HELP - Day 24 and no benefits other than weight loss

[arlittleton]

Hi Everyone, I need some advice and help.  I'm a detailed person so I'm going to provide lots cause I don't know what is important at this point.  Here goes:

 

- I've been diagnosed with the following things:

• Diabetes, type 2, fasting glucose of 138 - I have chosen NOT to take meds for this
• Metabolic Syndrome
• Hypothyroidism, lesions on left nodes (I take nature throid)
• non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
• Estrogen dominance (I take progesterone)
• IBS - combo
• Cyst on left ovary
• chronically high cortisol levels
• high cholesterol (222)
• Uterine Fibroid tumor
• Issues with my eyes due to blood sugar

I'm 5'-8/9", 215lbs. apple shaped, mostly in my gut (with fat families in my neck, upper arms, inner thighs)

 

I chose to do the Whole30 not for the weight lost (that I was hoping for) but for the health benefits.  I was hoping I would not feel so tired all the time, that my skin would clear up, that my hair wouldn't be so brittle, no brain fog, wake up without two alarms snoozing for an hour, lose the sugar changes/feel like you're drunk thing, reduce my eye blurring, swelling during my PMS, regular bowel movements, soft lips (not chapped), lose the irritability, etc.  None of these things have happened and I'm on Day 24.  I'm getting super disappointed.

 

This has been challenging for me in many ways.  One, I've never eaten 3 meals my whole life.  I'm lucky if I eat 2 a day.  I've never cooked much so I've been limited, have childhood trauma with veggies so I essentially eat a salad everyday (2x) with protein.

 

I had issues in the beginning.  I would get very nauseous around lunch time.  Would have to run to the toilet with diarrhea.  My urine was almost orange.  Not good.  Now I eat later (I was eating too close to breakfast) and that went away. 

 

I'm told I'm probably highly dehydrated but I've always struggle with drinking enough water and used to do all my drinking when I ate.  Now per the book, I don't do that but don't seem to get in the water for the rest of the day.

 

I regularly don't get 8 hours of sleep.  I get about 6-7 before the alarms go off for an hour.  During the weekends, I spend a lot of time sleeping and try to sleep in late as much as possible cause I'm always tired.  My mind never turns off when I'm sleeping so I never wake up feeling refreshed.  My friend wonders if I have sleep apnea.

 

I haven't kept a log, but what I'm eating is not very varied so here's the typical list:

 

Breakfast:

(2) eggs

slices of crispy bacon

organic seedless red grapes

 

Lunch:

Chicken with chicken broth "gravy" & mushrooms, salmon, or shrimp

Spring mix salad mix with cherry tomatoes (rarely with balsamic vinegar)

strawberries in my shrimp salad

several cubes of watermelon, or handful of grapes, or an apple

 

Dinner:

Tenderloin steak, [repeat of lunch items]

 

OK, think that's enough details.  i'll probably remember something else later.

 

Please let me know if anyone has any advice or suggestions or thoughts.  Appreciate it!

 

[MeadowLily]

You need more than 30 days for the good numbers you're hoping for.   Most everything you have written up there....ditto ditto ditto.   Give yourself more time, I want you to win.

[MeadowLily]

I find this post helpful. 

 

TravelPhotoWriter on 16 June 2014 - 08:48 PM

I'm a Type 1 Diabetic for 31 years. For EVERYONE, bread/starches, lactose (dairy sugars), white potatoes, corn, etc increases blood sugar. The only items that keep my glucose even-keeled are Proteins (meat), low-starch veggies (the ones approved on W30), healthy fats, and sparing low-sugar fruits (like berries, NOT like mangos or bananas).  No amount of avoiding these items temporarily will have them break down any differently when they are consumed.  If you want great #s to continue, your great habits need to continue.

 

Personally, I "triage" things that up my glucose. Example: mashed potatoes are absolutely NOT worth it to me, so I don't eat them, EVER.  I never drink sweet beverages (lemonade other than made with stevia, regular soda, glasses of juice, "sport drinks," etc), as none of them are "worth it" to me. 

 

The book It Starts With Food (a.k.a. ISWF) goes into some pretty eye-opening description of what dairy does to blood sugar! Yikes, I didn't know when I was slamming quarts of it the years before my diagnosis....

 

[MeadowLily]

And again...

 

 TravelPhotoWriter on 16 June 2014 - 10:07 PM

...on deciding to never go back to Splenda!!

 

As a Type 1 diabetic (31 years) who is more healthy by all tests than most every "normal" person I know, I am a living test-case of any argument about impact on blood sugar, as I completely regulate my blood sugar manually So I'm just giving input into your pondering from the point of view of rise/fall of blood sugar... White sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup & honey, raw or not, all create a quick spike in glucose, nothing "slow" or "low" carb about any of them.  Agave actually is much less of a spike than the others listed; I absolutely need less insulin to process agave than the others I listed.

 

Stevia (the real version, not the "mixed with other crap so we can patent it" versions) is NOT SUGAR. It has ZERO impact on glucose levels; I'm a test case for many years now. It has been used in Europe & Asia for many decades as a no-sugar sweetener before the USA finally broke down and let it be called a sweetener & not merely sold in the health food "supplement" isle, to the dismay of the fake sweetener companies who can't patent a LEAF (by itself).

 

It seems to me too that you got a bit "spanked," but I'm sure it's meant well. EVERYONE ANYWHERE is merely expressing an opinion based on what is working for them at this time in their life and what keeps them between the rails they set for themselves; just think - all vegans feel very, very sad for all "mislead" Paleos! (Kinda gets to be like religions clashing, eh?   ) But none of us are YOU. My understanding & DEEPEST POINT OF RESPECT for the actual founders of W30 is that ultimately they suggest, once "clean", be your own experiment to find out what works for YOU & what doesn't.  

 

I personally like black coffee, but I have used stevia for many years in other things as an alternative to ALL other sweeteners. I don't have an issue with it being a "sweet gateway drug" to suddenly stuffing my face with M&Ms or slamming sodas... because I don't do those things anyway. I killed my sugar & yeast/carb cravings years ago. If it leads you to donuts, might want to skip it. 

 

Because my primary interest is in keeping glucose levels nice and steady, but also in enjoying the sweetness of life   , I feel GREAT about adding a bit to my herbal mint iced tea I make for a guest dinner, or to the squash soup I make that calls for juice - no thanks, I'll use a pinch of or drop of stevia instead.

 

ENJOY YOUR JOURNEY!! I'm loving mine!

[MeadowLily]

And lastly....

 

 

"I know I feel and look better at a lower body fat percentage. As an adult, I swing by about 20 pounds up & down the scale. I have good muscle built up & good cardio condition, but would really like to take it up a notch. I WISH I "loved" exercise; I don't, never have. But I've managed to stay active out of sheer "can't stand what happens when I don't." I have NO "out of bounds" health issues (all physical/biological test results of every type come out great) except one biggie:

 

I'm Type 1 (fully insulin-dependent) Diabetes for 31 years (since age 14), NO long-term symptoms present. (Although glucose levels have NOT been in tight control at all times, I am sure my stellar results are because I addressed the emotional patterning behind physical illness within a few years of diagnosis - see info by Louise Hay). I apparently arrested development too late to "grow back" the insulin factory that was destroyed, but no "expected" progression as western medical docs promise.     Having T1 has been a "blessing in disguise," because otherwise I would have been eating "healthy" Standard American Diet ("we don't eat fast food or white bread!") like my parents did, with the same poor results, not understanding why. But thanks to the T1 Diabetes, unlike everyone else, I have been reading ALL labels since I was 14 and SEEING what happens to my blood sugar levels after eating items. Because my body doesn't kick in insulin to cover anything I eat (I manually put it in myself), I have decades of experience knowing how much or how little insulin is required to bring levels in my blood stream back to normal range, I have seen what acute stress does (spikes insulin for no "food" reason!), what moderate exercise does (brings b.s. down), etc. 

 

We are winding down W30 Day 2, actually - just found this forum. Bought ISWF a few hours ago, already in Chapter 8. GENIUS in it's simplicity, "plain English," THANK YOU.

 

I'm going to summarize where I'm/we're (husband) at for my own records, I guess....

Before W30 we were eating primarily organic, proteins, veggies, limited fruit, almost no starches at home. We don't have bread, crackers, rice, pasta etc as part of our home diet. Also don't use sugar, but definitely love to use stevia & a little agave at times. The only soda we drink, & in very limited amounts, is stevia-sweetened, beverages are water, organic coffee, herbal iced tea. No juice in the house.

 

I'm excited to once again RAISE THE BAR on our lives!"

[Tom Denham]

Congratulations on eating three meals per day. This is a big and an important step. 

 

You are starting from a bad place. It is going to take months to make serious progress with the issues you list. 

 

You need to eat real vegetables. Salad and fruit is not enough. I am sorry that you had bad experiences around veggies as a child, but you are an adult now and it is time to work something out and eat your veggies. 

 

You are very low carb and this can cause a lot of problems, especially for women. The way to get carbs in your diet during a Whole30 is to eat potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash, plantains, rutabagas, etc. 

 

You simply have to drink 1/2 ounce of water per pound of body weight per day. At 215, you need 107 ounces of water every day. Measure it out in the morning and work on consuming it all day until you are finished. 

 

You honestly need 8 hours of sleep every night. You cannot catch up on the weekend and not suffer consequences. Your cortisol issues make sleep difficult, but here is the deal. Eating a big breakfast within an hour of waking in the morning will help deal with your cortisol issues. You may need to get out in the sunshine for 20-30 minutes every day, especially in the morning. This can help reset your hormonal rhythms so that you can sleep better. 

 

All of this is hard when you are used to doing other things, but it is important and once you have been doing it for awhile, it becomes natural and even easy. I remember when I first heard I needed sunshine every day. I thought the Hartwigs were nuts. Now I get my sunshine and it is not a big deal.... and I sleep better.

[MeadowLily]

Mr. Denham is correct.  It's going to take months.   For me, it's been 3 months, 25 days and I'm making some headway.  I don't know how many more months it will take.   Salad and fruit...he's right about that too  - all of it.   

[TinaH]

Hi arlittleton - I hope these replies are helping you!  I can imagine it's frustrating to not see the results you're hoping for yet, especially when some people post they see immediate results.  I think Tom is right - since you've got a lot to overcome, it will take time.  The good news is - you're on your way and from what I've read of others, give it time and then it seems like all of a sudden - you'll realize some of the benefits are happening!

 

I have a thought about some of the symptoms you're trying to overcome - brittle hair, nails, tired, etc.  They sound like common hypothyroid symptoms.  Maybe you can chat with your doc about checking your thyroid levels and about your meds?   I'm newly diagnosed with hypothyroid, so I'm not expert, but it was my first thought.

 

Here's my typical daily menu if this helps you:

BFAST:  2 eggs, 1 aidelle's chicken & apple sausage (diced), coconut oil (for the pan), and 2 handfuls of mixed diced veggies.  Best omelet ever!  Then a large black coffee to sip on my drive to work.

 

LUNCH:  Salad.  A big one with different greens, another handful of mixed diced veggies, protein of my choice, and either a 1/2 avocado on it or a closed handful of cashews (I recently bough coconut chips and am going to rotate that in too.  I want to try olives too.) 

 

DINNER:  My current go-to this week is ground turkey & vegetable stew that I made in a huge batch on Sunday.  I just tossed in 2lbs ground turkey, spices of my choice, and at least 5 different vegetables.  It is so good!  Since that combo is low fat, I will add fat like I mentioned at lunch. If the weather turns colder next week, I'm going to make beef/veggie/pumpkin stew in the crockpot.  It's my favorite!

 

 

I am full at every meal (and don't get hungry waiting for my next meal), very satisfied with the rich and delicious flavors, and have hardly any snacking thoughts. 

[MeadowLily]

Sounds great, Tina.      Moderator Tom's advice is understood and very much appreciated. 

[arlittleton]

Thank you all!  I'm new to a forum.  Never got emails that anyone responded so I decided to check.  And viola, several messages.  Thank you MeadowLily for the excerpts.  Tom, your message hurts but I know you are completely right.  I'm on Day 29 now.  On Day 31, I'm having one cheat meal and then I'll be back at it.  Plan to do this til the end of the year (my birthday).  Tom is right, more veggies and more sleep and more water.  I guess I knew that before I wrote the message but my mind didn't want that to be the case Thank you TinaH for your meal plan too.  All very helpful messages!