Wrinkled Fingers & Dry, Itchy Skin

[snapking]

I'm on day 23 and in general am very happy with my increased and more consistent energy level, attitude, etc.  I am intrigued (and a little annoyed) by one category of side-effects:

- My skin has been extremely dry (not just because it's winter).

- I've been rather itchy, especially around my mid-section, with a little bit of a rash on my back.

- The tips of my fingers have been wrinkled like a prune, as if I'd immersed them in water for a while, but all the time.

Although I have not kept a food diary, (I'm starting one tomorrow), I've stuck very strictly to the plan, and I'm pretty confident that my food portions and ratios are good.  I wonder if these are symptoms of not enough fat, but I feel like I'm getting plenty.  Or maybe they're just a result of my changing metabolism?  I couldn't find any information here or on the web in general on chronic wrinkled fingers.

Any ideas?

[MeadowLily]

Could this be dehydration?  It happens in the winter months when it's really cold outside,  we can forget to drink enough water.  Do you drink coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoons, evenings?   If so, drink 3 cups of water for every cup of coffee and black tea to balance out any caffeine that might be taking the moisture away from you skin, body.   You're measuring ratios...as in macros, micros?

[Physibeth]

Dehydration is my first instinct. Could you give us an idea of what you've been eating, water intake, sleep, stress, and activity? What are the biggest differences between Whole30 and how you were eating before?

[snapking]

Thanks for both your responses.  Dehydration is a possible culprit.  I'm traditionally a big water-drinker, but I realize in reflecting upon it that my water intake has probably gone down with this program.  I think I'm so focused on meal planning that I'm forgetting to be as conscientious about drinking water.

To answer the questions you both posed:

By ratio, I meant between proteins, fats, vegetables, and fruits.

About every other day, I have been having one cup of coffee in the morning, sometime between breakfast and lunch, black or with a little coconut milk.

I have been having one cup of tea, usually herbal, a few times a week, as well.

I'm sleeping well, about 8 hours a night.

My life if fairly low-stress at the moment.

My physical activity has been low since before I started the program, due to a pinched nerve injury; I usually walk 1-2 miles a day.  Soon, I'll be back to more athletic daily activities.

The biggest differences between my current eating and my previous habits are that my meal times and sizes are much more consistent now, I eat breakfast every day now (used to be about every other day, although it was the same kind of healthy protein & vegetable breakfast), and I've gone way more organic/free-range and less processed than I used to.  Plus I had been eating quite a lot of grains and legumes and a fair amount of sugar and dairy.

Food-wise, I generally have 2 or 3 eggs in the morning with some sort of greens and various other vegetables.

Lunches and dinners vary but tend to be a diverse combination of chicken, beef, lamb, bison, pork, or fish, (all as organic, wild, free-range as I can find), lots of vegetables, and sometimes a little fruit, either incorporated or eaten immediately afterwards.

I sometimes incorporate cashews or almonds into a meal as well.  And lots of avocado.  And occasionally olives.

Except for the occasional question mark of a restaurant meal, I've been cooking/dressing food exclusively with olive, coconut, and avocado oil and clarified butter.

I'm not sure of the net change of my salt intake.  Leaving processed foods and eating out less has probably lowered it, but I also find myself adding a little more salt at home than I used to.

I haven't been able to correlate my symptoms to any specific food.

I'm going to increase my water intake for a few days and see how that affects me.

Thanks, again!

[snapking]

Update:  Shortly after writing my last post, I came down with stomach-flu-like symptoms, which I've been struggling with ever since (5 days).  I know a stomach bug has been going around where I live, and I think that's what I have.

During this time, my diet has been very limited.  Day 1 - 1 banana.  Day 2 - 3 wedges of grapefruit.  Day 3 - 1 cup organic homemade chicken broth.  Day 4 - cup chicken broth, 1 slice organic bacon, 1 banana.  Day 5 - 1 banana (so far).  Today is the first day I've been able to raise my water intake a bit - first four days it was pretty low.  Just haven't been able to stomach any more than this.

Interestingly, my wrinkled fingers and dry skin have largely disappeared.