Stress: How do I deal with it now that I've removed food as an option?

[johnsr5]

Hello,

 

I'm currently on day 11 of my third attempt at completing my whole 30. ( Day 14 is about as far as I've gotten without giving up and having a slice of pizza or cracking open a beer).  This time around I've found some new ways to keep myself motivated (listening to It Starts with Food audio book on my 30 minute drive to work) and have learned from my first two attempts as to how often I need to shop and what are going to be my go to meals as well as planning around an unpredictable work schedule.  This time around I found myself with much more significant sugar cravings the first few days and for the last two or three I have felt nearly on the verge of mental breakdown anytime I have a second to relax.  I'm not working out right now as that did not go well for me with the first attempt, and my fitness routine is not very consistent as it is so I didn't want to add the additional stressor of trying to find room in my busy schedule for that as well.  Without the workouts I don't really know what else to do to de-stress at the end of the day.  For the last two days I've come home and after cooking dinner hit the couch and zoned out on TV for 2-3 hours until its time to go to bed, and that seems to be the only thing that has helped me to feel not stressed out in nearly a week.  Tonight I was well into hour two on the zone when I finally got myself motivated enough to do a few chores and try to look at some homework.  20 minutes later and I was so stressed again I wanted to just curl up in a ball on the couch.

 

Has anyone experienced this? I know it will pass eventually, that thought is one of the few things that allows me to mentally push through, but do you have any advice for how to deal with this?  Judging on my last two attempts shear will power is not enough, I need some good habits I can add to my routine but my head is so clouded with stress right now I can hardly think clearly enough to come up with anything new on my own.

[MeGA"gardener"]

If you post a couple of days of food the Mods will help tweek your fat and carb intake

Do you have a hobby? Sometimes getting 'lost' in a project or small interest will help

Get out into the fresh air after or during work for 5 mins breathing exercises or slightly stretch

Are you drinking enough water You may be dehydrated with a cloudy feeling

[chezjulie]

John, I think most of America zones out to the TV after work to deal with stress! If you are dealing with a lot of stress at work plus adjusting to all the physical changes of a Whole30, I guess I'm not seeing anything wrong in watching a few episodes of Castle before bed. 

 

The moderators often recommend that people who are feeling anxious or depressed should make sure to include a starchy carb in at least one of their meals every day, so if you're not having a sweet potato, potato, parsnips, etc. every day, that might be something you could do.

 

I sometimes listen to guided meditation recordings from Health Journeys to relax. Search for the ones that Belleruth Naperstak does because her voice is like aural Valium. You can download them as MP3s. I love the Healthful Sleep one.

 

Also, if you're just generally feeling tired and edgy due to the dietary changes of the Whole30, it might help to hear that I felt really rotten until Day 16, when I started turning a corner and feeling human again. So you may just have to grit your teeth for 3 or 4 more days, be compassionate with yourself and let yourself enjoy that Walking Dead marathon after work, and wait to start naturally feeling more energy as your body adjusts. You can catch up on chores over the weekend, can't you?

 

Also, I think that's a great idea to listen to It Starts with Food on your commute for motivation.

[jmcbn]

Yep, MeGa and chezjulie have both given you some good suggestions.

First off I'd say breathe. Don't over think this. We do not want you to be stressed. We want you to mindfully eat wholesome good food, three times a day. If you're meals are put together as per the meal template they should keep you full for 4-5 hrs and keep those cravings at bay.

Energy levels are expected to be low in the first two week, and days 7-10 or thereabouts are when most people give up. You are not one of those people. You've proven that by choosing to come back.

 

Starchy veg will keep your anxiety levels low, will help with energy levels, and will also help with the transition from your old diet to the new so be sure to include at least one fist sized portion per day - more if you feel the need.

Don't stress about training this time around. Take one step at a time. As MeGa suggested a walk in the fresh air will help clear your head, and also get those endorphins pumping which may well help you feel better. As chezjulie has suggested meditation will help you relax. Or you could try something like genealogy to try and focus your mind. TV is fine, but do try to limit screen time particularly if you are feeling stressed as it will hinder sleep, and both lack of sleep and stress will greatly in

If you'd like to post a few days worth of your food & liquid intake we could take a look and see if you need to mix up the composition of your meals to get you over this hump sooner rather than later.....

[GFChris]

Other things that may help you relieve stress are things that calm you or bring you joy. Gardening, journaling, reading, getting a massage, taking a hot bath, woodworking or other creative projects, listening to music, dancing, being in nature, calling a good friend are some ideas.

[Loulabelle]

I find TV is a creator of stress unless I am actively choosing something to watch like a movie or a box set on Netflix. Just randomly watching is not relaxing especially with advertising, news (or more like no news just scare tactics) and so much reality TV. Ditch the TV & pick up a book, if it is nice weather where you are go for a walk, play card games... anything but the big black window. 

[johnsr5]

Wow,

 

Thanks for all the support guys!  So for foods I haven't been keeping a food log but here's what I can remember from the last couple of days.

 

Tues:
Meal 1

4 eggs fried in dairy free butter, with 1 large turkey sausage link (think Italian sausage)

4 stalks celery

~10 Oz cup of black coffee

also brought a piece of fruit with me to work (apple or banana can't remember witch) that I ate ~ 1 hour after meal 1

Meal 2

Large salad: Base of two handfuls of mixed green with 4-5 cherry tomatoes, half a head of broccoli, carrot chips, two hard boiled eggs, half a medium sized cucumber and ~ 2oz of seasoned steak strips.

I may have also had another piece of fruit to snack on (don't remember) 

Meal 2 1/2:

Was stuck at work much latter than anticipated and was looking like I might have to stay the night (I'm a pilot in the military).  I had some pistachios, and an almond, cashew, macadamia nut mix stashed at the alert facility and I fully intended on eating only that if I had to to not go off plan.  I finished what was left of my salad ~1/2 palm full and ate ~ 1 open palm of the almond/cashew/macadamia nut mix and ~1 closed palm of pistachios

Meal 3

Was still pretty hungry once I got home, as soon as I realized I would be able to get home I put down the nuts realizing I had probably overloaded on them for the day.  Cooked up 1 1/2 lamb steaks in lard, none caffeinated mint tea and ~1 1/2 open palms of steamed Brussel sprouts with sea salt.

 

Wednesday:

Meal 1 

~10 Oz cup of black coffee

~1/2 palm steak strips fried in dairy free butter with 3 fried eggs

4 stalks celery

Large apple ~ 1 hour latter

Meal 2

Rinse repeat on salad with cutting board chicken strips in place of steak.  (The chicken I am slightly concerned about not being true whole 30, its a prepackaged product from the deli section, labeling says less then 2% of all the bad stuff.  I've used it as a back up in the past when I'd forgotten lunch at home and needed some protein on my commissary salad)

Meal 3

~10 oz steak cooked in lard, 3 Italian sausage turkey links (can't remember if I had a vegetable, honestly may not have)

1 white peach

none caffeinated mint tea

 

Thursday:

Meal 1

~1/2 palm steak strips fried in dairy free butter 3 three fried eggs.

Did not have a veggie this morning (realized this was a mistake when choosing not to eat one but felt like I was running behind and didn't want to go through the trouble of preparing one)

Had a Starbucks Venti Iced Coffee (Black)

Meal 2

Commissary prepared chef salad (removed all the cheese, no dressing) and added same cutting board chicken.  Also had some thick pepperoni (another maybe ok food).  Was not hungry enough to finish the salad and snacked on babe carrots most of the rest of the afternoon.

Meal 3

~10 Oz steak cooked in lard

1 1/2 open palm of Brussel sprouts with sea salt.

 

Wednesday, I was tired though much of the day from having a hard time sleeping the couple of days before and some cumulative fatigue (Had just finished a 7 day work week on Sunday and was still at work for a few hours Monday).  Actually spent a couple hours trying to sleep in our squadron alert facility in the middle of the day but was not able to fall asleep.  Needless to say I was stressed when I got home from poor meal planning.

 

Thursday,  just stressed/anxious most of the day didn't matter what I did to try and change my mood.

 

Today, other then the lack of appetite this morning, almost didn't finish my breakfast and didn't finish lunch, overall I've felt much better till my drive home.  Had to run an errand that took me 30 minutes in the other direction from home then got stuck in crazy traffic on the way home so despite leaving work early to run my errand I still ended up not getting home till about the time I'm normally eating dinner.

 

Also as a follow up, as I'm actually writing this down and looking back at my last three days I can see some of the problems are probably from my own doing (like skipping veggies with some meals or eating questionable OK foods).  I'm realizing the important of veggies with each meal, especially breakfast since I wasn't doing that very often in my first week.  But with the OK foods I ate the last two days did I completely screw this whole thing up unintentionally?

[MeGA"gardener"]

Well I'm seeing you need lots more carbs starchy ones like potatoes yams butternut squash or spaghetti and winter to name a few

That will help with the hunger

You can always bake a bunch of potatoes

I try to cook extra so I'll always have stuff to throw together

Your fats should be increased it may help with anxiety such as do you eat what's left in the pan after your Protien is cooked? You should add olive oil or any complient fat Avocado bacon prosciutto It will leave you Satied until next meal

I'd stay away from nut butters and limit your nuts to sprinkles on the salad

No snacking inbetween have your fruit with your meal

Complient jerky such as Chomp or others may replace your pepperoni is noncompliant check ingredients to be sure

Coffee messes up a bunch of things like cortisol levels

The Mods will suggest things also You'll receive lots of help

Good luck

[GFChris]

By "dairy free butter," do you mean clarified butter?

The chicken with less than 2% of whatever is likely not compliant. Is there any way you can determine those ingredients?

Pepperoni is likely not compliant. Can you confirm those ingredients?

Having 1-3 cups of veggies at each meal should help keep you satiated longer.

[missmary]

one more: having a stand alone snack of a piece of fruit isn't recommended, and shouldn't be a habit.

 

If you find yourself needing food in-between meals, try to have a mini-meal of protein, vegetables and fat. Keep fruit to eating during a meal not in-between or after.

 

If you find yourself needing food in-between meals on a regular basis, work to increase your meals until this become more rare. It is ideal to just stick to three squares (with pre- and post- workout food if needed) to give your body time to rest and digest.