New to whole 30 - evening exercising

[daveloper80]

I am on day 2 of whole 30 and struggling a bit with exercising at night.

 

Quick background, I am overweight but I cut 10% of my body weight over the last year thanks to an increase in exercise and a larger steps towards more natural foods (and portion control).  I also am being treated for panic disorder so making this leap to whole 30 definitely has triggered some additional anxiety form me.

 

I am training for a mini duathlon on Oct 20th (1.8 run, 10.5 cycle, 1.8 run).  Currently my typical workouts are something like Mon: 35-45 minute run, Tue: 45-60 minutes weight training, Thu:45-60 minutes weight training (usually different exercises than Tue), Sat: Brick (run/bike/run)

 

I do most of my exercise in the evening (running 630p, weights more like 800p).

 

Day 1 went swimmingly until it came time to workout.  I got home, had a small handful of cashews and was on my way.  The run itself felt pretty good but when I got back home it was 730p so I opted to go right for dinner instead of the post workout meal (lettuce wrap tacos - 6oz 90% lean ground beef, guacamole, salsa and a bowl full of steamed vegetables).  Halfway through I felt so sick to my stomach I could barely choke down the rest.

 

Is this something that is common for beginners and will pass?  How do people manage to fit a full dinner, pre-wo and post-wo meal in such a small time span (say between 6 and 10pm).  If I have to sacrifice, where do the cuts come from?

 

Is it recommended to reduce the duration of exercises when first getting started with whole 30?

Also curious about hydration.  in the past I would drink Nuun or skratch or some other low calorie hydration beverage.  I can get by on water for most of my workouts but for the bricks I need a little something more.  I see a mixture of 50% coconut water and water being mentioned and I can try it if people feel it is adequate.

 

Thanks in advance.  For someone like me this is as scary as it is exciting. 

[angekfire]

I don't do much cardio myself, I do primarily resistance training.

 

The book says that for the first week or so of whole30 it is best to reduce intensity of workouts, because if you are coming from a SAD (standard north-american diet), your body relies so heavily on carbs. The shift to healthy fats can see a great decrease in intensity because your body is transitioning its fuel source. 

 

As for feeling ill when eating, I'm not sure. I don't get that myself.

 

Coconut water should be a good solution to the hydration question, as long as it is compliant.

 

I don't usually do the whole pre & post workout meal, personally. My preference I suppose. I usually either eat dinner, then work out 30-ish minutes later, or I work out and try to eat dinner within half an hour. I also do my workouts at night, and like you, I don't want to have to eat 3 "meals/snacks" in a 3 or 4 hour time frame. Just make sure your dinner has adequate calories.

 

I saw great results on my whole30, and after going off of it, I have hit a plateau in terms of weight loss. But, I'm likely going to be either doing another whole30 soon, or something close, but modified based on the results of my first one (which I finished a few months ago)

 

Best of luck, and your body should adjust, but it can take a bit of time. Maybe cut the intensity a bit for the first week

[daveloper80]

Thank you for the response.  On one hand, I am sort of at peak training for this duathlon, on the other hand, this week is already thrown off a bit for me due to the Jewish Holidays so its a good week to ease up on the activity.  I put off last nights workout to tonight and I feel somewhat better prepared to handle it than I did on Monday.

 

I think the plan is going to be to eat dinner, work out about 45 minutes later and then have a suggested Post Workout Meal but keep it very plain.  It is REALLY strange to wrap your head around eating protein and carb rich veggies for "dessert"

[amberino21]

Thank you for the response. On one hand, I am sort of at peak training for this duathlon, on the other hand, this week is already thrown off a bit for me due to the Jewish Holidays so its a good week to ease up on the activity. I put off last nights workout to tonight and I feel somewhat better prepared to handle it than I did on Monday.

I think the plan is going to be to eat dinner, work out about 45 minutes later and then have a suggested Post Workout Meal but keep it very plain. It is REALLY strange to wrap your head around eating protein and carb rich veggies for "dessert"

It is quite normal to feel a bit low in the first couple of weeks, and to struggle with workouts. Don't be discouraged if your performance decreases - most people find their performance increasing after a couple of weeks

I'd second your suggestion of having dinner (higher fat, leave out starchy carbs) before working out on the nights you train late, and fit in your postWO meal afterwards. Ideally it might be better to train earlier, and eat earlier - is that a possibility? I'm only considering what time you may go to bed, and not eating too close to bedtime.

I've never had an issue eating after a workout, so can't make any suggestions there unfortunately! I can't say I've ever had an issue eating

[daveloper80]

Unfortunately eating earlier is not so much of a possibility.  I get home at 6pm and I do most of the cooking.  I usually start my workout at 8 after my kids go to sleep but I think I have come up with a post WO meal I can stomach eating at 9pm.  I am usually up until about 1130 so I think that is a good amount of time before I go to sleep.

 

In the past I have never had an issue eating, after a workout or otherwise!  I think the nausea I felt on monday could have been any number of things (maybe most of all that the meal was just not all that appealing) but now I know not to get discouraged by my workout tonight.

[daveloper80]

had my weights workout last night and following Amberino's reccomendation everything went perfectly.  Just a quick follow up - I don't have the actual book so I don't  have the official "carb curve" but it seems that carrots would be an acceptable post-workout vegetable but its not one of the reccomendations.  The Carbs/gram does seem to be in line with some of the other recommended vegetables though, so are they acceptable?

[amberino21]

Carrots are fine if that's what you want to eat

I have sweet potato because that's my favourite - I also like pumpkin and beetroot

[angekfire]

I sometimes do carrots simply because they are super easy and tasty raw without any preparation.

[daveloper80]

carrots are quick and easy and don't need any assistance.  But actually, on sunday I tried a pouch of Winter Squash Babyfood as part of my Post Workout meal and really didn't mind it! I think its easier to find All Natural, Organic, Non-GMO babyfood than it is to find the actual fruit or vegetable themselves.

Last night (day 9) I had my first Cardio workout where I didn't have any nausea and was able to put down a proper meal.  I didn't have any issues with weight training, just the cardio for some reason.  It almost doesn't make sense to me because it's not like my heart isn't pounding during the weight training.

Seems a little early in the process to give the credit to Whole 30 but maybe it is due or maybe it was the weather (a crisp 60 degrees) but it was one of my best runs ever.  I ran 4 miles which is a PR and felt great afterwards.