dorriel Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 After a few short false starts, I'm on day 10 and struggling. I coped with carb flu (and a mild case of the real flu) for the first couple days, felt tired and cranky for a week. Finally I've got the energy to hit the gym. I am a 56, a runner and have been a vegetarian + fish for years. Was not a big eater of process foods, but this my whole30 has been a major shift away from grains and legumes and towards protein and fat. Used to have a glass or two of wine twice a week or so, so thats also a shift I don't feel hungry, cravings are manageable. I'm sleeping great - I turn out the lights and sleep through, waking up 7-8 hours later without an alarm. Gone from needing 2-3 cups of java to 1 cup (black). I eat three template style meals with no snacking unless its a day I plan to workout more than an hour - then I have a small meal before I workout. So whats the issue? The first few days I felt lighter - thinner, but it didn't last long and now I feel bloated. My skirts and pants are tight around the middle. While I'm no longer among the walking dead, I'm not able to workout hard. I have not stepped on the scale - and I know that that would be the end of my whole30 - but please tell me this will get better. Dorrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Physibeth Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Hang in there! You are in the midst of the hardest days. If you've not read through the timeline it might be worth a read. Athletic performance takes a pretty natural hit the first couple of weeks of a Whole30 so go easy on yourself and let the magic happen. Are you doing a Whole30 with only fish as your protein or are you trying to add other meat and eggs? If you are not used to those levels of protein/meat you may need digestive enzymes for a time. This article might help: http://whole9life.com/2013/02/eating-meat-a-primer-for-the-meat-challenged-2/ Beyond that if you want more specific feedback post 2-3 days worth of specifics on your meals including portion sizes as they relate to the size of your palm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlennR Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Looks like you're about right on schedule. Press on! From the Whole30 timeline: Day 8-9: For the love of Gosling, my pants are TIGHTER.You’ve made it through the Hangover, and managed not to kill ALL the things, and you’re starting to feel like things are back on level ground again. Then, you put on your pants. They’re just pants, completely normal pants. In fact, they’re the pants you wore just three days ago. (You were too tired to wash them. It’s okay, we understand.) And three days ago, they fit. But this morning you had to take a big deep breath to get that button where it ought to be. What gives?The same processes that ran over you like a truck a few days ago are still working their magic in your body. Your body composition is not actually changing for the worse, we assure you. The enzymes that digest your food and the millions of bacteria that live in your gut are adjusting to your new intake of meat and vegetables, and the lack of easy-access sugars. This is something they do naturally, and these adjustments have contributed to humanity’s ability to flourish throughout our history. However, these adjustments can be a bit… uncomfortable. Bloating, constipation, diarrhea, or all three may appear as your gut starts to heal, rebalance, and process this new food effectively. The good news is that most people find this phase passes relatively quickly, and their pants are easy to button again within a week or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dorriel Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Physibeth - I am eating a variety of protein - eggs, fish, chicken and turkey. A serving would be 2-3 eggs (3 if no other protein, 2 if I add some homemade turkey sausage) or about a palm-full of meat or fish. I think based on what Glenn said I should hold the line and wear my stretchy yoga pants for a few days and see how it goes. I am having some other digestive issues the last couple days so maybe thats the issue. Thank you both! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinagain Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Dorrie, hang in there! Your clothes will be looser by the end of the 30 days. On my first W30, I did so well for the first 2 weeks...tried on some tight blue jeans and still couldn't wear them. I was so discouraged. But I'd made the commitment for 30 days, so I continued on...and by the end of it, those pants were loose. It seemed crazy because any other "diet" I'd tried, the changes happen in the beginning and decrease further along. But that's because those were all temporary changes, usually due to calorie restriction. W30, I think, takes longer, but LASTS longer because it's changing your metabolism. So just keep telling yourself that it's just 30 days! One day at a time, stay focused and compliant, and you'll see a change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dorriel Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Cinagain - Thats's exactly it - Even though I have not got out a scale or tape measure, I expected the looser jeans sooner. I'm just gonna forget about it and wait and see til the end of the 30 days (actually, since passover starts pretty soon after the end of my 30 days, and whole30 is pretty close to passover eating (I hate matzah), I will probably soldier on til the end of passover, except for a little off-roading seder nights. So yes I will complete the whole30, and really close to a whole45, except whats religiously required (a little matzah and wine) during the ritual meals. SInce legumes and grains are prohibited during passover, I'd might as well.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinagain Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Dorrie, I think I stomped around the house all day after trying on those jeans. Matter of fact, I went to my husband and just cried. I've struggled with my weight all my life, so it's really hard to "trust" W30, especially when I'm eating more than I would normally. Then, add in all those success stories (I lost 30 lbs in 30 days!) and I start to worry that maybe it really is just me...I'm doing something wrong, or my metabolism is so messed up, or...whatever. So that 30 day commitment was important...if I hadn't had that, I would have given up. Better yet, to me, is that it took from the end of that W30 (in November) until the middle of February, for those jeans to get snug again. In the past, any weight I lose comes rampaging back as soon as I revert back to old habits. With W30, more of the good habits "stuck," but I let the old bad habits (sugar) creep back in...but it still took almost 3 MONTHS to slide back. Even then, I didn't wait for the jeans to get unwearable, but just snug...so I started this W30 from a better place than the last one. I'm on D18 right now and will be waiting to see what happens in the next 12 days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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