Day 31 - Not feeling great, trying to pinpoint why.

[eight_snowflakes]

Apologies in advance for this novel...

 

I just 'completed' my Whole30 as of yesterday, but for the past 5-6 days I've had some moderate GI issues. I *think* I've pinpointed what may have caused it, but I am definitely open to some outside opinions/thoughts, as I did this Whole30 round all on my own (first time was back in 2012, and I don't think I was nearly as strict, and certainly didn't properly reintroduce, and in the end fell back into terrible habits). 

 

To give some background, I am 31, 5'10" and have no idea how much I weigh (but I know I'm not happy with my current physique, so ultimately I'd like to lose). I've dabbled in eating Paleo and tried to stay as gluten-free as possible in the past few years, but definitely battled cravings, bad habits, and well, living with someone that is adamantly against eating healthfully can be tough to say the least. Late in Feb I saw someone in a FB group mention doing a Whole30 starting March 1, and I just made the snap decision to go for it. Having done one before I knew how to prepare and figured that I had nothing to lose but inches and feeling awful both physically and emotionally.

 

So, I went for it, stayed super strict, and for much of the program felt good. However, the weekends were definitely the most difficult for me, as my days are less structured than during the week. I still managed, although I likely ate less than on week days. 

 

This past weekend was the Easter long weekend. I had no desire to indulge in chocolates, candies or any other typical Easter treats. I did have a 4 day weekend however, and my parents came to visit from out of town. They knew the drill, that they had to eat clean, and were great about it - no issues there. On Saturday my stomach started feeling "off", and frankly, I tried to downplay it in my own head because I was so darn close, what could possibly be causing this now, right?! I packed snacks with me for when we were out and about during the days (turkey meatloaf muffins, banana, unsalted mixed nuts, hardboiled eggs, etc), but mainly ended up having meals at home. 

 

Things that changed when/since my parents arrived:

- They brought me their dehydrator, since I'd been talking about how I wanted one to make my own jerky and dried fruits/veggies. Friday night I made dried banana, apple, kiwi and strawberry (2 bananas, 3 apples, 4 kiwis, and maybe half a tray of strawberry that my mom happened to have cut up). I tested pieces of each on Saturday morning, but certainly not to excess. Made jerky on Sunday - may have overindulged on Sunday evening. 

 

- I bought a jar of unsalted mixed nuts from Costco. Previously (but during my 30 days) I'd had the occasional addition of raw almonds, macadamias or coconut flakes with meals, but really just as a boost of fat where I felt I needed a bit more. Definitely snacked more on these.  *The more I read, and the more I wracked my brain for what might be going on, I think this may be my culprit. 

 

- we had steak with 3 out of 4 dinners. I LOVE red meat. However, I don't often make steaks myself at home (and hadn't for the duration of my Whole30) because well, I'm just not that good at it. (We don't have a BBQ, and our normal *awesome steak* ritual includes A LOT of butter, so just no). I'm not certain this played any role, but in the interest of transparency, there it is. 

 

A typical day looks like this:

 

Breakfast:

Coffee (over ice) with approx 2-3 Tbsp full fat coconut milk (not missing sugar in my coffee at ALL - WIN!)

Savory Breakfast Casserole (12 Eggs, 1lb ground turkey, 1 sweet potato & spices - made in an 8x8 dish it made 9 servings) + 1 cup raw veggies (turnip, peppers, cucumber, carrots or whatever else is hangin around) 

or

Paleo breakfast sausage patties (probably a palm & half worth) + small banana & sometimes a hard boiled egg

 

*definitely found it difficult to get in my veggies in the morning, so although in the first couple weeks I pretty much avoided fruit, I started adding in a banana when I felt it necessary. 

 

Lunch:

3-4 cups of Earthbound Farms Power Greens

Can of tuna or 5-6oz chopped chicken breast

additional chopped veggies

hard boiled egg

1/2 avocado (when I had ripe ones on hand)

1 1/2 tbsp dressing (usually olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sometimes with a squirt of mustard in there)

or

Leftovers of dinners - always with extra raw veggies

 

Dinner:

zucchini noodles (2 cups) - often raw, but sometimes sauteed or half a small-ish spaghetti squash

4-5oz ground beef or turkey, browned in coconut oil, in tomato sauce with spices

smaller green salad with oil and vinegar dressing

or

homemade chicken tenders (palm & half, typically)

rest of the plate filled with either roasted or raw veg

*I appear to be lacking on the fat at dinner time...

 

I've endeavored to not snack much, but in the event that I *need* something I try to have either nuts, coconut, eggs or raw veggies nearby. I have a 24oz SBux cup of water at my desk that I am constantly refilling, and I drink lots of water at home as well, with the occasional GT's Kombucha. 

 

For the initial 3 weeks I felt great, skin cleared up, no stomach aches, and I was able to just hop out of bed in the morning rather than snoozing for an hour. I will say that I did just get my period today, so I'm not sure how much bearing that has had on my stomach issues in the past week, although I often feel bloated, crampy and generally just gross leading up to it (lucky me, I got that twice during my Whole30!) I'd love to blame it all on this, but I'm trying to be realistic here...

 

I don't think I've lost any weight or inches (as I said, I don't use the scale, so I'm basing this solely on the fact that it doesn't appear that my body composition has shifted at all just yet), and I know that isn't an overnight thing, so I'm doing my best to not be discouraged by this. My main goal was really to get my cravings and eating habits in check, so that I can make a habit of just making smarter and healthier choices from here on out. 

 

Long story short, it's Day 31, and I'm holding off on starting my reintro, as I want to feel the way I did in weeks 2/3 before I start messing around with things. I have decided to cut out nuts entirely, to see if perhaps that was the culprit this past weekend and into this week. So, perhaps this will be a Whole40, or just a Whole35, but I'm looking forward to being able to identify without a shadow of a doubt what foods just plain don't agree with me, and build on the things I've learned from this round. 

 

Any thoughts or advice are welcome and appreciated. Cheers.

 

 

[eight_snowflakes]

Is it possible for a mod to go ahead and delete this post? I don't seem to have the option to, and since it's clear I'm not getting any feedback, I'd rather it just be deleted please. 

[SugarcubeOD]

Hi There

 

I am so sorry that this got missed. Definitely not intentional and we do try and help everyone.  Would you like feedback still?

Your meals actually look really good and I'm wondering if your stomach issues improved after your period?  

The excess nuts and jerky would definitely be something I would have suggested could be causing problems and I would have asked if you were drinking enough water as well.

Is it possible that you were coming down with a stomach bug or flu?

Again, our apologies that this got missed but we are happy to help!

[eight_snowflakes]

Hi Sugarcube, 

 

Thank you for your reply. 

 

I do think that the nuts definitely played a part, and I have not reintroduced them in any form since late March. Don't think it was a stomach bug or flu, as I had no other discernible symptoms at all, and stomach upset was always the "norm" for me before this round.

 

I've stayed *mostly* compliant since then, and have only dabbled in reintro, as I wanted to be sure I felt good before trying to add anything back in. Still haven't tried anything with gluten at all, as I'm pretty scared of the outcome. So far I've learned that definitely added sugar is not my friend, not for cravings coming back, but just for generally feeling crappy when I have it. I've still had upset stomach on and off, but really working on pinpointing exactly what is causing it, as that is really what I want to get out of this change in diet. I've had cheese here and there and some instances felt bad, and some not at all, so I guess it comes down to possible type of cheese, and certainly the quantity as well (It's been like a slice of cheese on a lettuce-wrap burger, or a sprinkle of feta on a salad). 

 

I do finally feel like perhaps I'm seeing some body changes, but I definitely have a long way to go, so we shall see. I finally bought the Whole30 book (had ISWF already of course), and I'm really glad I did, even if I received it after finishing this last round. I think doing a strict Whole30 once in a while will keep my diet as clean as possible and keep me accountable and aware of how food is affecting me moving forward.