No sign of much progress yet

[Sundance]

My sister & I started our Whole30's on July 1st. We've been really strict about it; for me, it's in hope of improving a serious autoimmune disease; for her, chronic tendonitis.

It's Day 14, and neither of us has any increased energy, nor do our clothes feel looser. We're still dealing with some intestinal issues from this new program, too. Other than having some withdrawal symptoms the first few days, I feel the same now as before I started. Despite the fact that I was a major sugar addict, I haven't had any serious cravings up til now, either, although they are starting to increase. The one good piece of news is that my blood sugar has dropped to near normal.

My sister & I are just wondering: when are we going to start feeling better? I'm afraid we're feeling a bit grumpy about the restrictions right now. It would be a whole lot easier sticking to this if we at least had some more energy.

Grumble, grumble, grumble.......

[Colleen Roy]

Your energy should definitely be improving by now. Are you eating enough? It's an elimination eating plan, not a restriction eating plan-so make sure you are eating the recommended amount of healthy protein, fats and vegetables at every meal. If you aren't using any healthy fats it will kill your energy level. Try adding some sweet potatoes, butternut squash, etc.

[kayell]

It looks like you have a lot of health issues that your body has to deal with. You're not going to get over all that at once, and there are likely factors other than food involved too. You've already had a fasting blood glucose drop down to normal. That is terrific! That isn't a sign of "not much progress." It just isn't an instant cure.

It does sound like you are having a lot of problems adjusting to eating this way, and having trouble eating full meals. It may help to post a daily meal log so people can see if anything looks a bit off.

[Sundance]

I'm making sure that every meal has a good balance of protein, vegetables, and fat. But the volume may not be enough. I'm eating as much as I can, but that's usually only about 2-3 cups per meal. Protein is usually 2-3 ounces, vegetables about 1 1/2 cups, and between 1/2-1 T of fat. I make sure each meal includes either a starchy vegetable or a serving of fruit. I'll occasionally eat a serving of fruit between meals. I'm following the autoimmune protocol, which really limits the variety of food that I can eat.

Because of my illness and medications, my appetite is sometimes very poor. It occasionally takes me 1/2 hour to eat 1 small plate of food. But I usually find my meals fairly satisfying, as I don't often get very hungry again for 3-5 hours. But, even my sister, who doesn't have all my problems, has not gotten hungry between meals.

Breakfast: Chicken meat, 1 1/2 cups vegetables stir-fried in coconut oil , a dozen sweet cherries

Lunch: Muscovy duck meat, 3 cups strawberry/spinach salad with avocado oil

Dinner: Pork chop, cooked in coconut oil with onions, cabbage, apples, and winter squash

Snack: nectarine

[Adagio]

Everyone is different. Some, they see/feel results quicker than others. Hang in there.

[monkey]

Not sure if you are a coffee drinker, but for me, as soon as I gave up coffee my energy level increased greatly. No more afternoon slump! It took about 3 days to come out of the coffee fog, but after that I was fine. Also, I noticed that when I eat too much fruit my sugar cravings increase, so I have to limit myself in this area. I hope that you stick with this, it truly is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Good Luck!

[Annika]

I'm in the middle of my second Whole30. My main goals are improvement of chronic tendon/joint pain, better energy levels, and control over cravings. During my first Whole30 eight months ago, I felt very resentful over how restrictive I had to be. I REALLY missed butter. I ended up binging on nuts nearly every afternoon (which turned out to be roasted in peanut oil, d'oh! Read your labels, kids). When my Whole30 was done, I quickly backslid into old habits. One problem was I ended it two days before Thanksgiving, and ate some of everything on Thanksgiving day, so I wasted my reintroduction period.

Testimonials about the Whole30 tend to be pretty effusive. People report elimination of all kinds of troublesome symptoms. Plus there's the tag line: "change your life in 30 days". I was disappointed I didn't see the dramatic results others did, but maybe I wasn't compliant enough, or maybe I'm not very sensitive to dairy or gluten and 80-20 is good enough for me.

Last time I really focused on eliminating foods. This time I am trying to focus on eating enough of the right foods. Tracking nutrition for a few days might be very instructive; when I did I realized that I needed to eat lots more calories and lots more protein. Another day I tracked my food before I ate dinner and realized I had only eaten 14 grams of carbs all day! I'm generally not a fan of counting carbs or calories or anything, but doing it for a few days really helped me.

Looking at your 1-day food record, I don't see much fat. How about some avocado?

[Sundance]

Thanks for the ideas and comments, folks. I'm not a coffee drinker, so that isn't an issue for me. I haven't found eating fruit to increase my sugar cravings. The autoimmune protocol restricts so many food groups, I can't afford to limit any more others than I have to. I have no wish to go into ketosis, so I really need to eat some starchy veggies or fruit several times a day.

All of my cooked vegetables include coconut oil, and my salads include avocado oil. I also have some fatty pieces of grass-fed meat. I've recently bought some avocado fruit to try to add more calories and fat, but they need ripening. Sure wish I could eat some nuts. It's probably a good idea for me to track a couple of days of food just to get a better idea on where I stand nutrition-wise. But I'm more concerned about a lack of volume than the balance of types of food.

My sister & I still plan to stick with it. We just wish we could see more results by now like some other folks do.

[habitualpurpose]

You're right on the cusp of "Tiger Blodd" time. Hang in there--it might take a bit longer to really start to feel results.

From "The Timeline: A Day-By-Day Guide to your Whole30":

Days 16-28: Tiger Blood

Goodbye cravings, hello Tiger Blood! This must be what everyone is talking about! You've hit the downhill slope of your Whole30 and life is beautiful. Your energy is through the roof, you've kicked the cravings, you're experimenting with new, delicious food, and you've finally got the time to notice that your clothes fit better, your workouts are stronger, and you are generally more awesome. There's not much more to say about this phase – go and enjoy it!