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Last five days I've felt awful. I'm on day 24 and during the W30 I've only felt good during some of the time. It's been a roller coaster of goid and bad. I have had a reduction throughout in my level of strength and this is frustrating. I haven't been to the gym for five days and have had to have time off work this week. Have been to the Dr and it was recommended yesterday that I stop W30. I want to finish the entire 30 days, but if my health is suffering I kind of feel that Whole 30 is not working for me! Any suggestions?

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I am sorry that you are feeling so bad. What is going on with you is a mystery because there is nothing about eating fresh meat and vegetables that should make you have low blood pressure or feel bad with the exception of a little sluggishness as you adjust to coming down from high levels of fast-burning carbs. There are a few things that people sometimes do during a Whole30 that causes trouble. Let me ask where you are with these issues.

1. Sometimes people restrict how much they eat during a Whole30 because they think of it as a diet and not a way of eating. Are you eating enough food/following the meal template guidelines for meals? http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Meal-Planning-Template.pdf

2. Sometimes people restrict themselves from starchy vegetables because they think the Whole30 is a low carb diet. Are you eating starchy veggies like sweet potatoes, parsnips, butternut squash, etc. because these help keep your energy levels high.

3. Sometimes people avoid salt. Not eating adequate salt can mess with your body and we encourage you to salt your food when cooking.

To really troubleshoot your experience, we would need to see a log of at least a few days of what you are eating, portion sizes, etc. And a few more details about your life such as exercise routines, sleep, etc.

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I had to nap a lot during my W30 and didn't feel great really until maybe the last day. But I never felt magical.

I noticed these things particularly made me feel bad: not drinking enough water, waiting too long to eat breakfast or lunch (could never catch up after a late breakfast), not eating enough fat at breakfast. If you have blood sugar issues, eating meals per the template in a timely manner will make a huge difference.

The big one: not getting eight hours of sleep.

A lot of people need extra sleep during this process, and many don't feel great until the last couple days. I was coming from severe sleep deprivation and a leaky gut so I know I have extra work to do.

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Add salt! Seriously. Sea salt. Be liberal.

I had the same thing a few months ago when I was knee-deep in Paleo eating. Eliminating processed foods greatly reduces the amount of salt we eat, and I was never a person to salt my food prior to eating it.

My BP is naturally low. I hover around 90/60, mostly without symptoms, for as long as I can recall. My resting heart rate has gotten as low as 44 in bed (I am a long term cardio person). I just happened to be at the doctor's office for another issue one of the days I wasn't feeling well, and my BP was about 80/50 with heart rate 52 (that was up and walking around). I felt shaky and shocky.

Salt doesn't immediately help, but it didn't take long to make a difference. I also added a little bit of caffeine to my Crio Bru (ground cacao) in the morning. I am sensitive to caffeine, but the little bit does help raise the BP a bit.

Real black licorice can help, too, but it isn't Whole30 due to the wheat and sugar.

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licorice tea is a good option, or the root itself. It's a legume, but the roots are fine in this application. Just check in with your doc before self-medicating. botanicals can be pretty powerful stuff, so you don't want to overdo or risk contraindication with any other meds.

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Do you get leg cramps? Postural hypotension?

I also have low blood pressure and to avoid these side effects, I've found the single most helpful thing was to add sea salt to every meal. I also keep packets of electrolytes (I useEmergency's electromix) on me.

A reduction in strength doesn't sound like its BP related. That has happened to me after following a low calorie diet for too long. If that is the issue, try upping your fat & protein by having bigger portions or adding a meal.

Or you could post a typical food log.

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Thank you all for the advice. I have posted what I eat in previous posts regarding loss of strength and feedback from members and moderators was all positive with portion sizes, fats etc. The only advice that was suggested was to increase from one to two sweet potatoes a day, which I have. I use salt, drink enough water, etc, etc... The dizziness and unsettled feeling from low blood pressure may be related to thyroid issues and this is being checked. I've heard that some people develop thyroid issues eating strict paleo but so many untruths about paleo are out there... I have also posted items in the Ladies section regarding endometriosis and this may be connected to how I'm feeling and not what I'm eating... I've tried eating more red meat, eating more in general and I've followed Whole30 the whole time... it's all a bit of a mystery to me...

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It IS frustrating! I've had symptoms when eating SAD and Paleo. With such low BP to begin with, there isn't much room to go down before you start feeling symptomatic.

I don't know your age, but I think perimenopausal swings in hormones adds a wicked edge to it all for me.

Sorry we couldn't give you that light bulb moment piece of advice.

Stay hydrated for sure.

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Agree with Tom and Pam. Salt is hugely important if you're coming off from eating processed food a month ago.

I've had low bp in the past and felt quite light-headed.

Upping the salt and starches has helped a lot.

I take a good sized pinch of salt every night before bed.

Hope you feel better soon.

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I have followed all of the advice you have given prior to my post, which is why I am confused... My age is 42 and a half ;) It was just the one reading with the Doctor 80/60. I am starting to feel better today. I thank you all for the advice, I sound like a bit of a whinger... I do feel that the changes of eating and with my lifestyle via the W30 have caused a difference in the symptoms I usually have with endometriosis and that this is the reason behind my difficulties on the W30 to date. As I feel a little better today I plan to complete the W30 and hopefully I can start back at the gym on Monday.

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Have they checked your adrenals? If they are underperforming, it can certainly lead to low blood pressure. Poorly functioning adrenals lead to an under-production of cortisol which can really cause problems. If you are exercising, cortisol is the steroid hormone that is released in response to physical stress. If your adrenals aren't producing enough cortisol, exercise could be tough?

I am no doctor. I'm not saying you have something like Addison's Disease, but I believe in Adrenal Fatigue and question how many of us are affected by it? The pituitary is also involved since it produced ACTH which triggers the adrenals to produce cortisol.

When you go post Whole30 and don't see any improvements I would have them dig further. Your pre Whole30 diet containing sugars could just have been masking an underlying problem since perhaps you used the sugars and simple carbs to artificially and temporarily fix the problem. Who knows what endometriosis and possibly perimenopause do to complicate matters???

The female body is so complex. A blessing and a curse. I attached an article for you. It goes way beyond what I am talking about, but might give you some clues? I wonder how much of this is me!

http://www.endfatigu...enal_gland.html

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I never had trouble with feeling weak or light-headed during my W30, but my BP did get quite low. I was at the doctor and the nurse asked if my BP tended to be low. I said yes, around 100/70. She said it was 90/60 or something...I'd never even heard of BP that low! I didn't correlate it with salt, because I had never added salt to food before the W30, but did DURING the W30. I actually worried that I was using too much salt. Now I realize, as someone said above, that I was eating mainly processed foods prior, which had tons of salt already added. That's why I didn't feel the need to add salt! Even by adding salt to whole foods, I am sure I was ingesting much less salt during my W30, which led to my lower BP.

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