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How NOT to lose weight on W30


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Hello everyone,

I am very new to W30, I'm reading ISWF right now - chapter 20. I'm still in the "circling and sniffing" phase, which basically means that I'm excited about the prospect of starting a W30, but I need some more time to plan and think things through.

One major concern I'm having actually has nothing to do with me but with my boyfriend, who has agreed to do this with me. Dude is skinny. 6 feet tall and lucky if he can hang on to 150 lbs. He has one of those crazy metabolisms that just burns through food and he can basically eat whatever he wants (weight wise, though his stomach gets upset very easily).

He is a very active individual. His day job is extremely active - constantly moving, lifting heavy things, barely ever sitting down. He's also active outside of work, sometimes going straight from work to his sport of choice and playing for three to four hours at a time. So, yeah, he needs lots of calories to maintain what he's got. He's traditionally kept up his caloric intake by adding cheese to everything he eats, dousing everything he eats in condiments, and drinking tons of milk. Plus nightly cookies and ice cream.

I've been reading lots of testimonials, and it seems nearly universal that people lose some weight on the program. My BF would be very disappointed to lose weight. I've read the recs in the book for athletes, and I understand the principals of adding the pre- and post-workout meals. I've also read the article by Dallas on clean mass gain, though I'm not really sure that applies. He doesn't need to add mass, just not lose any. I also don't think that basically force-feeding would go over very well. This is a guy who doesn't spend a lot of time thinking about food, and would be just as happy to get all his nutrients in pill form.

TL;DR: does anyone have any easy, cheap, compliant ways to add extra calories at every meal? I say cheap because I know someone is going to recommend avocados, but those can get expensive.

Thanks!

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Wow..he is a thin one. Uber mantabolism. How about a boatload of sweet potatoes, bananas, other winter squashes slathered in ghee or coconut milk. There is a ton that you can do with ground beef. Also, he may just have to eat 4-5 meals. Oh..learn how to make mayo. Lots of egg salad in his future. You are smart to plan ahead. :)

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Eggs are a cheap and easy source of protein and fat. Boil up a couple of dozen and keep them on hand at all times. We do that at my house, b/c we have four kids. But your situation is calling for it, too. :-)

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Hey, glad to see this post and that someone else had the same questions I did. I am on Day 16 of the program and my partner originally started it with me, and she is pretty much exactly the same as your boyfriend, very thing, crazy fast metabolism, needs to eat a lot to maintain weight, drops weight really easily if doesnt eat enough, etc. So we started the program and within the first week she had dropped 3 pounds already, so i wrote on the Whole30 Facebook page asking for suggestions and they suggested that we make sure she is eating 2-3 servings of starchy vegetables (squash, sweet potatoes, root vegetables, etc.) a day, plus adding in another meal if needed. So for the second week we tried those suggestions, but found that she still lost another couple pounds, plus it got to be like you said, it felt like we were force feeding her all day long to ensure she got enough calories....so not very ideal. Unfortunatelty we had to decide to take her off the program, as it just wasnt right for her right now. She is still eating mostly what I eat, but with her meals we add in some grains such as quinoa and oats.

So hopefully you can figure the situation out with your boyfriend, just thought id share our story, and let you know that following the program exactly for him just might not be possible, but he can still follow pretty closely with just a few things added for bulk.

Good luck!

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Thanks for your suggestions, everyone. This was really helpful. I have never heard the word "mantabolism" before, but I think I will use it all the time now. I think our egg consumption will probably sky rocket. Luckily, we know a guy who raises chickens in his back yard.

Emily, thanks for that perspective. I have heard that not everyone loses weight, so that's encouraging. Though, I'm thinking we're probably going to run into a situation like S&JSwones is talking about. So, I guess I'll just have to try it and see.

Thanks again!

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You said that your BF can basically eat anything he wants but his stomach gets upset easily? Whole30 (or more!) is definitely important for him since the basic premise is to establish exactly how one reacts to certain foods. For his long term health he'll need to determine which foods give him problems and as many people find out, the answers can often be a surprise.

To avoid losing weight: Do you live near a Trader Joes? They carry canned coconut cream which is very rich and wonderful with a lot of foods especially berries, or used in recipes. Also, when using coconut milk, make sure it's the canned variety which is significantly higher in fat than the types that come in boxes or cartons (cold).

I agree with some of the other comments in this thread – skinny people who are also very active often need more carbs than others. Hopefully he will choose from amongst the healthier carbs

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HS4, yes, that's exactly why I think W30 will be good for him to do. I think he's got some food sensitivities that he's just never figured out. He also gets bad headaches almost everyday, is achey most of the time, and has never slept well for as long as I've known him. That's why I'm hoping he can get enough calories and still be on plan.

I do live near a TJ's so I'll definitely look into the coconut cream the next time we go. Thanks!

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Fat!! Add more fat. It is calorie dense and easy to add an extra tablespoon of olive oil onto things. Or like others said, add extra coconut oil. He could eat an tablespoon of coconut oil at every meal. Fat adds extra calories without being too filling or inconvenient.

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