BossyGoat Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 First week...felt great! Second week...headaches started. Third weeks...headaches continue and feeling a weird sort of lethargy or muscle weakness. Heading into week four...still headaches, still muscles weakness, add in upset stomach, lack of hunger and nausea when I do eat... Underneath it all, I am feeling better in a weird sort of way, and seeing some improvements, but wondering what's going on...isn't this going a little backwards? Hoping for a little guidance please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted January 22, 2014 Moderators Share Posted January 22, 2014 Yep. That is weird. If you shared several days of what you are eating and drinking, we might be able to offer some ideas about what might be going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BossyGoat Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 So far today: Mild headache this morning. Coffee with coconut milk, banana & date "porridge" made with a soaked nut mix of almonds, cashews, pecans and coconut milk (tried a new breakfast this morning, tasted good but still had a hard time finishing it...nausea again) yesterday: Coffee/Mocha...unsweetened cocoa blended into my coconut milk for my coffee, 2 eggs scrambled with spinach, mushrooms and tomato. OJ/Water 50/50. (Had a very hard time finishing my breakfast...nausea) banana coffee with coconut milk, homemade tomato beef soup banana (had a second one to try and settle my stomach) herbal tea x 2 and 2 allergy free breakfast "cookies" stomach still upset...boiled up some carrots until they were really soft...topped with avocado oil, salt & pepper. (I'm a herbalist,and mushy carrots are a common remedy for upset stomachs) Homemade beef meatballs with sweet potato and a garden salad with olive oil & white balsamic vinegar. Water throughout the day...I know I drank at least one 20 ounce flask. No exercise today...due to headache. The day before: coffee with coconut milk x 2 2 egg scrambled with red pepper, swiss chard and onion. apple with almond butter Hot Yoga 1 hour (Ooops seem to have missed lunch that day.) Green curry, coconut chicken with peppers, zucchini and buttercup squash water...I know I drank at least 30 ounces. The day before that: Coffee with coconut milk, fruit & nut crumble and hard boiled egg ( can't remember if I had 1 or two eggs, no note on the numb in my journal) Walk dog 90 minutes...decent day to get out, where I am we're having a terribly cold and icy winter making it difficult to get outside. Coffee with coconut milk. Homemade Beef & tomato soup. Roast Chicken with roasted buttercup squash, sautéed swiss chard, peppers & onions. Note on a bit of history...was feeling a little "beat-up" after this past "race season" so am officially in the off-season and working to rest and rejuvenate. Still walking (no running currently too icy), riding trainer and doing yoga but nothing with any great intensity. Trying to eat well, get good sleep etc. etc. ...Low grade headache through all of these days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Sorry we are catching this so late in your whole30, but you aren't eating enough and you are eating to meet the meal template. I expect if you start following the guidelines more carefully you will find things change quite a bit. Big things to watch out for are protein: you need a full palm-size or possibly two palms worth of protein at all three meals. 1 or 2 eggs are not enough. Veggies: you need LOTS of veggies at every meal. Lunch and dinner look better, but breakfast is missing this essential component. and Fat. When you cut all the easy calories from processed carbs, it becomes even more important to include sufficient fat in your diet. Save the "porridge" and "fruit and nut crumble" and the "breakfast cookies!" -- they really don't work during a whole30. Here is the template: http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Meal-Planning-Template.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFChris Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Ok, the "porridge" breakfast does not satisfy the meal template. Each meal should meet the recommended template of 1-2 palms of protein, 1-3 cups of veggies and the appropriate amount of compliant fat. Yesterday's breakfast - avoid drinking juice, even a 50/50 mix. Juice is to be used sparingly only as a flavoring in cooking on a Whole30, not as a beverage.It's hard to tell what was meals and snacks yesterday. I'm guessing the bananas were snacks? Avoid having fruit as a snack. Your 1-2 daily servings of fruit should be part of or immediately after your main meals. A fruit serving is the size of your fist. If you do need a snack between your 3 meals, that's typically a sign that your earlier meals need to have more food. As you play with portion sizes, if you are still genuinely hungry between meals (hungry = you could eat steamed fish and broccoli), have a mini-meal that includes a protein and fat.Overall, I would recommend following the recommendation of 3 meals a day, with each meal following the template. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BossyGoat Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 Not making excuses here, but I do understand the template and have been following it. The last few days are probably not my best examples of what I've been doing overall...here in lies the problem...when I think about eating meat protein or smell meat cooking I get nauseous and am totally turned off eating all together. I've started gagging on my eggs in the morning and poached salmon has put my teeth on edge. So I've been searching for some alternatives. I have been eating a ton of vegetables and lots of fats... The "porridge" has 1 1/2 cups of quality nuts and 2 cups of coconut milk in it. I typically have not been drinking juice but needed a change the other day so had a small glass of watered down OJ pure, not from concentrate. The fruit & nut crumble again...a high protein mix using coconut oil as well as a bit of fruit for taste and texture and the allergy free "cookies" are again made from all approved foods. They are recipes that meet all the criteria. Except for the animal protein but still lots of fat and protein. I admit, breakfast for the last week and a bit has been hard for me. I didn't want to get too graphic but yesterday...my eggs and veggie scramble, I had to force most of it in and ended up vomiting half of it back up. I get up, look in the fridge and nothing is appealing to me, same happens a lunch and dinner...I feel like I'm forcing myself to eat...it did not start out this way. I was loving all the greens and vegetables, the sweet potatoes, the chicken and fish...even the salmon on mixed greens for breakfast, absolutely loved it...now I just don't want anything to eat period. I have a very physical job so I do usually snack during the day...apples with almond butter are my go to, but a handful of cashews or a banana are also things I've come to depend on to get me through. Please note I started out feeling great and then progressively started to feel worse and worse...I can give some food day examples from earlier in my 30 days...maybe that would create a better picture of what I've been doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFChris Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 To clarify, nuts are a fat source on a Whole30. So, you would need to add a protein source to move in the direction of meal template consistency with the porridge breakfast. Further, the porridge had no vegetables. Again, you would need to add 1-3 cups of veggies for that breakfast to meet the template. I missed the allergy free cookies - cookies are not compliant (regardless of whether it had compliant ingredients) - no Paleo-ifying treats on a Whole30. What about soups with a protein at breakfast? Have you tried digestive enzymes? Could you be coming down with a cold? I know many folks have been bitten by the flu, stomach bug or other ailments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlaccini Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 What about a nice bowl of soup in the morning - carrot or sweet potato soup in the morning is really good. If made with homemade bone broth it will help settle your stomach. I do a batch cook up of chicken thighs on the weekend and I will cut it up and put it through the soup or eat up on the side. Depends on how I'm feeling. That being said it is not off plan to feel "put off" by food for a few days. Usually it will pass. Hang in there. Also - try going easy on the nuts - they have a tendency to give some problems to some individuals (I'm one of them). Just a thought here - "Allergy free Cookies" is not a concept that is true to the whole 30 mindset. It doesn't matter if they are "technically compliant". They are considered SWYPO (Sex with your pant on). Back in August of 2012 I argued with a Moderator that since I have no hang up feelings about bread that I should be allowed to have paleo bread. All ingriedients were technically compliant so I couldn't understand why not. I now understand that the whole 30 is so much more than using "technically compliant ingriedients". It about how our body and mind reacts to certain concepts. Your cookie may not be even tasty, for all I know - but its still a cookie and probably not the best food choice out there - especially if you are wishing for a real cookie. Keep well and I wish you feel better soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I'd love to see some logs from the days you felt good and, if you have them, from when things started going downhill. I think comparing those things would really help us figure out if there's a specific issue here. Bottom line, I'd like to see you really focus on animal protein and starchy veggies for a few days (3 should do it). It may be miserable, and you may have to do it in small meal portions, but some chicken and sweet potatoes will likely begin to remedy your headaches (Again, unless there's a specific problem we can nail down). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corinna Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 For me, coffee started to give me headaches -- even decaf. I've read that for people with gluten sensitivity, coffee can trigger it. So, I cut the coffee and feel much better. Plus, this is a HUGE quantity of nuts. I almost totally cut nuts this time around with the Whole30 and have found that my digestion works much much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BossyGoat Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 ...yes I see now how I may have been spiralling off course. I have been generally just not wanting to eat, so knowing that I need to eat, have tried a few new recipes this week that are not perfectly compliant just to get food in. I haven't been craving cookies or sweets, so thought the paleo "cookie" would be ok because it was at least getting into my belly and staying there. Corinna...my instinct is telling me that you might have the answer and that coffee is the culprit... I agree with all of you about the nuts...I don't even like them that much but was desperate knowing that I wasn't getting enough protein. I'm hoping my aversion to meat passes soon. Will certainly try some of the suggestions here over the next few days especially the sweet potato soup (have some SP's roasting in the oven right now and they smell delicious) but the thought of having chicken with them, not so good on the nausea response but will try my best to get back on track. Robin...are you still interested in seeing what I was eating when things started to go downhill for me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casjen Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 How about chicken or turkey? I find it much more palatable and easy to eat. My store has a store roasted compliant turkey breast that is so good smeared in avocado with spinach leaves on top. I roll them up into cigars and eat. That's my breakfast most days with carrots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlaccini Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I would stick with some soup initially in the morning and if you are hungry later on then maybe include your protein and fat if you are feeling up for it. Once you are feeling better (meaning not adverse to protein in the morning) then maybe start including it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BossyGoat Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 So for lunch today I had a baked sweet potato topped with a bit of coconut oil, salt & pepper and heated up a left over meatball (size of a medium size muffin) from last nights dinner. The sweet potato was good, went down fine but I really struggled with the meatball, ended up mushing it up and mixing it in with my potato to get it down...now of course this was not nearly enough food so yes I was still hungry but could not think of anything to eat that didn't make me want to vomit. Heated up some other left over beef anyway and cooked it with onion, peppers and coconut milk...like a stroganoff and added 2 large handfuls of spinach. Spinach was good...had a hard time with the meat, ended up giving it to the dog...she liked it. Still hungry, so yes...had an apple with almond butter...not to satisfy any sweet craving but because I was hungry and it was palatable to me. The meat currently feels like a brick sitting in my stomach and yes I'm nauseous and feel a bit like being sick. Looked in the fridge and freezer trying to find something appealing for dinner...not much luck. Have pulled out some fish just because I know I need to eat something but to be honest I'm not looking forward to it. There's an orange sitting in my fruit basket...when I look at it, my body says yes...that will taste good and make you feel better. When I open the fridge I see fresh pressed apple cider...again my body says yes, that will taste good and make you feel better. When I look at meat...any kind of meat, my body says...no...don't eat that...you've had enough...you'll feel sick. I gave up sugar and gluten over a year ago, so I really don't think my craving fruit and fruit juice is some secret sugar demon. I'm still good with the vegetables as well, they all still look appetizing to me as well (well except for cabbage and broccoli...I need a break from them for a week or two) It's really the animal protein thats getting to me. I'm really not craving or missing any of the foods I've cut out for the 30 days...I'm really just having a hard time finding something appetizing to eat that includes meat. I want tomato soup without the beef. I want veggie stir fry without the chicken...I want a fresh crisp garden salad with cucumbers and cherry tomatoes and avocado without the salmon... I'm frustrated and hungry and not feeling well and my emotions feel fragile and I feel like I'm having some sort of crisis but can't figure out what it is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaraP Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I feel for you, sounds so awful, feeling nauseous is the WORST! Have you tried making a curry??? Maybe you could hide some meat in one ... the smooth texture might be enough if you cut up the protein small enough. Another idea is shrimp. I love shrimp baked in the oven ... start with raw, thaw if frozen, put in a pan with coconut oil and salt and pepper then 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes. For some reason shrimp this way, with lots of salt seems to be ok when my stomach is queasy. Eggs also seem to work, but only cooked certain ways ... maybe experiment ... fried eggs are the most comforting to me, but some like scrambled better. I find fried eggs with sweet potato to be about the best stomach food I can find, even when I'm not on Whole 30. Good luck, hope you figure it out soon!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingseaside Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Nausea is the worst! About half way through my first Whole30 I developed some digestive issues. While I didn't experience protien aversion, I did have a few days of stomach upset and diarrhea. Digestive enzymes with HCL really helped. My body just wasn't used to THAT much protein, especially at breakfast. I'm wondering if your aversion is your body telling you that it can't digest the protein, so don't bother eating it. And maybe the protein aversion would resolve with digestive enzymes and/or HCL? Also, I've noticed a lot of people don't tolerate coconut milk well. That's something to consider, too. Wishing you luck with tackling your tummy issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alliea Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 You know, I get meat fatigue too, but not to the degree you're talking about. For me, switching it up a bit makes all the difference. I have shrimp for a day or two, eat boiled eggs instead of scrambled, chicken when I'm sick of beef and I do a bit better. Maybe you should switch to the vegetarian Whole30 instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 If your instinct is telling you it's coffee - test that and see. I'd also second the suggestion of enzymes since your only issue is protein (it seems). If those don't help, more detective work (food logs) will be helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BossyGoat Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 Thank you everyone for all your support and suggestions. I have read them all and taken many of them into consideration as well as doing a little research on my own on how to move forward. I have been keeping a detailed journal of what I'm feeling and what I've eaten everyday so far. The whole 30 is ultimately about learning what foods are right for you and learning to love real food in a world filled with crap food all around us. On day 23 I am loving real food and have gained control over that crap food demon. As it turns out you (or at least I ) can actually eat too much protein and that's what my body over the last few days was telling me. So doing the whole 30 had increased my overall protein intake but I am also on a down swing in my training schedule, so my exercise over the past few week has been significantly reduced. I was showing all the signs of nitrogen toxicity from too much protein and not enough exercise. So many of you may not agree with this but it's what working for me. I had my great big salad last night for dinner...no meat! Tasted great, went down great, felt great in my belly. This morning...headache gone, belly feeling good. So I'm listening to my body and giving it fruits and vegetables until it tells me otherwise. I'm certain a protein craving is only a few meals away. Also, looks like it might be time to start ramping up my exercise schedule again. I will admit. I am not 100% demon free...coffee. My heart of hearts is telling me it needs to go, so still some hard work ahead. Thanks again for giving me a place to come and chat with like minded people to help get me through the rough spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annabel Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Don't give up the coffee till you're feeling at 100%, it's a hard vice to get rid of and you're likely to feel dreadful the first few days. I'm a lot less hungry eating Whole 30 than I normally am. (It's 2:30 and I still haven't even thought about lunch and breakfast was over 7 hours ago) Even my husband who started out eating 3 meals and 2 mini meals every day doesn't want the extra meals anymore. I know you're not really looking for a way to get more protein in, but have you thought about tinned tuna as a way round your meat aversion? There's also fish cakes you can do with tinned tuna or salmon and sweet potato. There are quite a few of us over on the January 1st start thread if you want to join us over there, it might give you a few more new food ideas to shake up your recipes a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlaccini Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I'm a migraine sufferer so I get bouts of nausea quite frequently. (Eating whole 30 style has helped immensely with them) When I have one, coffee is off, any "heavy" meal is off (makes me feel worse) and basically I barely eat for a few days. But I do understand the importance of having some substance in my body so I will generally stick with what makes me feel better - ususally sweet potato or squash, bone broth, ginger mint tea and kombucha. The kombucha settles my tummy quite well (especially the ginger). I will eat very little protein during this time as well, up until I am getting normal hunger signals. It's not perfect but it gets me through. Also in the very begining of my first whole 30, I was craving red meat like crazy - which was completely odd for me as I maybe would eat red meat once a week, and steak a few times a year. But this first whole 30 I wanted steak morning, noon and night. I was advised to just roll with it a few days and after about 3 days it passed. So in my opinion - go for the veg - as much as you want. Get what protein you can in (It's still important), and go moderate with the fruit. And seriously think of getting a digestive enzyme - it really does help. Natural probiotics will help as well (saurkraut, kimchi, kombucha - basically anything fermented is good for your gut) but if you go for either - do one at a time and see what helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca30 Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 One thing I noticed that I haven't seen anyone else touch on is your water intake. 20-30 ounces is not nearly enough even when you are not on a Whole 30. I used to be so poor about getting my water in and I was exhausted, nauseous, head achey, you name it. I once thought I was having a stroke and ended up in the ER. I was so dehydrated, they gave me some IV fluids and I was MUCH better. Now when I start to feel less than stellar, I think about how much water I have had that day and the answer is usually not enough. Just a thought. Weirdly enough, warm water is easier for me to drink than cold and I find it relaxing. Try it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BossyGoat Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 I totally agree on the water intake. I definitely was not drinking enough. Day 26 and feeling much better. So I have increased my water intake. Decreased my coffee and slowly weaning myself off of it by making it weaker and weaker everyday. Have discovered the beauty of homemade almond milk...so much better and is giving me an alternative to coconut milk. With my protein "crisis". I did end up having about 4 vegetarian meals and one decent work-out...after that work-out I came home and was hungry...happily cooked up and enjoyed some salmon and veggies that night for dinner...so back to the proper template. Another thing that is currently making me very happy and I know it's not proper and not recommended but has really made me feel good and settled my stomach...1/3 organic carrot juice, 1/3 organic fresh pressed cider, 1/3 homemade almond milk...delicious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vian Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Thank you, Rebecca, for bringing up water. I was reading through this thread and that was the first thing I noticed! You should be drinking at least half your body weight in ounces every day. I'm glad you are feeling better and getting back on track! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa Urban Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 These are not normal Whole30 symptoms, and you have not been eating anywhere near enough protein to put a burden on your kidneys--unless you have some kind of compromised kidney function. I'd recommend seeing a doctor to make sure what's happening isn't symptomatic of bigger issues. It's far more likely you were fighting a flu or food poisoning, and it's impossible for us to diagnose what's going on with so many moving parts. More water, less water, less coffee, more carrot juice--these are all just shots in the dark. Bottom line, if you are feeling better, great, but I'd still recommend talking to your doctor to make sure you aren't battling some outside illness or other medical issue. Melissa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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