Tired, Not Hungry and Kinda Over It - Day 24

[kelsola]

This is my first whole 30.  It has been great at times and extremely challenging at times.  I feel that I have only had moments of this so-called "Tiger Blood".  I overall feel good...no more fogginess in my head, my cravings seemed to have settled somewhat.  At the half-way point I was planning everything I wanted to eat after I completed it and by now I don't care and don't really want everything I thought I did then.  I should mention that we have eaten about 70% paleo for the past year so it wasn't a crazy adjustment for me in the kitchen...more so just the restrictions!

 

My intentions for doing this were A) to get healthier, and to hopefully help us conceive.  We have been trying for 2.5 years with no luck due to unexplained fertility.  I have a 12 year old already so we know my body works.  This has been my main motivation, but it's been hard.

 

I am in my last week and I don't know if I just feel over it, but aside from having kick butt workouts, I feel tired throughout my days.  I am eating as much as I can, but I feel my appetite is even less than it was in the beginning?  It happens to be the week before my monthly, and I can't lie, I am surprised that I feel my PMS just as strong as I did before I started this.  (I had convinced myself that it was still fertility meds in my system from 8 months ago).  

 

Don't get me wrong...I am enjoying the experience.  I am learning so much about myself and learning self control for the first time in my life...  It's been neat to recognize the psychological hold food has on me...  But I guess I thought I'd feel better by now?  I am not turned off of the program and can definitely see myself doing it again as well as sharing about it with anyone who wants to hear about it.  But am I crazy or is everyone feeling more amazing than I am right now?  

 

I cook a fabulous meal almost every night.  I am working out 4-5 times a week.  Maybe I am just exhausted from that?  But for the record...I plan to continue my good eating habits once I am done.  With the exception of allowing myself more freedom on the weekends and reintroducing my coffee (that I sweeten)...I don't ever want to go back!

[Tina R]

This is my first whole 30.  It has been great at times and extremely challenging at times.  I feel that I have only had moments of this so-called "Tiger Blood".  I overall feel good...no more fogginess in my head, my cravings seemed to have settled somewhat.  At the half-way point I was planning everything I wanted to eat after I completed it and by now I don't care and don't really want everything I thought I did then.  I should mention that we have eaten about 70% paleo for the past year so it wasn't a crazy adjustment for me in the kitchen...more so just the restrictions!

 

My intentions for doing this were A) to get healthier, and to hopefully help us conceive.  We have been trying for 2.5 years with no luck due to unexplained fertility.  I have a 12 year old already so we know my body works.  This has been my main motivation, but it's been hard.

 

I am in my last week and I don't know if I just feel over it, but aside from having kick butt workouts, I feel tired throughout my days.  I am eating as much as I can, but I feel my appetite is even less than it was in the beginning?  It happens to be the week before my monthly, and I can't lie, I am surprised that I feel my PMS just as strong as I did before I started this.  (I had convinced myself that it was still fertility meds in my system from 8 months ago).  

 

Don't get me wrong...I am enjoying the experience.  I am learning so much about myself and learning self control for the first time in my life...  It's been neat to recognize the psychological hold food has on me...  But I guess I thought I'd feel better by now?  I am not turned off of the program and can definitely see myself doing it again as well as sharing about it with anyone who wants to hear about it.  But am I crazy or is everyone feeling more amazing than I am right now?  

 

I cook a fabulous meal almost every night.  I am working out 4-5 times a week.  Maybe I am just exhausted from that?  But for the record...I plan to continue my good eating habits once I am done.  With the exception of allowing myself more freedom on the weekends and reintroducing my coffee (that I sweeten)...I don't ever want to go back!

I felt the same way during my Whole30. My theory is that if you eat a S.A.D. diet before your whole30 you have greater results because you have more junk removed from your body. If you eat mostly paleo before you may not see any great results. I am actually learning a lot more from my reintroduction. I think I am very sensitive to caffeine, even in chocolate. I noticed if I eat chocolate I only sleep 3 - 4 hours at night if not I sleep 5. I was hoping to improve my sleep on whole30 but that didn't happen. You might want to search the forum because there are a lot of us that didn't have great results. I didn't have any tiger blood and didn't lose any weight. I will keep trying to find the diet that works for me.

[GFChris]

If you like, post 2-3 days worth of your food log, as well as your activity level, water consumption, and hours of sleep. Folks here may be able to offer suggested tweaks.

[kelsola]

Sure....I can go over the past two days...

 

Day 1

Breakfast:  sweet potato hash, one over easy egg, 1 piece bacon (w30 approved)

Snack:  apple and 1 cup green tea

Lunch:  left over chicken curry stir fry & cauliflower rice

Snack: 1/2 cup of berries, handful of almonds

Dinner:  baked salmon, roasted sweet potatoes, steamed broccolini

 

Water:  8-10 glasses

 

Exercise:  1 hour high intensity bootcamp (I have done this for almost 2 years now)

 

Sleep:  8.5 hours

 

Day 2

Breakfast:  1/2 avocado, 1 egg, 1 piece of bacon, 1 tbsp fresh salsa

Snack:  apple and 1/2 cup pistacios, 1 cup green tea

Lunch:  turkey meatballs and spaghetti squash

Snack:  almonds (wasn't feeling overly hungry}

Dinner:  steak fajitas (wrapped in lettuce)

 

Water: 8-9

 

Exercise:  1 hour high intensity bootcamp

 

Sleep: 9 hours

 

I have thankfully been eating like this pretty much the whole time.  I get lots of vegetables with my main meals.  I started incorporating more sweet potatoes in my days the past week as I feel I need it.  I do feel a bit better today than I did yesterday.  More energy for sure.  6...more...days...  Not that I am really going to change much, but it will be nice to have the rules lifted!

[GFChris]

I think you need to eat more. 

 

1 piece of bacon and 1 egg is a bit small on the protein. 1 tbsp salsa is below the 1-3 cups of veggie recommendation per meal. I would recommend at least one carb-dense veg daily. Unclear if each meal is getting enough fat.

 

Are the snacks pre/post workout?  PreWO is protein and fat. PostWO is protein and carb. Fruit is to be limited to have with or immediately after meals. Nuts are a fat source.

 

If you need snacks beyond the pre/postWO, make them a mini meal that includes a protein and fat.

[AmyS]

I agree about eating more.  For instance, eggs are as many as you can hold in your hand - for most people that's three or four.

[kelsola]

My breakfast size varies.  Some days I do have 2 eggs and 2 pieces of bacon and usually a side of avocado or berries or both.  This is just from my past two days.  I do have a large lunch and a large dinner that are both very full of vegetable so I feel that I do get enough for me anyway.  I am only 115 lbs and have never been a giant eater, so already I am consuming more food than I ever have in my life in one day.  My breakfast is post-workout, but I don't get tired until my afternoon.  I will try to eat more mini-meals and see if that helps.  

 

Today I had a veggie frittata, 2 pieces of bacon and berries for breakfast.  About 8 almonds as a snack because I was out and about.  Then I had more frittata for lunch (loaded with vegetables)....only to find I am still feel that way, so I am coming to a conclusion that Tina is bang-on...  I ate mostly paleo for a whole year prior to this, so I for me to expect some miraculous transformation maybe was shooting a bit high.  I had high expectations so next time I will go in with lower ones.  

 

I am also 5 days away from my expected period and I can feel my "shark week" hormones raging inside of me, so that might be the culprit of my tired days and have nothing to do with this experience at all.

 

Thank you for the feedback!

[Robin Strathdee]

It's important to note here that it can take a couple of days of increased intake to see energy levels improve.  I would suggest that you really shoot for that bigger breakfast, even if you feel you "get enough for you".  I think you would be surprised at how much it takes to fuel an active body optimally.