on day 28 and very sleepy

[vtknitgirl]

I am on Day 28 and I have noticed that the past week or so i have been really sleepy.  I have been sticking to the plan. I am not sure why this is happening, any thoughts?

[Tom Denham]

Are you getting at least 8 hours of good quality sleep every night? If not, you probably need more time in bed.

[vtknitgirl]

I am getting enough sleep, about 8 to 9 hours a night.  I have been tried durning the day which is not like me.  I have been following the whole 30 closely and haven't gone off plan at all.  any other insight would be great. Thanks

[whitewillow]

I'm only on day 4 but am having the same problem... pre Whole30 I was full of energy. I get 8-9 hours every night as well... So I'm very interested to see if we can figure this out!

[Tom Denham]

One possibility, although I don't think it is a big possibility, is that you are not getting enough starchy carbs in your diet. Many people feel better and more energetic when they eat some carbs. I would guess that if you are not getting enough, you might feel sleepy. How much you need depends upon you, but you might start with trying to eat some sweet potato every day and see if you start feeling more energy.

[Revived]

I had the same problem and I had lots of starchy carbs.  I still dont know the answer.  I know thats not very helpful but you're not alone!

[vtknitgirl]

I will try more starchy carbs and see how it goes.  I am going to continue on for another 15 days at least, still battling with the sugar dragon.  I think I may have eaten too many dates and I am going to cut them out totally for the next 15 days or so I may go another 30 I am not sure yet.  

[jillian]

If I eat lots of protein and then eat a bunch of sugar bombs ... I mean dates ... then I almost immediately need to lie down because I get so tired - I almost feel drugged. Try to fit in some squash or sweet potato with each meal and remove all dried and high glycemic fruit (bananas, pineapple) for a bit. Upping your leafy greens can help, too.

[stanfav]

I was disappointed that there were not more replies to this topic as I am having the same problem.  I am on day 29, and my energy has gotten lower and lower every day since the beginning. I'm getting 8+ hours of sleep a night and eating butternut squash, sweet potatoes at least every other day if not every day.  I have a desk job but workout regularly.  But lately I have had zero energy to do much of anything. I have a very demanding job, and It takes everything in me to get through the day and cook dinner.  Part me is so ready to be done with the Whole 30 because I feel so awful, but part of me wonders if I need to go further on it.  I'm still waiting for that mythical magical day when I'm going to have all this energy and feel better than I ever have before.  I'll be honest, I'm on the verge of just getting to day 30, and being done.

[amberino21]

I was disappointed that there were not more replies to this topic as I am having the same problem.  I am on day 29, and my energy has gotten lower and lower every day since the beginning. I'm getting 8+ hours of sleep a night and eating butternut squash, sweet potatoes at least every other day if not every day.  I have a desk job but workout regularly.  But lately I have had zero energy to do much of anything. I have a very demanding job, and It takes everything in me to get through the day and cook dinner.  Part me is so ready to be done with the Whole 30 because I feel so awful, but part of me wonders if I need to go further on it.  I'm still waiting for that mythical magical day when I'm going to have all this energy and feel better than I ever have before.  I'll be honest, I'm on the verge of just getting to day 30, and being done.

 

 

stanfav, could you write down a few days of food (and schedule/times) - it might help others see what you're doing and potentially give you some good suggestions as to how to improve your situation?

[stanfav]

Sorry for late reply. I've not been online for a few days. I do keep a detailed food diary, so info is below. It's a habit I started years ago, and I have not been able to determine a common denominator.  However, a new bad development is last night after dinner (broiled salmon with coconut almond green beans (Well Fed recipe) and fresh fruit) I started having HORRIBLE stomach pains. This is totally new. No one else at dinner had any issues. The pain has continued into this morning. I am wondering if I need to stop my morning supplements: probiotic, magnesium and digestive enzyme. The last time I experienced this kind of pain it was from taking enzymes on an empty stomach by accident, but I have been very careful to not ever do that anymore.  And yesterday the only time I took the enzyme was in the morning and not at any other meal.

 

I will say even though I am STUFFED when I eat it is not unusual for me to be hungry mid-afternoon. I chose the below days because I know I was VERY sleepy those days, but I actually snacked onemorning which is not very normal.  I did have a metabolism test done 6 or so months ago and registered very high, as in having a high metabolism.

 

Here are some example days:

Day 1 -

630am 2 TBS avocado; 2 TBS coconut milk; spaghetti squash; Brisket; sweet potato; 1 hardboiled egg

1000am 1 hardboiled egg (was hungry) with decaf unsweet hot tea

1145am egg foo yong; cauliflower pilaf; 2 bora bora fireballs (all 3 recipes from Well Fed cookbook); spaghetti squash; 2 TBS avocado

By 1230pm I was ready to fall asleep at my desk and that feeling continued all day

2pm 1 TBS cashew butter; 2 TBS coconut milk

4pm 4-5 olives

630pm Salad of Romaine lettuce, olives, bell pepper, guacamole verde, cilantro with sliced Steak (5-6ounces); bowl of mixed fruit (few slices of a banana, strawberries, apricot) with 1-2 TBS coconut milk on top

 

Day 2 -

6am 1 egg with avocado slices; 1 TBS guacamole, 4 ounces ground beef, 1 cup zucchini soup

8am decaf coffee

915am stomach was growling

12pm coconut flakes and some cashews; tortilla soup with avocado, salad with tomatoes, carrots, olives, grilled asparagus, 1 chicken breast and 1/2 hard boiled egg

By 2pm I was very sleepy

315pm cashews and dried apricots

720pm spaghetti squash, lamb meatballs with marinara

 

I would appreciate any suggestions/comments.

Thanks.

[stanfav]

Posting again hoping to trigger more discussion.

[GFChris]

Sorry for late reply. I've not been online for a few days. I do keep a detailed food diary, so info is below. It's a habit I started years ago, and I have not been able to determine a common denominator.  However, a new bad development is last night after dinner (broiled salmon with coconut almond green beans (Well Fed recipe) and fresh fruit) I started having HORRIBLE stomach pains. This is totally new. No one else at dinner had any issues. The pain has continued into this morning. I am wondering if I need to stop my morning supplements: probiotic, magnesium and digestive enzyme. The last time I experienced this kind of pain it was from taking enzymes on an empty stomach by accident, but I have been very careful to not ever do that anymore.  And yesterday the only time I took the enzyme was in the morning and not at any other meal.

 

I will say even though I am STUFFED when I eat it is not unusual for me to be hungry mid-afternoon. I chose the below days because I know I was VERY sleepy those days, but I actually snacked onemorning which is not very normal.  I did have a metabolism test done 6 or so months ago and registered very high, as in having a high metabolism.

 

Here are some example days:

Day 1 -

630am 2 TBS avocado; 2 TBS coconut milk; spaghetti squash; Brisket; sweet potato; 1 hardboiled egg

1000am 1 hardboiled egg (was hungry) with decaf unsweet hot tea

1145am egg foo yong; cauliflower pilaf; 2 bora bora fireballs (all 3 recipes from Well Fed cookbook); spaghetti squash; 2 TBS avocado

By 1230pm I was ready to fall asleep at my desk and that feeling continued all day

2pm 1 TBS cashew butter; 2 TBS coconut milk

4pm 4-5 olives

630pm Salad of Romaine lettuce, olives, bell pepper, guacamole verde, cilantro with sliced Steak (5-6ounces); bowl of mixed fruit (few slices of a banana, strawberries, apricot) with 1-2 TBS coconut milk on top

 

Day 2 -

6am 1 egg with avocado slices; 1 TBS guacamole, 4 ounces ground beef, 1 cup zucchini soup

8am decaf coffee

915am stomach was growling

12pm coconut flakes and some cashews; tortilla soup with avocado, salad with tomatoes, carrots, olives, grilled asparagus, 1 chicken breast and 1/2 hard boiled egg

By 2pm I was very sleepy

315pm cashews and dried apricots

720pm spaghetti squash, lamb meatballs with marinara

 

I would appreciate any suggestions/comments.

Thanks.

In brief, eat more. 

 

Instead of 1 egg at breakfast, have at least 2. Instead of a tbsps of avocado, have 1/2 or a whole avocado. Shoot for 1-2 cups of vegetables per meal. Snacks should be a mini-meal, including a protein and fat.

 

Do you have a copy of the meal template?

[stanfav]

GFChris, thank you so much for the suggestion, but to be honest I really don't think that is it. For example, I'm not eating just 1 hardboiled egg, with it I'm having several ounces of Brisket, ground beef or other protein. I do have the template, and I have read the It Starts with Food book. I truly feel like I'm following the plan, including the meal template. I eat and feel VERYfull at times making sure I start with adequate protein and still feel so lethargic.  I started transitioning yesterday (started with dairy). I'll definitely be doing the Whole 30 again and hopefully I will have better experience with the lack of energy. Just wish I understood the cause. I stopped my probiotic, magnesium and digestive enzyme and the stomach pains went away as well.

[Melissa Urban]

Stanfav, it's really hard to say what's going on without info about pretty much every area of your life. For example, are you exercising? When, how often, and what kind of exercise? What time are you going to bed, and what time are you waking each day? How's your stress level? When you say "sweet potato" in the morning, is that a whole sweet potato, or just a few spoonfuls?

 

Your not really eating very many carbohydrated. Spaghetti squash is actually very carb-light, and I see practically no carbs in Day 2. If you're exercising (any high-intensity stuff in there?) you're probably blowing through glycogen stores faster than you can refill them.

 

I'm going to give you a very specific prescription. Follow this for 3 days and let me know if things improve. I want you to eat the same amount of protein and fat with each meal, but add a significant amount of carbohydrate. That means an entire sweet potato (a small one, or 1/2 - 3/4 of a large one), two servings of fruit (2 cups of berries, an apple and a banana, etc.), or a mix of carb-dense veggies and fruit. Carb-dense veggies include sweet potato, pumpkin (but you have to eat quite a bit), butternut squash, acorn squash, yuca, taro. Plantains also fall into the carb-dense fruit category (more so than, say, watermelon). I want to see some significant carbs with every meal.

 

In addition, if you're hungry between meals, eat a snack. A snack should include protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Try a hard-boiled egg or two, a handful of macadamia nuts, and a handful of blueberries. 

 

The good news is that if it's a matter of not enough of the right kind of fuel, you'll feel better immediately. If you don't, however, then there's little else we can do to assist without a full consultation, which requires that you give us an awful lot of information.

 

Keep me posted.

Melissa

[stanfav]

Melissa,

Thank you so much for replying. For some reason threads that I select to "follow" keep getting reset such that I no longer get emails when someone has replied, so I am just now seeing this even though you replied over 10 days ago.  To answer a couple of your questions, whenever I eat higher carb-dense veggies I usually have the equivalent of about 3/4c diced. I used to be able to workout a lot (2-4mi running, 30-45min cardio at the gym, 75-90min heated yoga classes twice a week), but then my work schedule became so demanding that during my Whole 30 and still now I'm doing great to get to yoga twice a week and that's it.

 

I think because of that I was hesitant to eat too many carbs because I felt like I wasn't working out enough, but maybe I went too strict.

 

Now I am in that weird period where I'm not Whole30 strict, but hesitant to stray too much now that I understand my body has fat to burn and doesn't need a lot of extra carbs.  In general my energy is a little better. I did a 10 day transition (10 not 14 just because I never missed having legumes, so I didn't see a reason to add them back).  But after the transition, I'm still avoiding HFCS, sodas, artificial sweeteners, grains, legumes and rarely eat any gluten or dairy.

 

I'd like to think that the Whole 30 did a lot of good for my health and body, but I'm honestly not sure.  I did drop a couple of pounds which was nice, but my adult acne did not improve at all, I obviously struggled with fatigue and tiredness, my on-going back issues did not really change, and I have no way of knowing if there was any impact to my PCOS.

 

As I said, I plan to continue to eat Whole30-esque as much as my hectic lifestyle will allow, and I plan to make a lot of effort to do so, and I'll do a true Whole 30 or Whole 60 again just wish I could look at the past couple of months and be able to pinpoint true improvements.

[stanfav]

I thought of something else. I mentioned this is a different thread, but I also experienced painful leg cramps during my Whole 30 which have persisted and still occur at night. I started taking magnesium supplements at night about half-way into the Whole 30 and still take them today.  I finally went to the doctor yesterday, and she ordered blood tests including electrolyte levels and a separate magnesium test. Maybe that will tell me something. 

 

As I mentioned before, in some ways I ended up with other "bad" symptoms (leg cramps, fatigue) instead of "good" experiences out of my Whole 30.  But I do believe it is fundamentally the right way to eat to be healthy.