Looking for a little reassurance

[andyrea84]

Hello all!  I'm officially on Day 3 of my first Whole30, although I cut out all sugars (except a little fruit) and cut way down on everything else last Tuesday, so I feel like I'm further along than I "officially" am.  Sunday afternoon, I stupidly went mountain biking...big mistake.  Then yesterday after work, I decided to go for a walk/jog around my neighborhood when it was still sunny and 90+ degrees...also a big mistake.  Half way through both workouts, I felt light headed and nauseous.  I bounced back Sunday night fairly well, but I feel like I'm still suffering from yesterday's excursion.  I thought the walk would be a "light" workout, but apparently not.  Is it normal to have to scale back workouts this much during the first couple of weeks?  I'm a gym regular and do plenty of outside activities in the hot weather normally, so I'm a little surprised I'm this affected.  Meals for my first two official days have consisted of:

 

Sunday:

Breakfast- two scrambled eggs, blackberries, and walnuts

Lunch- salad with apples and walnuts, homemade apple vinaigrette, broccoli, carrots, and one slice of proscuitto

Pre-WO- half an orange and some brazil nuts

Dinner- pork tenderloin with apples, sweet potatoes, and onions in a homemade apple vinaigrette, with a side of green beans

 

Monday:

Breakfast- 1.5 eggs with stir fry veggies and a little proscuitto

Lunch- pork tenderloin with apples, sweet potatoes, and onions in a homemade apple vinaigrette, with a side of green beans

Pre-WO- blackberries and brazil nuts

Dinner- half a zucchini with ground beef and cauliflower with a side salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette

 

I'm feeling satisfied after meals, I drink plenty of water, and I'm oddly enough not having any cravings (I have an outrageous sweet tooth, so this is a nice surprise)...I'm hoping it's just that I overdid on the workouts those two days...anyone have any thoughts/suggestions/experiences to share?  Thanks so much!!

 

[jmcbn]

Hi there

 

Yep, it's perfectly normal to have less energy for training in the first two weeks as your body becomes fat adapted.

 

That said you are not eating enough.

 

When eggs are your sole source of protein in a meal you should be eating te number of whole eggs you can hold in one hand, which is 3-4 for most people. Lots of folk find though that it's better to mix up their proteins to keep them going for longer so maybe some ground beef, or fish or something alongside the eggs.

Pre WO you should aim for protein & fat, not fruit, and postWO should be protein & starchy carbs, again not fruit. The short story here is that fruit will send the wrong signal to the brain.

Your meals are very low in protein across the board (one slice of proscuitto is negligible), and I see no fat at all. I would be ravenous from eating so little, and would have no energy to just be, never mind train. Take another look at the meal template and aim for 1-2 palm sized pieces of protein, 1-3 cups of veggies, and 1-2 thumb sized pieces of fat (or a handful of olives, good dollop of mayo etc) and remember that these are minimum requirements so feel free to eat more.

[ShannonM816]

You're not eating enough, which would be why you felt light-headed and nauseous.

 

A serving of eggs, when they're your only protein source in a meal, is as many whole eggs as you can hold in your hand. That's probably at least 3, possibly 4, maybe even more.

 

Prosciutto -- what does your prosciutto look like? Because when I buy the stuff it's so thin I can almost hold it up and look through it. I basically have to eat a whole package to get something even close to the length, width, and height of my palm. (I usually use prosciutto as an accent with some other protein -- it goes really well with eggs, or if you bake it til it's crispy, it's a nice accent with salads or vegetables.)

 

Pre-workout should be protein and fat. A hard boiled egg would be great, or a few bites of leftover meat with some mayo. And you really should add in a post-workout too, which should be lean protein and optionally starchy vegetable -- think chicken breast or water-packed tuna and sweet potato.

 

Water should be 1/2 oz per pound of body weight, so if you weigh 120 lbs, drink at least 60 oz of water. And be sure you're salting your food to taste, since without a bunch of processed food, you're not getting any salt, and your body does actually need some.

[andyrea84]

Thanks, guys.  I've always been a small meal eater...my problem has always been too much snacking.  So I've cut that out, but I guess I haven't found the right balance for my meal sizes.  Salting is also something I'm not used to doing that I'll need to make an effort on.  You've given me some valuable information...thank you!  I definitely want this Whole30 to be a success!