Day 10 and going strong, but still some issues...

[Littlelotte]

So I've been aboard this Whole30 train for a little over a month now. Officially, I'm on day 10, but I've been mostly clean in my eating for about a month. I'm really happy with how things are going--better sleep, much less bloating, body composition changing, generally more energy, etc. Buuuut, I still have a few lingering issues that I'm now trying to resolve as well, and for some I'm having trouble determining whether they're food-related or not.

 

Number one: While I sleep through the night almost every night now, I still have the hardest time getting out of bed. My alarm goes off, and it takes me 10-20 minutes to get up and semi-awake. This one might not be food-related, but it was something I was hoping the Whole30 would help me with, though maybe it will require a little more willpower...

 

Number two: Over the last month or so, I have been really happy with my ability to stay awake in what would usually be my 2:00 PM slump, especially since it's at the same time as one of my classes that I really need to be able to pay attention in! And for the most part, it went away. But over the last few weeks, it seems to have returned (ugh).

 

Number three: While my digestive health has improved IMMENSELY, I'm still having some...issues (okay, I'm just going to come out and say it: I'm having poop problems, alright?). Mainly not going every day. Or if I do, not a lot. This is sort of the complete opposite from my first (failed) Whole30, and I've been waiting...and waiting...aand the only time it seemed to get better was the few days AFTER I off-roaded on Indian food. Um, WHAT? 

 

So yeah, I'll go ahead and post usual meals and what not.

 

Typical "good" day:

 

M1: 3 eggs sunny-side-up cooked in a bit of ghee OR local, grass-fed sausage, and collard greens (frozen, cooked Nom Nom Paleo style; about 3/4-1.5 cups?)

 

M2: Some big hunk of protein (if it's from the cafeteria, usually chicken; if they don't have compliant meat, then usually a can of tuna mixed with a packet of compliant guac and spices), 1-2 cups of some sort of veggies (usually the lower end is green veggies: collard greens, green beans, or broccoli, and the other is for when I get 1 cup carrots and 1 cup something green.), 1-2 thumbs of homemade mayo, and 4 strawberries.

 

M3: 3 eggs or another big hunk of cafeteria protein or more tuna, veggies to the same degree as lunch, and 1-2 thumbs of homemade mayo/1 packet of guacamole.

 

Average liquid intake: I've been pretty bad about it; usually I average about 4-6 cups.

 

Extraneous: Usually two cups of tea (organic chamomile and sleepytime). Sometimes I drink a cup of bone broth during the day or at night.

 

These days usually make up about 5 out of 7 days of the week.

 

I can post more specific meals if it would be helpful. My journal is here, if anyone REALLY wants to go in depth: http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/22097-sarahs-whole30-log/page-3

 

Approximate meal times: 

M1 usually from 8-8:40 AM.

M2 usually anywhere from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM.

M3 around 5:00-6:30 PM. 

 

Sleep: Usually 8 hours, but never less than 6.

Stress: Most days I'm about a 7 out of 10, but I usually have a day once a week that's at +9000000 out of 10.

 

I've had about five nut binge days in the past ~40 days. I already know nuts don't agree with me and they're also food-with-no-brakes, so after I finish off my last closed handful of macadamia nuts, I won't be buying any more nuts for the remainder of my Whole30.

 

I'll have "starchy vegetables" at least once a week (usually carrots 1-3 times per week, sweet potato and red/white potato once every other week or so). And vegetables are probably my BIGGEST concern about my Whole30, because the whole green/not green, starchy/not starchy thing confuses the heck out of me. First off, should I even be eating starchy vegetables that aren't carrots? Like the potatoes and squash, for instance? I don't exactly exercise regularly, so I've been trying to stay away from them, but I don't know if I should be eating more or none at all...and second, what vegetables actually count towards my serving of veggies? If I decide to have some spaghetti squash or cauli-rice instead of zucchini noodles, should I supplement it with some green? If I have carrots at dinner, should I also be having something green? I've never quite managed to grasp the nuances of vegetables during Whole30...

 

I think that's it, hopefully I didn't bombard everyone with too much useless info. 

[Tom Denham]

Drink a lot more water and your constipation is likely to go away. You are too dry currently. You need 1/2 ounce per pound of body weight per day. So if you weigh 100 pounds, you need 50 ounces of water every day. That is way more than 4-6 cups. Drinking helps your body to flush.

 

You need at least 8 hours of sleep. If you do not average 8 hours per night, that probably explains why you have trouble getting out of bed. Just because sleep deprivation is common does not make it healthy or something we can practice without consequences.

 

You might have more energy if you ate starchy veggies. I sleep better when I eat starchy veggies, so I eat them every day whether I exercise or not. 

 

My own plan for the veggie thing is to eat at least one serving of dark leafy greens every day, to eat one serving of fermented veggies every day, and to et at least one serving of starchy veggies every day. Melissa Hartwig warns me that may be too much fermented veggies for some people, but I like it. 

[ladyshanny]

You might still be in the adjustment phase, also. Depending on how wicked your diet was previously, there could be a lot of healing and transitioning going on which would also lead to higher than normal exhaustion and b'room issues.

[missmary]

you've already gotten some good advice here, but I've got a few more tips. I was just reading a suggestion on sleep that I think would be worth a try: pick the time you want to get up, then go to sleep 15 minutes earlier each night (or for a few days at each time) until you get to the point that you wake up easily with no alarm. That means you might go to bed at 10pm, if you don't wake easily, try going to bed at 9:45, then 9:30. Once you find the time that works, that becomes your bedtime. Stick with it. As Tom says, lots of people think they do well with just 7 hours, but I actually need 9 to feel great. You might need more too.

 

I try to have green veggies with every meal, and some starchy veggies with two out of three meals, regardless of my exercise schedule (although, granted, I exercise a strenuously and sometimes twice per day). I'm one who likes a variety of veggies at each meal, though, so, for example: my lunch is almost always a large salad with baby greens, steamed green beans (somewhat starchy), roasted beets (more starchy, but usually only 1/2 to 1/3 of a beet), cherry tomatoes, capers, and a small portion of cultured carrots (maybe a tablespoon).*of course there is fat: avocado, a hard boiled egg, and canned salmon, etc but on the topic of vegetables...at dinner I might have 1/2 a sweet potato with my lamb burger and kale or whatever. If you have larger portions when you choose to have starchy veg (like a whole large sweet potato at a meal) you might get away with having it only once per day, but once per week is too little for most people.

[Littlelotte]

Wow, thanks for the fantastic replies!

 

I'll definitely try to up my water intake, as I've had a dehydration headache and migraine triggered by dehydration already, so I know I need to do better. Just downed another water bottle, actually, I'll go back for one more and then some tea, haha! Also thanks for everything said about veggies; I'm glad it sounds like I can eat more starchy ones, as just greens gets a little boring after a while (especially cafeteria greens) and sweet potatoes are delicious.

 

I think I get 8 hours most nights (though admittedly this past week has been harder). I will definitely try that technique, missmary, it sounds like a really great idea, actually. The challenge for me has always been balancing schoolwork and health, but I think I'm slowly getting there...

[Littlelotte]

Nevermind.

[Littlelotte]

Okay. Okay. So it's been almost two weeks since I've posted this. Issue number 3: not any better. For the past five days, I've been extra-sure to be sure I'm getting enough liquids: usually 9+ cups. I'm still having constipation issues and I haven't been in four days now. I'm starting to look pregnant! What's the next logical step, guys? Less insoluble fiber/more insoluble fiber? Eliminate FODMAPS for a while? Would any of that help?

 

Oh, here are some meals?

 

Two days ago:

 

M1: 3 HB eggs with 1.5 thumbs mayo and a good squirt of mustard. 

 

M2: Baked tilapia filet with about 1/2 cup green beans, 1/2 cup broccoli, 1 thumb mayo, and 1 closed handful of pomegranate seeds.

 

M3: 3 slices of Melissa's cottage pie (1/2 cup cauliflower?),  three bowls vegetable soup (green beans, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, whole sugar snap peas, zucchini, onions; maybe like 2.5 cups? So maybe like 1.5-2 cups veggies?).

 

Three days ago:

M1: pico-and-onion omelet (3/4 cup onion, 1/4 cup pico), 1 cup chai tea, and 1 bowl ACV kale ~1 cup

 

M2: 1 can tuna, 1/2 sweet potato, a few tablespoons of pico, 1.5 semi-closed handful of pomegranate seeds, and 1.5 thumbs of mayo

 

M3: 1 jerk chicken thigh, 1 thumb mayo, 1.5 cups green beans and .5 cup canned saurkraut.

[Carlaccini]

For your bathroom issue you may want to try adding a Magnesium supplement - we recommend Natural Calm (unflavoured) around these parts. Take it before bedtime.

 

Okay.  It's really hard to tell if certain foods are causing you problems.  Nothing is really screaming out at me.  In fact your meals look really good.

 

However, and I can only speak from my personal experience here, that if I go heavy on the cruiciferous veggies (ie: kale, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts) I get an upset and very bloated stomach.  So for a while I had to cut back on them, or partner every cruciferous veggies along with a couple of spoonfuls of starchy veggie.  Just so digestion was better.  That helped a lot.

 

Some would argue that I eat too many starchy veggies for a person who is moderately active (I am recovering from a knee injury so the most I can do right now is physio exercises + go for a walk) but my hormones kind of go wacky if I go too low carb. So I stick to a place where my body is happy.  If that's where I need to eat starchy veg minimum once a day - so be it.  So please, if your body is sending you signals that it is happier with more starchy veg - so be it.

[jent103]

On the sauerkraut - if you're eating it for the fermentation benefits, you want the refrigerated stuff, not the canned stuff. There are lots of posts here about why, but basically the canning process gets rid of the things that give you the benefits. Bubbie's brand is compliant, if you can find that near you (in a glass jar; the bags I've found at my store have preservatives in them that make them noncompliant). It's also REALLY easy to make your own, although it sounds like you might be living in a dorm and that would depend on how your roommate felt about something fermenting!

 

Another vote for the Natural Calm - definitely worth a shot.

[Littlelotte]

Thanks to both for the replies! Because I suspect spme of my veggies, I've been trying to cut back on kale, broccoli, etc. I guess I'll continue that for a few days more as the next step! As for magnesium supplements, how does that work exactly?  And by that I mean, is that a temporary fix that I could eventually get off of after I figure out why my digestion's like this? I'm just a little iffy because I've never taken supplements.

 

As for saurkraut, I wasn't eating it for the probiotic benefits. I'm actually glad I got the canned kind because when I first opened it, I ate about 1-1.5 cups of it, haha! I don't think my system could have handled that much of a fermented veg yet. It was just some leftover veggies from one busy day.   Thanks for the advice on brands, though, it's always something I've meant to try for probiotic purposes!

[jent103]

I took Natural Calm for awhile, but haven't used it in months. Once you get things sorted out and you're feeling better, you'll be able to figure out what works for you. At this point I'd get a canister of the unflavored, ramp up the dosage slowly, and just see how things progress. I don't think you need to worry about being on it for life or anything. But do go slowly on the dosage. If you take too much at once, it has the potential to be unpleasant for you!

[Littlelotte]

Okay, thanks! I'll swing by the store sometime this week (it's incredibly hard for me to get off campus during the week because of my workload) and see if I can find any.