Having a frustrating week

[Foxc43]

Hi all,

Today is not a good day.  I am feeling really like this is not working out for me so need some inspiration.  I completed 21 days of the first Whole 30 but then went on a business trip and I would say the last nine days was challenging but more so because options were not readily available.  I did not horribly go off the wagon but I would say I had a couple off "off" meals for about 9 days.  I wasn't too worried as I actually do not mind giving up sugar, grains, aIcohol or corn and do not miss them terribly AT ALL.  I miss legumes (mainly hummus) and my odd chocolate bar or pizza but I can take it or leave it.  For a large part I have been able to work through my cravings no problem.  All in all I actually enjoy eating this way.  My NSV's were good.  My skin was not as itchy, my tiger blood arrived, and my clothes were fitting much better so I had no problem getting right back on.  Game of Thrones finale I had some chocolate (which I instantly regretted as I was in the bathroom all night) but for about 2 weeks now I have been back on.  I have  jumped right back on the wagon, exercising more (30-45 minutes of spinning followed by Les Mills Body Pump every other day). Since I try and exercise in the morning I have been having an RX or EPIC bar first along with a cup of coffee and Vital Proteins Collagen.  I have been having breakfast a little later about 11am (should mention that I am normally up between 4 and 5am.  If it is 6am I have overslept. Sometimes last week I was not hungry so I did not have "lunch" but had an earlier dinner (about 6pm).   As I have been awesome and feeling great I was hoping that one of my NSV's would be that I could fit into some smaller dresses that I had (one size down).  NOPE!!!  I feel as though I am doing something wrong.  I am very tempted to get on the scale but I do not want to as I think I will feel disappointed.  I am working so hard.  I have followed all of the rules (except on Saturday when I did not realise the burnt ends I shared with my husband at a BBQ joint had sugar on them).  

A normal eating day for me is as follows: 

Wake-Up - RX or Epic Bar w coffee and vital proteins; 

45 minutes Spinning or 30 minutes spinning and 30 - 55 minutes Body Pump

Breakfast - Potatoes, spaghetti squash or butternut squash with egg (today it was potatoes with peppers (about a cup) 3 slices of bacon and an egg).  

Lunch - Some sort of protein so chicken, fish or beef with a salad and either Primal Kitchen dressing (Whole 30) or olive oil and vinegar. 

Dinner - Pretty much mirrors lunch. 

I am not hungry and I am not snacking.  Why do I not feel as though I am shrinking?  I have been eating more red meat than normal so I am wondering if I should just go back to chicken and fish and eating some vegan meals as i was before (like the zucchini humus on Real Plans). I just do not feel as though I have the balance right, maybe?  

Looking forward to your feedback as I would really like to start clearing out my closet of my "big" clothes! 

[Jihanna]

First things first -- (((hugs)))

Second things next -- please please please keep in mind that this is not a weight-loss program. Yes, many people tend to lose weight due to getting away from excessive sugars, processed foods, foods causing inflammation, etc., but... at its essence, this is an elimination diet, so the diet is intended to give you a baseline to work from in determining your specific body's reactions to specific food groups. There's also a few days in the little timeline calendar thing that do show where we might feel like we're actually bigger/heavier, so that could be part of what's going on with your situation now.

Third -- an RX or Epic bar should really be used as an emergency snack, not a pre-workout food. Others who are more in-tune with the whole working out thing (I've yet to make myself start, though I keep saying I will) might have some good feedback about what would work better, but I know beyond doubt that it does you no favors to start your day with dried fruits and nuts, especially with your breakfast being so much later on.

Fourth -- coffee is an appetite suppressant, so drinking that before eating a real meal could be working against you in terms of being hungry enough to eat real meals throughout the day. I think here I might even suggest drinking something else with your morning pre-workout meal and save the coffee for after the workout (and maybe even after additional food).

Fifth -- your note about balance in your diet (read this as "what you're eating" and not "weight-loss plan") is probably also spot-on. If you feel like there's maybe something in the amount of red meat versus chicken and fish like before, try giving yourself a week where you don't eat any red meat and see if it seems to help. It's also possible that the little slip-ups here and there have thrown things out of whack a little, and you'll need to give your body time to recover and level out from those (that's what happens with mine, for sure). Try playing around with the composition of your meals, like changing up when you're eating your starches or limiting cruciferous veggies (these can cause bloating so can definitely give that "not shrinking" feeling, and even things like arugula are part of this category of foods), and definitely consider dropping the emergency-snacks (and possibly any other dried fruits and nuts) from your intake for a while.

Sixth -- just going on what you noted above, it sounds like you did 21 and then had 9 days that were at least somewhat off the rails, and have now been back to compliance for 2 weeks (except for a couple of days ago when you know you at least had a bit of sugar, possibly other stuff depending on what was in the BBQ sauce that was burnt on the ends?)... I wouldn't expect you to see "Whole30" results at this point, because your body hasn't actually been through 30 full days of compliance (and for some of us, it takes longer for our bodies to even clean out to the point where we want them to be). Just breathe, and give yourself more time. It sounds like you do at least enjoy eating this way, so just keep enjoying it a while longer and see if things level out for you.

Lastly -- more (((hugs))) since there was a bit of tough love up there. You can do this, but the results we get aren't always the ones we wanted when we went into the whole thing  

[Jihanna]

I apologize for coming back before there's been another response, but I wanted to make sure I linked this --
https://whole30.com/2012/10/the-whole30-and-weight-loss/

-- and I also wanted to say I'm sorry if my post was too harsh. Tough love is one thing, but harshness is something I try to avoid in all areas of my life... because there's almost never any real need for it, and it tends to do more harm than good. So if you've already scanned through the stuff I wrote above, please know that everything I said there was meant in the best possible way, and that I really do cheer you on regardless of how it might've come across. So again, my apologies if it was a bit much (I think perhaps I was speaking to myself in parts, also, since I've just started my 2nd round today).