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Day 17 - No Tiger Blood - Expectations too high?


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HELP!

 

I should be in the Tiger Blood stage.  I have been 100% Whole30 compliant and still I feel as though my energy is not as "awesome" as everyone describes.  Should I wait a couple of days? What could be wrong?

 

As far as eating I ensure that I have atleast 50-100 grams of carbs a day.  I only eat the "healthy" fats and I get plenty of protein.

 

I will say I just started T25 right before my Tiger Blood stage.  Could that be it? I just would hate to go through this thing and not get that awesome feeling that everyone is bragging about :(

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Congrats on 17 days! You're more than halfway there, and there's so much benefit yet to discover!

 

But honestly, in my experience, you're better off never expecting Tiger Blood. Lots of people never get that "awesome feeling that everyone is bragging about," though they experience all kinds of other beautiful things and shocking transformations that they end up not noticing because they're so focused on the fact that they don't think they're getting what they were promised. This is a terrible shame.

 

Now might be a good time to make a list of all the benefits you've received/achieved so far in your 17 days. It's all a matter of perspective, and nothing shifts one's perspective in the right direction faster than gratitude. That's my experience, anyway.

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I didn't get anything close to tiger blood till near the end of my Whole30. I think part of that was because everyone is different, and part is because I'd been routinely getting 6-6.5 hours of sleep for quite awhile pre-Whole30. That's something I'm still working on, honestly. How much sleep do you usually get?

 

And ditto LadyM's points! Even though I never felt like a huge ball of energy, there are a lot of benefits for me in eating this way (seven months later and I still eat mostly Whole30).

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Are you eating enough? You mentioned carb quantities, which makes me think that you're logging and tracking your food. We'd really rather you don't do that, because people tend to get stuck in the numbers and stop listening to their body and stop eating prematurely just because they're out of calories or something.

Bad habit to fall into. Are you following the meal template?

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Tiger blood is Charlie Sheen's manic abusive phase.  You don't want it.  I hate like hell that Whole30 has taken that repulsive phrase and used it to describe people just feeling better.

 

Do you feel better?  That's what you want to ask yourself.

 

I have no idea what T25 might be, but I agree with Renee Lee that if you're counting grams of carbs, you may not understand exactly what a Whole30 means - you eat a palm-size portion of protein, a thumb-size portion (or more, can be way more if needed) of fat, and fill the rest of your plate with veggies, at a rate of 2-3 cups if you need to measure.  Do that three times a day.  If you work out, eat more, using the pre and post workout suggestions, and adding full or mini meals as well if you're still hungry.

 

I bet if you're working out a lot and measuring your food, you need to eat more and measure less.

 

And forget tiger blood.  Go for actually feeling better.  One Charlie Sheen is enough in the world (I wish the people who write Whole30 would have asked me before they used that phrase but they didn't - but I think I'm right.)

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And forget tiger blood.  Go for actually feeling better.  One Charlie Sheen is enough in the world (I wish the people who write Whole30 would have asked me before they used that phrase but they didn't - but I think I'm right.)

 

I should have thought to ask you first ;)

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You did that?! Is this a thing athletes say and I just don't know because I'm not an athlete?

To our original poster, I hope that you find support and answers to your questions, so you can sail through the remainder of your Whole30 with success.

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I never felt any "tiger blood" type magical burst of energy. What I did feel is steady continuous energy throughout the day. I wake up more easily and earlier on a regular basis, sleep through the night more often, and don't run out of energy or feel like I'm going to crash every afternoon. Everyone's experience is different, but I love mine!

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I never had "tigerblood" either, but I didn't really expect it since 30 days was trying to fix 25 years of bad eating.

 

I feel that the tigerblood expression is a little misleading because if people don't feel like superheroes after a certain amount of time they think they're failing or doing something wrong.  As long as you feel better today than you did before your whole30, you're doing great!

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I'm on Day 20 & don't have one drop of Tiger Blood either. I was worried about not having the boundless energy described on the timeline, but realized I was starting to feel.... calm & content, just being.

 

This is huge for me! Before, W30 I was exhausted & had very low energy... literally, chugging coffee all the time, prying my eyes awake at 3pm to last the rest of the work day, falling asleep on the couch by 7pm. I felt this way for a bit in the beginning of W30, as I was detoxing, but now I'm slowly becoming 'me' again... & 'me' means eventually working past equilibrium & having more energy to exercise & move more!

 

It took months (if not, years) to create these bad habits that zapped my energy, so it'll take some time to come back fully.

 

So, I echo what everyone is saying here: focus on the positive & everything will fall into place when your body is ready for it!  :)

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You did that?! Is this a thing athletes say and I just don't know because I'm not an athlete?

To our original poster, I hope that you find support and answers to your questions, so you can sail through the remainder of your Whole30 with success.

 

 

Yes ma'am. That was me. And no, it's not a thing - I honestly just thought it was funny. And I/we never expected the Timeline to become a thing.  I thought, like the 5 Stages of Food Grief post, it would just be a funny thing.that people could laugh at. What we really intended with that passage (and we might update in version 3.0) is to communicate that life is just plain good at that stage. Whatever that means for you.  Consistent energy,. more energy, even temperament - whatever makes you feel like a rockstar. 

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Yes ma'am. That was me. And no, it's not a thing - I honestly just thought it was funny. And I/we never expected the Timeline to become a thing.  I thought, like the 5 Stages of Food Grief post, it would just be a funny thing.that people could laugh at. What we really intended with that passage (and we might update in version 3.0) is to communicate that life is just plain good at that stage. Whatever that means for you.  Consistent energy,. more energy, even temperament - whatever makes you feel like a rockstar. 

Ah - it was funny!  I apologize - I missed that completely.  Both on the specific phrase and the entire Timeline.  I appreciate the clarification, and I look forward to reading both of these things with my funny bone in working order from now on.  Thanks again for helping me understand.

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The timeline is funny--really funny, and compassionate, too. I referred to that several times when I wondered if I was doing this "right," or was on track or just needed affirmation that yeah, I'd make it through another day and that the changes I am looking for are a long-term investment, not an overnight success. I noticed my moods and energy levels really evening out and I kept thinking "is this Tiger Blood?" The great thing, though, is that whether or not I called it Tiger Blood, out of nowhere I was suddenly ridiculously motivated and started training for a half marathon on Day 16. That is after being a leaden lump for the past year and a half. So call it what you will, but I feel better, I look better, I sleep better, and I am off the couch for good. 

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The timeline is funny--really funny, and compassionate, too. I referred to that several times when I wondered if I was doing this "right," or was on track or just needed affirmation that yeah, I'd make it through another day and that the changes I am looking for are a long-term investment, not an overnight success. I noticed my moods and energy levels really evening out and I kept thinking "is this Tiger Blood?" The great thing, though, is that whether or not I called it Tiger Blood, out of nowhere I was suddenly ridiculously motivated and started training for a half marathon on Day 16. That is after being a leaden lump for the past year and a half. So call it what you will, but I feel better, I look better, I sleep better, and I am off the couch for good. 

Fantastic!!!!!!!!!! :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub:

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  • 7 months later...

I'm on day 16 today and I just want to say how helpful this whole post has been to me.  Thank you everyone!  I am having a very difficult time figuring out how much of what to eat, when, and how to make my body happy.  I had a tears meltdown last night about "what is WRONG with ME?  Why does this work for everyone else, but not for me?"  I was gently reminded that I am detoxing from food that I have eaten my whole life and it has a radical effect on my brain chemistry. So of course this isn't going to be easy. (duh)  My chiropractor also reminded me that everyone's body and brain chemistry are different.  With some people (like his wife) you could change their food radically and they wouldn't even notice!  And then there's us "sensitive" types who go into a complete tailspin because someone took away my gluten-free cereal!  I am being more patient and loving with myself.  This thread really helped. (and I LOVE the Timeline! It is FUNNY!  And not to be take too seriously.) ;)

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Why does this work for everyone else, but not for me?"

 

Glad this thread helped.  I've always thought the bell-ringing of those who experience übermensch-level benefits can have a backlash effect on those for whom the program works less dramatically.

I get that in order to get people to buy in to the W30 concept there needs to be some fairly obvious math, like "extreme methods = extreme results", but, in the real world sometimes "extreme methods = adequate results". Doesn't mean the methods are faulty or not worthwhile, just that 'results vary'. Heck, I could provide venture capital for a start-up and become a millionaire, or I could lose my whole investment.

For some people, the lack of a positive is a negative, rather than being a neutral. See this thread on post-W30 binging for some related thoughts on the subject.

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I'm on day 16 today and I just want to say how helpful this whole post has been to me.  Thank you everyone!  I am having a very difficult time figuring out how much of what to eat, when, and how to make my body happy.  I had a tears meltdown last night about "what is WRONG with ME?  Why does this work for everyone else, but not for me?"  I was gently reminded that I am detoxing from food that I have eaten my whole life and it has a radical effect on my brain chemistry. So of course this isn't going to be easy. (duh)  My chiropractor also reminded me that everyone's body and brain chemistry are different.  With some people (like his wife) you could change their food radically and they wouldn't even notice!  And then there's us "sensitive" types who go into a complete tailspin because someone took away my gluten-free cereal!  I am being more patient and loving with myself.  This thread really helped. (and I LOVE the Timeline! It is FUNNY!  And not to be take too seriously.) ;)

Sunrise, it may take you longer than 30 days.  That's alright, you hang in there.

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Today is day 21 for me.  No tiger blood here, either, but that's ok!  I've made a lot of changes in 3 weeks, many of which probably won't "stick" once my Whole30 is done, and that's ok, too.  If I have one or two (or 5 or 6) better habits that I keep because of Whole30, I can add a few more good habits when I do my next Whole30. ;)  I certainly didn't expect extraordinary changes in 30 days when I have lived a lifetime with food struggles.

 

I know some areas that will need more attention on the next Whole30, such as eating more.  I'll probably never get to the quantities Whole30 recommends, but consistent meals are a challenge for me.  I AM getting better with it, but when tired or moody, I tend to NOT eat (you'd think I'd LOSE weight by doing that, but nope...still overweight LOL).  At least now, I'm not snacking on sugar by heading to protein/fat/veg if I feel the need.

 

I'm still going strong to finish the Whole30 and I KNOW it's helped some things (sleeping, mood, skin)...but it hasn't quite been the amazing thing I'd (secretly) hoped for. ;)  But then, don't we all kind of wish 30 days would always create a transformation?  That's not Whole30's fault...that's just being human, I think.

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