Day 22--constipation, bloating and lots of peeing!

[hbarmstrong]

Hi all!

 

I've made it to Day 22 and am feeling pretty great overall! There are a few things that have crept up in the past two weeks that I was not expecting though.

 

1. I've had pretty excessive urination (not entirely unusual for me) but now it feels as though my body is not even absorbing the water. I'm assuming this is linked to less salt consumption but I'm finding it hard to increase my salt intake.

 

2. I've been somewhat constipated for the last 2 weeks. I started my period about halfway through that so that may be playing a part, but it might also be attributed to the dehydration?

 

3. I've been experiencing some bloating in my lower stomach (also possibly attributed to my period). I wasn't having any of these issues during the first week or so of the cleanse so I wanted to make sure I'm not doing something wrong.

 

Here is a sample meal plan:

 

Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs, a piece of fruit, half an avocado and coffee

 

Lunch: usually a chili or curry with plenty of vegetables and meat, a bag of carrots and green beans

 

Pre-workout: an apple and 1.5 handfuls of salted almonds

 

Post-workout/dinner: salad greens, 1/2 avocado, roasted veggies and some kind of meat dish

 

Does anything stand out that might be causing these digestive issues?

 

Thanks!

[Tom Denham]

We recommend 1/2 ounce of water per pound of body weight per day. A lot of that is going to flow through regardless of your salt intake.

 

Getting your salt intake is easy. Salt your food generously. This is important when you are not eating processed foods that are loaded with salt. 

 

Nuts are hard on digestion and are often associated with digestive problems, so cutting out all nuts may help. Raw veggies are often a problem too, so you might want to make sure you cook all your veggies for a while. 

 

Eating an apple and nuts before a workout is a problem because you are putting a lot of fiber in your gut just before shutting your gut down by diverting blood flow to your muscles. A few nuts may not cause trouble, but 1.5 handfuls is a lot. We recommend protein and fat before a workout, no fruit or even veggies. A boiled egg is ideal.

 

We recommend your post workout meal include lean protein and maybe starchy veggies like sweet potato. We recommend no fat and no fruit. By combining post-workout food and dinner, you are not gaining any benefit from the post-workout meal. Moreover, it is possible you are not eating enough. Two eggs at breakfast is very light. You mention salad greens at dinner, but not a dressing with plenty of fat. Although you are eating two halves of an avocado per day, you may need more fat. Fat can help with constipation in some cases too.

[Hols1]

I too am having constipation and I fear that I am not getting enough fiber. Before W30 I took a tablespoon of chia and a T of ground flax seed and that helped keep things moving. Now I understand that they aren't good for you. During the first two weeks of W30 things moved nicely but now not so much. Suggestions?

[GFChris]

I too am having constipation and I fear that I am not getting enough fiber. Before W30 I took a tablespoon of chia and a T of ground flax seed and that helped keep things moving. Now I understand that they aren't good for you. During the first two weeks of W30 things moved nicely but now not so much. Suggestions?

Can you post 2-3 days of your recent food log, including vegetable/fruit portion sizes and daily water intake? Folks here can then give you feedback on possible tweaks.

[praxisproject]

Make sure you're getting enough fat and magnesium.

[Hols1]

Can you post 2-3 days of your recent food log, including vegetable/fruit portion sizes and daily water intake? Folks here can then give you feedback on possible tweaks.

I would but I don't remember what I ate! This low BP really zaps my brain function. Cut my dose in half last night but I think it's going to take a couple of days to level out. Still feeling pretty punky.

I pretty sure I wasn't eating enough veggies last week so I'll step it up this week. I'll also make sure I get enough fat, although I still struggle with eating fat after years of not eating it.

Today-

9:00 -

Two eggs, chorizo, a medium tomato, med onion chopped, sautéed in avocado oil. ate half

Nectarine, half grapefruit, a little watermelon

Mid-day -

Not really hungry

2pm -

Couple of handfuls of macadamia nuts

6:00 -

Salmon patty and one zucchini sautéed in ghee

[Hols1]

Make sure you're getting enough fat and magnesium.

Thanks, will do both!

[GFChris]

I would but I don't remember what I ate! This low BP really zaps my brain function. Cut my dose in half last night but I think it's going to take a couple of days to level out. Still feeling pretty punky.

I pretty sure I wasn't eating enough veggies last week so I'll step it up this week. I'll also make sure I get enough fat, although I still struggle with eating fat after years of not eating it.

Today-

9:00 -

Two eggs, chorizo, a medium tomato, med onion chopped, sautéed in avocado oil. ate half

Nectarine, half grapefruit, a little watermelon

Mid-day -

Not really hungry

2pm -

Couple of handfuls of macadamia nuts

6:00 -

Salmon patty and one zucchini sautéed in ghee

 

A couple of observations:

- don't let fruit push vegetables off your plate. Eat at least 1 cup of vegetables before you eat fruit at any meal.

- the recommendation on fruit is 1-2 servings a day, where a serving is a whole piece of fruit the size of your fist.  Having 3 different fruits in one sitting, especially at breakfast, can work against you, from a sugar spike perspective.

- nuts can cause digestive problems for folks. You might try dropping the nuts for several days and see if that helps you feel better. If you're genuinely hungry in between meals (litmus test: you could eat something bland like steamed fish and broccoli), have a mini meal containing protein, veg and fat (nuts are a fat source on a Whole30).

 

And a question: are you staying sufficiently hydrated? Aim for drinking water in the amount of 1/2 an oz per pound of your current body weight, daily.

 

Yes: overall, increase the veggies and get at least the minimum meal template recommendation on fat at every meal.