Feeling Horrible!

[jwiorkow]

My boyfriend and I are on Day 18 and are both feeling really gross, fat and bloated. For the first two weeks we were feeling absolutely great and bragging to everyone about how great we were feeling - we really felt our body changing, and could tell things were firming up. We were all about the Whole30 and enjoying our meals. Starting on about Day 15, we started feeling gross and not into it - and are contemplating throwing in the towel. Please provide some motivation for us! Also, is it normal to feel great at the start and then horrible?

[Krista Billows Rodriguez]

Without seeing what you're eating it's hard to tell if this is normal or perhaps your meal plan needs a little tweak. It is normal to lose some of your passion for the program at that 1/2 way mark, your brain would love to trick you into going back to your old eating habits. You start to tell yourself, hey....I made it TWO whole weeks...maybe that was long enough....no-it wasn't. Sorry, there's a reason it's a 30 day commitment. It takes time to repair the damage of a less than stellar diet and it takes time to retrain your brain and solidify new habits.

If you want feedback on meals please try to post up a couple of days of eats, I'm sure you'll get plenty of advice on fine tuning things if needed.

[Josephus90]

I'm 2 days behind you and I definitely feel you. I'm kind of burnt out on the whole deal but I feel like it's a waste to give up now. I think if I'm over half way, I need to finish it to have an opinion about it. If I quit after 17 days, then I'm not credible to talk about whether or not it works.

[PamH]

I have that bloat, too. Motivation still high, but stumped on why my belly has not flattened out? I'm not actually gassy, either.

I will attribute it to the increase in cruciferous vegetables and probiotics, but it honestly seems like I'm getting more fat around the middle. I feel good, though, and my skin is brighter.

Yesterday I thought maybe I would just add my beloved oats back into my diet, but I decided to stick it out for my Whole45 (need more than 30 days to tackle my sugar dragon).

There are physiological patterns to detoxing. I can't quote them, but maybe Week 2 is where our fat stores start dumping toxins or something. The effect of detox is real.

I hope you can keep the commitment to 30 days. I agree with Josephus90: can't talk about how it does or doesn't work if you don't finish successfully.

We are probably all here because we have or had unhealthy relationships with food. Habits are so difficult to break, and our old thoughts are more like screams right now! Hang in there.

[jwiorkow]

I appreciate hearing the other stories with you guys having similar problems. I started the Whole30 because my best friend did it and LOVED it. As I mentioned, the first two weeks were awesome and we bragged to everyone we knew. My boyfriend hates his love handles and was telling everyone how he felt them going down, didn't feel as gross after eating, and felt more firm. This week, we both just feel sloppy. We both workout 6-7 days/week (I do Bar Method, he's more of a gym rat and we try and go on bike rides a few times a week). I know I need to get in some more cardio, so maybe that's it?

I'm feeling very similar to you, Pam! Last week I actually enjoyed looking at myself in the mirror and felt like my belly was flattening. This week I feel round and blah! My skin is normal and I've been really, really exhausted over the past two weeks. I was hoping that if I helped along my bowels with some laxatives (TMI? Sorry!) I'd feel SO much better. Nope. Not the case. Still fell gross today and have no appetite.

In terms of what we've been eating this week, here ya go!

Monday:

breakfast : Frittata w/onions, sweet potato and homemade pork breakfast sausage; pico de gallo on top w/1/2 avocado;

lunch: salad with chicken breast, oil and vinegar dressing, shredded carrots, hard boiled egg and 1/2 avocado;

dinner: chicken breast w/sweet potato fries; side salad w/oil and vinegar

Tuesday:

breakfast: same frittata w/guac

lunch: same as above

dinner: same as above (I was too busy to be creative!) & made some apple pie bites that are whole30 approved (boyfriend LOVES them!)

Wednesday:

wasn't feeling well and really bloated so I had no appetite.

breakfast: coffee, black

lunch: forced down a banana

dinner: ate out - hamburger w/bacon, no bun, roasted veggies

Thursday:

still feeling awful, no appetite

breakfast: coffee

lunch: tried to eat some salad but just ate the hard boiled egg, some carrots and black olives

dinner: green beans, side salad w/oil and vinegar, and proscuitto egg cup

Friday (today):

stomach not hurting so much, but still bloated

breakfast: coffee, black, 3 eggs and some grapes

For the past 2 weeks we were having so much fun with the meals, too, and discovering new foods. We made some pot roasts, and spaghetti squash, etc. I'm bored with the meals now and the only things I want to eat are pizza and pasta; nothing else sounds good to me.

I know this week's eating wasn't ideal, but I wasn't feeling well and I am pretty down about feeling like I look worse than I ever have! Any advice is appreciated -=- as well as some good meal suggestions! We're both pretty busy, so we need to prepare in order to have a good meal.

I definitely want to stick it out but am quickly losing faith. My boyfriend and I had horrible eating habits - I have a HORRIBLE sweet tooth (nothing I wouldnt do for a Sprinkles cupcake) and we made a lot of pasta because it's easy. And my boyfriend would load Ranch dressing or mayo on anything and everything. This past week, all we've done is complained to one another how gross we feel, and for the amount of work we're putting into it, we want to feel great!

[Krista Billows Rodriguez]

You might want to ease off raw veggies for a while and incorporate more cooked ones. Some stomachs have a harder time adjusting to a high raw veg content than others. That can take a little extra time but if you presteam/roast/steam sauté a bunch on the weekends they can quickly be tossed into a pan to reheat with some protein. I try to keep them cooked and also cooked ground meats on hand all the time, they're the easiest breakfast when reheated and scrambled with a few eggs.

Are you taking any supplements? I used the natural calm magnesium during mine. I also ate my probiotics in the form of fermented foods like kim chi and drank kombucha.

Are you drinking enough water and getting enough sleep?

The disillusioned feeling is very common, the realization that this lifestyle takes effort sets in and the nostalgia for your pasta and cupcake fueled life can be strong. My only other caution is to let go of the mindset that you've earned feeling great after two weeks of eating well. In the grand scheme of things two weeks is not a lot of time. If you truly did have a poor diet before I would think that you should expect a tougher transition, your body needs to heal from years of poor food choices and the only way that will happen is through time and effort. It really is worth the effort, you only get this one body, treat it kindly so it will carry you through a long and happy life.

[Physibeth]

Curious to know what was in those apple pie bites that you made as that seemed to precede the not feeling good. Just an FYI paleofied treats are not really Whole30 compliant. Did these have nuts in them? I have found eating too many nuts makes me feel bloated. I would second the advice of easing off the raw veggies and adding in probiotic food. I have raw fermented veggies (sauerkraut or ginger carrots) with breakfast every day and drink kombucha most days.

[PamH]

Curious to know what was in those apple pie bites that you made as that seemed to precede the not feeling good. Just an FYI paleofied treats are not really Whole30 compliant. Did these have nuts in them? I have found eating too many nuts makes me feel bloated. I would second the advice of easing off the raw veggies and adding in probiotic food. I have raw fermented veggies (sauerkraut or ginger carrots) with breakfast every day and drink kombucha most days.

If they are the 21DSD Green Apple and Coconut 2-Bite treats, they are 'legal': green apple, coconut cream concentrate, coconut oil, cinnamon and salt. They are from the 21 Day Sugar Detox via PaleOMG

[jwiorkow]

This is all very helpful and motivating!

We haven't been taking any supplements. Should we be taking something?

I drink a decent amount of water and get much more sleep than I actually need. That's part of the problem, too. I want to feel more energized and I"m absolutely exhausted by 7 pm, so I've been skipping out on my evening run and heading to bed around 9 p.m.

The apple pie bites consisted of various nuts (almonds and pecans), dates, dried apple and cinnamon. Maybe it was the nuts that set me back? Before that, i was eating nuts, but not too many of them.

Kombucha is new to me! hahah Is it good? I also need to introduce more variety into my meals and get some good recipes for variety outside of the usual chicken breast.

Finally, i LOVE sweet potato so I'm a big fan of making sweet potato fries. I read the book and remember that sweet potatoes are allowed but can't remember why, and my boyfriend keeps telling me that there's no way they're allowed. Can anyone tell me why sweet potatoes are okay?

Thanks, again, everyone! This is very helpful!

[jwiorkow]

So I just ran to the store to try kombucha. It's DELISH! Which concerns me that maybe it's not the right thing I got "GY SYNERGY" Gingerberry. Is this okay? Should I drink this with breakfast? I guess I'm curious as to when I should include it. THANKS!

[MrsStick]

Sweet potatoes are definitely allowed, and are my saving grace! Mashed (coconut milk and cinnamon mixed in), fries, roasted...

The reason they're allowed is that they're absolute nutritional powerhouses, unlike regular potatoes (Vitamin A and Vitamin C are the main two, but they're LOADED). No empty calories here!

Beyond that, other stuff that makes it easier is crock pot cooking, pre-cooking a ton of veggies at a time (we do sweet potato, carrot, mushroom, broccoli, etc. with salt/pepper/spices) so you don't have to do them every time.

[Physibeth]

On the apple pie bites: Those were big fat sugar bombs which could definitely have made you feel bad.

Sweet potato is great! Why wouldn't it be allowed? It is a higher starch vegetable so you want to not have too much if you are not very active but I eat them a lot (I'm a runner). Chock full of vitamins.

I had the GY Synergy Gingerberry last night. Yummo! As long as there isn't added sugar in the ingredients Kombucha is fine.

Definitely add variety. If you have not invested in the cookbook Well Fed yet you should, great resource. I also like Practical Paleo a lot.

[whitjm5]

I'm not familiar with the "Bar Method" but if you're working out 6-7 days a week already, what leads you to believe that more cardio is the answer?

That's an honest question. Not me being smart. Just wondering where you're coming from.

[jwiorkow]

Bar Method is is interval training combined with a lot of stretching like yoga and pilates. Classes are an hour and I break a sweat, but it's minimal. I feel less gross when I include more cardio in my routine.

[Krista Billows Rodriguez]

I love Kombucha, the trilogy is my favorite, you should check the labels, some are higher in sugars than others. I drink mine any time of the day...if I could I'd drink it ALL day

[melbournegirl]

Actually white potatoes are good for you too, they are excluded from whole30 for two reasons only... The bad habit link... If white potatoes are okay I can have chips, fries, hash browns.... Etc and because some people react to components in the skin which might reduce gut healing.

I had a dream 21 days before I hit the bloated, fat, awful feeling which then coincided with 4 days of severe extinction burst cravings where I overrate fruit and nuts etc. then it settled down a bit but I extended to 35 days so I could finish with ten days eating and feeling good

[notacommittee]

Actually white potatoes are good for you too, they are excluded from whole30 for two reasons only... The bad habit link... If white potatoes are okay I can have chips, fries, hash browns.... Etc and because some people react to components in the skin which might reduce gut healing.

This! I do not understand why people think sweet potatoes are so much better. Look them both up; except for Vitamin A (which is a plant pre-form anyway so less absorbable) they're pretty much the same in everything!

I think it's also because white potatoes have a higher GI so they tend towards the carb rollercoaster a little more.

[Beets]

If they are the 21DSD Green Apple and Coconut 2-Bite treats, they are 'legal': green apple, coconut cream concentrate, coconut oil, cinnamon and salt. They are from the 21 Day Sugar Detox via PaleOMG

Hmm. Even though the ingredients alone are ok, "paleofying" sweet treats is not part of a W30.

It sounds like OP is talking more about a homemade larabar type concoction. I can definitely attest to nut-related bloating. It is quite dramatic for me. Soaking the nuts does seem to help. But I made something similar for my kids (with not soaked nuts), ate a bunch of it one day and a little the next and I was definitely bloated and snacky.

[PamH]

Hmm. Even though the ingredients alone are ok, "paleofying" sweet treats is not part of a W30.

It sounds like OP is talking more about a homemade larabar type concoction. I can definitely attest to nut-related bloating. It is quite dramatic for me. Soaking the nuts does seem to help. But I made something similar for my kids (with not soaked nuts), ate a bunch of it one day and a little the next and I was definitely bloated and snacky.

Oh, yes. When I read the ingredients for the treats I agree the dried fruits and nuts aren't the best choice. I know I have using raisins in meals as a crutch. I've tried to eliminate dry fruits for the second half of Whole30 and have stopped eating my (small) bowl of nuts, raisins and coconut for breakfast. Change comes more slowly for some than others.

I need to avoid recreating non-Paleo recipes into Paleo ones. It is the same thought of avoiding "meatloaf" concoctions when you are vegetarian/vegan or gluten free "poptarts" when you are trying to get your Autistic child off of gluten. I think it just makes it easier to fall back into old ways (for me).

I do think recipes like mine and the OP do have a place in post Whole30. I am quickly learning that we should just stick as clean and straightforward during Whole30 to avoid problems.

[Beets]

I agree that there can be a place and time for paleofied treats--or even, if it works and it's worth it, very occasional real treats. (Unless of course they are food without brakes and lead to days of binging, guilt and bad feelings.)

Just wanted to clarify for anyone else reading that paleofied foods are specifically not allowed in a W30. It's one of the "official" rules.

The idea is to swing us towards eating real food so we realize we don't need to rely on crutches of paleofied SWyPO versions of our old foods.

[wysiwyg]

I hope you guys are feeling better and more motivated today. Stick with it! Just a thought, you could be feeling tired because your body may be transitioning from a sugar- to a fat-burner. It's just that you say when you work out harder with cardio that you feel better. The body will always use more glucose/glycogen when working out at greater intensities. At lower intensities your body should utilise most energy from fat. If there is an abundance of glycose in the blood, the body will take the path of least resistance and use that for fuel. Basically the simple sugars. I really think it sounds like you're bodies are in transition. I have recently finished ready Paleo for Athletes and I think it mentions something in there that the process can take anything from 3 to 6 weeks before your body adjusts. Good luck