Day 14 - Loss of appetite and feeling blah

[Elliottsmama]

I am on day 14. No cheats. Rarely needed to snack. I was feeling like I had more energy, but now I feel tired and no appetite. Well, I'll get hungry, but when I go to eat, I can't finish the meal. It loses its appeal and I don't feel as hungry. Then I get hungry early and need to snack. This is just the last 2-3 days.

Is this common? I'll just push through as I'm committed to doing the whole 30 days, but I'm hoping this goes away soon.

[Tom Denham]

I'm sorry you are feeling bad. Losing your appetite and feeling blah is not a common experience. Is your Whole30 menu very different from how you were eating before?

[Elliottsmama]

I was paleo before starting Whole30 so the main difference for me is no dairy and no sugar (i.e. honey, etc). I am also eating less fruit. I was talking to a friend of mine and she thought maybe my carbs were too low. So I told her my typical menu and she thought it was the carbs. I chase around my 21 mos old son everyday and I'm nursing about 6-7 times a day. Perhaps I need a bit more. I haven't been having much fruit at all and only like 1 sweet potato a day, but not even everyday. My basal temperatures have plummeted. I take meds for thyroid, but they have been stable. They have really dropped since I started Whole30, or very shorty after. I was feeling more energetic than I should have been given my lack of sleep (illness related), but now I'm sleeping better and feel more tired than I should be. I'll try adding more starchy veggies and be less stingy with the fruit and see if that helps. I tested the theory slightly by adding some cherries and coconut milk to my lunch. Not ideal since it was an afterthought and dessert like, but I wasn't treating it as that. I felt much better after. I still don't feel great, but it was better. I've done Atkins before and didn't feel like this or have low temps and that was lower carb...although I wasn't nursing then. What do you think?

[Tom Denham]

Bumping your carbs up is a good place to start. Many people eat low carb when they do a Whole30 because carbs take a little more work when you aren't getting them from starchy veggies and fruit. Nursing is a lot like training every day or even twice a day - a real demand on energy - so I'm thinking you need energy food.

[Elliottsmama]

Thanks. That's a good point about nursing. I guess I had it in my head that I was fine doing Atkins (lower carb than now), but I wasn't nursing then. I'll be less stingy with the fruit and try to include a starchy carb at least twice a day and see if that helps. Thanks again.