Weight Gain

[303Janet]

Has anyone in this forum actually gained weight after completing the Whole30? Although I haven't gotten on the scale, as per "the rules," I'm pretty sure I'm gaining. I'm definitely eating more than I normally do and my jeans are uncomfortably tight. Although I feel good and I'm eating better food -- and I'm committed to doing the full 30 days -- I'm really worried that I'm packing on the pounds. 

[303Janet]

Maybe I'm eating too much fruit. Clementines have been my go-to, but maybe that's not a good idea. I've also been eating almonds as snacks. What snacks to others recommend?

[ShannonM816]

Please try to relax and trust the process. I remember back when I did my first Whole30, I was convinced I was gaining weight, but did end up losing some. There are also times during a Whole30 when people find that they experience bloating, which can cause the tighter pants -- typically this is around days 8-10, although that varies from person to person. 

I would also encourage you to try to look at this a little differently. We're asking you to focus on eating things to make yourself healthier. Healthier doesn't always equal skinnier, and even if, for you, becoming healthier does result in being skinnier, that result may not happen as quickly as you'd like, and it may not be a linear process. If you come from a background of counting calories and limiting how much food you eat, you may gain some weight initially on Whole30, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll continue to gain or that you won't lose that weight later, it just means at least for a while that your body is prioritizing something other than weight loss for a bit.

As far as snacking and being hungry, eat as much food as you need in order to not be hungry. Your meals should be keeping you satisfied for 4-5 hours, so for most people once they get this figured out, they don't necessarily need snacks most days. If you do need a snack, try to have more like a mini-meal, where you get a little fat, a little protein, and some carbs (from fruit or veggies), or at least two of the three. So if you had a clementine and some almonds, or some carrot sticks with a Whole30 compatible ranch dip and maybe a hardboiled egg. (Obviously, larger meals aren't always an option, if you have a medical condition that makes it impossible to eat that amount at once, you'd definitely ignore this recommendation and eat more small meals, but even then it would be best to have mini-meals, not just, say, fruit by itself.)