To each their own...

[40valves]

So today I begin my 28th day on the W30. I weighed in just for the heck of it and I've only lost 9 pounds. I doubt the next few days will be a game changer.

To some that may seem like success, but not me. For all you're required to give up on the plan, I would have imagined 15 pounds dropped by this point.

So instead of pounds lost, how do I feel...better? In a word, no. As a matter of fact, I do not feel as healthy as I did. To which my body has even shown me signs of this. Not to gross anyone out but by and large I used to be good for 2 bowel movements a day. And goodly ones at that. Now I have one, and it's just small and pitiful. This took hold about a week to 10 days in.

Additionally my libido has dropped, that just pisses me off. No food regimen is worth that. I've even found that my eyes have a harder time focusing. My wife actually asked me to stop when I told her about my eyes, but I told her I'm committed to 30 days...I want to say "I did it." My hair has been thinning for years but seems to have now kicked into overdrive. What's more is that I have some tendons in which I have inflammation, that I was hoping to see an improvement in...nada, zippo.

What am I eating...vegetables of all kinds and at every meal. I used to only have veggies at dinner. I'm trying to add variety by having lots of different kinds of vegetables. Eggs, lots of eggs. Avacado,  coconut flakes, cashews, raspberries-blackberries-blueberries are my go to fruit. Some bacon, some sausage, some beef, lots of chicken. Of course I'm not listing everything because there's a lot more to put down. My point is I had a good variety and remained within the confines of the plan. And yes, I drink plenty of water - 80 or more ounces a day.

My wife did not join me on this plan, but she dropped the booze along with me and ate more veggies like I did. She dropped 8 pounds. No, she didn't drink much at all...and she doesn't work out - I do. She still enjoyed small deserts a few times a week.

I have only 2 hypothesis here, one is - my eating wasn't all that bad to begin with. I wasn't a soda drinker, junk food eater, out to eat a lot-processed food eater. I was already buying grass fed beef, and free range chickies. I wasn't a big bread, pasta or rice eater either. Comared to most, pretty healthy. 

Two, and to the point of my topic heading...everyone is different. There is no magic bullet. What works for some, may not work for all. 

What, if anything, will I incorporate into my regular life after Friday? I believe I will continue to drink my coffee black. I atually appreciate coffee even more. I will work to have some sort of vegetable at every meal, even if I'm eating a bell pepper like a hand fruit. I will buy an on going supply of RxBars on a regular basis for when I travel because they have the cleanest ingredients. And once again, I was eating pretty healthy to begin with.

Don't say it...no, I don't need to go 5, 10 or even 30 more days. For how I feel, it's not worth it. Not to mention this weekend is supposed to be gorgeous and I WILL be having a drink on the deck.

Cya

[jmcbn]

Hey @40valves

I'm sorry you didn't see the results you'd have liked on the program, but can I just remind you that Whole30 is not intended as a weight-loss diet, and if you've entered into it as such then you've done so for the wrong reasons.

Whole30 is a gut reset - a learning tool if you like - a 30 day elimination program to encourage you to look at what you eat & why, to help you learn which foods work for you, and which don't through the reintroduction process, and to use that knowledge going forward to develop your own long term eating plan.

With regard to your hair-loss, and your reduced libido consider that there could be an underlying condition at the root of this. Hair-loss can certainly be a side effect of nutrient deficiencies but if you say you were getting a wide range of veg & plenty of healthy fats then there are other causes. Most people see an improvement in libido considering the change of energy levels so I'm sorry this has not been the case for you. Loss/reduction of vision is not a symptom I can say I've ever seen reported, in fact if anything some say their vision improves.

I get the impression you're not looking for feed back on what you did or didn't eat so I'll not ask you to list out your meals, but I WILL encourage you to think about the non scale victories you might be over-looking right now. Is your energy more stable through out the day? Is your mood improved? Does your brain focus better? Has your body composition changed (this is WAY much more important than the number on the scale by the way)? Bear in mind also that you may not realize just how good you're feeling until you start bringing back the currently excluded foods - the dairy & the grains & the alcohol etc...

And if nothing else, if you plan on adding more veg into your food rotation, even if that does mean eating bell peppers like a fruit, then that in itself is a good thing...

Wishing you the best of luck in your onward journey.

[Crastney]

sounds like you already ate healthily, and you didn't need to lose any weight in the first place, but this isn't a weight loss program, or a diet, so there's no reason why you wuold or should have lost weight.  You work out, so your food is providing fuel and energy for your work outs, and muscle is heavier than fat, so if you build muscle you might gain weight.  How are other things?  do you sleep better?  have you noticed that clothes fit better? have you had blood work done?  cholesterol levels, etc?  how about your work outs - are they noticably more productive? can you exercise for longer?  are you having a pre or post work out meal?

yes, you're right, different people experience different results, and if you're healthy anyway, you might only notice slight improvements, or nothing at all.  You have learnt about food, and how it affects you, and you have made some changes which you'll keep.  this will certainly help you remain healthier for longer.  you're unlikely to die of an obesity or heart related disease.

from two large poos a day to one smaller one probably just means that you're now eating a lot less.  surely that's going to save you money in the long run, even just on using less toilet paper

if you could write a post with exactly what you've eaten then someone with more knowledge than me could look into that in more detail, as there may be something less obvious that gets picked up.

[40valves]

Thank you for your feedback, I do appreciate it. To JMBCN's comments, you're correct, I'm not looking for feedback to tweak things. I know you'd help if I asked, thank you.

To Crastney, thank you as well. To some of your questions; I did not get blood work or anything of the sort to genuinely measure things. However I do HOPE that by virtue of eliminating all of the bad things - that internally there is an improvement. Additionally I did not see better workouts though they didn't diminish either. Also, I do have weight to lose, even now I'd say I have a solid 15 pounds extra on me. My clothes fit better commensurate with the weight loss. At the beginning of this year I was 5 pounds lighter than I am now and my clothes fit better then. My body shape didn't alter in a different way than before with other weight loss. My energy was linear, but it had been for the most part before.

Again, thank you for the feedback.