befabdaily Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 So I did a "Whole20", ending with a spectacular dive into treats for a few days (mostly NOT WORTH IT). I decided to check up on myself to see if/how my body is changing. LAST MONTH: Weight: 173.0 Suspect Tanita scale bodyfat %: 35 Waist: 30 Belly pudge/navel line: 33 Hip: 42 TODAY: Weight: 173.5 Suspect Tanita scale bodyfat %: 31.5 Waist: 30 Belly pudge/navel line: 32 Hip: 42 I see people in some of the other threads bemoaning -- why does everyone ELSE lose big weight on the Whole30 and not me? Well, I hear ya. I think the success stories are probably a bit self-selecting -- people who are a little disappointed in what happened simply won't post. So I thought I would share this. I've done two Whole30s and a Whole20 now, nearly consecutively (with a week to 15 days in between). Each time I lost at most 2 pounds -- this last one? No change on the scale. BUT. I started off in May with about 3" more belly pudge than currently. I started off with the suspect Tanita scale reading 41.0%. Something is going on in there, even though I haven't dropped even one dress size. I think the reason I lost zero weight this time out might have been that I was doing Zumba about 4 times a week to burn my time-limited class card, and doing fewer bodyweight exercises. I'm starting a new log here because I'm not going to formally do another Whole30 unless I fall off in a way that feels too far -- I'm going to stay compliant, "ride my own bike" and I'll probably log intermittently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted September 18, 2012 Moderators Share Posted September 18, 2012 Thanks for sharing how things have worked for you. Like you, I've never lost more than about 2 pounds per month. I used to do co-therapy with a registered dietician about 25 years ago who told patients they were losing muscle and not just fat when they lost more than about 1 pound per week. Those were the dark ages, but I still think slow is real, while fast is suspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhmomi Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Great results! I see this as similar to working with my personal trainer. Progress is of course slower than I would like, but still moving in the right direction. Instant gratification just doesn't work with health and fitness. At least not for me. After 7 months with my trainer I am REALLY beginning to see big changes in my body. But it took a lot of months. It's been worth all those weeks when I whined that it just wasn't happening fast enough. I did a Whole30 in February and then offroaded completely. I have been 95%+ compliant since July 31 and it has made a difference in my workouts and my body. It took at least a month to really notice subtle improvements that were Whole30 related though. Can't wait to see what the NEXT six months will bring for you and for me! Slow and steady still gets us to our goals... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahG Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I too just finished 30 days and lost no weight but I think it's cos I ate too many nuts Anyway I am a bit disappointed cos that was my real reason for doing this but I am starting to feel so good i see no reason to stop eating like this.it's interesting cos my pants are looser and people tell me my shape is changing but i see no change on the scale I am doing very little exercise at the moment which is unusual for me...just yoga and pilates ,no cardio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derval Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Well, to chime in... When I did my first w30 in April I started at 125lb and went down to 120lb. Today after 1 full + 2 x 3 week whole30's and no major off-roading extravaganza's I am 126.4 lbs. And do you know what?.... I don't give a flying f5ck I feel good and healthy and vital. And I can see body comp changes if if my scales can't... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee Kosowan Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Wouldn't you rather see body composition change and clothes fitting looser than the number on the scale changing? I would! If the scale went up and I got leaner and tighter I would be much happier with my progress than if the scale went down and I still wasn't seeing muscle definition. Just my two cents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
befabdaily Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 Yeah, I didn't really intend to be complaining. I'm fine with slow, especially since I can see and feel muscle tone on my body that just wasn't there before. The thread title comes from one of my favorite books, Jane Smiley's Horse Heaven. One of the characters has this poster on his wall: The Tibetan Book of Thoroughbred Training 1. Do not pay attention or investigate; leave your mind to its own sphere 2. Do not see any fault anywhere 3. Do not take anything to heart 4. Do not hanker after signs of progress 5. Although this may be called inattention, do not fall prey to laziness 6. Be in a state of constant inspection You could call it the Tibetan Book of Whole 30 and it would fit perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan W Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Love that book. Have you read A Good Horse or Thousand Acres? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhmomi Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Well, to chime in... When I did my first w30 in April I started at 125lb and went down to 120lb. Today after 1 full + 2 x 3 week whole30's and no major off-roading extravaganza's I am 126.4 lbs. And do you know what?.... I don't give a flying f5ck I feel good and healthy and vital. And I can see body comp changes if if my scales can't... I'm with you Derval! I am UP 15 lbs from my February Whole30 and up a size in pants. But I look better and love my new healthy body. I wouldn't change a thing! I lost too much weight before I began exercising at the beginning of the year. Everyone that knows me says I look better now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahG Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 This morning I weighed myself and was very disappointed that I have lost no weight I decided that's it and was about to look up a good diet Cos no matter what I say i really want that low number back I thought i would just check out this forum before checking out some good diets. Happy to report that your comments,as usual have kept me strong for yet another day. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
befabdaily Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 I've been doing very well this week so far. My only transgressions have been: some non-paleo (trace of sugar but still zero-carb) uncured applewood bacon that I've been eating with my breakfasts, and a bottle of good red wine that I just cracked open (and will have to finish off over the next day or so). It only took a couple of days for the post-pizza bloat to vanish and leave me feeling OK again. I think I was mostly unscathed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
befabdaily Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 Today I had no lunch to pack (ran out of my cooked-up food) and ended up buying a Trader Joe's salad and a pack of Applegate roast beef for lunch. The salad had some gorgonzola crumbles. I didn't eat the dressing. I also bought a package of candy. TJs has these great mints that have only three ingredients -- honey, cocoa mass, and mint flavor. I found it very easy to just have two and put the rest of the bag away. After work it was home for a totally compliant dinner of almond-crusted scallops and roasted cherry tomatoes. Tonight I'm finishing my open bottle of wine so it doesn't turn bad. Then I'm going to stick to the straight and narrow until my sister comes to visit in 2 weeks (at which time I know we'll indulge). Reintroduction-wise, I'm hoping I can add a little cheese to my salads every now and then without ill effects. A strong-flavored cheese in salad is a happy thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhmomi Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Reintroduction-wise, I'm hoping I can add a little cheese to my salads every now and then without ill effects. A strong-flavored cheese in salad is a happy thing. TOTALLY with you on this one. I would rather put an ounce of gorgonzola or goat cheese on my salad than eat a dessert. The right cheese on a salad is a VERY HAPPY THING! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
befabdaily Posted September 23, 2012 Author Share Posted September 23, 2012 I am suddenly (if you can call it sudden after 3+ months) really noticing a difference in energy levels. All of a sudden, I realize it doesn't kill me to be doing stuff in the evening after work. I can dance harder in Zumba class, my body is willing to get lower into lunges and squats, a surprise extra fifteen minutes thrown onto the end of class is like "hell yeah" instead of "oh hell no". History: In late 2010/early 2011, I started just feeling really sluggish. Motivation was low, it became really hard to get out of my house to exercise. Before that, I'd been able to do my job AND go to Zumba five days a week AND go to ballroom dances weekly AND teach dance classes AND still manage to get a long walk in a few times a week. So the loss of endurance was really disturbing. I had my thyroid checked at my annual exam last winter and there was no apparent issue, although my doc did not dig into complexities like reverse T3. It just kept getting worse, yet all my systems checked out. This is what eventually got me into paleo, because I started doing the equivalent of googling "why do I feel so horrible" and reading everything I could find. I discovered that the daily inhaled steroid my doc had put me on (coincidentally, in late 2010) when I started having to use my rescue inhaler too much has known side effects of headaches, fatigue, depression, and joint pain (among many other scary long-term things including HPA axis suppression and bone loss). Now I'm completely off that stuff -- and barely even using the albuterol rescue inhaler. I have no idea what the chain of causality for each of my many symptoms was and I really don't care. Anyway. Yesterday was a totally compliant day, and very restful. I farmers' marketed, went to Zumba, read a book, took a walk. Today I'm doing a cook-up. I'm going to make the chocolate chili, and paleo-ize Madhur Jaffrey's Shahjahani chicken recipe (which I will share if it turns out tasty). I need some good cooked vegetable recipes for the winter. My Indian cookbooks have turned out to be a real goldmine for tasty meat dishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhmomi Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 Isn't it funny how you all of a sudden put it all together that this lifestyle is creating so many positive changes? I think most people want a dramatic change in just 10 days. By sticking with a healthy lifestyle of exercise coupled with good whole foods, the results become VERY obvious over several months when you reflect back to your starting point. Keep up the great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen Roy Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 I totally love how aware I am about how food affects me now that I've done a whole30. We finished our first at the end of July and have been mostly compliant since then. We usually eat whole30 during the week and indulge on the weekend-either a few drinks or one meal that's off-road. That's just enough to remind me why we chose to do a whole30 in the first place. I've discovered that I don't handle dairy too well, much to my dismay, as I LOVE ice cream and creamy pastas...oh, and I don't think I tolerate pasta (gluten?) too well either... The bottom line for me is that now that I know all this and am paying attention to how food affects me, I am better able to make good choices for me. And that is so empowering! Good luck as you continue your journey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
befabdaily Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 My diet for the last couple of days has officially been "Whole30 plus a serving of chocolate mints". I feel a habit forming. Once the bag is gone I can't have any more!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhmomi Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 My diet for the last couple of days has officially been "Whole30 plus a serving of chocolate mints". I feel a habit forming. Once the bag is gone I can't have any more!!! Be strong. Place. Bag. In. Trash. Now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
befabdaily Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 I can just give it to the grad students and it will disappear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
befabdaily Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 OK, so -- after a few days (five to be precise) in which I had just a little chocolate each day -- we're talking equivalent of 1-2 squares of a chocolate bar, or 2 small chocolate covered mints -- I find myself in possession of a migraine. Or really, what feels like a super-freaky migraine aura, but without the headache (yet). This has coincided with "lady time", which is my second cycle off hormonal birth control, so I don't know what to blame here. But, given that reintroduction of sugar has given me a headache once before (although more immediately) I think I'm going to say I should avoid anything in the candy family pretty studiously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
befabdaily Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 Since it's the 1st of the month, I'm weighing in. I always have a fear that I will get on the scale and discover that the paleo magic has worn off and I have mysteriously started regaining weight -- but it hasn't happened yet, even though I've been less than perfectly compliant this month. Weight: 170.5 (down from about 180 in May, about 178 when I started my first Whole30 on May 25). US Navy style body fat (measurements based): 31.8%/Tanita scale: 34% Waist: 29.5 Belly pudge/navel line: 32.5 Hip: 41.5 Things are still slowly changing. However, I think I have to get back on the task of doing bodyweight exercises more frequently so I don't lose the wrong weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mich Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Great work, it's great to hear about your results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
befabdaily Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 I went to the doctor this morning. I swear she is the most un-curious doctor I have ever had, which, on the one hand, whatever, but on the other hand, if there was something really WRONG, I would want her to be curious. I get there and she's never read my chart and never asks about issues we've previously discussed (like last year's fatigue and such). I told her I had made a massive adjustment to my diet, and what I had eliminated, and that it had allowed me to breathe through my nose again, give up all my asthma medicines, and of course she did notice that I'd lost 11 pounds since the last time. She asked me to repeat what I'd eliminated, said "huh", and moved on, and certainly didn't seem to contemplate how much change it implied. She'd never even heard of "paleo". At least she didn't scold me for trying it, I suppose, but, I mean, if you were a doctor and one of your patients had had a bunch of longstanding issues just resolve, would you not at least register some surprise or interest? She's weird. Oh well, at least I got my pap and flu shot. My former doctor, who was a much warmer individual and was usually curious about how I am feeling in a more holistic way, has returned to the practice after being gone for a couple of years, so i will probably switch back to her now anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derval Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 That switch sounds like a good idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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