Whole30 Day 6 - Nothing Significantly Better

[-aliwonderland-]

I started my first Whole30 on January 8th and I don't understand why I'm not feeling any positive changes yet...  (I'm a woman in my early 30s, and I admit I had a pretty terrible carb-based eating pattern before trying this.)

 

Negative changes have included: urinary frequency (which is interfering with sleep), nightmares (including weird food dreams, but also not-food-related), unhappy bowels, acne, mild back pain flare, moodiness due to cravings, fatigue / decreased exercise tolerance (even with increased sleep - sleeping 10 hours a night!).  I am so frustrated with these negative changes that I even weighed myself (although I know that is not allowed) and there was no positive change to report there.

 

My day 5 email told me to go the Forum and: "tell us one thing that is significantly better now than it was just five short days ago" - and there is not a single thing!

 

I'm needing some encouragement from experienced Whole30-ers.  I have heard that the urinary frequency can be a side effect of ketosis - but it sure is annoying.  When am I allowed to give up if I'm still not experiencing any positive changes?

[GFChris]

Remember that it's a 30 day program for a reason.  You're 1/5 of the way there, so hang in there.

Have you seen the Whole30 timeline?  That might give you an idea of what to expect: http://whole30.com/2013/08/revised-timeline/

Also, consider posting 2-3 days worth of your food log, including any exercise you've been doing. Foiks here can give you suggestions on tweaks that could help improve things.

[Alliath]

Hello Ali, this is Ali!

I started my Whole 30 on Jan 1st, and there was definitely nothing more awesome by day 6 except that mentally - I was proud of myself for making better choices. However, myself and several others in my "start group" were emotional wrecks all the way through days 11-12. Now, I am not saying NOTHING was better on those days - just that a lot of times they didn't seem worth it yet. However, the timeline quoted above has been SPOT ON for me, so definitely check it out.

As for support, YOU CAN DO IT. COME ON! I had all those same problems the first week, but yesterday, on day twelve? I FELT AMAZING.

DO THIS WITH ME! ALI SOLIDARITY! ALIDARITY!!!!

[Chati]

 

 

I'm needing some encouragement from experienced Whole30-ers. 

Hi Ali,

I can´t help you as an experienced Whole30 but from what I´ve seen around here I´d say hang on in there too. 

I hope you start to notice positive changes soon and that by day twelve you feel just as Alliath did if not before. 

 

I started just the day before you and I´ve been a bit up and down mood and energy wise but not too bad. I´m starting week two today and I feel like now the challenge has begun.( The euphoria of starting is wearing off.   )

Keep logging in there´s so much help around here and I think maybe posting a few days you´re food log is a great idea, 

 

All the best 

[-aliwonderland-]

Thank you both for your support.

 

Alidarity!  I love it!  I CAN DO IT.

 

So here are a few things that I have been eating....

 

Breakfast: 

http://grokgrub.com/2013/06/10/recipe-sweet-potato-quiche/

made this sweet potato and egg dish and had it for three breakfasts in a row.  delicious, but it means that my breakfast "veggies" are only 3/4 of a sweet potato.  i'm guessing that it will be recommended that I should increase my non-starchy vegetables at breakfast.  but as someone who struggles to eat breakfast at all, getting in a bunch of veggies is a big challenge.

 

Lunch:

several lunches have been this tuna salad:

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2011/02/09/youre-the-top-tuna-salad/

wrapped in butter lettuce (for extra vegetable content!) and with tomato soup on the side

http://paleocomfortfoods.com/recipes/creamy-dairy-free-tomato-soup/

 

Dinners I've been pretty good about eating large quantities of vegetables with a decent serving of meat.  This is more meat and eggs that I am used to eating, by far, so I'm adjusting to that.

 

I have on two nights in the evening had a bowl with a half-banana, small amount of diced frozen mangos and pineapples, and coconut chips.  I am now reading that eating that spaced apart from my meal is probably not allowed/ encouraged, although most days (well, non tuna-salad days, since that does include a 1/2 apple) it is the only fruit I am eating for the day, so fits into the 1-2 serving rule.  I struggle with being very snack-y in the evening, even after eating a dinner that made me feel quite full, to the point where I could not comfortably keep eating.  This is probably in part due to the fact that I am a "night person" - having trouble getting going in the morning in time to eat that breakfast, and this is where it starts to catch up with me.

 

Is there something better to eat at night when the snack need hits?

 

Thanks again for your support and help!!

[Chati]

Hello again Ali,

Good to see you´re ready to keep up the fight.

As I said before I don´t feel equipped to give much advice but I´ll tell you what works for me.

 

Believe it or not I´ve had my homemade veggie soup for breakfast !! lol. Felt like a strange idea and the family think I´m crazy but I actually really enjoyed it. I also make a roasted red pepper omelette sometimes. 

As to evening. I tend to make a pot of chamomile tea nearly straight after I´ve done the dishes and sip at that. ( one of the hardest things for me is keeping off the normal English tea with a dash of milk ). Last night I popped some dried orange skin in with it and if I say so myself it was a D***m good idea. lol. I´ll be doing it again tonight. 

That said I´m not a night person and as I don´t get home till 8pm  I eat late and go to bed not very long after. I eat as soon as I can when I get home which is considered quite early here where I live. LOL Anyway. Not much time for evening snacking at all.

 

I hope you´re having a better day today.  

[Chati]

I´ve just had a look at your quiche and I´ll be giving that a go. ( if I can find the right bacon that is ) 

[GFChris]

Thank you both for your support.

 

Alidarity!  I love it!  I CAN DO IT.

 

So here are a few things that I have been eating....

 

Breakfast: 

http://grokgrub.com/2013/06/10/recipe-sweet-potato-quiche/

made this sweet potato and egg dish and had it for three breakfasts in a row.  delicious, but it means that my breakfast "veggies" are only 3/4 of a sweet potato.  i'm guessing that it will be recommended that I should increase my non-starchy vegetables at breakfast.  but as someone who struggles to eat breakfast at all, getting in a bunch of veggies is a big challenge.

 

Lunch:

several lunches have been this tuna salad:

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2011/02/09/youre-the-top-tuna-salad/

wrapped in butter lettuce (for extra vegetable content!) and with tomato soup on the side

http://paleocomfortfoods.com/recipes/creamy-dairy-free-tomato-soup/

 

Dinners I've been pretty good about eating large quantities of vegetables with a decent serving of meat.  This is more meat and eggs that I am used to eating, by far, so I'm adjusting to that.

 

I have on two nights in the evening had a bowl with a half-banana, small amount of diced frozen mangos and pineapples, and coconut chips.  I am now reading that eating that spaced apart from my meal is probably not allowed/ encouraged, although most days (well, non tuna-salad days, since that does include a 1/2 apple) it is the only fruit I am eating for the day, so fits into the 1-2 serving rule.  I struggle with being very snack-y in the evening, even after eating a dinner that made me feel quite full, to the point where I could not comfortably keep eating.  This is probably in part due to the fact that I am a "night person" - having trouble getting going in the morning in time to eat that breakfast, and this is where it starts to catch up with me.

 

Is there something better to eat at night when the snack need hits?

 

Thanks again for your support and help!!

 

More veggies at breakfast wouldn't hurt, starchy or otherwise. More protein makes sense too - looks like a serving of that quiche contains just over 1 egg. An egg serving is the number of eggs you can hold in one hand: which is at least 2-3 for more people. Maybe add some compliant smoked salmon, prosciutto or chicken on the side, for example?

 

On the 1-2 daily servings of fruit, the idea is to have those with or immediately after a meal - not as a snack. Also a fruit serving is the size of your fist, so keep that in mind.

 

Is the need to snack at night a habit, or are you truly hungry?  Hungry = you could eat steamed fish and broccoli. If it's a habit, do something else non food related: call a friend, knit, go to the gym, etc.  If you are truly hungry, have a snack that is a mini-meal including a protein and fat.

[LaraP]

One of the reasons I am doing Whole 30 is to understand my habits better.  So, the eating at night thing is just that ... a habit.  It sounds like the dessert habit to me, one that I am trying to break in this Whole 30.  Though I have had some coconut cream with berries at the end of my meal a few times ... just making sure it's not every night for me, and that it's WITH my dinner, not an hour later.  

 

You have to decide if you want to break it (could be a really important change for you).  I agree on the tea, nothing like a warm cup of something in my hands to make me feel better.  If you have to snack (decide you don't want to give up the habit), maybe not "dessert" but another small meal ... hard boiled egg or beef jerky (Whole 30 compliant) some nuts and some red pepper or sweet potato.  Or maybe having a piece of fruit at the end of dinner would eliminate the later craving?

 

I have found my real challenge is veggies at breakfast.  At least, weekday breakfast.  I don't mind a big omlette filled with veggies once I have woken up a bit, but in the first hour veggies other than sweet potato (not sure how they call it a veggie because it tastes like candy to me) is about the only think I want ... need to choke down some spinach or tomato with my eggs so far.  Veggie soup hasn't worked for me either, something about those tastes that early just doesn't float my boat yet ... still trying!!

[Chati]

Hi there. 

I was just wondering how you were were doing Aliwonderland ? Any improvement ? I do hope so. 

 

Lara : Yeah. I know what you mean. I surprised myself enjoying my soup the other day. LOL I really miss my morning cup of English tea with some milk but apart from that I´m not doing too bad at the moment. 

[-aliwonderland-]

There is definitely some improvement.  Now I'm on Day 10-11 -- those infamous most-likely-to-quit days.  And I can see where that comes from...  I'm getting tired of the hassle of cooking, and missing being able to easily go out with my friends.

 

Overall, I would say I'm feeling "back to normal".  Had normal exercise tolerance at the gym (I do circuit strength training) for my last session.  Acne is back to baseline not-too-bad (the flare is done).  Toilet habits are closer to normal.  Weird dreams are limited to foods (last night, I dreamed I "forgot I was doing the Whole30" and ate an Almond Roca - which I don't even really like - and came to the forum to ask if that counted as breaking my Whole30!)  I wouldn't say I feel any better than I did before starting the Whole30, physically.  I do think I am probably losing some weight.

 

Mentally, I'm proud of myself for doing the Whole30 - it feels like more of an accomplishment at this point.  But the cravings are absolutely sill there (particularly chocolate and Diet Coke, two of my biggies before I started - drank 12-40oz of Diet Coke per day and had chocolate probably 3x a day, including usually something with a little chocolate at breakfast).  I'm hoping if I keep giving those the 30 days they will go away!  I was looking at pictures of brownies online today.

 

I think the evening snacky business is primarily a habit.  I need to go buy some decaf tea, because I am not historically a big tea drinker but I know I am sensitive to caffeine at night (from my prior Diet Coke days) - but decaf tea is a good idea!  I also agree that having a little fruit at the end of the evening meal might be good "training wheels" to break the ice-cream-with-evening-TV habit.  Some days I'm legitimately a little hungry - usually when I haven't been thrilled with whatever I cooked up for dinner.  Although the fish-and-broccoli thing isn't terribly effective -- broccoli is my LEAST favorite vegetable, and I'd basically have to be starving in the woods for 5 days to be made to eat it  I imagine tasteless baby carrots (no dip) and dry unflavored chicken breast instead.  I think it has the same effect!

 

So thanks everyone for the good ideas and support!  I never expected to be coming on a Forum like this, but I'm really appreciating it!

[Chati]

Hi Alli,

Read back what you´ve wrote and give you´re self a big pat on the back. Well done you on keeping away from that coke and choccy. I reckon you´ll soon start feeling much better I really do. 

I myself am feeling pretty good. I feel slimmer. I go out like a light at night and sleep the night through and I feel my mood is much more even.

I struggled a little today and I´ll have a housefull tomorrow. A family get together which is always focused on eating and drinking. I don´t think I´m going to find it easy but I´m determined to stick with it. 

Yep. I want to go to bed tomorrow feeling proud and sleeping well. I must keep that in mind.

[Alliath]

Hi, Ali! It is Ali again, checking in to see how you are doing!

YOU CAN DO IT.

Tea is really good to help with the snacking, and it's actually good that you hate broccoli for the fish and broccoli test. The point is that steamed fish and broccoli is not very appetizing, so if you are hungry and you picture that steamed fish and broccoli, a lot of times it will actually trick your bored-hungry into giving up. At least it has been that way to me! Baby carrots and dry chicken sounds like a good alternative though.

Cravings suck. I wanted some chewing gum so badly today it was ridiculous, but I didn't do it.

To report: tiger blood didn't hit for me until today, my day 19, so definitely hang in there and give it some time. When it hits, it really is amazing. YOU CAN DO IT, just think to yourself: I didn't suffer through those early days of wicked bloating to mess it all up NOW. I'm awesome, and I'm going to do this!

In addition to Alidarity, I have decided solidality is a good word too. (And it sounds like something they would say in Wonderland, so bonus! I'll be the March Hare. We will get a Mad Hatter and a Dormouse. They will all be named Ali.)

[-aliwonderland-]

I almost lost it / partially lost it today.

 

I was stressed out about having people over (again, so that I can socialize but avoid restaurants) and prepping the food and cleaning the house, and stressed about some work stuff, and felt like I was going to die if I didn't eat a sandwich from my favorite shop with BBQ potato chips.  Or a burger and fries.  With a Diet Coke.  And a brownie.

 

I tried all the other stress management ideas I could come up with.  I even got the "how to deal with stress" email today from my Whole 30 Daily subscription!  But I was still totally losing it.

 

So instead of walking to the burgers-and-local-ice-cream place that is a block away from me and blowing it up, which I was strongly considering, I did a little SWYPO.  I had a mushed banana with unsweetened cocoa powder and an egg and a few walnuts in a cup.  Which I know is SWYPO and not allowed.  But the independent ingredients are allowed.  And that will be a one-time thing.  So I decided since I didn't fall face-first into a bag of potato chips or a pint of ice cream (which I was so close to doing), it was worth it, and I'm not going to start over.  I'm just not going to do it again.  I haven't been eating dates or Larabars or more than 1 serving of fruit a day or otherwise tempting fate with sugar.

 

I'm still okay, right?

 

I'm trying so hard!  Still chugging along.  No Tiger Blood.  Waiting for it!  I need something like that if any of these dietary changes are going to stick.

[Alliath]

I have seen a lot of mods say you don't have to start over from SWYPO (there was a lady who had been doing paleo pancakes), or feeding your sugar dragon with a larabar (which you didn't do, yay), but here is why you don't want to do it again. One of the big points of the program is to force your brain to stop seeing food as comfort. In this case, you were really upset and stressed, and you gave your brain something sweet and chocolatey. Your brain doesn't realize that it wasn't cake; all your brain knows is that it was upset and you gave it chocolate.

So while it is VERY GOOD that you didn't go for the chips and ice cream, and you should be VERY PROUD because you DID make a healthier choice, your brain is still making that chocolate = comfort and reward for a stressy day connection, and that's one of the things Whole 30 is trying to break.

I have suggestions! This has been hard for me too, because I have absolutely had a stressful day and then eaten an entire box of girl scout cookies. I didn't even want cookies, it was just that my brain connected "I am stressed out and upset" with "SAMOAS MAKE THINGS BETTER." So you have to find something that is comforting as well as stress-dealing, so that your brain can start associating comfort with that thing instead of with food.

My suggestions are again with the tea (... I seriously think it is hilarious and awesome that a thread with a poster name based on Alice in Wonderland has a lot of tea talk), because a mug of something hot is really comforting. You can also take some decaf tea like roobois or decaf black and make chai by putting the hot tea in a blender with coconut butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, clove, and any other chai spice you wish (just not sugar).

You can also get a favorite old book or favorite old TV show and read a chapter or watch an episode. My favorite comfort books are the old Laura Ingalls Wilder "Little House" books... there are even big chapters where they make food with no additives or frankenfood, since none of that existed back then! My favorite comfort movies and TV shows are the old cartoons I watched as a kid. I have absolutely no shame about watching the Care Bears movie or My Neighbor Totoro or an episode of Danger Mouse when I'm sad and need comfort.

I bet you will be like me and you will get Tiger Blood around day 19. I am day 20 and it's still awesome. I feel like I've had caffeine even though I haven't had any at all, just my breakfast scramble, guacamole, and kombucha. It is SO GREAT and it is SO WORTH IT. I actually didn't believe it was going to happen for me; I was happy with the results I was getting mentally and they were going to be worth it alone, but when the Tiger Blood hits, it's just ... this is CRAZY.

Your March Hare is SO PROUD OF YOU for hanging in there on the hardest days. I am lucky in that there are no burger or ice cream places near my work or home, I would have to drive way out of my way to get those things, and that REALLY helped me on days 10 and 11. You toughed it out on the hardest days ALL BY YOURSELF and SURROUNDED BY ICE CREAM AND BURGERS, and you are my hero.

[-aliwonderland-]

OK - it's day 18!  Still feeling just okay.  Back to usual, but none of the exceptional energy levels or mood stability that I was hoping for... It's a little hard to stick with it when I'm not noticing any changes.

 

I have been skipping meals occasionally because I am not near convenient Whole30 food and W30 compliant food doesn't sound that good to me anyway.  That is probably not helping my cause - but otherwise I have been very compliant!  No SWYPO (aside from that one day), reading all my labels, etc etc.

 

I'm hoping to get Tiger Blood on Day 19 like Aliath

 

Now, off to have a cup of decaf spice tea (because I would really like to have dessert, but that ain't happenin.)

[GFChris]

OK - it's day 18!  Still feeling just okay.  Back to usual, but none of the exceptional energy levels or mood stability that I was hoping for... It's a little hard to stick with it when I'm not noticing any changes.

 

I have been skipping meals occasionally because I am not near convenient Whole30 food and W30 compliant food doesn't sound that good to me anyway.  That is probably not helping my cause - but otherwise I have been very compliant!  No SWYPO (aside from that one day), reading all my labels, etc etc.

 

I'm hoping to get Tiger Blood on Day 19 like Aliath

 

Now, off to have a cup of decaf spice tea (because I would really like to have dessert, but that ain't happenin.)

 

Oh, really try to avoid skipping meals, especially if you're hungry. You're right, that's not going to help things.

 

Can you have some easy staples on hand, like eggs, canned tuna, salmon or chicken, homemade mayo, olives, avocado, and veggies like carrots or others you like, even frozen? This way, you can easily whip up even a small meal that has all the components of the template.

 

You're over the halfway mark: look to finish strong! Think about all the delicious food you *can* have on a Whole30. Look at the Meal Planning, Cooking and Recipe Sharing parts of the forum to get ideas.

[Alliath]

I hope you get the tiger blood on day 19 too! I haven't had SUPER ENERGY every day since then, but I think that is because I need to eat more sweet potato. Also it's winter, and it's just hard to get up in the dark and go home in the dark. However, I have definitely had my mood stabilize, so I hope that comes for you too! The mental benefits alone have been well worth it for me, the days of TIGER BLOOD are just a bonus.

SO PROUD OF YOU FOR THE SPICE TEA. If it makes you feel better, I have not really wanted dessert BUT my brain has been trying to get me to give up and eat oatmeal and rice for the last three days... and with the oatmeal, what it really wants is dessert. You see, I used to eat oatmeal with protein powder for breakfast... tons of artificial sweeteners. So I AM RIGHT HERE WITH YOU, don't think you are alone.

Definitely don't skip meals, that way leads to madness. I always pack a little cooler to take to work with me - you can get some really cute lunchboxes online so that you don't have to eat out. I have one from laptoplunches.com, and I also bought a lot of bento boxes from amazon. I like My Neighbor Totoro, so I just searched "Totoro Bento." The cans of tuna to have on hand are good too... and you can have some olives for the fat if you don't want to make mayo. Tuna and olives have been one of my "emergency" staples. I keep a few cans in my desk at work.

I would also definitely google for compliant food that looks awesome and that you actually want to eat. Food Boredom is pretty common, and I ran into it the other day... but then I found a bunch of recipes that I want to try that I'll actually end up making after my Whole 30 is over, because I don't have the budget for them all this week! For example, I want to make the Rogan Josh from Well Fed. You should try the chocolate chili from Well Fed - you don't even have to buy the book, the recipe is online. And it makes a HUGE batch, so you would have plenty of leftovers for your emergency meals!

I am really, really impressed with you since it sounds like you have been staying compliant with a lot of eating out (not being near compliant food). That is really really hard; I have mostly stayed compliant by staying at home and not venturing out of my compliance cave. But, that is probably also why nothing sounds good to you... the compliant foods eating out are all stripped-down versions of other food they serve, whereas making your own at home is way more flavorful and delicious. SERIOUSLY TRY THE CHOCOLATE CHILI, IT IS SO GOOD.