Almost there and seeing/feeling no change

[Sarah Gessinger]

I am very close to the end of my 30 days...on day 22 and I am not seeing or feeling any changes. When my husband and I first started I did go through some serious sugar withdrawals, but since then...nothing. I am still really tired and have lots of cravings for sugar. I know that some of this is still to be expected at the end, but I thought I would be feeling somewhat more energetic, at least. I have struggled with depression in the past, but have been able to manage it without medication for quite some time now. Since I started my Whole30 my mood seems to be all over the place and a lot of the time I am very down and have little to no motivation to do the things I need to. I am really sad and frustrated and feeling like this experience was a waste. I know that there are many people who need longer then 30 days and I am going to see my 30 days though and then am willing to give this more time to see results, but I feel like I am doing something wrong or that I am falling short in some way and that is not helping my downcast mood.

Any advice would be welcomed!

[Megan Claydon]

Hey Sarah,

I feel for you girl. So many people see amazing results within their 30 days that it can be really frustrating when it doesn't happen for you in the same time frame. I highly suggest you consider extending your 30 days. To how long....a week...another 30....as long as it takes...that will be up to you.

What are you currently doing for exercise? Is something new you started with you 30 days or have you been already involved?

Are you sleeping ok?

Are you sure you are eating enough?

When are your sugar cravings? afternoon? after dinner?

Keep at it! Eating good food can't hurt!

[Aleksandra]

Hi, have you considered you might have depended on dairy for getting your vitamin D before? Whole30 seems rather deficient in it (most people don't eat salmon or 10 eggs every day) and I imagine it can be a problem for some people during winter... it's one of my concerns over starting in the autumn, actually.

[Alliea]

No solution to offer-just some commismeration. My husband and I are on day 16. We keep saying we're still waiting for the awesome. No regrets about doing it, but we neither had serious withdrawal symptoms, nor achieved any noticeably terrific feelings. To build on what Aleksandra is saying, I do woder if your situation has anything to do with the season change. I used to reliably carbo-load every fall.

[kew]

I didn't see fabulous results either in my first Whole30 (finished about a week ago). Yes, I can wear a size down in pants -- but only in the most forgiving cuts, ahem. And I felt fine after the first couple of weeks, but not amazing.

Even so, I went straight into a second Whole30 in part because I'm still looking for the awesome, and in part because I was really pleased that I was able to do the Whole30 at all. Riding that feeling of accomplishment a little longer is worth a lot to me.

[jhmomi]

Hi Sarah! I can understand your frustration. i really can. Here's my two cent's worth. Forgive me for the length...

I did Whole30 #1 in February and thought it was great but for a lot of reasons, I just couldn't bring myself to commit to continuing to eat this way long term, even though I knew it would be good for me. I began my second Whole30 July 31^st after basically off-roading all summer long. I have no health issues and was in pretty good shape, so the changes for me weren't dramatic for my second Whole30. But after 30 days, I stayed compliant to make eating healthy, whole foods more of a lifestyle and habit. I have continued to be compliant with very minor exceptions. After almost two months these are the results I notice:

• My weight is only down three lbs, but I can wear my jeans again and there is no muffin top. My abs look better.
  
• My workouts at the gym are more intense and I breeze through them and have fun training harder. And I don't get sore even when I think I pushed too hard.
  
• Running is easier. And I run faster. I began running in late July and just did a 10K on Saturday. It was my first 10K in 15 years. I beat my previous best time (from over 15 years ago) by six minutes. I am 45 years old and running faster than I ever thought I could. (Strength training is part of this, but I promise the eating helped too.)
  
• I sleep better. I used to wake up several times a night to go to the bathroom. Now it's just once a night and I go right back to sleep easily.
  
• Meal planning and cooking is effortless and second nature.
  
• My family is eating better than before because I am eating better and making it a priority.
  
• I have energy all day.
  
• My skin looks good.
  
• I have a history of binge eating and I have far fewer urges to do so.
  
• I am consistently treating my body with the love and respect it deserves and this has made me more upbeat, positive and happy than ever before. Personally, I think the mental health benefits of this program are just as important and positive as the physical benefits.
  

Stick with it and see what results you notice after a few more weeks. Most people want to wake up one day and all of sudden feel amazing, but I just don't think it works that way for many of us. I promise when you look back the results will be there. Even if you don't notice anything dramatic right now.

Good luck to you!!

Susan

[JennyH]

Sarah,

So sorry to hear you're still not feeling as good as you hoped. Although I am fully behind the Whole 30 protocol I would actually be shocked if depression was just gone after only 30 days. If you didn't have depression before but do now it could actually be a bit of a detox sort of effect and also because you're not getting the boost of feel good neurotransmitters when you eat sugar/simple carbs it's understandable for your body to play catch up. I would recommend giving it at least another 30 or preferably another 60 days.

I agree with the question about Vitamin D, I take 2000mg per day because mine tested low.

Of course diet (while a very important part) is just one part of the equation. I'm a big fan of talk therapy when changes are happening in my life or I'm feeling low often. Sleep is of course essential as well as making sure to get some physical activity and time outside almost every day is super important.

Best wishes and let us know how things are progressing.

[Tasha]

Sarah-- I hear you re the moods being all over the place. I have struggled with depression in the past as well, and one of the thingsim discovering on the w30 (I'm on day 9) is really how attached I was to food emotionally how dependent my moods are on it. In ISWF they mention having and "unhealthy psychological response" to food, which I think is my issue, and could be what you are experiencing. For me, all these mood issues I am having I believe are directly related to the change in food--not in a bad way (although I don't enjoy them) but in a sense that I feel I am finally AWARE of the connection. If i felt a little down, or stressed, or depressed I would turn to food but I didn't realize it was actually giving me a "hit" in my brain. There was a reward, and it wasn't the food, it was the feeling the food gave me. Dont discount the possibility that the lack of that reward could be contributing to your feelings now.

Seeing lots of people find "the awesome" can be discouraging when you don't feel like you're finding it yourself, so maybe you can reframe it. Don't look at it as 30 days to awesome, but rather a 30 day lesson about you-- see what you can learn, even if what you learn is vastly different from what everyone else did. A lot can change in a week too, maybe 8 more days will uncover something you haven't experienced yet.

They also say the only way to slay the sugar dragon is to starve it-- maybe since you're still having cravings that dragon isn't dead yet.

One last thought-- perhaps the "awesome" isn't found IN the whole 30, but after. Maybe after all is said and done your body will have completed the reset and you'll have lost the desire for "bad" stuff you used to love, or won't need a constant supply of sugar to avoid crashing, or will have discovered a sensitivity to dairy etc.

Good luck! I guess by the time impost this you'll be done, would be great to hear an update!