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No energy and gaining weight


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The past year, I've eaten a mostly paleo, very low carb diet (90/10, with the 10% being things like BBQ sauce with sugar, sausage sticks that I know have added sugar, or a piece of dark chocolate). I've maintained very low carb over that time frame to help control my PCOS (I have a lean phenotype, and the diet has kept things under control pretty well). I have a very active lifestyle, teaching fitness classes a few times/week and walking 5-10 miles/day. Since I started eating the very low carb, paleo diet, I've had extraordinary amounts of energy and generally felt great.

I decided to join in on the August Whole30 (my first) to see whether cleaning up my diet even further would make any difference, and it has - but not the kind I expected to see. In addition to the regular Whole30 guidelines, I'm also following the AI protocol (I have hypothyroid that is under control with medication [bloodwork recently checked] but not positive whether it's Hashimoto's, so being on the safe side and doing the AI protocol) and a few days ago started cutting back on FODMAPS as well, as I'm pretty sure I'm sensitive to some high-FODMAPS foods. One week in to the Whole30, I hit a major wall and lost most of my energy. Since then, every few days I'll get back enough energy to go for a short run, but something that I'd normally recover from overnight now takes 2-3 days to recover. My body constantly feels tired and weak; this is a serious problem, as my job requires me to be active and I normally have *unending* energy.

Obviously the problem isn't that I'm eating too little -- my appetite has been insatiable, and I don't restrict. In addition, I'm putting on weight (clothes fit tighter, face and body are chubbier; since my classes are conducted in front of a wall of mirrors in skin-tight clothing, this is unavoidably obvious; I didn't need to lose or gain weight when I started the program). Altogether, I am extremely frustrated with the energy loss, slow recovery, and weight gain, and I'm hoping someone can provide some troubleshooting ideas. Obviously I'm not in a calorie deficit, and I have a tough time believing that after a year of high energy and good health my body suddenly needs a higher carb intake; nonetheless, I've tried adding sweet potatoes, carrots, blueberries, and the occasional banana, in case I was eating more added sugars before the program than I thought. Except for the autoimmune protocol and reduction of FODMAPS, the changes I've made this month have been relatively small, since I was already eating a pretty careful paleo diet.

Here a few days of food intake; I generally eat light meals for breakfast and lunch, then a larger meal at dinner; over years I've found this keeps me feeling lighter and more energetic as I move throughout the day, so larger morning/noon meals are not the answer, as that slows me down even more):

Day:

Breakfast - 1/4 lb ground beef

Lunch - 4 oz tuna in olive oil

Dinner - large salad with lettuce, kalamata olives, balsamic vinegar, olive oil

cerignola olives (15 large)

carrots (2 small)

beef short ribs (3 ribs)

US Wellness beef sticks (2 oz)

Day:

Breakfast - 1/4 lb ground beef

US Wellness beef sticks (2 oz)

Nori (2 sheets)

Lunch - 4 oz tuna in olive oil

Dinner - US Wellness beef sticks (3 oz)

Salad with lettuce and balsamic and olive oil

Zucchini sauteed in coconut oil (1 zucchini)

US Wellness garlic beef franks (2 franks)

Day:

Breakfast - 1/4 lb ground beef

Lunch - 1 piece shrimp (office party - the only thing I could eat, and it tasted awful so I didn't have anything else)

Dinner - beef short ribs (5 ribs)

large salad with lettuce and balsamic and olive oil

carrots (3 small)

cerignola olives (15 large olives)

Today (this is the day I noticed I'd put on weight):

Breakfast - zucchini sauteed in coconut oil (1 zucchini)

pickled green beans (1/2 jar)

1/3 lb ground beef

US Wellness garlic beef frank (1 frank)

cerignola olives (10 large olives)

Lunch - 1/3 lb ground beef

carrot (1 large)

Dinner - banana

cerignola olives (5 large)

salad with LOTS of lettuce (~6 cups) and balsamic and olive oil (a few Tbsp each)

US Wellness garlic beef franks (2 franks)

nori (2 sheets)

I greatly appreciate thoughts and input. It's strange to think that eating a cleaner diet would make me feel as weak as this has, and I'm apparently too biased to troubleshoot it on my own.

Thank you!

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I, unfortunately don't have any helpful information or advice except my story is very similar. I'm tired of being too tired to work out when my pre-Whole30 paleo diet left me with plenty of energy! And tired of my clothes fitting tighter than they did pre-Whole30.

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DucatiGirl, I'm sorry to hear you're in the same boat (but somewhat glad I'm not the only one)!

My fingers are crossed that someone will have some ideas for us. Four days after my original post (and after more than 2 weeks of low energy), I'm so tired of these symptoms. When I first started the Whole30 I expected to feel spectacular and want to continue indefinitely, but it's not playing out as expected and I have no clue as to why.

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ajkelly444, I thought the same thing when I read your post. I was really hoping someone would respond with some enlightening information or helpful advice. I have a good day where I feel OK then I have 3 days where I'm exhausted. I made a full post spelling out my experience under the Troubleshooting heading, titled: Day 20 & Ready to throw in the towel! You can read more there.

I'm planning to stick with the full 30 days but it is frustrating to not know why we feel like this. I hope you start feeling better soon too!!

-Megan

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The not being able to recover from exercise part may very well have to do with not getting enough of some nutrient. I would add a variety of produce into your diet and some bone broth. If you can tolerate, add in some organ meats, too. This is just my first guess because it sounds similar to a situation I had with not getting enough calcium in my diet at one point. I had muscle cramps and it would be so hard to recover from working out. I eventually went to a doctor and got put on calcium (which I have since replaced with enough produce and broth, I think).

It sounds like you're trying to tweak the Whole30 before giving it a chance to work. Why eliminate some FODMAPS and not others? I don't think it's possible to know if this is an issue without a total elimination of FODMAPS and then slow re-introduction, but I don't see a point in messing with that until after the Whole30. You can go through so much during a Whole30. For instance, I was also eating paleo plus dark chocolate before starting, and in the beginning of the third week, I went through some horrible digestive distress for a couple days. I'd just try the whole thing as written, add more veggies in, and be patient. See a doctor if you are truly concerned.

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Colleen and Casey, thanks for your input. The past year I've avoided vegetables for meals 1 and 2, partly because of convenience, partly because they make me hungrier. That aspect of my diet hasn't changed since starting the Whole30, so it seems odd that it would be causing problems now. That said, I am trying to add some fruit/veg there -- nori at both meals, and a piece of fruit if I exercise in the morning (on the days that I do have energy). That tweak hasn't affected my energy levels. I entered one day's food intake into a database to check carb intake, and it showed ~100 g, about twice what I had before starting the program. Does that mean I should be eating more or fewer veg/fruit??? I'm conflicted. I've also been taking quite a few supplements prescribed by my ND for several months, including adrenal support, matcha tea, B vitamins...

I'm following the AI protocol and cutting back on FODMAPS because I want to feel *spectacular*, not just better, and so I wanted to eliminate any foods that might possibly be causing gut problems.

I'm consistently getting more sleep during the Whole30 than I did before, so don't think that's an issue. My experience sounds very similar to DucatiGirl's (Megan, I'll read through your post), with a day of feeling good, followed by several days of exhaustion and overwhelming sleepiness.

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Hang in there! I guess all we can do is wait it out and hope it gets better. I feel a little better today (I hope that doesn't mean exhaustion tomorrow). I'm certainly not energetic but I'm not completely exhausted either.

Please keep checking in and let me know if you start seeing some improvements. I will do the same.

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Just reading your food log makes me low energy and weighed down...I know we're supposed to eat a lot of fat and meat but there isn't really any balance or lightness :) I hope that your addition of more fruit and vegetables eventually helps you! I would add a lot more color...a ton of vegetables, apples, sweet potatoes and greens. Also, I 'm not sure what these are but beef sticks and beef franks sound kind of processed...the salt in these could be giving you water retention, especially if it's the time of the month. Good luck!!

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Thanks for your comment, Flynn. My energy levels do seem to have picked up slightly for a few days now -- I don't feel like I'm trying to walk through wet cement with each step. I'm certainly not used to the high fruit/veg intake -- I've been eating ~3 servings of fruit/day, after a year of zero fruit, and gigantic (!!!) daily salads. These changes may have contributed to the normalized energy levels, though they also have some disadvantages (I had good reasons for avoiding them this last year); I may have to find an acceptable compromise between treating my medical needs and maintaining energy levels over time. I've also cut out the beef franks and beef sticks for now, as you may be right about the sodium levels; the ingredient list clears the Whole30 restrictions, but they're sort of a version of W30-friendly hotdogs. :-)

On my search for sky-high energy levels, I'm at least glad that I don't currently have to struggle to take each step when I walk. I expect that will continue, and my new goal will be to find the diet that provides the boundless energy that everyone talks about!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Phanniemae -- My energy levels improved when I massively increased my protein intake after I finished the W30, and I'm feeling like my old self again!!! My mood is more stable and bloating is reduced, but not entirely absent. During the W30 I significantly increased my vegetable and fruit intake, with a concomitant decrease in protein, to eat in accordance with the template set out in ISWF. I think that change contributed to most of my problems. I'm very athletic and have more relative muscle mass than most women, and I have blood sugar issues. I think my body simply requires more protein than most people to maintain energy and strength; and I think the increased sugar intake from fruits and starchy vegetables led to some swings in blood sugar. I'm starting another W30 today, modifying the meal template so that I continue to take in as much protein I need, and supplement that with some non-starchy vegetables. I'll be careful not to add too many vegetables though, as my digestive system isn't great at handling them.

Robin -- I do eat non-starchy vegetables (but usually not fruit) in smaller amounts, but I have to be careful -- too many and I become bloated and hungry, and have a difficult time stopping eating. Often I can actually feel energy/water draining from the rest of my body toward my stomach to facilitate digestion, and it's a somewhat noisy digestive process (gurgling, etc). I've found that using vegetables as seasonings/additions to meat works best for me; it doesn't overload my system or affect my satiety signals but still provides some non-protein/fat nutrients.

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