Feeling Worse on Whole30 than before

[ca2003]

Today marks day 20 of my whole 30 and I have felt worse over the past 20 days than the prior 20 days before starting. 

 

I started the whole 30 because even though I felt I have been eating reasonably healthy for the 15 months (real, unprocessed foods - just included off plan items like grains, dairy, etc.) I have had 15lbs creep up on me in the last few months.  I have also always suffered from headaches/migraines and was hopeful that this would help alleviate my headaches. 

 

The 20 days prior to starting the whole 30 I had 5 headaches.  The 20 days since I started my whole 30 I have had 9 headaches - 4 of which took place this week (Mon-Thur) and today the headache was so bad that I had to leave work and come home so I could take my prescription medication and lay down. 

 

I assumed any withdrawal headaches would be gone by this week and I'm feeling discouraged that I have had headaches 4 days in a row - is there anything I could be doing wrong that would cause this?

 

The other thing is that I may have had an off plan balsamic dressing on Tuesday (day 18) - it was only a tiny bit (1/2 oz maybe) as I tried to use as little as possible (olive oil was not available...) and I am not sure if this has messed me up the last couple of days.  Do I need to start over because of this?

 

Other than how I am feeling, I do feel like my clothes are fitting a little bit better but not sure if I have lost any weight yet and I haven't had noticeably clearer skin yet - not sure if it is still too early for that.

[almondjoyless]

Sorry you're feeling so lousy  How have you been eating?  Are you following the meal template or is there a chance you're not getting enough of some important nutrient (or calories)?

[GFChris]

It would help to see 2-3 days of your food log, along with your average daily water intake, nightly hours of sleep, as well as your activity level. Folks here could give you feedback on possible tweaks.

 

On the balsamic dressing, it would only call for a restart if it contained gluten, soy, dairy, carrageenan, MSG or added sulfites.

[ca2003]

I am going to list out my meals for the past couple of days to the best of my memory.  I am trying to follow the meal template but I have a hard time with the fat since I cook veggies and such in large quantities so I'm not sure how much ends up in each serving. I know Thursday was a bad day in terms of snacks and my fruit consumption. 

 

Please note Baked eggs with veggies = 1/8 of a mix of a bunch of cups of veggies and 12 eggs baked in the oven.  Pork and sweet potato hash = 1/8 of 1lb pork and a few cups of cubed sweet potatoes.  All veggies are cooked with fat (coconut oil, lard, etc) and no additional fat is added to anything with the exception of the guac/avocado where mentioned and when I have a baked sweet potato I add ghee.  Salad is dressed with Balsamic and Olive Oil.

 

Wednesday

M1: Baked Eggs with Veggies and a tablespoon or 2 of homemade guac with Pork and Sweet Potato hash

M2: Turkey Breast, Mixed Veggies and baked Sweet potato; kiwi with coconut flakes/butter

M3: Pork Chorizo, roasted Japanese sweet potatoes, kale chips (homemade), salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrots, onion, radishes, tablespoon of raisins, 1/2 green apple)

 

Thursday

M1: Baked Eggs with Veggies and a tablespoon or 2 of homemade guac with Pork and Sweet Potato hash; kiwi with coconut flakes/butter

S1: mixed fruit (I was in a meeting where boxed lunches were brought in and it was not feasible for me to have my packed lunch at that time - I was hungry so I had the fresh fruit that was in my box and I traded a co-worker a cookie for her fruit).

M2: Ground Beef, Mixed Veggies, roasted Japanese sweet potatoes

S2: 1/2 green apple

M3: Coconut Milk chicken soup, kale chips (homemade), roasted Japanese sweet potatoes, salad - same as Wednesday minus the lettuce, apple, and raisins

 

Friday

M1: 2 Hard boiled eggs, Veggies, 1/4 avocado, Pork and Sweet Potato hash; kiwi with coconut flakes/butter

M2: Ground Beef, Mixed Veggies, baked sweet potato, 1/4 avocado

S: I munched on a few carrots with some coconut butter/flakes

M3: Fried Egg with veggies and salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrots, onion, radishes, 1/3 pear) - I made myself 2 fried eggs and I only ate about 1 and half of the veggies and half of my salad and I realized I was full.

 

With regards to water consumption I am not sure of the exact amount.  I drink at least 10-12oz first thing M-F at work with lemon and I finish off at least another 16-20oz throughout the day.  I try to drink on thirst and not just to drink (though since starting the whole 30 I have stuck to 2 or less servings of fruit most days and prior to starting whole 30 I ate a lot of fruit throughout the day.)

 

My sleep isn't great - Sunday - Thursday it is a good night if I get 7 hours - I am trying to aim for 7.5-8 hours but it is hard.  My sleep has not changed significantly since starting the whole 30.

 

I am not exercising as much as I would like - I used to do 30 minutes on the treadmill 3 times a week and 40 minutes on a stationary bike 3 times a week but I have been slacking the last couple of weeks (partly due to having sold a treadmill and my husband has not gotten the new one put together yet).  This week I haven't exercised at all because I felt so crappy M-Thurs.  Last week I missed exercising because I was out after work 3 nights.

[GFChris]

What you're eating for meals looks good. I would just confirm that the portion sizes are at least 1-2 palms of protein, 1-3 cups of veggies and the appropriate amount of compliant fat per meal, per the recommended meal template. Are your meals satiating you for 4-5 hours? If not, play with your portion sizes until you get to that point.

 

On the snacks, instead of fruit, have a mini-meal that includes a protein and fat  Save your 1-2 daily servings of fruit to have with or immediately after meals only. A fruit serving size is a whole piece of fresh fruit the size of your fist.

I feel your big opportunities for improvement are more sleep and more water.  

 

• Aiming for 7.5 - 8 hours of sleep nightly is great. Shut off all screens at least an hour before bed, make sure your room is dark, quiet and comfortably cool.

 

• On the water, consume at least half your body weight in ounces, daily. Drinking 32 oz would only be sufficient if you were 64 pounds.  I'm guessing you weigh at least twice that, so definitely up your water consumption.

[ca2003]

Thank you for your help.  I've felt better the past week and have made sleep a priority making sure I get a minimum of 7 hours.  I'm doing my best to drink more water as well.