Day 31 - weight loss ?

[MicMD2503]

So here's the thing.  I did the Whole30 without cheating.  I lost about 4 lbs (3.8 to be exact).  One of my goals was indeed weight loss but it wasn't the only goal  As prescribed by Melissa I went over the entire list of Non Scale Benefits in the Whole30 book and ticked almost every single one.  So definitely. the program was beneficial for me.

I feel good, I sleep well at night, my clothes fit better, my skin is clear, no more GI tract issues (though they may come back with reintroduction). My energy levels are great.  Many other benefits to be counted.  So why am I feeling so underwhelmed...to be honest I had hoped to lose at least 6 or 8 lbs with this program over the course of 30 days.

Will the bit of weight that I lost come back with reintroduction ? ...How can I continue to lose by doing the Whole 30. ?

All comments and suggestions welcome !

[ladyshanny]

Hi @MicMD2503 - unfortunately we won't give recommendations on how to "continue to lose by doing the Whole30" since the Whole30 is not a weight loss program. It's a food elimination protocol so that you can figure out how food interacts with your body. Some people do lose weight because they are replacing sugar, wheat and bad fats with veggies, protein and good fats. It's a side effect of the program though, not the purpose.

Some reasons that people do not lose any/a lot of weight on the program:

• underlying health issues - the body will prioritize healing over weight loss 
• the person already eats fairly well before coming to Whole30 so the change is less dramatic
• person came to Whole30 with hormones upside down and backwards - the body will prioritize balance over weight loss
• the person came to Whole30 already at a reasonable weight but with a desire to lose "vanity pounds". The body may not wish to do that
• the person ate far too little over the course of 30 days and the body didn't feel safe to lose weight
• the person focussed on fruits, nuts and nut butters which are calorically very dense and sugar-high
• the person came from a background of restriction and binging and the body doesn't feel safe to lose weight.....yet.

Basically you can continue to eat healthy proteins, lots of veggies and good fats and your body will eventually settle out. Will you gain weight when you reintroduce? That really depends on what you'll keep in your plan, how it interacts with your body and the quantities you're planning on eating it in.

You can give us a rundown on your basic eating habits and meal composition during your Whole30 and we can see if anything stands out. But we're not going to help you hack the Whole30 for weight loss.

[ladyshanny]

PS: in answer to your question: in light of an abundance of non-scale victories and successes, why am I feeling so underwhelmed now that I know I didn't lose as much weight as I wanted to.

Because the scale is a terrible measure of success and those numbers and the diet and weight loss industries have poisoned our minds and caused us to believe that whatever number appears on the scale is a determination of our self worth and success. If your clothes continue to fit better as you go on and you continue to have stable moods and high energy and clear skin and a calm digestive system, why does it matter what the number on the scale says? Throw that bloody thing in the GARBAGE! Throw it out. Smash it with a hammer, back over it with your car, light it on fire, drop it off a cliff, throw it in a trash compactor. Seriously. You can see exactly, in your comments above, just how terrible it is for us. We are not cattle, we don't need to be weighed.

[MicMD2503]

@ladyshannythanks for the feedback. I know how the Whole 30 feels about scales...I didn't rush to weigh myself as I prioritized the Non-Scale Benefits Melissa talks about in the book...but I did want to know what if any - impact it had on my weight. I'm not planning to throw my Reintroduction out of the window or give us on the Whole 30 just because of that scale reading.  By the way, I never intended to ask about hacking the Whole30 for weight loss.

I don't know how many Whole 30s you have done but as a moderator you obviously have a lot of experience. This is my first experience with this plan, so yeah, I'm going to have some questions....