major sleep issues after starting

[annc3333]

Hi all,

 

I'm 59 year old woman with a history of going up and down in weight my entire life, chronic dieting sometimes successful and sometimes not.  In the last few years I've developed major sleep issues whenever I cut back on carbs and/or calories, I go to sleep but then wake up in the middle of the night and can NOT get back to sleep.  I know all the sleep hygiene tricks and even have a prescription but it does not put me to sleep.  If my carbs are very high I sleep fine (like 200 to 300) but when I get them down to 80 to 130 I immediately fall into this pattern.  

 

I thought I wouldn't have this issue on the Whole30 plan because carbs are not really restricted.  I  slept fine for the first two nights while the sugar left my body.  But the third night I slept from 9:30 to 3am and that was that.  Last night I slept from 9:30 to 12:30 and have been awake since.    I had more carbs yesterday especially at dinner--I logged them to check and came in around 165.  My total calories were about 2000.  I"m actually eating more than usual.

 

In spite of being about 40 pounds over weight I have very low blood pressure and very good blood glucose levels which tend to fall when I am dieting.  But I can hardly call 2000 calories a diet!  

 

And in spite of all the calories I've lost 4.5 pounds in the first few days which is unheard of for me in the last decade.  I've been eating coconut milk, a new food for me, and I feel very hot, which is also very unusual for me.  Perhaps my metabolism is reacting??

 

 I don't know…I'm throwing out all these details in the hopes someone might have some ideas as to why my sleep has become so impacted by even minor cutbacks in my diet.  

 

Thanks so much for any thought you have,

AnnC

 

 

 

 

[jmcbn]

I'd say it's very early days in your whole30 and that your hormones are still settling - particularly if you've a history of yo-yo dieting.

Can you post a few days worth of food/liquid/activity to see if there is something that can be done to improve things for you?

Also, counting calories, tracking macros etc. are strictly off limits during your whole30 - all calories are not created equal.

[ladyshanny]

I came into Whole30 always being a champion sleeper.  In the first 14 days of the first Whole30 my sleep was disrupted and crappy.  I was terrified that I'd ruined a good thing.  But as jmcbn says, it was just my body adjusting to the new status quo.  Keep eating those starchies, check out these articles on sleep hygiene to make sure that you aren't working against yourself and your sleep will hopefully settle soon.

 

http://whole9life.com/2014/09/improve-your-sleep/

http://whole9life.com/2014/09/improve-sleep-quality/

[annc3333]

Thanks for the encouragement.  I'll see how tonight goes, eventually I have to sleep, right?    I'm going to eat dinner later and see if that helps get me through the night.  

 

(And I'm going to work really hard not to log or weigh or worry about it all)

[annc3333]

Slept 7 hours last night.  Whew, back to the land of the living.