Day 38, low energy, what to do about it?

[NancyF]

I'm on day 38 of my third Whole 30 and really struggling with low energy.  On my previous Whole 30s, I never achieved "Tiger Blood," but I also never felt as bad as this, especially not late in the program.  I've never gone past 30 days before, but was interested in going as long as I can to really put the sugar dragon to sleep, cement the good habits I've learned, and maybe chase down this elusive Tiger Blood!

 

I see on the forum that lots of people seem to have similar issues and have gotten good advice.  Please look at my personal situation and let me know: can you help? Do you see something I am missing? Or do you think I need to just soldier on and wait for a breakthrough?

 

Basically, my energy is never great, but definitely dips later in the day, and by 3-4 p.m. I am really struggling.  Energy to work out is almost non-existent, and what exercise I am getting feels like a real chore.  Just climbed up a flight of stairs and my legs felt so tired I thought they would crumple. My mental energy and focus is a little better than the physical, but definitely not optimal.

 

My sleep seems ok, I am waking up a little earlier than usual, not totally refreshed per se, but not dragging either.  Cut down dramatically on caffeine about 10 days ago from 3 cups/day to one half-caf first thing in the morning, hoping this might help, but to no avail. (Hasn't really been worse in that time either.)

 

Here's a few recent days' menus:

 

Meal 1: 1 fried egg, 1/2 chicken-apple sausage, roasted cauliflower, mixed berries with toasted coconut, coffee with coconut milk, 1Tbl. almond butter

 

Meal 2: Asian-style chicken protein salad from the Whole 30 book with mandarin oranges and snap peas on top of shredded cabbage.

 

Meal 3: 1/3 lb. grilled hamburger with avocado pesto, oven roasted potatoes, 1/2 large orange.

 

----

Meal 1: 2 scrambled eggs with broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms and spinach, mixed berries with toasted coconut, coffee with coconut milk

 

Meal 2: large salad with tuna, green beans, potatoes, black olives, tomatoes and 1/2 hard-boiled egg

 

Meal 3: shrimp scampi (about 15 shrimp cooked in clarified butter with garlic, lemon and parsley) on a bed of roasted broccoli and bell peppers.

 

I've been snacking a little between meals, maybe a Larabar if I'm out and about, or a handful of nuts, a banana, a hard-boiled egg, or some chicken sausage with a little diced avocado.  

 

Thanks for any help you can offer!   

[GFChris]

In short, eat more.   

The fact that you need to snack tells me that your meals aren't big enough. You want to create meals that satiate you for 4-5 hours.

When eggs are your sole protein, the serving size is the number of whole eggs you can hold in 1 hand without dropping them. For most folks, that's 3-4 eggs.

Instead of 1 egg and 1/2 a sausage, have 2 eggs and 1-2 sausages for your protein.

Otherwise, look to have your protein at each meal be 1-2 palm sized amounts. One palm is the length, width and thickness of your palm.

I'm not seeing any starchy vegetables.  Start adding at least one fist-sized serving of carb dense vegetables each day.

Until you get to a place where your meals satiate you for 4-5 hours, if you're genuinely hungry between meals, have a mini-meal of protein, veg and fat.  Drop the Lara Bars (those are emergency food only).  Nuts are a fat source on a Whole30.

Also, be sure you're drinking enough water: at least 1/2 an ounce of water per pound of body weight, daily.

[NancyF]

Hi, Chris.  Thanks for your response.  So basically, you're saying get more protein, more starchy veggies, clamp down on the snacks, and keep up the fluids.  I suppose I also need to look at my eating schedule because it's often more like 6 or 7 hours between lunch and dinner, hence the need to snack a little in the late afternoon. That's a tough one, though, so I may stick with the snack (or let's call it a "mini-meal") in the afternoon, as long as it's a balanced and healthy choice, not just a Larabar.

 

I will work on all of this, but your notes bring up one of my lingering issues with Whole 30: I really appreciate that Whole 30 is about clueing in to what your body is telling you and getting in touch with actual hunger vs. cravings, feelings of satiety, how foods make you feel physically and emotionally, etc.  However, even eating the menu that I outlined for you, I am often eating past the point of satiety, knowing that I have to eat enough to tide me over for several hours.  This seems to fly in the face of listening to your body, and now you're suggesting that I need to eat even MORE than I have been?  And more filling foods at that?  I often lament that on Whole 30 I feel like there's no such thing as a "light meal," and sometimes what I'm really craving these days is not a cupcake or a bag of chips, but just a light salad--lettuce, a few veggies, no protein added. But you're telling me that what I need to regain my energy is to go in the opposite direction and stuff myself full?  Seems weird.  Can you help me square these two different ideas?

 

Thanks!  I appreciate the help!

[GFChris]

Hi, Chris.  Thanks for your response.  So basically, you're saying get more protein, more starchy veggies, clamp down on the snacks, and keep up the fluids.  I suppose I also need to look at my eating schedule because it's often more like 6 or 7 hours between lunch and dinner, hence the need to snack a little in the late afternoon. That's a tough one, though, so I may stick with the snack (or let's call it a "mini-meal") in the afternoon, as long as it's a balanced and healthy choice, not just a Larabar.

 

I will work on all of this, but your notes bring up one of my lingering issues with Whole 30: I really appreciate that Whole 30 is about clueing in to what your body is telling you and getting in touch with actual hunger vs. cravings, feelings of satiety, how foods make you feel physically and emotionally, etc.  However, even eating the menu that I outlined for you, I am often eating past the point of satiety, knowing that I have to eat enough to tide me over for several hours.  This seems to fly in the face of listening to your body, and now you're suggesting that I need to eat even MORE than I have been?  And more filling foods at that?  I often lament that on Whole 30 I feel like there's no such thing as a "light meal," and sometimes what I'm really craving these days is not a cupcake or a bag of chips, but just a light salad--lettuce, a few veggies, no protein added. But you're telling me that what I need to regain my energy is to go in the opposite direction and stuff myself full?  Seems weird.  Can you help me square these two different ideas?

 

Thanks!  I appreciate the help!

The idea is to create meals that leave you pleasantly full and satiate you for 4-5 hours, as this tends to work for optimal hormonal balance.

If you have a longer stretch between meals, we don't expect you to go hungry, nor do we expect you to overeat to make it last longer ... certainly make a mini meal of protein veg and fat to hold you over until your next major meal.

 

Does that make sense?

[ladyshanny]

Hi, Chris.  Thanks for your response.  So basically, you're saying get more protein, more starchy veggies, clamp down on the snacks, and keep up the fluids.  I suppose I also need to look at my eating schedule because it's often more like 6 or 7 hours between lunch and dinner, hence the need to snack a little in the late afternoon. That's a tough one, though, so I may stick with the snack (or let's call it a "mini-meal") in the afternoon, as long as it's a balanced and healthy choice, not just a Larabar.

 

 

This is my situation.  I have to have a bite of chicken burger/couple cubes of leftover steak with mayo or a hardboiled egg at around 5pm because lunch was at noon and dinner is still 2 hours away.  You're right on, make it at least protein and fat and add some veggies if you want.  No fruit alone, no nuts alone and certainly no larabars!  

[ladyshanny]

Nancy, if you come from a background of grazing all day or eating small meals every 2-3 hours then yes, you are going to have a transition where these large meals feel like too much.  It is entirely possible to eat enough at one sitting within the template to tide a person over for 4-5 hours.  You may just need to work out composition.

 

It's not so much that you need to increase the volume dramatically.  Instead of having half that hard boiled egg on your salad, throw the whole thing on. Not much more volume but more fat and protein that will keep you going longer.  As Chris said, bump the eggs and your protein overall. 

 

You can also dump off the fruits at your meals and replace that volume with the starchy veggies, fruits are optional.  Veggies will give you more nutrients and eventually more energy than you will get from fruits.  You could also consider leaving off nuts and nut butters, if they are causing you stomach distress that could be creating a "bloaty" feeling like you're overfull when in reality you are not.

[NancyF]

Thanks to both ladyshanny and Chris!  I think from your responses I know what I need to work on--composition of meals looks like my biggest downfall right now, and you've given me some insight into how to improve that. Appreciate your help.  Fingers crossed that I'll be feeling better soon!