Slewelf

I’m prepping for my third Whole30 (first January Whole30 with the whole gang!) and trying to figure out my preworkout meal. Previously I was working out on my lunch break so I’d eat a hard boiled egg and some almond butter or sweet potato about 2.5 hours before my workout. My schedule has changed since my last Whole30 so I now workout at 6:30am before work. Most days I drink a protein smoothie which is a blend of plant based protein powder, 1/2 a banana, almond milk, and almond butter. I try to drink this 30 minutes before my workout and most days I feel great but if I add anything more solid or heavier like an egg I feel gross and nauseous. This makes having a Whole30 compliant preworkout difficult and there’s no way for me to eat earlier as I role out of bed and head to the gym in less than an hour. What I’m trying to decide is if I even need a preworkout meal. I don’t have an issue getting enough calories in my normal meals and would be eating breakfast as my post workout meal immediately after leaving the gym. Four days a week I do weights and other resistance training, twice a week I do HIIT and LISS which usually consists of a two mile jog followed by ten minutes of sprint-walk-sprints. Is there a benefit to a preworkout meal besides providing energy for the workout? I have plenty of protein in my post workout breakfast to help with muscle recovery. Thanks!

I believe you only need a preworkout meal if you haven’t eaten within two hours of your workout. It sounds like you workout in the morning so just eating your normal breakfast is probably fine. If you do fasted workouts normally I don’t think it’s a huge issue to continue those unless you’ve noticed a drop of energy. A post workout meal would be breakfast if you’re fasted through the workout. I do a hard boiled egg and a handful of almonds or 1/4 avocado for my preworkout meal and eat lunch as my post workout. You could do compliant deli meat and some avocado if you’re avoiding eggs. For the post workout whatever you’d normally have for breakfast on Whole30 is fine. The idea behind the pre and post workout meals is to get protein and fat or carbs into your body if a normal meal isn’t scheduled immediately after. I workout at lunch so my post workout meal is my lunch.

I’ve always gotten dark circles from foods I was allergic or intolerant to, even as a little kid. Years ago it used to be apples that gave me dark circles, now it’s wheat, sugar, and dairy. I don’t think a single food is going to be responsible for the same symptoms in everyone (I can now eat apples without issue) so this would be something I’d pay close attention to during your reintroduction. Salt is another cause of dark circles through fluid retention. Eating processed foods with high sodium levels prior to Whole30 could be responsible. Since your sodium intake has likely dropped, you’re retaining less fluid, reducing your dark circles. Also, the quantity of sleep may be the same as before but the quality of your sleep has likely improved. Even if you are getting the same number of hours, it’s likely the quality is better than before which can majorly help with the circles.

I'm on Day 8 of my second round of Whole30 and my joints have been super achy, slightly, swollen, and stiff. I feel it all over but especially in my fingers and knees. Aside from removing the non-compliant foods and adding more animal proteins (I only eat fish, chicken, and eggs) and vegetables, nothing else has changed in my routine. I'm 26, very active, train horses professionally, workout 5-6 days per week... I don't feel like I should have sore, achy joints, especially not my fingers. It's worse when waking up in the morning but the achy feeling continues all day. It does feel inflammation related but I feel like by this point I should be seeing less inflammation not more and new issues? Food diary for today which is a typical day: B: frittata with spinach, 1/2 cup blueberries, and 2T almond butter (also a cup of coffee with a splash of nutpods) Preworkout: Hard boiled egg and small handful of almonds L: sautéed veggies, kale, grilled chicken breast, 1/2 avocado D: Salmon, mashed potatoes, green salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing I also drink about 100oz or more of water each day. Any idea what might be causing this? I haven't introduced any new foods so I don't think it's an intolerance to the stuff I'm eating but I guess that would be possible.

Thanks! I’ve done some almond butter and a hard boiled egg the last couple days and felt better.

Hi Everyone, I’m only on Day 2 but today I got so nauseous during my workout that I couldn’t finish the last circuit. I’m a professional equestrian and workout doing HIIT, weights, running, and yoga. Today was a HIIT/weight training circuit that I can normally get through with lots of energy and finish just fine. I was expecting less energy since I do eat a lot of whole grains and legumes (pescatarian) but the nausea was horrible. Half way through I started feeling incredibly nauseous and tried to work out for another several minutes before calling it quits. My day at that point was wake up at 5:30am, yoga at 6am, breakfast of three eggs, at least 1.5 cups of roasted potatoes, and half an avocado at 7am. I worked out at 12pm so it had been a while since I ate but I don’t usually do a snack or anything between breakfast and my workout. I didn’t feel hungry at all and had to force myself to eat my lunch post workout though I did feel better after eating. Should I be doing a preworkout snack even if I’m not hungry? Or is there something else that could have triggered the nausea?