am not on my last 10lbs and struggling. I have 47lbs to go. Does the body "get used" to good food and just hang there? I can't imagine cutting anything out of my diet. Do I need to ramp up the exercise? Do I just hold steady and this too shall pass?

 

Any insight would be helpful!

[MeadowLily]

You're dieting and believe it or not...having that mindset can slow everything down.  

 

I know,  I know.  Many are here for the "side effects" of weight loss whether they voice or post it.  Most are flying under the radar but a proper reintro will give you the knowledge you need for your future.   You were brave enough to tell the truth.  Many dieters want quick weight loss and seldom give the Reintroduction Phases a second thought.   HUGE MISTAKE.    Follow through with a Slow Roll or the original Reintro.  

 

The Whole 30 is a Food Reset.  If you were 100% compliant, your reintroduction process - testing and experimenting with  food groups will give you the knowledge you need to move forward.

 

"There is no “better” or “worse” choice when it comes to straying off track."

 

Dallas says: “There is no real ‘more bad’ or ‘less bad’ food. When it comes down to you making choices that you know are not healthy choices, in my mind, the only reason to make that choice is because it’s so good that it’s worth the consequences. Which means that you are the only person who knows the answer to that question. There is no hierarchy of which bad choices you should make on the days you are off the program.”

 

There are individuals who've 'shaken off'  more than 65 lbs here.  They didn't think a reintro was necessary and within a year's time, they're right back to Groundhog Day with rebound weight gain.  The problem was that they used the Whole 30 for a diet and might've been flying under the radar the entire time.   

 

Diet is a four letter word.   If they actually worked, we would not see all of the refugees pouring in who've been dieting all of their lives.   It didn't work for them then and it doesn't work now.  What you have to SHAKE OFF is the dieting mindset.  

Don't do branded diets or try to combine their principles with the Whole 30.  How many people do you know that can stick the landing after a diet?  I'm talking longterm...well beyond 3 years down the road.

 

A diet may help you shake 65 but will it give you weight stablilty?  Stop thinking of weight management as something to be conquered within a set time.    Learn to remove all value judgments from issues with food.  

 

Dieters may be able to keep up obsessive vigilance for awhile.  Even using the motivator of extreme self-disgust goes away in a short time.   Dieting is all messed up because you're starting off on the wrong foot and it is a weak game.

 

Dieters who use the Whole 30 for a diet are under the implication that they can go back to old habits on Day 31 and somehow all of the weight they've lost will never come back.  These are the ones that immediately restart another Whole 30 on Day 38...they were dieting all along.

 

Thoughtful reintroductions separate the dieters from those who want to find sustainability and overall well being long after the Whole 30 is over.

You don't even need to worry about a scale.  Your clothes tell you everything you want to know.  No need to hop on and off that thing.  Use the tenets of the Whole 30.  No measuring, weighing, counting.  Remember if those actually worked...there would no such thing as lifetime memberships for branded dieting programs.  Very ironic.   Lifers for dieting.   A lifetime sentence.

 

Anxiety, impatience and fear shuts everything down.   The body will respond.   I like what Nadia says.  If certain foods are like crack to you...newsflash - you probably don't need them that much.

 

Settle in after your reintroduction.  Move ever so slowly.  If you're shucking at the rate of 4 lbs a month that's more than enough.  Anymore than that, your skin will hang and droop.  Elasticity doesn't spring back with ups and downs over the years.   Do some cardio and strength training as you go.

 

Do not wait until the weight is gone to start exercising.  HUGE MISTAKE.   Find foods that satisfy your appetite and exercise that you enjoy enormously.  You know what whole foods are.  Use them.  You're under no obligation to return to a former style of eating or play foods.   Keep all of the positives for your Happy Awareness.   Keep making great decisions and you'll stick the landing. 

[GFChris]

If you were to continue Whole30 eating for a while, you will likely continue to lose weight your body needs to lose every month.  I say this because this has happened for countless folks (myself included) in the past.  For those reasons, I would say to hold steady with patience.
 

Note: Choosing to consume alcohol and other off plan foods may stall your weight loss.

[MeadowLily]

GFChris is spot on with the alcohol.   Many dieters who've lost whopping boatloads of weight often replace food with alcohol for the sugar hit.  They believe it keeps rebound weight gain at bay.  Another mistake.

 

http://whole30.com/2014/01/whole30-forever/

[Tom Denham]

Weight loss is not a linear process. You do not lose weight evenly. Therefore, weighing yourself every week is a good way to demotivate yourself because you can be doing well, but not lose even one pound for a week. I began my Whole30 process 5 years ago before looking at the scale was banned. I saw that I went up and down from day to day and week to week, but consistently lost 2 pounds every month for 15 months in a row. 

 

The concern for you is not plateaus, but whether you are composing meals properly, getting enough sleep, and managing stress. 

 

And I want to add that whatever off plan foods you add back, the calories they represent are not the only issue. Alcohol specifically can have a hormonal effect that changes your metabolism in a negative way far beyond the caloric value of what you might drink. I am not saying you must continue to abstain from alcohol, but please know that the effect of a few drinks is not simply a matter of calories. A few drinks probably would not stop you from losing weight if you are otherwise following a good approach, but it can slow things down. 

[artemiscuous]

Hey McBee. I just wanted to let you know that I've been there. I know how you feel. I had 60 pounds to lose, too.

 

I really really recommend adding in more enjoyable but challenging exercise and continuing to follow the advice of the mods, above - not because exercise will help you lose weight (it may or may not), but because exercise helps you shake that feeling that your body is your enemy and shift your goals from weight loss to performance, which is usually a much more constructive feeling. You can feel strong in your achievements and feel how your great new nutritional habits are really taking care of your body and helping you reach your goals - and you can appreciate the amazing things your body gives you rather than pinching your waist and wondering what you're doing wrong. 

 

What kind of exercise do you do? I personally love hot yoga and rock climbing. I also have been lifting a bit of weights and running now and then, but all of that is to fuel my rock climbing goals. I'll tell you that fueling my love for climbing did more to change my mindset than anything else, because I was much more accepting of my body and the time it took for the extra weight to come off, as I knew if I continued to take great care of it and it would come off eventually. Being able to (better, if not perfectly!) accept myself as I am really has been the key to having the patience I needed to create sustainable weight loss.

 

Regular weigh-ins are the devil, also. I now weigh myself only when I feel completely satisfied with my body, and then it's more to create a benchmark so I know what my weight is when I am performing at a specific level, rather than to help with goal setting.