New here and have serious trouble with willpower

[Jenabean]

I'm new to Whole30 and haven't started yet. I purchased the book but have yet to read it. My problem is I am 32 years old, just had a baby and look in the mirror and hate what I see. I have difficulty ignoring my cravings and eat till I'm full. I have a sweet tooth but I must lose weight for my health. It seems that for this to work I have to meal prep each meal for an entire week. How much weight should I anticipate to lose in 30 days? Is there anything in particular I should buying? Is there anyone here in fact similar boat as me where we can chat and support each other ? I have to lose about 30-35lbs. How long might that take ?

[Jenabean]

I saw you mentioned a timeline... in New to this. Where's the timeline? Is it in the book?

[Jenabean]

What do I do to get started?? How do i know that I'm eating all the right things ?? 

[SugarcubeOD]

34 minutes ago, Jenabean said:

I'm new to Whole30 and haven't started yet. I purchased the book but have yet to read it. My problem is I am 32 years old, just had a baby and look in the mirror and hate what I see. I have difficulty ignoring my cravings and eat till I'm full. I have a sweet tooth but I must lose weight for my health. It seems that for this to work I have to meal prep each meal for an entire week. How much weight should I anticipate to lose in 30 days? Is there anything in particular I should buying? Is there anyone here in fact similar boat as me where we can chat and support each other ? I have to lose about 30-35lbs. How long might that take ?

Hi Jena - This program is not a weightloss diet and as such there are no guarentees or metrics for how much weight people would lose or how long it takes.  I see that you're asking these questions in a few places on the forum.  At the bottom of my signature is a list of all the rules, recommendations, links to popular articles and documents that will help you get started.  Please read through these to get started.  I've moved all your posts to this thread.

[slc_melissa]

Buy: meat, veggies, fats. Follow the rules and recommendations. Look at the template and take it to heart. Have a couple easy go to meals that you can prepare.  Don't try to force yourself to lose weight- if you just had a baby, you're going through massive changes, likely will be light on sleep, and may be breastfeeding. (Recommendations include an extra meal for breastfeeding moms.)

[Jenabean]

I had a baby in may of 2016 and breastfed until June of 2017. I'm not just doing this to lose weight, although in the book it stated 96% of people lose weight    . I'm doing it to reset my gut and be healthier , lower bp and cholesterol too. 

[Jenabean]

Which template are you referring to? 

[racheleats]

44 minutes ago, Jenabean said:

Which template are you referring to? 

You really have to read the rules on the website and potentially purchase (or find at your library) the WHole30 book. Every question you have will likely be answered there, and almost all of the resources are free!

If you don't research and prepare yourself before you start you will have a much more difficult time. The template is the way that your meals should be structured every meal - a palm size or two of protein, thumb size serving of 2 fats, and fill the rest of your plate with veggies. Add fruit only if you are hungry enough to eat it and not skip the veggies.

[Scott W]

Hi there - one thing that seemed to have really motivated me was listening to the audio book (you can also just read it of course) "It Starts with Food". It is narrated by the Hartwigs and they do a great job of explaining the "why" with many easy to follow illustrations to get the point across.  I listened to it through the Audible app.

i wish you well.

[Jenabean]

I purchased the book, I'm just finding it overwhelmingly complicated. 

[NoneOtherThanAmy]

Welcome Jena! I completely understand how you're feeling. The amount of information and prep it takes to fully change your lifestyle and eating habits is a bit overwhelming. My recommendation is to keep reading the books, and also read as much as you can on other threads here. See what the mods are recommending to other people and see what questions other people have. That really helped me as I struggled to figure out this program when I first started. The other thing I did was a "pre-Whole30" where I started following the guidelines as much as possible, but had some slips and rookie mistakes here or there. Then once my actual start date came up, I was pretty well prepared to follow all the rules strictly and I had a wonderful Whole30 with great results and lots of non-scale victories.  

[ShannonM816]

Go here and click on What is the Whole30 and start reading, it'll cover all the rules and have links to helpful blog posts with more information:  https://whole30.com

Also check out the helpful downloads available here:  https://whole30.com/pdf-downloads/

 

[Jim4884]

2 hours ago, Jenabean said:

I had a baby in may of 2016 and breastfed until June of 2017. I'm not just doing this to lose weight, although in the book it stated 96% of people lose weight    . I'm doing it to reset my gut and be healthier , lower bp and cholesterol too. 

Just to provide some encouragement that these things ARE possible:

I have lost about 35 lbs; gotten off of BP medication and lowered my BP; went from pre-diabetic to completely normal blood sugar; and drastically lowered triglycerides and modestly lowered cholesterol.  Everybody is different of course, but good things can happen.  The weight loss is over 3+ months, the other gains happened within the first month.

[Jenabean]

That's the kind of inspiration I need. I'm very depressed and don't even want to leave the house bc of how insecure I feel. I've never been overweight prior to a couple of years ago. The last 2 years it's been so hard to lose weight and just feel good again. How much weight did you lose in the first month?

[MeadowLily]

JenaBean, I've read your posts.

I'm not just doing this to lose weight, although in the book it stated 96% of people lose weight . I'm doing it to reset my gut and be healthier , lower bp and cholesterol too. 

The body and brain have to heal before losing weight. Hormonal healing. This has been going on the last couple of years...so it will not happen overnight.

When we tell ourselves that it is not about weight loss but inwardly it is about weight loss, this is a disconnect for the brain.  It adds to the stress and the brain literally rebels and fights harder against us. Losing weight becomes even harder. Stress does all kinds of things and the weight holds on tighter.

Read all of the rules and recommendations and settle into the process. 

I've been here awhile and I've watched many who said this is not about the weight loss but that's all it was about. On Day 31, it came undone and we never heard from them again. Ooo, some lost 20 lbs in one month's time but they rebounded back with more.

Work on hormonal healing. Template, template, template. Allow your body and brain the time they want and need to heal. While you're tooling along, read the forum and see how others have accomplished what you want.  Relax and settle into the process. Give yourself permission not to stress about weight loss.  

[racheleats]

1 hour ago, Jenabean said:

I purchased the book, I'm just finding it overwhelmingly complicated. 

It really doesn't need to be! It's a lot of information, but if you just focus on eating veggies, meat and fat you'll be good to go. Roast a big batch of sweet potato, beets, carrots, asparagus etc., grill some chicken breasts and burgers, make dump ranch (really easy recipe) and then mix and match on top of some greens for easy lunches. Yes, there is a lot that you have to remember to leave out, but if you steer clear of food that has "ingredients" and just eat whole foods cooked the way you like them for the most part you'll be okay. Keeping it simple is key - trying to overcomplicate will make you feel overwhelmed and want to quit. YOU CAN DO THIS!!

[Jenabean]

I'm not doing this for weight loss alone. But for my health I must lose weight. I'm at higher risk for heart disease, diabetes etc. I chose Whole30 for several reasons. To sleep better, to feel better, reduce inflammation, preventative care and to lose weight. I must lose weight for my health. So if this isn't the right lifestyle change to lose weight, I've chosen the wrong one. I'm excited to start and feel my best but need to lose weight simultaneously. 

[WholeInOne]

Hi Jena! 

  Sometimes, I even eat my veggies first, as an "appetizer" to my meal, so that when I am eating the better tasting main dish, I am not hungry for seconds.  All of the energy and better sleep comes from eating more vegetables, because of the nutrients you're getting. And if you drastically increase the amount of vegetables you get (i.e. half a plate per meal from maybe 1/4 of a plate once a day) you will feel better, sleep better, feel better. That's right, the big secret is EAT YOUR VEGGIES!

I also don't meal prep very much, my work has a salad bar that I can go to often.  I also buy deli meat from Trader Joes. I'll buy frozen premade patties and make a simple lettuce wrapped burger.  My favorite Whole30 meal was when I made spaghetti squash with compliant sauce, it felt like a comfort food but I was actually eating so many vegetables (pureed tomatoes and squash).

 

[SugarcubeOD]

@WholeInOne - your post has been edited to remove references to how to do WW as a precursor to Whole30 as well as removing ways to hack the program to make it a weight loss program.  We do not promote other diet programs such as Weight Watchers on this site and this program is an elimination protocol to help participants learn how inflammatory foods potentially affect their gut so they can make a personalized eating plan going forward.

[slc_melissa]

@WholeInOne:

FYI, unless there something I don't know about the vodka sauce, nothing with alcohol is compliant, not even for cooking.  (I am assuming this was some sort of tomato sauce that had vodka as an ingredient.)

@Jenabean:

Some people lose weight.  Some don't.  Many people change their body composition without changing scale weight.  Some don't start losing weight until 2 months after their whole 30 ended (me).  There are plenty of ways to lose weight, but many of those are not good health-wise.  Sometimes your body has to heal before it changes composition.  If you do something like calorie restriction, yes, it will work in the short-term on pure weight, but long-term you may be setting yourself up for nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, higher body fat %, and all sorts of problems.....Whole30 is as easy or as difficult as you decide to make it.  Make it easy, give it a try for 30 days.

[Host]

Try to make it easier on yourself as much as you can, prepare lots of food all at once and eat your leftovers for days. I get how willpower can be a struggle - I work in a candy shop / bakery / junk food store and temptation is right in my face in every which direction I turn. I just decided to stick with one thing: " Everything I eat will be the product of a conscious, deliberate decision." I take willpower out of the equation by deciding not to eat unhealthy foods and meaning it.

[SugarcubeOD]

33 minutes ago, slc_melissa said:

@WholeInOne:

FYI, unless there something I don't know about the vodka sauce, nothing with alcohol is compliant, not even for cooking.  (I am assuming this was some sort of tomato sauce that had vodka as an ingredient.)

@Jenabean:

Some people lose weight.  Some don't.  Many people change their body composition without changing scale weight.  Some don't start losing weight until 2 months after their whole 30 ended (me).  There are plenty of ways to lose weight, but many of those are not good health-wise.  Sometimes your body has to heal before it changes composition.  If you do something like calorie restriction, yes, it will work in the short-term on pure weight, but long-term you may be setting yourself up for nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, higher body fat %, and all sorts of problems.....Whole30 is as easy or as difficult as you decide to make it.  Make it easy, give it a try for 30 days.

I removed the reference to Vodka; good catch!

[WholeInOne]

I disagree, I don't think telling someone to eat more vegetables is a hack. 

Vodka sauce doesn't need vodka. It's just a tomato sauce with milk to make it creamy. I use coconut milk.

[WholeInOne]

Here is the vodka sauce recipe no vodka is used 

 

http://www.perchancetocook.com/2017/01/26/whole30-paleo-alla-vodka-sauce/

[SarahSun]

@Jenabean, I have read all the above posts and there is so much good advice in there. I don't want to repeat all the good stuff everyone else has already said so I'll just tell you a story about myself (maybe it will help you).

I have spent my ENTIRE life eating whatever I want, whenever I want, which has mostly consisted of tons of sugar and almost no vegetables. I ate food in order to temporarily "solve" all of my overwhelming feelings (i.e. sadness, anger, boredom, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, overwhelmed, happy, etc.). I have paid the price by being overweight, unhappy, tired, sick ALL the time and with lots of gut problems! I also have a stack of self-help books that I really hope to get to one day, but reading makes me tired so I rarely ever read one of them.

BUT I couldn't take it anymore and I decided I finally needed to do something about it. For me, there was only one way to do this...get the book (The 30-day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom) and read one or two pages a night until I felt like I understood the program and what was expected of me. For someone who has never been able to read without instantly wanting to sleep, I have surprisingly read quite a bit of the book and have found the information incredibly helpful and largely responsible for the success I have had on the program.

I am approaching Day 24 and FEEL a million times better than I did before. I have a steady amount of energy all day long and I am so so grateful for that one fact alone!! I am also have far less problems with my gut and I am really starting to see a difference in my depression and quality of sleep. Cravings for my favorite foods (i.e. pop, chocolate, ice cream, pasta, etc.) are RARE and manageable! People that know me and know how much I love food are shocked at my success following the Whole30 rules. 

YOU CAN DO THIS if you really want to. It is a commitment that takes effort, but it has been worth it for me. Meeting people on the forum who are on the same day of the program as me as been really helpful...sometimes you just want to know that other people are experiencing the same challenges and successes are you are!

I wish great success for you! Sarah