Second Whole30 ... Way off Kilter!

[CountryGirl82]

Hello,

So this is my second Whole30 journey and it's going in the complete opposite direction! My first round was actually 45 days and I started it back in September. This current round I started on Jan 1. My first round results were basically textbook in every aspect! This one, not so much.

In the couple of months in between I didn't stray too far from W30 foods and spent a couple of weeks in the introduction phase to see what worked/didn't.

I know that weighing yourself is against the rules so bear with me for a second here. I have had this nasty nasty cold/flu for the past two weeks so I went to the doc a couple of days ago ... they weighed me and I actually closed my eyes and asked the Med Assistant to not tell me! But, the doc said it out loud to talk to me about being overweight And it totally messed wth my head.) **Mod edit to remove scale results**This did NOT happen in my first W30. My clothes aren't fitting any different so ... IDK.

So, I'm doing something wrong this time and I'm needing someone from the outside to give me advice - please!

I sleep 7.5-9 hours a night, and it's very restful sleep. I walk for 45 minutes to 1 hour per day at work with a coworker (I have one of those sedentary office jobs...) and do some yoga at home. I'm not under a lot of stress.

I think the problem is that I'm hardly ever hungry and have to make myself eat. Sometimes I'm to the point of gagging because I Do. Not. Want. Food. Maybe this is from being sick?? Not sure.

Anyway, when I do eat I have 3-4 eggs, half an avocado, coffee with coconut milk, and an apple for meal 1. I've tried SO many times to have veggies with meal 1 but it kills my stomach and I don't handle nausea well.

For meal 2, some meat that's about a palm size or a little more, 2-3 cups of veggies (typically a huge salad with lots of greens and other veggies), and coconut flakes or avocado.

For meal 3, some meat that's about a palm or a little more, 1-2 cups of veggies, and cooking oil for fat up to 1 tbsp.

Lots of water all day. With the exception of an apple I cut out all fruit, nuts, and starch the last few days and didn't notice anything different.

I usually finish all the food in my meals but lately I don't want to eat at all (like this morning, I've been up for 3 hours and thinking of eating grosses me out). Also - I'm not pregnant just to rule that out haha.

Has anyone else a) had THAT much weight gain, and not want any food at all? What did you do to get past these hurdles? What did you identify, if anything, as the culprit for these issues?

Thanks for reading and for your help!

[QuilterInVA]

Since we aren't supposed to weigh during the W30, we wouldn't know if we gained before we lost or not. When you don't eat enough, your body holds onto every morsel because it thinks the famine is here. Fix your plate following the meal template, eat as much as you can and then put it away. After a while, give it another go until you get used to eating more at meals. You need to add cups of other veggies to salad or eat a wheel barrow full of greens. When you chew them they go down to nothing. As an example, I couldn't eat 5 oz. of raw spinach - it a huge amount - but when I saute it in ghee it cooks down to less than 1 cup and I can eat it easily. I sometimes have butternut or caulifower soup for breakfast. I'm sure one of the moderators will be able to help you. Good luck.

[GFChris]

First off, you're not necessarily doing anything wrong. Everything you're eating is compliant.

The scale can fluctuate for a variety of reasons: undigested food, beverages that haven't made their way through your system yet, bloat, time of day you weighed, difference in scale calibrations, that time of the month, hormones out of whack, etc.

Salads, other raw veggies, and any cruciferous veggies might be causing bloat for you.  Maybe try backing off for a few days and see if you feel better and have more of an appetite to eat.

 

Have you had your hormones checked recently?



 

[ShannonM816]

QuilterinVA made some good points. I also cannot tell you whether it's normal to gain weight partway through your W30 or not, but I do know that many many people experience bloating at some point (see Day 8: For the love of Gosling, my pants are tighter!).

 

I'd also say that even though you're saying you're not stressed, if you've had a cold/flu for two weeks, that's a stressor on your body, even if it doesn't feel like work stress or family stress. It's something your body has to deal with, and it may prioritize healing from that over weight loss at the moment.

 

For the food boredom -- maybe you could try new recipes? Or if you have a very favorite W30 recipe(or just a favorite meal), make that.  Do something to get yourself excited about food again. 

 

Soup for breakfast would be an excellent way to get in some vegetables. Or try sweet potato -- either baked, covered in ghee or coconut oil with sea salt and cinnamon, or roasted and served with mayo for dipping. That's usually pretty easy to eat.

 

Also, on your meal 3 (or any meal, but it stands out there) -- don't be afraid to add more fat, aside from what you've cooked in. Add some avocado or olives, or make some sauces to add.

[Tom Denham]

I would bet it is the cold/flu that is making this Whole30 experience so different.

 

I don't want to talk you out of eating a big breakfast, but your meal 1 is substantial, while meal 2 sounds smaller, and meal 3 smaller still. Especially if you are having trouble eating all of meal 1, you might try eating just 3-4 eggs and adding the 1/2 avocado to a later meal. There is plenty of fat in the eggs. If you were eager to eat, I would not suggest moving the avocado to elsewhere. 

 

My first veggies with breakfast was when I made frittatas with eggs, tomatoes, spinach, onions, and mushrooms. Putting them all together made it easy. Nowadays I eat 4 eggs and a big serving of cold sauerkraut. I really like the bite of the sauerkraut with the fat of the eggs. 

[CountryGirl82]

Thanks for all of the advice, I appreciate it.

I'll try tweaking my meals and see how it goes and focus on getting over this virus!

And thanks for the reminder about having my doc test my hormones, I'm going to make an appt this week