dkmwf9 Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Here I am day 30 and still waiting for a drop of tiger blood. I've only got two meals left to finish out the full 30 days, and while I'm really proud that I will accomplish this I do have some disappointment that I can't tell much of a difference in myself. There's a whole two pages of NSV in the book and I read through them last night and I felt like I never read one of them and felt a resounding 'YES! That's true!' For most of the ones I thought applied to me it was more like a 'eh, maybe.' I don't think I have that much more energy, I don't think I'm getting any better of sleep (I luckily have always gotten great sleep), I don't think my skin looks any clearer or brighter, I don't think my hair or nails are thicker or stronger. I haven't touched my kitchen scale in the past thirty days, which I can appreciate is a change in my relationship with food, but I mean it's not like measuring has been completely erased. A tbsp here, a palm sized serving here, it's still measuring it's just not a specific number. I don't feel like I've gotten more athletic either, I feel like I have the same stamina in my workouts that I had prior. I don't know if I had too high of expectations or if maybe I feel better than I think I do, but it's really tough for me to be getting pumped up about my results. I know I went into this with hopes of losing weight because I had been stuck at a plateau for months, and I was hoping this would give me a little kick start past my hump. Knowing this isn't designed to be a weight loss diet I've really focused on trying to see the non scale victories, but I really haven't seen any. So now I'm worried I'm going to step on the scale tomorrow and not break past my plateau and will essentially feel very little positives out of this experience. This leads me to not being very excited to essentially be whole30 for another 10 days while I do the fast track reintroduction. I've read the article about the five things that could be the cause of whole30 not working. It would be easy to think that maybe I just didn't do it right, but I've been posting on here since the early days and have taken the advice from moderators and been applying it to my meals. It's just really hard to be patient throughout this whole thing waiting for positive results and getting to the end and feeling pretty much the same and that I'm stuck in this vague space where I don't know how I benefited, if at all. I just needed some place to vent about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeadowLily Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 More than anything else, I wish the side effects of weight loss were not even a part of this. But, sigh and alas, it sets up those expectations for 10 or 15 lb weight loss per month. If those pounds can actually stay long gone, alrighty then. Don't judge yourself based on feelings. The pre Whole 30 internal condition regulates results. It takes longer than 30 days for most of us to heal inwardly before it reveals itself outwardly. It took me almost two years years to feel like I used to feel. If I had thrown the towel in before the healing came, I would've never known what was possible. A long time ago, most of the people who did this were crossfit athletes. They were at the top of their game and it took less time for them than someone like me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators ladyshanny Posted August 9, 2016 Administrators Share Posted August 9, 2016 First, "Tiger Blood" is a stupid saying that I wish would die. It's a "thing" for....like....a fraction of the members. Most people just start to feel.....good. Stable. Content. Calm. Sometimes you don't even know that you are feeling better until you go off the rails and start to feel crappy and then realize how good you had it. Also know that 30 days is a drop in the bucket. I went back and read some of your posts. You did seem to struggle a bit at the beginning with some of the "why nots" like frozen grapes, nuts as fats, not enough non-starchy veggies. I wonder if these tweaks may have set you back a bit in Destination Success? I also, and I mean this in the kindest way, think you may have been focussing quite a bit on the "eeyore" aspect of your experience in this program. I read a lot of "I'm not getting, I'm not feeling, why everyone else, what about me" in your posts. Which I totally get, we all want to see the amazing results that this program touts as possible. I would suggest you maybe focus on all that you did accomplish: you ate more veggies than normal, you nourished your body regularly, you ate nutrient dense food, you made yourself a priority, you tried and succeeded at something new (and not easy), you stayed accountable to your commitment to yourself. It can sometimes be easy to forget that we are all individuals and some people just require more awareness, more tweaking, more adjusting before they figure out exactly what it is that they need in order to feel their best. What is your plan going forward? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkmwf9 Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 Thank you for responding. I can see why you would think I was focusing on only the negative aspects of this. I don't think admitting on day 16 that I've felt nothing is necessarily a "woe is me." It is impossibly hard to stay motivated to make all the choices for this program when I wake up each day hoping for some kind of positive outcome and feel like I come up with nothing. It's even more impossible when I read about people that do discover the elusive tiger's blood, or their chronic pain goes away, or their clothes fit better and I am desperately searching for an ounce of a sign that I'm doing something right. I'd argue most people would find themselves closer to an Eeyore mindset after so many days of that. And if I was such an Eeyore I would have eventually said oh why bother, but I didn't and I don't think someone with a pessimistic attitude would have stuck with it like I did. I understand that I haven't done this perfectly, so maybe my timeline could be a little delayed. That's a great point. While I understand that, it's hard for me not to think that others must have faltered similarly yet have gotten to see results. I don't want to take anyone's results away from them just because I don't have any, but it is hard not to wonder what didn't I do. I understand that what works for one person doesn't mean it will work for another, but 30 days of all these nutrient dense foods and I feel the same? Come on, that would be a mystery to anyone. I appreciate you pointing out all of the different accomplishments (more veggies, etc). That's a nice reminder of all the not so easy decisions that I've made. I see those accomplishments as choices though, and while I can applaud that I made great choices (which I haven't doubted) my frustration still comes from not seeing some kind of result that reinforces that the tough choices I made are paying off. I posted this out here one because I selfishly needed a pick me up. I also posted it out here because I want to paint a picture that not everyone gets rainbows at the end. if someone else gets here and they feel like I do, I want them to know that they aren't the only one (which is how I'm currently feeling). It's easy to get sucked into strictly waiting for all the positive things that the book highlights, and it's a tough pill to swallow realizing that your story isn't similar. I'll admit to having big hopes for this and that maybe my result projections were too high and that's why this feels even less awesome. I'm planning on doing the reintroduction (fast track) next. I don't miss alcohol at all so I'm going straight to legumes and then so forth. After that I plan on taking what I've figured out and adjusting, put still eating mostly paleo. P.S. I have a great fear that my internet tone doesn't read too pleasant. I want you to know that I truly do appreciate the advice and the tough love. I'm a stubborn one so it's easy for me to get defensive and I apologize if my responses come off as ungrateful or closed minded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ultrarunnergirl Posted August 9, 2016 Moderators Share Posted August 9, 2016 I'm sorry you haven't had the results you were hoping for yet. That is kind of a bummer. I hope they come for you soon. Are you pretty physically active? I think that makes a big difference in really getting the full effect within the 30 days. That, and look at your stress levels. Stress can be good or bad -- work promotion or difficult situations, family, relationships, anything in your life. Hang in there and cheers to finishing strong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators ladyshanny Posted August 9, 2016 Administrators Share Posted August 9, 2016 Your tone is totally fine and you're right, you weren't Eeyore specifically, because obviously you did push on and made efforts to make revisions. You should be proud that you didn't give in, for SURE! Any time you compare yourself to others, especially when you don't know their backstory (which we just can't on the internet), you are doing yourself a disservice and that makes me sad because it eclipses anything you might see. Even "waiting for the magic" that the program says will come can blind you to other things. That all said, maybe you got absolutely no results. Maybe absolutely nothing changed for you. Totally possible, as noted, nothing works for everyone. There is no "money back guarantee". LOL! My suspicion is that if you continue on, you may slowly see changes. And if not? There is NOTHING to be lost by eating produce, protein and fat. It's possible that you have other things going on that you may or may not be aware of. Hormonal imbalance that food simply can't fix, an over-active stress response (this would cause weight gain around the middle, btw), intolerances to some of the foods that are Whole30 approved (avocado, coconut, nuts) which may cause bloating/discomfort/sleep issues. As the book says, it only Starts With Food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staggolee41 Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Some of my most exciting wins on this program had to do with my mental approach to food. I'm more excited that I'm weirded out by everyone else's approaches to food than I am for clearer skin because I know that my new reaction will help keep me on track with being healthy. Going through the full reintroduction process, and reverting back to W30 99% of the time, has shown me that this is so much more than a 30-day journey - I will always be battling some of the demons I thought I'd exorcised during the 30 days. I don't know about you, but I'm excited in the changes in my choices because I've built new habits - I don't go out to eat constantly anymore. I can grocery shop like a pro. I make better choices at every meal regardless of whether it's planned. I can cook food for a dozen meals in 90 minutes. I've also come to really appreciate the overall program - Whole9 - that talks about building a better life through 9 pillars. Some see great results in 30 days, some don't. It might just take a little longer for that wheel to turn for you, as has been said. I hope you do start seeing benefits very soon, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkmwf9 Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 11 minutes ago, ladyshanny said: That all said, maybe you got absolutely no results. Maybe absolutely nothing changed for you. Totally possible, as noted, nothing works for everyone. There is no "money back guarantee". LOL! Yes, how can I get a hold of Melissa Hartwig to ask for a giftcard to Amazon for my book purchase. I'm going to keep going down this path, and I am curious how the old foods I ate will affect me now. I'm going to figure out a balance in my life between food that makes me healthier and food that I still enjoy eating, but maybe doesn't provide the best health benefits. I've kept about the same exercise regime as I did before, so maybe fixing my nutrition just takes longer in me than others (Lucky me!) My biggest dragon isn't sugar, it's the scale. I stepped on that thing every day, usually multiple times a day. Breaking that relationship probably was the biggest accomplishment and I hope I can stay with a similar pattern post whole30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsZimm13 Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 2 hours ago, dkmwf9 said: My biggest dragon isn't sugar, it's the scale. I stepped on that thing every day, usually multiple times a day. Breaking that relationship probably was the biggest accomplishment and I hope I can stay with a similar pattern post whole30. This too is difficult for me-- my W30 ends on Thursday. Friday morning, you know I'll be on the scale...then off for 30 more days! I'm signing up for round 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkmwf9 Posted August 11, 2016 Author Share Posted August 11, 2016 Update: I lost 13 pounds, so while I'm still trying to find other benefits from this I do have proof that something was working. I'm going to keep going through the reintroduction (yesterday I didn't feel great after peanut butter, but I did feel okay after black beans so might have to retest those later) and learn to be patient waiting for results. Thanks for all the feedback! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators ladyshanny Posted August 11, 2016 Administrators Share Posted August 11, 2016 Well holy crap! I guess something DID change! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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