Day 24- Cravings!!! Bummed...

[cewdressage]

Alright, so first of all, I do really appreciate this Whole30 and I am really learning a lot from it. My runs and their subsequent recoveries haven't gotten way better. I realize that nuts make my stomach unhappy. Except for two breakdowns, I have stayed away from almond butter, which I used to eat in mass quantities (sometimes late at night... with chocolate chips... bad). I haven't had a drink. I HAVE NOT HAD A GLASS OF WINE IN TWENTY-FOUR DAYS!!!!! ... just saying... I've been fighting my after dinner cravings for sweets and alcohol with a simple cup of tea, and completely loving it. Every once in a while though, I do give in and nosh on some fruit.

 

But despite all this, I'm feeling a little bummed because its seems my cravings are even worse than they used to be.

 

I gave up grains (with a few exceptions on occasion) about 8 months ago, and I've never really missed them that much. Until now. All of sudden all I can think about it bagels. And pizza. And pasta. Mainly bagels (blueberry, with cream cheese). I'm not even sure when the last time I even had a bagel was, yet, it's taking over my mind!

I find myself thinking about making all sorts of paleo desserts too, which I neeeeever did before. 

 

All in all, I'm craving a ton of stuff I haven't eaten or thought about in a long time pre-W30! Has this happened to anyone else? Am I doing something wrong?

 

I'm 24 days in and it seems cravings are worse than ever. I am terrified that when day 31 hits I'm going to go nuts and just starting eating all this crazy stuff I'm craving... things that haven't been a part of my diet in a long long time!

[Physibeth]

Can you post a few days of your food log including where your runs fall in relationship to your meals? Everything you are describing makes it sound to me like you are not eating enough and probably not getting enough starchy vegetables. 

[cewdressage]

Sure... 

 

Thursday-

M1: 3 fried eggs, 1 1/2 cups steamed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)

 

Ran 4.5 miles

 

Post-WO: hardboiled egg

 

M2 (about 1 1/2 hours post-WO):

1/3 of a crustless quiche (made w/ 7 eggs, ground beef, coconut milk, and bell peppers). 

one apple

just wasn't hungry...

 

M3:

2 1/2 cod fillets (4 oz each), lightly coated in coconut flour/coconut flake mix and pan-fried in coconut oil

1 1/2 cups steamed veggies drizzled in olive oil

 

Friday

M1:

1/3 of the crustless quiche from day before, plus 1-2 cups steamed veggies drizzled in olive oil

2 handfuls of almonds

 

M2:

1 chicken breast and 1-2 cups veggies stir-fryed in olive oil

 

Did a short weight-lifting session.

 

M3:

salad topped with 4-5 oz ground beef, chopped carrots, peppers, and compliant salsa

handful of grapes

 

 

Saturday:

1 cod fillet (leftovers)

1 fried egg

1-2 cups steamed veggies drizzled in olive oil

 

Ran 8 miles, took 2 tiny nibbles of a date mid-run

 

Post-WO: 2 hardboiled eggs, 1 small to medium-sized sweet potato slathered in coconut oil

 

M2:

1 1/2 cups chicken salad (made w/ mayo, grapes, and celery) in lettuce wraps

 

1 hour later realized I didn't really have any veggies with lunch, so had 1-2 cups steamed veggies drizzled in olive oil

 

M3:

1 chicken breast

1 1/2 cups roasted cauliflower

1 cup roasted carrots

 

Still a little hungry later, had an apple.

 

 

Have a hard time with pre-WO meals and my stomach, so I don't usually do those. 

Most of my veggies have been coming from a giant bag of mixed cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots in my freezer.

 

I try to have a sweet potato 3-4x a week. 

 

I also have a horse in training that I ride every day... I'm pretty active while working with him, we aren't just walking along, but I'm not sure if its enough to count towards real exercise!

 

I feel like sometimes I'm missing out on fat, but I'm not sure. Avacados were a no go this week at the grocery ($2 a piece and mostly bad!), and I'm not totally sure if the oil I cook with and drizzle on my veggies is enough.

[Physibeth]

Don't worry about the pre-workout meal unless you are working out first thing in the morning. In that case I would have a hard boiled egg just to tell your body that you have broken your fast and need it to start burning energy now.

 

At the level of activity you are describing you should eat at least a whole sweet potato (or other equivalent starchy vegetable) a day. Your post workout meals should have little to no fat and a starchy vegetable so save the yoke for another meal if you want to use eggs post workout.

 

Cooking fat isn't really enough generally speaking. Have you tried making your own mayo? It is usually my go to added fat. I also use coconut butter on things like acorn squash and sweet potato.

[GlennR]

Also, consider that aside from any tweaks you may need to make, some people just hit a wall around the third week on the homestretch. Some experience fatigue or nausea, and some suddenly lose all appetite. The latter happened to me; after weeks of enthusiastically vacuuming my food, suddenly I was having to force it in. It was explained to me that the body and mind were trying to put the brakes on the changes taking place and convince you to go back to the old, unhealthy ways. If this is the case, it typically goes away after a couple of days.

[cewdressage]

Thanks! I will work on adjusting my post-WO meal and will try to eat more starchy carbs every day!

Both of what y'all are saying makes perfect sense and seems to apply...

 

I've just had this "I'm so over it" mindset and was tired of eating the same thing. Just feeling a bit down in general. I'm feeling a lot better mentally about it all today though! It's amazing how emotions play such a role in the food we eat, or the food we want to eat...

 

I just made homemade mayo for some chicken salad for the first time, and it was great! So easy too. I'm really looking forward to using it to make all sorts of dressings etc... That will certainly help the food boredom!

 

I also calculated my carb intake for a few a days (just to see...) and sometimes it was around 75g a day. I know from past experience after initially cutting out grains, that my body does NOT enjoy going that low, especially when I'm running. I used to eat a ton of fruit and would get carbs that way, so I suppose now that I've been trying to eat less fruit, I haven't made up for it with veggies.