Depression during/after Whole30?

[gingerrox]

I just finished my first Whole30 and the physical benefits are obvious. I didn't lose many pounds, but I did lose inches and generally feel 'better' overall, though I didn't feel that bad to begin with, so it's hard to tell what changed, exactly. I just feel like I'm built out of better stuff, if that makes sense.

 

That said, my emotions have been downhill basically since week two. My "Kill All The Things" stage lasted about two weeks, and then turned inward, it seems, and fell into a deep depression -- and this is NOT normal for me! I was tired, irritable and grumpy for a good chunk of the W30. I've had a few crying jags that just won't stop. I feel stressed out all the time. It used to be I'd feel tired-ish but could still function on six hours of sleep. Now if I don't get at least 8 I am a COMPLETE wreck. I used to be able to skip breakfast on occasion, now there's no way I could do that and make it until lunch time. 

 

In other words, I feel like my healthy lifestyle is killing me! 

 

But it's not like I want noncompliant foods at all - I don't crave anything "off-plan." I have re-introed a very small amount of dairy, very slowly, and that doesn't seem to have had much effect. So I don't feel like pizza or a bagel will help matters, but I literally had to call in sick twice since Whole30 because I felt so emotionally terrible. I have NEVER EVER done that before. 

 

I need help; I don't know what to do.

 

 

[kew]

This could be totally unrelated to your W30, since correlation is not causation.  I would talk to your doctor, frankly.  I say this only from personal experience, not from any professional mental health background.  A couple of years ago, I had what felt like an incredibly rapid onset of depression -- within a two week period, I was reduced to sitting on the floor, crying, unable to motivate myself to move or even focus my eyes, feeling that my life was a kind of jail.  Only in retrospect did I see that it had been coming on for months.

[kb0426]

I am curious what your typical meals look like; do you have a food log anywhere?

[Tom Denham]

Some people do very badly on a low carb diet and many people eat few carbs during a Whole30. You might try increasing starchy carbs like sweet potato, beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips, plantains, pumpkin, etc. to see if you don't experience an upturn in mood and more energy.

[kaiser179]

Making a drastic change to the way you eat will have an impact on your hormones which could be having an impact on your emotions ...  Hopefully things will level out if you continue to eat clean.

 

I second Tom's mention of increasing carbs ... I remember seeing a post awhile back where someone mentioned their W30 was awful but the minute they added more carbs they felt so much better.  Everyone is different ... but worth trying those starchy veggies!

 

I hope you feel better.  You are not alone!

[kaiser179]

This was the previous post I was thinking of ... http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/9938-how-whole30-made-me-crazy-and-why/?hl=depression

 

Not identical to your situation but it is another story about needing more carbs.  Maybe try some slow reintroduction of single ingredients to pin point if adding a food back makes you feel better?

[malie]

I have had some similar drastic downward swoops in mood/energy (I'm on Day 18), but have also found that making sure I am eating to satiety at every meal as well as including plenty of starchy veg and fats at every single meal keeps me feeling a lot bouncier! If I don't feel FULL at the end of my meals, I tend to be sad/cranky the rest of the day, it seems like. (Not full like gross-full, just full like I ate enough and feel no hunger around the edges.)

[gingerrox]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I haven't been keeping a food log since my W30 ended last weekend, but it has been a bit more erratic, During W30 I was pretty careful to eat three meals and until I was full - especially a lot of fat at breakfast. However, it's NOT possible for me to cook, eat and clean up a Meal 3 and still allow time before bed without sacrificing sleep -- this was a source of a lot of stress for me, and also led to working out less --  so there were a couple of times I opted for sleep over food.

 

Since it was so exhausting to try to eat 3 meals during W30 I probably am not pushing it so much since, and maybe I am eating less. I feel like I eat TONS of sweet potatoes, usually 1/2 a large one once or twice a day, though now that I say that it doesn't seem like a lot. I didn't want to overdo it because it is so easy to grab a potato, I felt it was pushing green things off my plate.

 

@kaiser I will check out that link to see if anything rings familiar, thanks for that!

 

This morning even the thought of preparing food put me into sobbing convulsions so I managed only to eat a little fruit. Now it's 7:30PM so I guess that could explain why I am not feeling much better.

[gingerrox]

I went back and read that other topic you suggested, @kaiser and WOW it really rang true! I don't know why that didn't show up when I did a search on "depression," but I'm glad you found it!

 

I don't have a history of depression (which is why this has been so unusual and scary) but I have a feeling it is a serotonin issue (I do have depression in my family) so I'll really focus on trying to get more carbs into my life on a regular basis and see if that helps. I am not eager to re-introduce grains so I'll try to push the veggie carbs  - time to get to know plantains!

 

As might be expected, today's black mood was much improved by dinner at a paleo-friendly restaurant ... and a chocolate bar with coconut sugar. Okay, maybe not the BEST choice but it's my first chocolate in over a month, and I'm not sorry.

[sailbades]

Hey gingerrox, you are not alone, I had to leave work just yesterday due to depression and tiredness.  Then earlier today I fell up the stairs and really was in danger of bursting into tears at work.

 

I'm on day 21 of my whole 30.  I'm going to try more starches, but I've been eating sweet potatoes at about the same rate as you.

 

bla.

[kaiser179]

Hey gingerrox, glad to hear that eating more left you feeling a bit better!  Might be worth a quick trip to your doctor for some blood tests to see if it could be something like a vitamin or mineral deficiency.  Hugs!

[Revived]

I had this issue as well and i'm really not sure if more carbs is the answer for me.  I had sweet potato and/or plantain once or twice a day plus fruit and other veg.  I finished my whole30 and completely went nuts eating poorly.  I feel disgusting from the junk I'm eating, but my mood is more stable otherwise.  Gah!!!  I get so frustrated trying to figure this out.  I think I'm going to get back on a whole30 plan but add a white potato before bed as suggested by Potatoes not Prozac and see if that makes a difference.  The thing is, I'm still 50 pounds overweight.  How do I lose weight without having a nervous breakdown?  I know none of this is very helpful to you but it encourages me at least a little bit knowing I'm not the only one and at least we can support each other!