Day 14: moody, bloated, lagging on timeline

[lisairis]

I am 50, I exercise and am in good heath. But I was relatively carb-dependent. I’m on Day 14. My cravings have not been too bad and I’m enjoying the food – though I am not used to eating so much meat. 

My symptoms seem to be lagging vis a vis the time line: I’ve been tired and bloated for about a week, my muscles are achy, I get lightheaded at the top of the stairs. I normally run regularly, but I don’t have the energy. I bike to work 4 days a week, and hills are more painful. I do yoga once a week, and it’s more difficult.

Also, I feel constipated and I feel like I have lots of weight on (I haven’t weighed myself). I find that I am getting very hungry, especially between lunch and dinner, and I am eating many nuts and seeds as a snack. Yesterday is the first time I have felt moody and cranky on the plan. 

Seems to help to put sample meals. Today: Brkfst: burger patty and 2 pieces of bacon with steamed mixed veggies, and black coffee. Lunch: 3 oz of pulled pork, 1/2 acorn squash baked with coconut oil, steamed green beans, 1/2 small avocado. Fuji apple as a snack. I haven't had dinner, but it will likely be baby back ribs and sweet potatoes (I have a 15K run tomorrow). I often snack on almonds, raisins, sunflower seeds.

In the mean time, I’m going to try to work on these things and my hope is to report next week that I am feeling much better. Any advice is welcome! 

Thank you.

[CaGirl]

Why are you measuring your pulled pork?   I think you need to increase it too.. and a lot of people say the nuts aren't good for snacking.

If you need something between lunch and dinner  make it a little mini meal..  

[GFChris]

I question whether you're eating enough. The recommendation for every meal is 1-2 palms of protein, 1-3 cups of veggies and compliant fat. Create meals that satiate you for 4-5 hours.

How long is your bike ride to work? I'm wondering if it would help to have pre or post workout fuel?

And CaGirl is correct: if you are genuinely hungry between meals (litmus test: you could eat something bland like steamed fish and broccoli), the recommendation is to have a mini meal of protein, veg and fat. Nuts and seeds are fats on a Whole30. Reserve fruit to have with or immediately after your main meals only.

[lisairis]

Yes, I forgot I should eat mini meals, not nuts. I believe i'm getting the proportions roughly right. My bike ride is 3.5 miles, I barely break a sweat. Why am I measuring pork: I don't know how to answer that, but I will say that 3 oz ends up being about a palm and a half if that helps. Yes, I could easily eat steamed fish and broccoli when I am hungry between meals. I am starting to up the amount of protein, especially at breakfast. I was also depending on fruit (berries mostly), so I will cut down on those, too.

 

On day 17, I am feeling better, though still slightly constipated. Are aids like psyllium a good idea? Thanks for your answers, they are very helpful.

[Cerena8]

I am on day 17 too and share your pain. My legs feel like lead when I walk the dog on the hills around here or even go up the stairs at home. I am eating a lot but just feel general fatigue. Today's meals were - 3 eggs, greens, coffe, butternut squash and grapefruit for breakfast, lunch hamburger, pickle, salad and fruit salad (lunch with the girls), dinner plan to have pork, roasted potatoes, avocado and broccoli. I did have a snack of 1/2 a banana and nuts. I hope this phase passes because I have things I need to sdo.

[Carlaccini]

You could try a magnesium supplement like Natural Calm.  That will generally help with sleep and bathroom issues.  Also make sure you are drinking enough water.   You should be consuming half your body weight in ounces a day.

[tristar00]

So happy to find this thread today.  I'm on day 13, and feeling sluggish, foggy & want a cupcake!!!  

 

So far the program has been good, and the cravings/headaches/crankiness hasn't been too bad.  I did eat fairly well prior, but have always been a carbaholic, and leaned heavily towards vegetarianism.  (I do miss the grains & legumes I admit).

 

My clothes are still tight and I've yet to get all this energy I hear about.  I believe it will come....I certainly hope so....

 

Just need a little support, I'm committed to staying on track.  

 

Food log:

 

Yesterday:

Meal 1 = 3 hard boiled eggs, 1 avocado, couple of handfuls of grape tomatoes, coffee with 100% cocao, vanilla powder & coconut milk

Meal 2 = ground beef, broccoli slaw & tomato sauce (just tomatoes, nothing else) casserole, apple with almond butter

Meal 3 = mixed root vegetable "hash" (sauteed in ghee), 3 eggs, olives - normally I would've had some meat, not the eggs, but didn't plan out the week well enough (already started meal plan for next week  )

 

drinking water mixed with LaCroix throughout the day, and had Crio Bru after dinner

[Carlaccini]

Hi Tristar!

 

Overall your meals look decent - Can I ask about your vanilla powder?  Personally I have not come across one that hasn't included sugar or sweetener of some kind.  It also sounds like you are trying very hard to recreate a frothy sweet coffee here.  If you want to truly slay the sugar dragon I would strongly advise against drinking this beverage.

 

Some thoughts:

Raw veg (specifically broccoli and cauliflower) is well known to cause some bloating and sometimes gut distress.  I'm not advising against eating it unless your symptoms become too severe. 

Also keep in mind that nuts, nutbutters, and dried fruit are notorious for causing bloating and distress.  Especially if you choose to rely on them.  I am not saying you are - I am just mentioning it for reference.

 

What does your activity levels look like?  Do you workout at all?  If you do - I encourage you to include a pre and post workout meal.

 

How much water are you consuming?  Aim to drink half your body weight in ounces daily.  LaCroix water is okay but not ideal all the time as your main source of beverage. 

 

At the end of the day, remember that this is a 30 day program and some of us do take longer before the "tiger blood" comes.  My first whole 30 it took me until day 22 before I felt constant, consistent energy levels.  I had been dragging my butt for days. 

[tristar00]

Carlaccini - 

 

Thank you so much for the reply, greatly appreciate the insights.

 

Dang it, the vanilla powder has maltodextrin.  ugh, away it goes.  And I just started with it Monday, so it could be the sugar craving is related.  Good to "connect the dots".

 

I'm not doing raw veggies, they're cooked, except for the grape tomatoes.

 

I do workout, mostly running with some lifting, and I have been doing a pre-workout snack, usually an egg with a small fistful of almonds.  My post-workout meal has generally been breakfast or lunch.

 

Didn't think I was eating too much nuts/nutbutter, but as I look back, I have had one or the other every day.  Maybe I should scale them back.

 

And I do recognize I need to be drinking more water, it has been a long time struggle for me, regardless of which meal program I have followed.  I usually mix the LaCroix 1 part to 2 parts water.  

 

Thank you again, really appreciate the reply.

[lisairis]

Checking in again on Day 25 (Yikes, sorry for the length!): 

 

In a nutshell, conditions are improving from Day 14, though not dramatically. I can’t attack a zebra in the wild, but I can sure pounce a ball of yarn like nobody’s business.

 

I found I had to be honest with myself about non-dietary things that likely set me back on feeling good: caffeine intake, occasional migraine meds, perimenopause, occasional crappy sleep (I blame the cats), just having a bad day. 

 

Good news: 

 

I run for exercise and I had my first good run yesterday. I haven’t had the energy to exercise much at all, aside from my 7 mile round trip bike commute to work. 

 

I see some more defined muscle tone (I am rather muscular to begin with, but with age, it’s decreasing a bit). I feel like I eat like a piggy, and I haven’t moved in body size (I haven’t touched a scale yet!)

 

The food is delicious! My husband and I can eat together though he is not participating. I am satisfied with meals and my cravings have been minimal - the only things I miss are occasional cocktail and my morning steel cut oats. Only when I am having a rough day for other reasons, I notice my desire for a quick endorphin rush go up (unsolicited opinion: I don’t know if it’s stated anywhere specifically, but I think one needs to be in a good emotional state before starting this program).

 

You can do this pretty cheaply if you want, and I love that the founders make much of it available for free to increase access to every demographic.

 

Less than good news:

 

My cholesterol has always been naturally high, but I’ve lucked out out on having good enough HDL, LDL and triglycerides to avoid meds. My high was 254 six years ago, my low of was 210 two years ago. Yesterday my lipid panel results were 264, an all-time high (other lipid levels were safe but worsened). Could be lack of exercise, could be other factors, but much of it has to be this diet (though I welcome an expert opinion).

 

As of now, I definitely have not slimmed down due to the decrease in workouts and energy, but I have very little extra weight to worry about, just enough to make jeans tedious to wear.

 

Though much of this program simply has to be healthier by removing known toxins and irritants, the two things that I don’t like: 1. the large, meat heavy meals with snacking discouraged between meals; 2. the constipation. I will discuss cholesterol with my doctor soon and check back in.

 

You can do this program cheaply, but to make it interesting, it gets a bit spendy.

 

Though I am thrilled for the people whose lives changed for the better, generally (aside from feeling good that I got this far), it didn’t really improve my few minor health conditions. I guess I should feel lucky I’m healthy.

 

Oh - but I have a week to go - let’s see if I am just a slow poke and everything turns around! I’m an skeptical optimist.

 

Thanks for joining the conversation, I learn something from all of you. I hope my input is helpful.

 

[lisairis]

On Day 31. I haven't taken my new pics, not noticing my body changing, but we'll see!

 

Funny, I don't feel any surge of energy or feelings of being born-again. But I am reluctant to go back to eating many of the foods i left out during the last 30 days:

 

Dairy, soy, legumes, most sugars and grains I can either live without or cut back greatly, though I love peanuts and soy. I miss a crunchy bagel with butter!

 

I will reintroduce steel cut oat and oatmeal because I think it's been more beneficial than not having it. And I will need to have a beer or cocktail a night or two a week. Probably the most toxic, but the thing I have missed the most.

 

I will probably go back to eating leaner meats. Bummer about coconut products and most canned fish is that they are imports and can't really be sourced locally.

 

It's been a net positive, probably the most sensible food plan out there.

[lisairis]

I am on day 17 too and share your pain. My legs feel like lead when I walk the dog on the hills around here or even go up the stairs at home. I am eating a lot but just feel general fatigue. Today's meals were - 3 eggs, greens, coffe, butternut squash and grapefruit for breakfast, lunch hamburger, pickle, salad and fruit salad (lunch with the girls), dinner plan to have pork, roasted potatoes, avocado and broccoli. I did have a snack of 1/2 a banana and nuts. I hope this phase passes because I have things I need to sdo.

How are you feeling, Cerena8?