Lacking energy

[Sramirez]

I have been doing whole30 for the past 16 days. For the 10 days I have progressively felt weaker and my workout performances and declined. I was already at a healthy weight and was really doing this program to see if I have any food sensitivities was I reintroduce foods dairy and peanuts, grains back I into my diet. I really do not think I have lost any weight but I also feel like I am missing something in my diet either I am not taking in enough protein or carbs. Typically, before whole30 I would eat steel cut oatmeal with natural peanut butter and fruit five mornings a week and I would drink a protein shake post-workout five days a week. I crossfit so my workouts can be pretty intense most days. Am I doing something wrong? I am really close to quitting and going back to my old lifestyle in hopes of feeling "normal" again.

[missmary]

It sounds like you probably aren't eating enough, or enough starchy carbs. If you post a few days-worth of food we might be able to help assess.

[EndFam]

Do you have the ISWF book?  Chapter 15 talks a lot about the importance of good fats.  If you have it, check out that chapter!  I know that were were in such a habit of eating lean - it's actually been a challenge to get used to adding fat to our foods!  My husband LOVES avocados and he is good about reaching for one of those to help with lasting energy and also help him get from meal to meal without grazing.  From the book:

 

"... our capacity to store carbohydrate in the liver and muscles is quite limited.  The average person can store only enough glycogen to perform about ninety minutes of high-intensity activity.  But that same person has enough energy stored as body fat to run twenty marathons!  Which illustrates that fat is a much more dense and abundant source of energy int he body than carbohydrate."

 

Just my two cents... I know my energy has varied greatly during the 21 days since we started and I feel like I've just leveled out in the last few days where I find it easy to quickly fall asleep at night and wake up quickly and easily during the day, and not get the afternoon yawns.  Good luck!

[Sramirez]

Thanks for your input. Here is a typical day of eating for me:

Breakfast- 3 eggs scrambled with lots of veggies, onions, tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms and topped with 1/4 to 1/2 avocado and an orange

Snack-a handful of raw almonds and a piece of fruit ( lately it has been a plum or peach)

Lunch- a medium sized mixed greens salad, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and red bell pepper with olive oil and balsamic vinegar topped with about 6 oz. of turkey breast and 1/4to 1/2 an avocado.

Snack - homemade beef jerky

Dinner - grass-fed beef (t-bone steak or hamburger) a sweet potato w/coconut oil, veggies (broccoli, fresh green beans) and a large mix green salad with olive oil and vinegar

Evening snack - banana w/ 1 Tbsp. almond butter

Btw, I am 5'3" female and weight 130

I tend to workout 5 times a week, but this last week I only worked out 3 days because I have had very little energy.

[amberino21]

Is there a reason you're snacking? If its just habit, get rid of it! If you're actually hungry, you may need to increase your portion sizes at your meals - 4 eggs at breakfast, more meat at lunch, more fat (1/2-1 avo, more dressing etc). If you do that and you're still hungry, have a proper mini meal as a "snack" - protein, fat and vegies.

You may just need more food in general - and if you're working out, you need a pre/ postWO. Pre is fat/protein, post is protein and starchy vegies!

[missmary]

As Amberino noted, eliminating your snacks and putting in pre and postWO meals would be a good adjustment. Also consider adding starchy veggies. I don't see any here and depending on how you were eating before, that could account for your drop in energy/performance. Otherwise the meals look pretty good! 

[Fenderbender]

As stated drop the snacks.... Waiting 4-5 hours between meals is what is going to get your leptin levels in order, and those will cause a cascade of other " good " hormones to flow properly. ( really is a fine science as to the whys and how's of w30).

Most importantly eat a pre work snack and an immediate post of lean protein and say sweet potato.... Also eat starchy veg in your next two meals...

Cut out most of the fruit and eat sweet potato,plantains,squashes,beets,carrots,parsnips,etc.... You will see a big difference in how you feel

*** I'm 51 and Crossfit 6 days a week. My box is extreamly competitive ( lots of local/regional competitors) and with the exception of the top tier 5-8 guys that are twenty/thirty something ... I smoke everyone else in strength / times etc... Actually I may have the highest 3 lift combo of anyone there ... I'm fairly new and my Oly lifts are good but need time to get my speed under the bar....blah blah blah

My point is..... I eat w30 95% of the time and if I ate a standard diet there is no way I could preform at anywhere near the levels I do....

[Evalily]

I found I just couldn't run as hard or as fast during the Whole30.  I ended up eating more fat and protein and things eventually got back to 'normal'.  I have now done the wheat reintroduction and was overwhelmed by how nauseous I felt during my run yesterday.  As soon as I got home my digestive system was really not happy.