Day 29 and Nothing

[Lissa Kristine]

I'm halfway through Day 29 and I'm not really noticing any changes. (I am planning on going for another week because I want my last day to be a Saturday).

Now, I definitely lucked out at the beginning of my journey. I had a day where I was feeling a little more tired than usual, but it passed quickly. I never had much of a hangover, days 4 and 5 passed without me wanting to kill ANYTHING. Now, I stopped cooking with vegetable oils at home YEARS ago, but my diet was pretty bad before starting. My last non-compliant meal was fast food chicken nuggets, waffle fries, and a caramel frappucino with extra caramel drizzle (that I finished at 11:59 PM prior to the start of Day 1). Yet, I feel like I've been breezing through this thing. No sugar cravings (and not just because I've been feeding my sugar dragon extra fruit or RxBars- I've actually eaten no RxBars). The most I've wanted was to be able to open up a can of Well, Yes! soup or buy the affordable pre-cooked chicken at the store because I just wanted a break from cooking. 

I have had absolutely no slips in the last 29 days. Now, there were a couple days where I only ate two meals. (I slept in until 11am yesterday and ended up eating breakfast, dinner, and just had a little snack (of an Epic Bar and olives) because I ended up being out later than expected. I've been pretty concious of the meal template. 

Some meals I've enjoyed:

A breakfast salad made of 2-3 strips compliant baon (usually 2), halved grape tomatoes sauteed with olive oil and apple cider vinegar, spinach/arugula, and a small avocado topped with 3 fried eggs.

A can of  water-packed sardines with a chopped salad kit (just the veggies), broccoli slaw, and/or kale [hearty veggies that won't get soggy/gross if they sit in dressing too long], Primal Kitchen's dressing, olives and/or Trader Joe's Olive Tapenade.

Compliant Italian Chicken Sausage, carrots, green beans, celery, onion, and kale with chicken stock, herbs/spices, Trader Joe's Vegan Kale Cashew Pesto, and a drizzle of chili olive oil. [I threw this together when I was sick].

Steak with Trader Joe's Umami Mushroom Seasoning and a side of roasted vegetables (potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, celery) dipped in Primal Kitchen's Garlic Aioli Mayo

3-4 deviled eggs (whole eggs with Primal Kitchen mayo) with sugar snap peas, cucumber, watermelon radishes, mixed olives (kalamata & garlic stuffed), and an occasional serving of fruit.

Chicken drumsticks/wings rubbed with garam masala & salt and roasted alongside cauliflower with curry powder, tumeric, garlic powder, raisins, almonds, and pearl onions.


I tried to have variety in my diet as much as possible, though I do tend to have a variation of my "Sardine salad" most weekdays because it's so quick and easy to throw together. Aside from days like yesterday where my meal schedule was a little wonky due to sleeping in, I haven't snacked in between meals. I do eat fruit, but not every meal- or even every day. 

Yet, I haven't felt any major changes. My clothes don't feel any different (I'll weigh myself next Sunday). My nails aren't feeling stronger. My skin doesn't seem clearer. My sleep has still been rocky and my anxiety symptoms still come and go. I also don't have boundless energy. I didn't really have any major health concerns aside from noticing that I have pretty consistent post-nasal drip and I'm prone to coughs. That hasn't gotten any better. I think the only slight improvement I noticed is a little less cramping on my cycle. 

I'm just waiting for the Whole30 magic and I'm wondering if it's ever going to happen. 

[ladyshanny]

Aw, sorry to hear that you aren't getting the results you'd hoped for. It does take some people a bit longer. It's hard to tell but are your meals large enough? Are you easily going 4-5 hours in between without feeling poorly? Do you prioritize your sleep hygiene (ie, sleep schedule, no blue light, dark and cool bedroom etc)? Are you including a fist sized serving of starchy veggie each day (that will help with mood, energy, sleep and anxiety).

[NJdieter]

Your experience sounds so much like mine. I think that for people with a lot of weight to lose and a very unhealthy (normal) diet this could be helpful. However I was reasonably healthy going into this and my Whole30 experience has left me worse off. Too much fat, too much meat, and not enough balance. I picked it because I liked the focus on real foods (vs prepackaged stuff at a Jenny Craig, for example), but I have had much more success in the past just cutting out sugar and flour and eating normally otherwise.

For what it is worth I tried adding natural calm to help with insomnia and constapation as recommended - a full 2 tsp dose last night after 1 tsp didn’t help with anything and I was still up for hours but now with a huge headache. Fun times.

[HealthySnacker]

I feel similar to NJdieter.

I chose whole30 because of the whole foods, but I don't see any obvious improvement (day 17).

Pants are still rubbing when I sit down,  still getting migraines.  I sometimes feel light-headed Lack of sugar to the brain? (Insert loopy emoji).

I'm still glad I'm doing the diet, because it's really nice to get perspective on the role of carbs and sugar in my diet.  I'm also impressed that while I am hungry, I'm not craving junk.

I'm 100% compliant, but I don't follow all the reccs.  I'm too hungry between meals and, honestly,  I'm not trying to make a permanent change.   I already eat really well.

This is a lot more meat that i would normally eat,  but I didn't want to do the vegetarian version because I really wanted to lose inches. 

I was thinking the tiger blood idea might be for people who have more health concerns (if it does work for some people); my SoCal friends say the same. 

All of this to say that you may not get the results you wanted, but hopefully you can still get something from this experience. (I wish I could insert a smiley face, here, but the system won't let me)

PS: My neighbor didn't lose weight from the first 30 days, but kept up most Whole30 habits long-term and became rather skinny.

[BekahT]

What's the Tiger's Blood idea... I'm new to whole 30 and am learning a lot as I go. You're the second person I've seen mention that.... what are you referring to?

 

[ShannonM816]

8 hours ago, BekahT said:

What's the Tiger's Blood idea... I'm new to whole 30 and am learning a lot as I go. You're the second person I've seen mention that.... what are you referring to?

 

Here's the official explanation:  https://whole30.com/2017/01/tiger-blood-101/