A little disappointed

[KristenD]

Whole30 done and while I plan on continuing to eat this way because it seems to possibly have helped my cholesterol, I am a little disappointed in the results. I lost NO weight, I am literally the exact same weight as when I started. I have noticed no physical changes, which tells me the foods I was eating before had little adverse effects on me. My mood and energy levels are the same, I still sleep the same as I did before, I feel exactly the same as I did 30 days ago. My meals followed the template and I did not cheat even a little, even once.

[jmcbn]

Congratulations on making it to day 30.

I get that you're a little disappointed, but you're not the only one to have not lost weight. I didn't lose a single pound on my first Whole30 - not even a half a pound. Nothing. What I did lose was an impressive amount of body fat which meant I traded up for lean muscle. For me this was a NSV.

You say nothing has changed. Can you honestly, hand on heart, say that your mood isn't improved? Your energy more stable throughout the day? Does you hair not glow? Has it not grown much quicker than usual? Are your nails not stronger? Your skin clearer?

If you'd like to post a few days worth of your typical food/liquid intake, along with sleep/stress/activity levels we can take a look and see if there are any changes that you could make going forward.

[KristenD]

Honestly my skin has always been clear, hair and nails always strong. I have zero health problems and complaints, actually, except insomnia, which has not improved at all. I did this for two reasons: weight and cholesterol. I am definitely going to stick with this 95% of the time because I think, long term, anti-inflammatory diets are the way to go to keep health problems at bay but I was just hoping for a little more than what I got.

[jmcbn]

Well, if it has helped with cholesterol then that's a NSV in itself. Weight loss, as I'm sure you know, is not the focus and if your body was perhaps dealing with other medical issues (like your cholesterol for instance) it's focus would have primarily been on healing.

How was your diet pre Whole30? If you came from a background of restricted eating your body may well have held on to this lovely nutritious food you've been giving it for 30 days for fear there was another famine coming....

But honestly, post a few days worth of your food log. It's not just about eating compliant foods - how you compose your meals, and the timing of particular foods can have an effect on your results.

[Guest Andria]

Did you do the reintroduction protocol? It sounds to me as if you did not and are just assuming that since you feel *exactly the same* as before the Whole30 that you do not have any adverse reactions to those foods which were eliminated.  If you did not to the reintroduction, I would strongly suggest that you do, you might   be surprised.

 

Unfortunately, as written, the Whole30 is not a weight loss plan.  Do many people lose weight as a side effect? Yes.  There are many reasons why this happens for some and probably as many reasons, if not more, as to why it does not happen for others.  An obvious reason is that for some they really have a lot to lose so weight will fall off quickly in their situation.  I often wonder when females, in particular, find that they did not lose weight if it doesn't have to do with the fact that they are already at a healthy weight and it is really their body composition (essentially fat:muscle ratio) that they are not happy with.  How much weight do you feel you need to lose?

 

I know you said you followed the template for meals, but did you snack?  I definitely second jmcbn recommendation to post a few days worth of meals.