Jump to content

Struggling. :(


Kerith

Recommended Posts

I need some suggestions.   I'm struggling hardcore.  I'm on night shift as a nurse.... and while that always makes me nauseous anyway, having salad and meat at 2am makes me seriously gag.  I am on the fence about meat in general - never been a huge meat eater - does anyone have suggestions?  I've been feeling light headed and dizzy at work, which is definitely not a great combo when dealing with sick patients.

 

I've been using Nom Nom Paleo, but since I've been eating like crap for 30 years, none of this food tastes "amazing" to me... Help! :( 

 

Link to comment

I wonder if you're eating enough? Can you post your food log for the past 2-3 days, so folks can give you more specific feedback? 

 

Other protein options include salmon, sardines and chicken.

 

Are you staying sufficiently hydrated? Aim for drinking water in half your body weight in ounces, daily.

Link to comment

Thanks for your reply :)  I'm probably not eating enough.

 

Day 1:

Wake up: Two scrambled eggs and a green smoothie (avocado, spinach, kale, cucumber, and mango) - (I know they don't recommend it, but I only put one serving of fruit in it and don't eat any more fruit throughout the day)

Lunch: Spicy tuna cakes with salad and green peppers
Dinner: Same

 

Day 2:

Breakfast: Same as above

Lunch: Guacamole salmon bowls with salad

Dinner: Salad and salmon

 

Day 3:

Breakfast: Same as above

Lunch:  Curried ground beef with cabbage and salad.

Dinner: Nothing at normal time because my pt was having a heart attack... So I had two eggs when I got home from work.

 

Drinking a TON of water.  I get alkaline water, and I'm nearly finished with the 5 gallon jug since Wednesday. 

 

I think I need to try chicken.  I liked that when I was eating more "unhealthy" - I'm just struggling with getting the spices right, so I've found myself only wanting to eat eggs.

Link to comment

Working nights is hard for both eating and sleeping. My husband does graveyard and eats at the weirdest times. He also has a hard time figuring out how to eat at night, at work, and sleep during the day.

I have been trying lots of new meats and veggies with this program and trying to be really openminded to the new tastes. But there have been some hits and misses. I just keep trying.

Link to comment

You're right, smoothies are discouraged on a Whole30. The idea is to chew you food, rather than drink it, as it's more satiating.

 

Are you open to trying eating 1-2 cups of vegetables instead of drinking them?

 

Also, I don't know if this would help, but maybe try mixing in some cooked vegetables? Looks like all the veggies in your log are raw.

 

If you're having a palm-size of protein at your meals, try upping to 1.5 or 2 palm sizes.

Link to comment

Sheba - Yes, we do eat at odd times.  :)  And sadly "odd" times usually makes me crave bad things.  Bah!!!  I'll keep trying new stuff.

 

Chris - I can try upping the portion of meat... that's usually when I'm getting to the nauseous feeling, as meat is definitely not my favorite thing in the world for a variety of reasons.  I'll work on incorporating cooked veggies and see if that helps.  I've done a 180 on my diet in the last few months after having a major binge period when my significant other passed from cancer... so getting over my sugar dragon, and emotional eating is an uphill battle...  Thanks so much for the suggestions.

Link to comment

Also trying some ground meat might go over a little better with you. I make a really easy caveman slaw that I make for lunch and eat it all week. If feels like a salad but has a good amount of ground grass fed beef and fat in it.

I shred red and green cabbage.

Add cilantro, green onions, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander a little red vinegar and olive oil. Sometimes I add shredded carrot.

I brown 3 lbs of ground gras fed beef with a diced onion and salt and pepper.

I make 5 or 6 portions of meat and 5 or 6 portions of slaw. When I get ready for lunch I nuke the meat and toss it with its fat over the slaw. It is super delicious.

Sorry about the lack of measurements.

Link to comment

So more sweet potatoes, yams, and such? I do throw in avocado and use ghee with cooking.

Yup! And root vegies...carrot, beetroot, parsnip etc

You only mentioned avo occasionally - you need fat at every meal. Unless you drown your cooking in ghee then tip all the fat on to your plate, cooking fat is probably minimal!

Link to comment

I worked 12H hight shifts the 1st time i did a Whole30 and here's what I found...

The guidelines for the W30 say to eat 3 meals with protein, veggies and fat and avoid snacking. When I was working I would make a lot of crock pot meals that incorporated my meat, veggies and fats in to one easily re-heatable package (i.e Well Fed's chocolate chili). I would also pack WAY more food than I thought I needed. Hard boiled eggs and small containers of unsweetened apple sauce were my friends! Mashed cauliflower and ground turkey worked well for me. Mashed sweet potato and any kind of meat. Tuna salad made with home made mayo with raw veggies. Compliant jerky. Egg/veggie 'muffins'. I always had lots of options because I just never knew what I would have a hankering for at 4am. if I had 4 or 5 different options I could usually find something that hit the spot. It gets very difficult when you're surrounded by junk and your tired and hungry and may not even have time to heat something up (right!?!)...if it's 5am and you plow through a bag of baby carrots your still better off than if you dive head first in to the oreos sitting on the table in the break room!

 

And most importantly...sleep!!

Link to comment

In addition to adding more starchy veggies I might try adding another egg to your breakfast, and cook those eggs in fat. Personally, I love eggs scrambed in a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil - the eggs soak it up well. Yum.

Link to comment

Thank you so much everyone. :)

 

Anita - Great suggestions!!! I feel like I need to bring a wheelbarrow into work with all the food and my alkaline water (San Diego water is disgustinggggggg, tastes like water with kitten hair on top!). I feel like I hit my Day 10-11 on the timeline during day 5-6.... Now I'm on day 7 and while I've slept a ton, I'm feeling better!

 

Tray - Great suggestion as well to get a little more fat in my belly.   I also just discovered that my favorite guac - wholly guacamole spicy blend is compliant, I nearly cried.  Good lord!

Link to comment

'Yeah - I forgot to mention that I also brought 3-4.5L of water with me (still do, even on days!) - my co-workers think I'm insane but our nephrologist applauds my efforts!  :D On nights I brought way more food than I do now..partly because it was my 1st W30 and partly because I just never know how I was going to feel in that 2a-4a time frame - that was my difficult time. If my patients were stable then most of my work was done and I hadn't begun to close out my stuff to get ready for shift change..that's when the junk foods from the break room would be audibly calling me!! I did find that if I kept it to 'mini-meals' I really did feel better than if I just munched on carrots or almonds..the well rounded snack was more satisfying and gave me a better boost than caffeine or sugar - this took about 18 days to happen - but it did happen. You might also find that your "W30 timeline" is a bit skewed because of the metabolic effect of working nights. Hang in there!! It gets easier, you feel better and you'll eventually figure out what works best for you.

Link to comment

Thanks so much Anita!  Very good advice.  I've been ignoring nuts, partially because I'm afraid I will overindulge, but today I'm feeling like I've got a handle on it overall (for today, who knows tomorrow!).. I had some carrots with breakfast this morning and it's crazy how much sweeter they taste to me than before.

 

Here's to day 8!

Link to comment

I don't know if you have the recipe book well fed, but if you don't you may want to look into it. She discusses a really good plan on making snacks for the whole week, and of course I'm lending my book out right now, so I don't quite remember what she said but I think she took bags and put in a protein (chicken, jerky, etc), fat (olives, or nuts), and some raw/steamed veggies. You may need to have some healthy snacks on hand for yourself. 

Link to comment

Sounds great! I think I may be coming out of the "slump" - I've been feeling a lot better these last two days.  I've incorporated some nuts, but not a lot (I could overindulge on these probably), more avocado and fats, carrots, etc.  Workouts have been great.  I go back to work tomorrow night so that will put things to the test a bit more!

 

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone, this community is very helpful.  :)

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

I'm currently on 12hour night shifts and nearly done with my Whole 30. I normally have no issues with eating meat, but for a while I was nauseated at the THOUGHT of eating a slab of meat in the middle of the night. I eventually got over it once my body got used to being up all night (I didn't start nights until a week into Whole 30). However, I think I just go through phases where certain meat makes me want to die, especially chicken. When I get that way I make soups and chilis that “hide†the chunks of meat, or dice it up really tiny into my salad. Other times I'll just use eggs instead of meat.

 

Glad I'm not the only one trying to figure this out on nights!

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...