Day 22 Feeling Bloated - help?

[Courtney Cavagnero]

Hello Whole30ers,

I need some help. I am on day 22 of my whole 30. I am 5'5" and weighed somewhere around 140 lbs before starting this program.  I put this in the athlete category since I workout daily but I would not currently consider myself an athlete. I was a professional dancer that got a day job where I sit at a desk all day. Woo. What do I need your help with? I feel like I am gaining weight and bloating more than normal (it is that time of month but this is exceeding my usual discomfort). I am also having a really hard time not snacking. I have eaten totally compliant foods but have wavered a little in portions depending on if I workout or not or what meals are available to me.

I do typically eat about a palm and a half size portion of my protein. I cook most of my veggies in coconut oil or olive oil with salt and pepper. If I eat avocado, I only eat half. For a while I wasn't eating hardly any fruit. I have started to incorporate dried fruit as snacks (maybe that is part of the problem?). I was snacking on cashews prior and I was probably overdoing it (more like 2 servings at a time than one).

I just started tracking what I eat in myfitnesspal to get a better idea of what is going on. I had a dental implant on Friday so I am eating acai bowls for breakfast since they are easy to consume but that is also a new thing for me.  Here is a breakdown of the last couple days:

 

Sat, May 20:
-no workout; still healing from surgery
-M1: Green Bowl w/paleo topping  (the bowl is blended coconut water, coconut yogurt, kale, spinach, avocado, banana, mango blended with toppings: almonds, cashews, cacao, hemp seeds, coconut shavings, bee pollen and strawberries. All organic. Black coffee afterwards.
-M2: Mostly snacks - homemade tostones (plantains, coconut oil, garlic, salt), 1/2 c of watermelon, handful of dried mango
-M3: About 1 1/2c of roasted Brussel sprouts and cauliflower in olive oil, Gingerberry Kombucha
-M4: Paleo burger (lettuce, meat, mustard, tomato and onion)

Sun, May 21:
-Walked for an 1 1/2 in the AM post meal 1, casual pace. After Meal 2 I had a 3 hour dance/theater rehearsal (nothing too straining but moving). Walked another hour or so after Meal 3.
-M1: Almond Butter Acai Bowl w/paleo topping (bowl is House-made almond mylk, almond butter, pure unsweetened acai, blueberry, banana with same toppings ^). Black iced coffee afterwards.
-M2: Snacks - handful of dried mango and 1 c watermelon
-M3: Green Chef (delivered paleo box) meal - Pork Burrito bowl w/cauliflower rice, pepitas, avocado and chimichurri
-M4: Paleo burger, shaved Brussel sprout salad with small slices of apple, hazelnuts and vinaigrette. Mystic Mango kombucha.

 

Prior to my surgery, I was having more eggs scrambled with a meat and veggies for breakfast. The green chef meals vary but they are all organic and paleo. The portion sizes seem correct. I also work 8a-5p Mon-Fri. I eat breakfast when I get to work, have a preworkout snack around 11a (usually a handful of cashews or dried fruit), eat lunch right after workout, eat another small snack around 4pm and have dinner around 7. My workouts are BBG (30 min high intensity circuit training) M/W/F and 30 min on elliptical on Tues/Thur.

I am just starting to go to the bathroom regularly. Prior to whole 30 I had a lot of trouble with constipation.

What do you guys think? I am having a very hard time feeling satisfied. No real cravings - just always wanting to feed myself.

Thanks for any advice!!!

[jmcbn]

2 hours ago, Courtney Cavagnero said:

Sat, May 20:
-no workout; still healing from surgery
-M1: Green Bowl w/paleo topping  (the bowl is blended coconut water, coconut yogurt, kale, spinach, avocado, banana, mango blended with toppings: almonds, cashews, cacao, hemp seeds, coconut shavings, bee pollen and strawberries. All organic. Black coffee afterwards.
-M2: Mostly snacks - homemade tostones (plantains, coconut oil, garlic, salt), 1/2 c of watermelon, handful of dried mango
-M3: About 1 1/2c of roasted Brussel sprouts and cauliflower in olive oil, Gingerberry Kombucha
-M4: Paleo burger (lettuce, meat, mustard, tomato and onion)

Sun, May 21:
-Walked for an 1 1/2 in the AM post meal 1, casual pace. After Meal 2 I had a 3 hour dance/theater rehearsal (nothing too straining but moving). Walked another hour or so after Meal 3.
-M1: Almond Butter Acai Bowl w/paleo topping (bowl is House-made almond mylk, almond butter, pure unsweetened acai, blueberry, banana with same toppings ^). Black iced coffee afterwards.
-M2: Snacks - handful of dried mango and 1 c watermelon
-M3: Green Chef (delivered paleo box) meal - Pork Burrito bowl w/cauliflower rice, pepitas, avocado and chimichurri
-M4: Paleo burger, shaved Brussel sprout salad with small slices of apple, hazelnuts and vinaigrette. Mystic Mango kombucha.

Ok, there could be a couple of things going on here....

You're eating A LOT of fruit & nuts - both pretty carb dense, and the fruit in particular will impact blood sugar. Both also cause bloat when eaten in volume. Nuts are notoriously hard on the digestive system.

You're eating A LOT of >high FODMAP< foods - sprouts, banana, mango, apple, nuts, seeds, avocado, coffee, cauliflower - again all of which can cause bloating/gas in those sensitive to them.

You also seem to be seriously lacking in protein - I only see it mentioned in meal 3 on day one, and meals 3 & 4 on day 2.

The recommendation for fruit would be to limit it to 0-2 servings per day, and not to eat it alone as a snack. It also should not push veg off of your plate. Eating fruit often results in feeling hungrier sooner because of it'd impact on blood sugar & subsquently appetite/focus/energy.... Nuts (& their by-products + seeds)  we'd suggest you limit to a closed handful every other day, max. You look to be exceeding both of those recommendations in your first meal of the day.

Nuts & seeds are a fat for Whole30 purposes, and you really will feel better if you build your meals to match the recommended template of 1-2 palm sized pieces of protein, 1-3 cups of veg (with 3 being optimal), and a serving of fat.

I'd suggest re-visting the >meal template< tweaking your meals accordingly, and trying to stick to the three template meals per day,plus pre/postWO, rather than grazing. You may also find that you need some kind of a postWO meal of protein & starchy carbs - you don't seem to mention starchy carbs elsewhere & you'll need to replace depeleted muscle glycogen at some point. PreWO you want protein & fat, no carbs as these provide an instant source of fuel when your aim is to try & teach the body to tap into it's fat stores.

Hope this helps

[Courtney Cavagnero]

@jmcbn This helps a lot. I only recently started eating these bowls in the morning because of my dental implant surgery but wow this list on FODMAP is a huge eye opener. I started whole 30 because of digestion issues (primarily frequent constipation - my dr thinks IBS) and this is probably the stem of my problems. I will focus on the green section for the rest of the program and see if that helps! Thank you so much!!!