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I wasn't planning to start a log but I have several questions related to my situation. I don't know how often I'll post about what I'm eating but here's today. (And sorry this is so long...)

Morning

-"Veggie" soup (homemade chicken broth with onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and cauliflower), with a tablespoon of coconut oil melted into it - I didn't eat much of the veggies as I didn't feel up to it this morning, but I drank all the broth

-Chai tea with homemade coconut milk

Mid morning I will get hungry and have some almonds

For lunch I plan to have chicken breast with steamed asparagus and steamed carrots

Mid afternoon I will have an apple and/or one salmon cake

Evenings are grazing time. I have a very active and high-needs 18 month old, so I eat what I can when I can, and after she goes to sleep I try to get enough in so that I don't get hungry in the middle of the night. So tonight, at some point I'll probably eat 2-3 mini beef breakfast sausages (homemade), half a sweet potato, macadamia nuts, a bit of the coconut "cream" I skimmed off the top of the milk this morning, and part of an avocado.

I do usually eat right before I go to bed (not a huge meal, but something), which I know is not great but if I don't I will wake up famished.

That's a pretty typical day so far on the w30.

So here's my situation. I suspect I have leaky gut. Autoimmune disorders such as celiac, IBS, eczema and fibromyalgia run in my family. I have never been tested for anything, as my symptoms have never gotten to the point where I wanted to test, but nevertheless. My symptoms are that I've had chronic constipation my whole life (usually not bad enough to cause pain, but I typically go only once every 2-4 days) and my daughter basically came out of the womb refusing to breastfeed and has had numerous problems like eczema and obvious poor digestion. Despite our breastfeeding problems, she has always breastfed and still is, while her solid foods are 90% paleo.

Around day 3 of the w30 I realized I should probably do the full autoimmune protocol. I took out eggs and nightshades (although I did have some well-cooked red pepper yesterday). I realized should also take out nuts but so far I'm having a tough time with that as I want to make sure I get plenty of varied types of fats.

I also started supplementing with 4,000IU Vit D per day, fish oil, and high-quality probiotics.

So here are my questions:

-I had hoped by now (day 6) I'd be at least slightly more regular but I'm actually worse. What could cause this? Higher protein intake? Not enough water and veggies? (And related to that, since starting w30 I feel a bit dehydrated despite drinking more water than I used to - why would w30 necessitate higher water intake?)

-For about the past year, nearly all of my meat and eggs have been grass fed and pastured. 3-4 times a week I eat a small amount of wild caught salmon. So I'm not TOO concerned about my omega3-omega6 ratio but I take the fish oil because it's recommended for the autoimmune protocol. I'm wondering if I might not need the fish oil. Should I stop taking it altogether? If not yet, how will I know when I can stop taking it?

-I've heard that meals should be spaced by 4-5 hours. I cannot comprehend this. First, I've always been a grazer; second, when the cravings hit, I need to satiate myself with something; third, I actually do feel hungry more often than before w30. Plus I don't want to lose weight (I'm 5'3" and 110lbs) and I'm still breastfeeding so I need some extra calories to maintain my weight. So, are there cases where it's okay to eat more often? Or can I expect to get used to eating paleo and be able to eat bigger meals spaced out?

Thanks for reading all that, and thanks for any input!

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Chiaya - Day 6 is too early to expect meaningful recovery if you have had regularity issues your entire life. Your body is still adjusting to the changes in your diet and some things may get worse before they get better.

Keep drinking plenty of water, but your feelings may be more about diet change than inadequate water intake. The Whole30 does not make more water necessary, but changing your diet may make you feel different, especially during the adjustment phase.

With a really good, consistent diet, you do not need to take supplemental fish oil. I stopped taking fish oil months ago when I realized how much omega3's I got through my food.

The reason to eat every 4-5 hours is to coordinate with the natural hormonal cycles of your body. Your body has a hormonal response to your eating and it takes 4-5 hours for the various hormones involved to complete their work. When you eat more often, the various hormones may step on each other and interfere with the overall process. The result is not awful, but it is not ideal. Your body will function best if you cooperate and space meals 4-5 hours apart. A biochemist might laugh at my simple explanation, but this is my takeaway from reading the sciencey stuff on the topic.

Your grazing leads to your getting hungry frequently. If you eat big meals with plenty of fat and protein in each, you won't feel hungry for hours. I used to eat 6 meals per day, but when I began to learn more about how the body works, I started eating bigger portions and soon got down to 3 meals per day (most days). As a busy mother with a long day, you might need to eat 4 times per day, but I bet you can get past the grazing.

It doesn't sound like you are eating a lot of vegetables. I understand that may be uncomfortable with your regularity issues, but eating well-cooked vegetables should ultimately help. And you need the nutrients from your veggies.

You mentioned doing the autoimmune protocol. It is critical that you follow the protocol perfectly to learn anything from it. If you are removing nightshades, you can't eat even well-cooked red pepper. The smallest amount of problem foods can be a problem and you have to really eliminate a food group to learn what it is doing to your body.

Keep us posted as your Whole30 experience develops!

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Thank you for the insights, Tom. That makes sense with the spacing of meals, so I'll try to start that today. I guess my grazing in the evening explains why I'm always hungry in the middle of the night!

And about the veggies, I'll try to get more for sure, and well-cooked. I've never really been a fan of raw salads, and now that I'm on the w30 (a bit more aware of my digestion) and we've had a recent surge of cold weather here in the Midwest, I just can't get myself to eat a bunch of raw veggies.

I think I will go back to the regular w30 instead of the autoimmune protocol, just because I feel like I need to first get in the habit of eating this way. Maybe I'll try the autoimmune protocol after the w30.

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So now I'm on day 10. Yay! My cravings have subsided and I can resist the temptations, even the bread my husband bought (groan) for our sister in law, who is watching our daughter this week.

Last week Thu-Fri, I was able to space my meals out 4-5 hours and it worked great, and I felt great.

But my meal planning skills got away from me this weekend. I always thought it was easier to stick to the Whole 30 on the weekends when I'm away from the boredom of the office and easily accessible junk food. But now that my cravings have subsided, wow, the weekends are hard, especially with kids! I could barely get a bite in, let alone a full meal. Everything I ate was Whole 30 compliant but it wasn't balanced by any means. Mostly fruit and some protein. Very few veggies. I forgot to take any of my vitamins/suplements. I didn't drink enough water.

And before the Whole 30 I would never have believed that fruit and meat could leave me feeling not so great... but it has! My moods yesterday and today have been off, and today I'm exhuasted despite getting better sleep the past few days.

So today, starting "fresh" again.

Breakfast was

-Veggie soup made with chicken bone broth, coc oil melted in

-3 homemade turkey sausage patties

-2 "hash browns" (made with sweet potato and zucchini)

-A bit of coconut milk

-Mid morning I'm drinking half a bottle of kombucha

Lunch will be

-3 salmon cakes

-Jicama & carrots with guac

Dinner will be

-Grilled chicken breast

-Steamed butternut squash

Light dinner/snack (7-8pm) will be

-Probably a salad from Whole Foods (have a 7pm meeting there tonight)

Hopefully I'll be able to keep up the good meal planning for the rest of the week. On Friday we have a "staff appreciation" lunch at an Italian place known for deep dish pizzas... I'm thinking I'll need to call ahead to the restaurant at an off-time to find out if they use any veg oils, etc. on their salad meats or chicken dishes. Keeping my hands off the Italian bread may be a challenge.

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