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Gaining weight? On day 22


ach324

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This is my second whole30 and I feel it's been more successful than the first in that I notice a HUGE improvement on my energy levels. This week in particular was a smashing success- I woke up every morning 5 min before my alarm, which is such a great feeling because it means you're naturally rested and your sleep cycle isn't interrupted. I wake up feeling totally well rested and not at all groggy, I've stopped snacking which was a huge problem during my first whole30 and I have felt full and satisfied but not stuffed/bloated after nearly every meal. I've also been working out a lot. But here's the thing-- I have no idea what I weigh because I haven't weighed myself of course but I take pictures at the end of every week. Between the end of the first and second week I noticed a big difference, less bloat, definitely looking thinner and my stomach was looking flatter. However, I took a photo this morning (end of the 3rd week) and I look bigger than I did the previous friday. How is that possible?? I still look smaller than the first week but the little pouch around my belly button is for sure bigger and I think my midsection is a bit more round. It's not PMS bloat because I don't get a period (sorry for the TMI but I'm on an IUD so it stopped about a year ago.) How is it possible that I've gained weight/gotten more bloated in just a week? This week I actually think went even better than last week-- definitely fell asleep faster and I think ate better. Last night I ate shrimp in a red sauce over zucchini noodles, totally low sodium. And I avoided nuts and nut butter which I had been kinda cracking out on the week before.

 

My only theory is that I ate out a bit more than usual this week because my father in law was in town but it was actually fairy light stuff. Sat afternoon I had a salad with grilled veggies and evoo instead of dressing. Sunday morning we had 2 poached eggs over sauteed mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and avocado. Saturday night was a bit more indulgent-- had super fatty grilled lamb chops with a side of broccoli cooked in evoo with almonds and grilled sardines as an app. Then, yesterday I went out for lunch with coworkers and had 2 poached eggs over smashed avocado with a few smashed new potatoes and bacon. Wasn't at all stuffed but yesterday and Sat night I was definitely like, full full. 

 

Yes yes I know weight loss isn't the only goal of whole30. But it's one of them and it makes me feel a bit discouraged when I see that I'm bigger rather than smaller despite eating and feeling well.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Any tips? Is the eating out to blame? No plans to eat out this week 

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I noticed a big difference, less bloat, definitely looking thinner and my stomach was looking flatter. However, I took a photo this morning (end of the 3rd week) and I look bigger than I did the previous friday. How is that possible?? I still look smaller than the first week but the little pouch around my belly button is for sure bigger and I think my midsection is a bit more round. How is it possible that I've gained weight/gotten more bloated in just a week?

 

The human body is beautiful and mysterious and always changing. Looking for and expecting consistency on a micro scale like this does not lead to a good place.

 

How do you feel? You said more energy, right? Focus on that. Give your body a chance to flex and change and shift. If the big picture trends away from where you want to be (by big picture, I'm talking about comparing the start of this whole30 to the end of it; NOT one day to the next), then think  about making some changes, but for now stay the course. Your food sounds a little light, but otherwise pretty good  ;)

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Ohhh yeah the salad was definitely too light of a meal-- but we were at a pub and there were NO other options, plus we were eating dinner at that fancy restaurant in less than 4 hours- obviously wanted to be good and hungry for that :) And the brunch the following day was also too light, I ended up needing to eat dinner pretty early. But in general my meals are bigger than that. Typically I have 2 eggs with a tonnn of veggies and fats like avocado or prosciutto/bacon for breakfast. Then for lunch some kind of meat (grilled chicken breast, bowl of chilli have been popular lately) with veggies sauteed in lots of evoo. dinner is usually somewhere between 1/3 or half a pound of meat/fish (generally fattier ones like steak or salmon or pork meatballs) with 2 veggie sides (incorporating some kind of fat like coconut milk in a sauce or a ghee-based sauce) Do you see any other red flags there? Too much red meat maybe? 

 

Of course it could also be my body adjusting to bigger meals and lack of snacks. In my first whole 30 (which was nov/dec) and in my prewhole life I would eat much smaller breakfast and lunches and need a snack halfway through the day. I feel much more energetic this way though and in the overall picture I end up eating both less and healthier. It's a good change but it's a change and as you said it takes time to get used to changes!

 

Thanks for the reminder about not obsessing day to day. I think it's honestly just residual bad habits from when I was on Weight Watchers and had to weigh in at the end of every week. My overall happiness lived or died based on what the scale said-- ugh what a horrible time...

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Two eggs is inadequate protein for a meal. You should be eating 3-4 when that is your only protein. Adding veggies and fat does not cover protein needs, it just fills your stomach. 

 

If you are eating one or two portions of red meat as big as the palm of your hand at each meal, you are not eating too much red meat. Red meat is good for you. 

 

Your weekly photographs are violating the spirit of the Whole30. You are using the most recent photograph to obsess about your body and calculate how to micromanage your food. This is exactly what we don't want you doing. As Miss Mary said, your body does not fit on a graph and behave consistently. It is a body. It does body things. 

 

I did my first Whole30 so long ago that not weighing daily was not a rule. I weighed daily and found that the information was "uneven." Some days I gained weight, some days I lost weight. The moves were unpredictable. It did not matter much to me because I have never been obsessed about the numbers, but I know that daily weighing only makes people crazy because the information is not useful. And weekly weighing is not any better. 

 

Just let your body be. You have begun to travel on a healthy path that will take you to delightful places. 

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Tom, I think I need to agree to disagree on eggs. I've tried having meat with them and it makes me feel too full, almost foggy. 2 eggs with prosciutto (which has as decent amount of protein too!) makes me feel satisfied and happy. my breakfasts leaves me with loads of energy and not needing to eat for another 5 or so hours. This is the first time in my life I've had good energy levels and I'd like to keep following these habits if it's okay with you. If I'm eating eggs with veggies and healthy fats and feeling great all day, who cares if I'm having 2 instead of 3? the difference seems arbitrary... 

 

That being said, I do think you're probably right about the weekly photos. I promise I wasn't trying to use them to obsess, I just wanted to track how my body changed over the course of the month, but I'll stop doing that now.

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I can't argue with experience. If you are feeling satisfied 5 hours on 2 eggs, prosciutto and veggies, okay. 

 

I am sure you did not mean for the photos to support obsession. Obsession is a cunning, baffling thing. It finds opportunities to exploit and we can't always anticipate when they will pop up. :)

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