Day 7 Exhaustion (First-timer)

[dramofjade]

Hi everyone! I'm new to Whole 30, and I'm super stoked to have made it to Day 7! But my body doesn't seem to be agreeing with my mental excitement. Here are my symptoms:

-Brain fog

-Tiredness in muscles

-General exhaustion and lethargy

This is not abnormal for me at this time of year, because I'm a college English teacher and we're in the crunch time at the end of the semester. I've been having long days all week--reading drafts of papers and meeting with students. But normally, I'm not this tired. I thought that this would pass after the first 4-5 days, but it's hanging on. So, my two questions:

1. Is this normal? If so, will it pass soon or can I do something to help it pass?

2. Has anyone else had this experience and can you offer any encouragement for a first-timer?

Thanks all!

[ladyshanny]

Hi @dramofjade - it's very hard to give directed feedback to you on this eating plan when we don't know what you've been eating. Most of time time in the first 10 days there is some level of tired and adjustment as your body figures out what's going on. The duration usually relates to how different your eating plan was before coming to Whole30. 

A typical problem for people that are still experiencing adjustment is that they are under-eating across the board. 

If you want to list out what you've been eating including portions and timing as it relates to the meal template, water consumption, physical activity, sleep hygiene etc, we can see if anything stands out.

[dramofjade]

I was a pescatarian before I started, and I'm following the mean plan outline in the Whole 30 book. So I added meat back into my diet and took out the carbs.

Most of what I used to eat was various pastas, legumes, and other grains combined with vegetables. Now I'm filling my plate with mostly veggies and some meat/protein. But I've only been eating small amounts of meat (maybe golf ball size or a little more) because I'm still getting used to the texture of meat. I feel full after I finish eating, and get hungry again maybe 4 hours later. I have long days so I generally eat a small mid-morning meal.

I'm not keeping track of how much water I drink, but I realize I should. Maybe I need to drink more water?

I'm basically just trying to follow all the rules as closely to the letter as I can.

[jmcbn]

Again, as @ladyshanny said above it's difficult to comment without knowing exactly what you've been eating - other than a golf ball sized piece of protein what is on your plate? Which types of veg and how much of each? Which fat source and how much?

Muscle ache generally comes from a lack of protein & the small amount of protein you are eating would correlate with this.

The grains & legumes from your previous diet  are being replaced now by veg - veg contain carbs so I assume you're okay on that front, and since the body can convert protein into carbohydrates then you don't *actually* need them although most folk do better to include them for the nutrients that they provide. This process (known as gluconeogenesis) however can not happen if you are not eating enough protein - see my comment above.

Certainly a lack of water can contribute to brain fog, but it can also come from a lack of fat - of which you make no mention. A lack of salt can also have a similar effect. Are you salting your food?

The general tirendess and lethargy can come from all of the above - but again, without know what you're eating it's hard to suggest what exactly you need to tweak.