No lost weight...why??

[jmcbn]

^^^^ I don't know how true this is - but it makes a valid point.  

I work it out as 1204, but it's close enough    

It's her BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate - ie. how many calories she needs just to 'be'. It takes age, sex & current body weight into consideration. Nothing else.

I'm in a higher age bracket so I need more calories just to 'be' - 1316kcal to be precise. If I was over 60 I'd need less - 1184kcal (although a 59 yr old would need the same as me because there are only FOUR age brackets...)

I can calculate how many kcals each and everyone one of you need to 'be', or how many you need to eat to lose as many pounds as your heart desires, or gain, or maintain...I could even break that figure down for you & tell you how many kcals you should be getting from protein, fat & carbs respectively, and I could make sure everything you eat fits your macros, but I won't.

It's a mathematical equation and it's entirely inaccurate because it factors in only approximate age, sex, weight, & general activity level. Now I don't know about you, but my activity level varies from week to week, let alone from day to day, and whilst I may be in the same age group, be the same sex & weight as someone, and maybe even fit into the same activity level group (there are 7) we won't necessarily be the same height, or be carrying our weight in the same places, have the same amount of body fat, or the same blood pressure, or state of general health. And apart from that my basic metabolic needs change throughout the month...

Counting calories is not the way, and I don't know a single soul who is happy living like that.

I can calculate all of those things for you, and for me, and yet here I am following Whole30.

Learn to listen to your body, and give it what it needs.

Be kind to your body & it will reward you with good health - both physical & mental.

 

[Mistyfire]

I am an over 60 female. I do not particularly exercise. I weigh in someplace around 175 lbs@ 5'5". I mostly eat the template and lose a pound or two a month. I do not count calories but I have tended toward more winter starchy vegs with a fair amount of ghee. Folks at work think I've gotten skinny. They say I "carry my weight well". It's not about the scale. It's not about the calories. It's not about what the charts say. I just think I look good, feel great and am happy. I once weighed 140 lbs (via weight watchers) and my mother worried about my gaunt look. Those charts just have never fit me.

[praxisproject]

So that's an interesting question....one health issue I was really hoping to solve through Whole30 was migraines. Again, this is my 2nd Whole30. Both times, the 30 days did nothing, my migraines may have even worsened. 

 

This time around, once the 30 days were up, I assumed it was not a food issue and started taking magnesium. In the last 30 days (so, days 30-60) my migraines have improved TREMENDOUSLY. And magnesium supplementation's not supposed to work that fast, so I do wonder if something about Whole30 eating is finally kicking in. But I don't know for sure. I suppose once (hopefully!!!) my migraines are gone completely I'll do a proper reintroduction and see for sure if there are any food triggers for me.

 

Sometimes Whole30 also helps you identify the things that are beyond food, so you can get those treated.

I'd never have been diagnosed with MTHFR if I hadn't done Whole30, I was so sick before that, no one could have noticed it.

 

Some triggers aren't immediate, some are subtle and may not seem like a reaction, but the answer comes whether you're better off with or without, does it make you thrive? Keeping a food diary helps. Dairy for me is a sneaky one, if I add it back in as a regular food it's about 2 weeks until the impact kicks in and some dairy products are much worse than others.