Day 26, Second Whole 30, Frustrated

[Susan K]

I'm feeling pretty frustrated. I started Whole 30 on April 1. I have not cheated. I drink plenty of water (watered down coconut water) and if not that, green tea or black coffee.

Meals are usually - Breakfast: 3 eggs and half and avocado (sometimes I add some shredded pork)

Lunch: lean protein with veggies, snack: nuts, dinner: protein and veggies (avocado - depending)

I work out 3-4 times a week, Crossfit.

By mid-way I was experiencing may of the benefits of Whole 30 - great sleep, good energy, stable mood, etc. But there was no body change. In fact my pants were feeling tighter. (Background - I did Whole 30 in January too. My body changed a bit, but it wasn't really fat - it was just water and general bloating.)

I thought maybe I was eating too much fat, so I cut way back on the avocados and eliminated any fruit for about a week. My energy level tanked. I added back the avocado, fruit, and some almond butter and saw an increase in energy - YAY!

Well here I am on Day 26 and I'm having crazy digestive issues, my second migraine in three days, and I have not lost a single centimeter. Any where on my body.

I'm wondering, since I'm having migraines - is it possible it's taken my body this long to begin the hormone switch associated with Whole 30? Is it possible that my Mirena birth-control - being a hormonal thing - impacts the way my hormones respond to Whole 30?

I'm feeling VERY discouraged. I was planning to go for 60 days of Whole 30 but with the migraines and the zero leaning out - I'm wondering "what's the point?"

I see all these wonderful body transformations that result from Whole 30 and I'm so bummed that after two tries, NO cheating, and regular exercise - it's not happening for me. And I'm having more migraines.

Thanks, in advance, for any insight you can provide.

[jodea]

Hi. Looking at your meal templates, I'd suggest beefing them up and cutting out snacking on nuts.

Add some vegetables to breakfast, including sweet potato or another starchy carb for energy and make sure you're getting plenty of protein, veggies and fat at each meal. I'm 5 foot 3 inches and am having two servings of protein at each meal and the weight has still been coming off. Don't be afraid of big portion sizes.

[Krista Billows Rodriguez]

Questions that pop into my head:

I'm not sure where you're starting from, but with an aggressive work out schedule is it possible you don't have a lot of inches to loose before your body is at it's happy place?

How's your overall stress levels?

Are you getting enough good starchy carbs and are you eating enough vegetables? Your work out schedule sounds fairly intense, maybe spend some time in the W30 for athlete's forum to fine tune how you're fueling pre and post work out.

I'm sorry about the migraine, that sucks, I really don't know what impact the mirena would have except that I could imagine it will have some impact-if that makes sense.

[Susan K]

I have no fear of eating. I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. Perhaps I should eat more times a day? Even if I'm not hungry?

Cutting out the nuts is no problem - I rarely snack. That's usually just if I am working late.

I certainly have some extra fat to drop - that is not an issue.

My stress level is probably normal relative to any other working mom. I manage it via Crossfit. I make sleep a priority getting at least 8 hours a night.

I'm really at a loss - I thought it would be different this time. Back in January my friend did the program with me except she continued to drink alcohol and still lost 24 lbs! Needless to say this was a bit of a blow considering nothing really changed for me.

And another friend started strict paleo a couple weeks ago and dropped a pant size. I don't care about the scale. And I don't expect miraculous results - but something would be nice.

[Krista Billows Rodriguez]

I wouldn't recommend forcing yourself to eat more, I think that's counter to the core of the program. I suppose if you said you absolutely felt zero hunger I might feel otherwise. I would recommend following the meal template to the letter though and yes I'd agree cut out the nuts and nut butters and make sure you're getting some good starchy carbs, especially on work out days to maintain your energy.

Have you been logging your food? It's hard to rely on memory alone, I really wish I'd kept a log during my W30 but for whatever reason I opted not to. I ask about the log because you might see a migraine trigger in there in you analyze. If you haven't kept the log though I'd caution against just trying to remember what you ate and in what portions over the last few days/weeks, I know my own memory can be....spotty on that subject.

I think it's human nature to compare our experiences with others, especially when those others are getting dramatic results, but there's a reason the diet ads always say "individual results may vary"! It's frustrating when you see someone drop 24 lbs while

not

doing a W30-and she wasn't, if she was drinking, she was

not

doing a W30. Above all, remember you're investing in your future by eating real, whole, natural foods. How long it takes to achieve optimal health is often tied to how far away from it in the first place we are when we start. It's definitely a marathon, but it's worth it. I read a scary article today that essentially said today, 35 is the new 50!! The diseases we're facing are aging us as a population and adding a good 15 years on to our chronological age...oh heck no! I will not be 39 going on 54! We do not have to settle for substandard health and lack of vitality, we can turn it around, one forkful at a time. Keep fighting the good fight, Susan, you're worth it.

And get rid of that migraine, pronto! Pain makes everything so much worse to deal with. When I started mine in January I was sidelined by a migraine, I took a very long hot detox bath with Epsom salt, baking soda and ground ginger. Not sure if it was a placebo effect but the pain subsided fairly quickly. I used to get 3 day headaches, cyclical, and would rely on advil every 3-4 hours to get through. Since doing W30 and **trying** to maintain a good Paleo diet the headaches have vanished. Hormones are a major pain in the rear to deal with but eating a good healthy diet does pay off.

[CAK911]

The only thing I see is the starch/carb issue mentioned above. I did almost NO starchy vegetables my first Whole30, and I still felt better than I'd been feeling, but it was after I deliberately added those in as a regular food that I started feeling really great. I think that's probably going to help some if you're doing intense athletic training of any kind.

[JJB]

Do you like sweet potatoes? I agree that you should try to add some sort of starchy carb every day. In your meal examples, you have no vegetables at breakfast and no fat at lunch. Not sure if it would help weight loss directly, but balancing each meal out might make you feel better at least.

Do you take a probiotic or digestive enzymes? They might help with your digestive issues.

Crossfit is pretty intense. Sometimes the mods recommend cutting back on intense exercise if you're having trouble losing weight. Would it be possible to try swapping one of those workouts each week with just walking or yoga or something? Might be worth a try. Also, I know it's hard to make yourself stop stressing about any topic, but weight loss really is harder when we focus on it/stress about it. Maybe try to focus on addressing the migraines and digestive issues first.

[Susan K]

Thanks all - I've never posted in a forum before and to do so indicates just how at a loss I am (was).

I hit the store tonight and purchased several individual size sweet potatoes so I can have one everyday. I open to hearing topping suggestions:) I usually use coconut butter but I don't think it's allowed on Whole 30. Sometimes I sprinkle unsweetened coconut on them.

Nuts and nut butters are now off the table.

Fats at lunch . . . sometimes I do sometimes I don't. I'll look up some avocado alternatives. I love them but I get sick of them.

Working out - I do Yoga once a week and the other 3 days are Crossfit. To be clear, losing weight is not a goal. I don't care what the scale says - I want to lose the extra fat I have around my arms, back, belly, hips, and thighs - my neck and feet are okay:)

Thanks for to those who responded - I really appreciate it. I was so ready to quit. That said, if any one has any other thoughts or suggestions - please share.

[CAK911]

I sometimes wind up doing nuts with lunches, OR I just cook veggies in a lot of clarified butter or coconut oil, and throw those in. Then, I get my fat in without hauling around an avocado.