Day 31 of 1st Whole30, lethargic, bloated, gained weight

[marylizabelle]

I am on Day 31 of my 1st Whole30 and was looking forward to feeling amazing, but I'm not.  I have been 99% compliant throughout the 31 days.  (I was planning on starting reintroduction today, but I'm getting a little cold and want to wait until that resolves so I can tell how I feel with the reintroduced food groups.)  The first week, I felt dizzy, lightheaded, shaky and tired.  I started eating more, making sure I was getting enough protein and good fats.  The shakiness went away, but I still feel lethargic.  I get plenty of sleep, I have lots of stress (but no more than over the past few years), and feel worse now than when I started.  As far as my history, I am not overweight, have never had any obvious food sensitivities and ate fairly healthy prior to my Whole30. My attitude prior was "everything in moderation" with not much refined grains, mostly whole foods, probably not enough veggies, lots of cheese, a bit of dark chocolate and some wine. My goals were to "reset" my palate to not expect added sugar in everything, and change habits.  Positives I feel I have gotten: more creativity with cooking vegetables (discovery of roasted vegetables and making them into soups), better reader of labels and realizing I could actually achieve the goal of completing the Whole30 (huge for me, thought I would DIE from lactose deficiency).  Negatives: I have gained weight (by feel of my clothes, I haven't weighed myself) especially in my belly and thighs, feeling lethargic, sluggish and bloated. 

 

Sample diet: 

Breakfast: 1-2 eggs cooked with pile of spinach, compliant sausage, (all cooked in olive oil), handful of grapes, coffee with coconut milk

Snack:  handful of nuts

Lunch:  spaghetti squash with compliant sauce and compliant Italian sausage, big salad with nuts and chicken breast with homemade compliant vinaigrette

Snack:  apple with almond butter

Dinner:  turkey burger, roasted sweet potato "fries," roasted cauliflower soup with chimichurri (all cooked with olive oil)

 

I feel like I have been eating plenty; I am very full after every meal and generally not even very hungry when it gets toward my next meal.  I feel like I am getting plenty of protein and good fats.  My weight has been stable over the past 3 years until now with the attitudes of "everything in moderation" and "stop eating when I'm full."  I feel like I may have ruined the stop eating when full part because I have been trying to make sure I get enough protein, good fats and veggies.  I have read the "Why didn't it work for you" article but I think I really did a good job sticking to the plan.

 

Help?!  How do I proceed?  Another Whole30?  Whole14?  Reintroduction?  Why don't I feel good?

[GFChris]

Nuts may be a problem for you: they can cause bloating for some. I'd try at least another 14 days, dropping the nuts and nut butters.

The fact that you had snacks listed makes me wonder whether your meals were big enough to satiate you for 4-5 hours. I'd play around with your portion sizes. When food is cooked in oil, much of the oil stays behind in the pan, so consider that with your fat portion.

If you are genuinely hungry between meals, the recommended snack is a mini meal of protein, veg and fat. Nuts are a fat source on a Whole30.

Maybe try more variety with the protein. Do you like seafood? Chicken?

Are you drinking enough water? 1/2 oz per pound of your current body weight daily?

When you say you were 99% compliant, where do you feel you weren't compliant?

[marylizabelle]

Thank you for your quick response! 

 

I do have days without nuts. I do vary protein (chicken, fish, other seafood, beef, pork, sausage).  I do not drink enough water (been a chronic problem since I was a kid), but I try   I don't really feel hungry between meals, but I start to feel weak, like my body doesn't have enough fuel to make it to my next meal.  I did try adding more carb-heavy foods (a 2nd serving of fruit, potatoes) to see if I would feel better and it may have helped a little.  I do add other fats like avocado and olives with my salads sometimes too. 

 

99% because I have eaten at restaurants several times during my 30 days (especially the first week when I was travelling) and I didn't grill the waitstaff about every single ingredient in a salad dressing, for example.  I made the best choices I could (vinaigrette rather than ranch) without 20 questions.  I had bacon a couple times during that week which may have had sugar in it.  And I made a sweet potato soup one day which called for chipotle peppers and I couldn't find any without sugar or yeast or cornstarch, but there was a tiny, tiny amount in each serving.  Those were my only slip-ups.  So, not perfect, but I feel like I did really well. 

 

As another bonus, for anyone wondering if they can actually eat like this for 30 days, I had NO cravings.  Not one.  I have eaten cheese every day of my adult life until October 1 when I started this.  I really never thought I could do it.  If I can do it, anyone can!

[GFChris]

Consider doing 100% compliant Whole30 eating for several consecutive days (or a full 30) and see if that makes a difference for you. Yes to carb-dense vegetables daily (e.g., sweet potato, winter squash, jicama, plantains, beets, carrots, rutabaga and parsnips).

 

And keep working on that water.   

[marylizabelle]

OK: no nuts, drink water, 100% compliant, vary proteins, make sure snacks (if I need them) are mini-meals.

 

Thank you for the suggestions, I'll see how it goes and report back in a few days

[GFChris]

Excellent!

 

You may also want to try incorporating compliant digestive enzymes and/or fermented foods (e.g., kombucha, sauerkraut, kimchi) to see if that helps with your bloating.

[MeadowLily]

Snacks...nut butters and nuts will slow weight loss to a crawl.

[marylizabelle]

Ok, day 3 of adding those changes and I'm already feeling better (as far as bloating goes). I'm sad about the nut butters I'm trying to be more in touch with how my body feels with different foods. I felt great when I got up this morning, but back to feeling bloated after eggs for breakfast. Do I need to cut out eggs too?!?! If I take out eggs, what protein can I eat besides meat?!?! I'm also still having the lack of energy problem.

And, I actually weighed myself for the first time since September, and I HAVE lost weight. I just couldn't tell in my clothes with the bloating.

[AmyS]

Ok, day 3 of adding those changes and I'm already feeling better (as far as bloating goes). I'm sad about the nut butters I'm trying to be more in touch with how my body feels with different foods. I felt great when I got up this morning, but back to feeling bloated after eggs for breakfast. Do I need to cut out eggs too?!?! If I take out eggs, what protein can I eat besides meat?!?! I'm also still having the lack of energy problem.

And, I actually weighed myself for the first time since September, and I HAVE lost weight. I just couldn't tell in my clothes with the bloating.

I'm not sure I understand the question about eggs and meat. If you're not accustomed to eating anything other than eggs for breakfast, that might be a change, but there's no harm in eating, say, leftover roast beef for breakfast. Is that what you're asking? On Whole30, breakfast is just Meal One of the day. Eat a template meal and you can eat whatever foods you want, whether or not you previously considered them breakfast.

 

I'm not sure three days is enough to completely alter a state of low energy, so give it some time.