W30 #3

[Markette]

A late start to the log, but a 1/1 start to this Whole30, my third.

 

First up, I've been terrible about logging anything related to my health, despite good intentions.  I had to reach out to my W30BFF this time on Day 5 because I couldn't remember if my previous W30s had me fending off migraines for days on end like this one did. (They did, btw.)  But seriously, as a grown ass woman, I should be able to answer that question for myself.  Hence this log.

 

Anyway, it's a late start to the log, as I said (Hello, Day 11!) but here are the main points I remember so far...

 

 

Day 0: Apprehension

To be completely honest, I had no serious intentions of starting a W30 January 1st until I woke up on the morning of January 1st.  I know, I know, that's a terrible way to start -- what about all that meal planning?  All that cupboard cleaning?  All that mental preparation? 

 

I. Didn't. Wanna.  

 

In the days prior to the 1/1 start date, my social media was full of happy people prepping.  Michelle Tam cleaned out her pantry; I made Michelle Tam's chocolate truffle balls of awesome.  I bought genmai cha teas.  Plural.  I found not teff flour, but teff, and then recipes for grinding teff into teff flour to make injera bread.  Gluten free, yes, but serious SWYPO, as it's bread.  

 

I seriously didn't wanna.  I didn't wanna think about a world without chocolate, I didn't wanna give up my once-a-week indulgence in the only alcohol that doesn't make me violently ill (classy gin), I didn't wanna be THAT GIRL for the Jon Jones fight on the 3rd, and I MOST didn't wanna W30 by myself.

 

I did some rationalizing too, and it sounded something like this.  Last time you W30ed, you were really miserable just prior.  Remember how tender your gut was before you figured out store-bought eggs* make you miserable?  You had a reason to W30 then; what's your reason now?

 

So when I woke up on January 1st and I looked at all of my reasons for not wanting to Whole30, I realized that I had discovered a new reason to W30: pushing myself not to be such a codependent baby.  I've successfully completed two W30s in the past: my first in April 2014 and my second in September 2014.  Before those, though, came an unsuccessful W30 waaaaay back in, I dunno, 2010 or so.  I must have made it to day 4 or 5, because it was the headaches and hanger that stopped me.  I vividly remember being in Wegmans with a raging headache around lunchtime, furious that I was surrounded by "food" and unable to eat any of it when I was convinced that if I could juuust have some "food" my headache would go away.  I decided in that moment that living with a headache for days on end was "stupid in the stupid zone" as my dad would say, and I broke my W30.  With what?  I don't remember.  Probably something like sulfite-filled lunch meat, some too-sugary fruit juice, and something crunchy in a bag.

 

Anyway, I woke up on 1/1 and announced to my fella that I was starting a W30, effective immediately.  I told him he didn't need to W30, and that I wouldn't judge his food/drink choices, and that I'd appreciate his not judging mine.  I told him the chocolate truffle awesome balls had moved to the freezer, that we had broken up, but that he was welcome to continue his relationship with them behind my back.

 

And then I made us breakfast.  And it was no big deal, despite all of the arguments my mind had tried to use to convince me otherwise.

[Markette]

Day 3-4: Migraineland

 

In the evening of Day 3, a migraine set in.  A miss-the-Jon-Jones-fight caliber migraine that has lingered long into Day 4.

 

Has anyone else experienced migraines early in their whole30?  I can't remember if I had a migraine recurrence in w30's #1 and #2... I now see the value of this log, heh.

[Markette]

Day 11: She Dreams of Cadbury Creme Eggs 

 

It's official.  I've hit the dreams.

 

Last night was hilARious.  It was a super vivid dream in which I was walking down the sidewalk on Main Street in my hometown, in the bright sunshine (ha!), wearing a short sleeve T-shirt and jeans.  And I see, glistening on the sidewalk before me, wrapped in gold, 

 

CADBURY CREME EGGS!!!!

 

(which, for the record, I don't even like)

 

It makes perfect sense to grab random sidewalk candy, unwrap it, and shove it in my mouth.  As soon I tasted the chocolate (and I did taste the chocolate) and felt the oozy center, I thought F%&$ me!  I blew my W30... over a Cadbury egg?!? And there I was, spitting out half-eaten Cadbury egg on the sidewalk of Main Street of my hometown.

 

And then I woke up my fella with my laughter.

 

#whole30probs #vividdreams #W30D11

[Ann]

Has anyone else experienced migraines early in their whole30?  I can't remember if I had a migraine recurrence in w30's #1 and #2... I now see the value of this log, heh.

 

 

I look back at my previous logs all the time when I want to know if this is how it went last time!   I do tend to have a mild headache during the early part of my W30s, and this time around, I got a MONSTER headache in the middle of the night on Day 12.  Day 12?!   And I'm still having periodic "baby" headaches (almost not noticeable, but there).  I think mostly it is a caffeine withdrawal, and the reason is it lingering on so long this time is I haven't completely eliminated caffeine, but just cut way back. 

[Markette]

Day 16: WTF are ketones and what are they doing in my pee?

 

Today I learned about ketosis.

 

Yesterday, Day 15, I had a lady doctor's appointment wherein they collected a urine sample.  My ketones were sky high and prompted my doctor -- who I had never seen before -- to tell me he didn't think I was eating well.  I laughed, insisted that I eat quite well, and asked him to explain his concern more fully.  He explained that ketones indicate I am passing fat, that I'm not eating well, starving.  He insisted that I grab a fruit juice on the way home, push fluids the rest of the night, and follow up with my GP.  Let me tell you, that much glucose at once felt weird, but who was I to argue with his quite insistent orders?  

 

After some Google-fu, I found out that that's not exactly what ketones are, or what high ketones in urine means, but close.  They're a byproduct of my body burning fat for energy instead of glucose.  They are a warning sign if you're a Type I diabetic (I'm not) or have liver issues (I don't know of any) and can be a tell-tale sign of anorexia or starvation or fasting (uh, no), but for folks on low-carb, high-fat diets, they more often indicate that your metabolism has shifted from processing glucose to processing fat for fuel.

 

On top of the high ketone level in my urine, I felt terrible all day long.  I couldn't sleep the night before, had another base-of-the-neck migraine-like headache, had the chills, and finally vomited around 3am.  I chalked it up to the flu or the issue that had brought me to my doctor to begin with, but after further research, I'm wondering if I might actually be transitioning to a ketogenic metabolism and have a touch of the "ketosis flu".

 

I'm not much of an athlete these days, and ketosis certainly isn't the goal of my Whole30.  I did some quick research on this forum and saw that other ladies -- mainly pregnant ones -- had doctors who were concerned with high ketones while they were Whole30ing.  They increased their caloric intake via more starches.  So I also decided to tweak my diet even more this round and increase my starch (yams, bananas, squash, etc.) intake and see how I feel.

 

I'm seeing my GP next week -- also for the first time -- and I'd like to be able to ask some pointed questions about the paleo diet and ketosis and ketoacidosis, as I'm sure another urinalysis will reveal the same high ketone levels and probably bring similar concerns.  I'm 114 pounds, 5'4", and have a very low body fat -- I'm not opposed to remaining in ketosis, but am concerned that I don't have a ton of fat on my frame to burn and want to monitor my diet and health responsibly.  

 

Has anyone else -- especially ladies -- had high ketone levels in their urine?  Any precautions I should be aware of?  Any tweaks to a Whole30 you'd recommend?