caitlin Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Hi everyone! I completed my first successful whole30 on January 30th. I really enjoyed the program, and felt great. Since then, I've been struggling to find balance. I miss the strict rules, but also don't want to immediately jump into another whole30 because I'm not sure if I could handle it socially and professionally (tons of work events that involve food). I enjoyed doing the w30 in January, since it was easy to turn down social events in an effort to stick to the plan. I knew that it wasn't a long-term strategy, but it helped to get me through the 30 days. I lost about 3 pounds during the w30. Since then I've been trying my best to eat as well as I can, but I have had some slip-ups. I've been proud of myself for not falling off the wagon completely. It feels amazing to eat something non-optimal, and then get right back on track the following morning. If I had to sum it up, I'd say that an average of 70% of the food I'm eating is of the type to make me healthier. But that leaves 30% of 'cheats,' 'indulgences,' or alcohol. I had planned to weigh myself only once a month, and although it's been difficult, I stuck to it. I weighed myself on Monday, and was really shocked and disappointed to see that not only had I gained the 3 pounds back, I'd somehow gained an additional 5. Is this even possible? I didn't spend February binging. Rather, I prepared and ate awesome w30/paleo meals the majority of the time, and indulged too much on maybe a few too many occasions. Sorry to ramble, but I just feel lost. I thought I was moving towards being in a better place in regards to both my health and my relationship with food. It's depressing to think of all of the hard work I put in in January being wiped out by my rocky reintroduction. And I don't know what to do next. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moluv Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 I'd like to punch your scale in the face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted March 7, 2013 Moderators Share Posted March 7, 2013 You probably need more Whole30 experience to get your habits set firmly. And maybe different expectations... Thirty percent is a lot of unhealthy food. Think of it like this: If you eat 21 meals per week (3 x 7), 6.3 of them would be unhealthy foods. That is almost one unhealthy meal per day. And if you eat more than 3 times per day, that would mean you are eating at least one unhealthy meal per day. To really thrive, your body needs a higher percentage of healthy foods. Like 90 or 95 percent. If you ate an unhealthy meal once per week, that would be 5 percent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caitlin Posted March 7, 2013 Author Share Posted March 7, 2013 haha thanks moluv. me too. . . Thank you for the advice Tom. I apologize, I should have been more clear. When I say 'unhealthy,' I don't mean doritos or cake or whatnot. Moreso stretching the limits of paleo. So while I've been ignoring the work breakfast bagels (and feeling great about that!), I have been getting rice with my thai food, maybe a spicy tuna roll instead of my normal sashimi. Rice doesn't upset my stomach, so I've been testing it out. Wheat makes me feel terrible so I haven't had any. My impression was that I've been slippery sloping things, while the scale seems to imply that I've been spiraling out of control. It's frustrating. I guess I'm just confused as to how I could gain more in the month post-w30, than I did during the holiday season when I threw all caution and sense to the wind and ate like garbage. I know in my bones that I'm not ready to do another whole30 right now. I'm worried that if I try, and fail, I'll be in much worse shape than when I started. I'm trying to not feel hopeless - I'm sorry if I come off whiny! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moluv Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 This is just a theory but you said that wheat gives you problems- rice could too but maybe in a more subtle way that you can't feel. If you are sensitive to grains and eating rice you could have re-inflamed your intestines which would easily explain gaining more weight post w30 clean up. One or two rice eating episodes would bloat me up and easily cause that much weight gain. I lost 9 lbs on my first 19 day long w30 and I know that was due to eliminating grains totally. Before w30 I was only having rice or corn products a few times a week. That was more than enough to cause a big problem. Even though you aren't ready to do a w30 right now, could you eliminate all grains for a week or two and then compare? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caitlin Posted March 8, 2013 Author Share Posted March 8, 2013 Thank you moluv, that's a really great perspective! I just assumed that because I didn't have an immediate reaction, that rice must be safe (or at least not bad). i'll give it a try and see how it goes. it definitely can't hurt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan W Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Also Caitlin, grains of any kind make your body hang onto water. Don't know the science behind that. No clue if it's the amount of carbs or something else at work. I am thinking it's nothing more than water weight. So...after Moluv pulls a Dexter on your scale, move on and come to a happy place of how you will eat from now on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caitlin Posted March 8, 2013 Author Share Posted March 8, 2013 Thank you Susan - that is so encouraging! I'm loving the imagery of dexter disposing of my scale. I'm going to give it a solid two weeks without grains and then evaluate. The happy place - I want to go to there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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