The weight loss 'wall' - keep banging my head :-/

[GLC1968]

As most of you know, I'm eating in the paleo bent and have been since August of 2011. I did a Whole30 last June while still with a boot on my broken foot (ie, no real exercise) and I lost 9 lbs in those 30 days and felt fan-freaking-tastic. I slept better, my skin improved, I had great energy, etc...even though I was already paleo (no grains, no legumes, no soy and only natural sugars and the occasional high quality dairy).

Whole30 is more than super strict paleo. It is ZERO sugar (I mean, you can't even have anything that has added sugar even though there are no sugar grams listed). It has zero preservatives. No grains, no corn, no soy, no seed oils. No making paleofied versions of things (like pancakes with almond flour), no smoothies for breakfast, no liquid juice, etc. It's about resetting your hormonal response to food and it truly works. Some people get there in 10 days, others in 16, others in 29 and still others need 45 or longer...it depends on your body. The best part about the Whole30 (and It Starts With Food which is the book about it and a great read!) is that it teaches you to figure all this out FOR YOUR OWN BODY. As we all know, everyone is different. The Whole30 teaches to how to remove all the noise and listen...and from that, you can learn volumes. Plus, feeling truly vibrant can be a life-changing experience. I thought I felt damn good before I did it...but it took me to a whole new level of awesome.

I'm on day 39 of my second official Whole30 (I'm going to day 44, having a birthday treat and then doing some travel before I start a Whole75 at the end of the month). I lost 8.5 lbs in the first 30 days. I weighed on day 31 and I'll weigh again on the morning of day 44. My goal is to learn to make this a true lifestyle. Until I did my first Whole30, I considered myself 'paleo with exceptions' because I thought being 100% would be too hard and unrealistic. Whole30 taught me that it's not too hard at all!

Anyway, while the Whole30 isn't about weight loss at all, that is often the result so for anyone looking to shake it up a bit, maybe it's worth a try?

[Catrin]

hmmmmm GLC, that is a mighty strong recommendation! I've been trying to figure out the difference between my existing diet and the Whole30 and this is quite interesting! I will check out the book - and I think that what is going on for me is that noise you mention.

[Crankin]

I have given up soy (tofu), sugar, corn, and grains. I plan to do this until we go away next Thursday and resume when we return on Sunday. It's actually not that hard, except for snacks.I do admit, that even after just the "modified" Paleo for most of the last year, I feel much better, in terms of things like upper respiratory stuff, colds, and my stomach issues are better. I am in the throes of a cold and it just isn't that bad. My DH was deathly ill last week, so if anything, my immune system (which sucks) may have improved.
Good thing I like to cook. I spent the morning searching for a pork shoulder and now I have assigned the task to DH as he is leaving work at 3 and I have to actually go and do some real work...

[tulip]

It is ZERO sugar (I mean, you can't even have anything that has added sugar even though there are no sugar grams listed).

This is key for me, and the hardest part for me. But on my 30 days (not the Whole30--just my own thing; I had never heard of Whole30 until this thread) I lost 9 lbs and felt really great--energy was up, mood was up, sleeping great, concentration was way better...

I did have smoothies for breakfast, however. It's about the only thing I can eat for breakfast. I don't know anything about the Whole30 program, but whatever I did worked for me, and that included smoothies (no sugar of course) and dairy (half-and-half in my coffee and yogurt, mostly).

I do think it's important to have ZERO sugar. I mean ZERO. Doing so resets the pancreas somehow, and once you get over the hump, it's pretty fantastic.

[Catrin]

I now have the Nook version of the book and am looking forward to reading it before I take this on. My diet has been pretty darn clean since July, so it will be interesting to see what my body thinks of things. I will probably start a Whole30 journal on MDA to help me keep track of things - and it is good to get input. For MDA members I am Catrin there as well.

Sleep and stress relief is also key and can certainly affect our weight and weight-loss activities in ways that aren't obvious.

[Catrin]

I now have the Nook version of the book and am looking forward to reading it before I take this on. My diet has been pretty darn clean since July, so it will be interesting to see what my body thinks of things. I will probably start a Whole30 journal on MDA to help me keep track of things - and it is good to get input. For MDA members I am Catrin there as well.

Sleep and stress relief is also key and can certainly affect our weight and weight-loss activities in ways that aren't obvious.

Seems really odd to quote me....but I wanted to at least tie this to a thread where we've touched on the topic.

For interested members who are also on Mark's Daily Apple, I've started a Whole 30 journal there - my Whole 30 will start Saturday. I've the same username there so finding me should be easy if you are interested in following my journal. I welcome any helpful comments - and it will be interesting to see how much a difference this makes since my diet is pretty darn clean NOW. I am doing this to learn more about how MY body works, and to uncover any remaining dietary sensitivities.

[GLC1968]

Seems really odd to quote me....but I wanted to at least tie this to a thread where we've touched on the topic.

For interested members who are also on Mark's Daily Apple, I've started a Whole 30 journal there - my Whole 30 will start Saturday. I've the same username there so finding me should be easy if you are interested in following my journal. I welcome any helpful comments - and it will be interesting to see how much a difference this makes since my diet is pretty darn clean NOW. I am doing this to learn more about how MY body works, and to uncover any remaining dietary sensitivities.

I'll have to head over there to follow your journey. When I started my first Whole30, I was fairly clean myself (I think you are even 'cleaner' than I was) and I was quite shocked at how my body reacted to the Whole30. It was actually a bit of a challenge dealing with it from a mental perspective because I kept thinking I shouldn't be going through 'withdrawals'. My second Whole30 was somewhat easier because I'd done so much 'off roading' prior to starting that I was expecting to feel pretty crappy for awhile. Odd, I know. In both cases, by day 18 or 19, I was feeling quite amazing. Better than I'd ever felt prior...it was enlightening.

I'm not super clean now because I'm on the road, but I'm going to do a Whole60 starting the day after I'm done with travel (March 3 or 4).

[WindingRoad]

OK so I stopped relying on my Polar and now I lost 3 Lbs, finally going the right direction :-) In my Polar's defense however, I read on their website that the strap I have (the OLD one) is only good for 2500 hours. My HRM is at least 6 years old so I'm sure my battery in the strap is dead. It went totally crazy on me last night in spin so I ordered a new one today. BTW, in case you were wondering, the NEW Polar's do allow you to change the battery in the watch AND the strap. I just like to see my HR when I'm working out for some reason. I feel odd not having my HRM on. Silly? Probably, but it makes me work out more so I can SEE what I have done.

[indysteel]

That's great WR! Good job!