Losing Weight...Only I Don't Want to!

[jmccormick]

I am on day 15 of my first Whole30. Doing it for many reasons (for the past few years I have been dealing with IBS, GERD, anxiety, depression, acne). In the past two years I have really been struggling with my weight - that is, with maintaining a healthy weight and not being underweight. I reached a low of 103 pounds and was doing a lot to try and put weight on - whole fat dairy, complex carbs, etc. Earlier this year, I finally reached 125 lbs (I am a 29-year-old mildly active mom, about 5'4") which I and my Dr were really happy about. However, I know I am losing weight on Whole30 - I can tell by how my clothes fit, and my fiance has also commented that it looks like I have lost weight. I feel that I am eating a lot throughout the day, I am definitely not going hungry. I tend to do better with smaller meals and snacks rather than huge meals and no snacks.

 

On a typical day, I'll have grapes and nuts for breakfast with coffee and coconut milk (I have never been a big breakfast eater and it is difficult for me to eat a lot in the morning). A typical lunch looks like a grilled chicken breast, baked med-large white or red potato with ghee, and about a cup of veggies. In the afternoon, some watermelon or a banana. Typical dinner is spaghetti squash with homemade meatsauce and salad. If I am hungry in the late evening after dinner, it's usually a banana or grapes or carrots. 

 

Any suggestions for putting weight ON during Whole30? 

[ladyshanny]

Overall you are eating extremely low overall.  Basically no breakfast, a chicken breast, meat sauce and what sounds like about 3-4 cups of veggies for the whole day. Besides coconut milk in your coffee I see no additional fat sources either.

 

The first suggestion for you is to get familiar with the meal template for all your meals.  (Meal template linked below).  You truly need to work on training your body to accept food within an hour of waking.  Make a proper template meal with protein, veggies and fat.  Then eat as much of it as you can, hitting each of the macros.  Wrap up whatever you have left and take it with you to eat again as soon as you feel able.  It won't take long before you are eating a proper meal at breakfast.

That proper meal will go a LONG way towards balancing your hormones and stabilizing your blood sugars which will help with healthy weight gain/maintenance.  

 

Second, ditch the fruit by itself as snacks.  That only serves to spike your blood sugar and mess with your appetite.  If you are truly hungry between meals while you are figuring out how much food you need (true hunger = hungry enough to eat something bland like steamed fish and brocoli), eat a mini meal of at least protein and fat but ideally also veggies.

 

Also check out this article on keeping weight on during the Whole30: http://whole30.com/2013/12/keeping-weight-whole30/

[Tom Denham]

I tend to do better with smaller meals and snacks rather than huge meals and no snacks.

 

No. You are accustomed to grazing throughout the day, but this approach is not helping you.

 

The fact that you don't want to eat breakfast reveals that your hormones are out-of-whack. By eating according to Whole30-recommendations (meal template) you will retrain your hormones into their proper rhythm and your body will begin to perform and feel better. 

 

Take a leap of faith with the Whole30 and follow our guidelines and recommendations as closely as possible...

 

By the way, coffee is an appetite suppressant, so you should probably not drink coffee until after you have consumed breakfast.

[jmccormick]

Thank you both very much for the suggestions! Going forward, I will make sure I get three larger meals of protein, veggies, and fat and leave out fruit as a snack (and do better with limiting snacks in general). I will also start making myself eat breakfast and having coffee only after that. Thank you!