Day 18 and Feeling Tired...

[kmg4805]

I've made it to day 18 and for the past few weeks I've had several days where I have felt soooo exhausted. I've been working out but nothing too intense (running 3 miles or less and weights) and I've been getting a good 7+ hours of sleep most nights. Perhaps I'm not eating enough? My meals for the day:

 

M1: 3 eggs made into egg salad with celery, onion, compliant mayo, handful+ of asparagus and half of a sandwich bag full of baby carrots, coffee with coconut milk

 

M2: approximately 2 cups of italian beef, handful+ of asparagus, cup of cherries, closed handful of almonds, kombucha

 

M3: planning on having 0.5 lb hamburger, "smashed" potatoes with melted ghee, brussels sprouts

 

All thoughts welcome!

[jmcbn]

I don't think you're eating enough.

You're aware, I'm sure, that a serving of eggs is as many whole eggs as you can hold in one hand (usually 3-4), but I always feel better if I mix up my protein sources, and add say some fish or beef alongside the eggs.

Your salad would need to be HUGE to be big enough.

You're lacking in veg in M2 unless you've eaten a serious amount of apsaragus, and nuts as a fat source are neither the best option, nor the most satiating.

M3 sounds like it could be okay, but I'm guessing it might also be low on fat.

Think of it like this - you're switching to fat burning mode so you need to give your body fat to burn otherwise where is it going to get it's energy?

What is your liquid intake like?

[Tom Denham]

Two more things. 1. You report exercising, but no extra food in the form of pre- and post-workout meals to cover the extra demands created by exercise. 2. You probably need 8 + hours of sleep. Seven is typically less than most people actually need. 

[kmg4805]

Thank you both for your responses!

 

@jmcbn - I typically drink between 90-100 ounces of water per day. 

 

@Tom Denham - I did not report a pre - and post - workout meal yesterday as I only walked, I did not run.

 

I stepped up the fat big time today. Here are my meals:

 

M1: chicken salad with compliant mayo, coffee with coconut milk, egg, half avocado, small handful of olives, carrots, sugar snap peas

 

M2: beef, two eggs, half avocado, small handful of olives, carrots, cherries, HUGE plate of salad

 

M3: TBD

 

Is this too much? When will my body rely on my fat stores to pull energy? 

 

Thanks again!

[jmcbn]

Honestly, if you're feeling hungry 4-5hrs after meal one and it wasn't a struggle to get it down then it's good. 

90-100 ounces of water is good if you weigh around 190lbs. The recommendation is half an ounce per pound of body weight.

Your body will be using fat stores now as energy, however, if you don't feed your body fat it will panic a little and hold back what fat stores it has in case there's a famine coming - this is why you need to eat fat. This is also why the composition of your pre & post WO meals are so important.

Don't forget a fist sized serving of starchy veg per day too...

[Tom Denham]

Your body burns more or fewer calories depending upon conditions. You know what causes our bodies to burn fewer calories? Not eating enough. Not eating enough tells the body that famine conditions may be at hand and the body should preserve calories. This leads to a slower metabolism. Also, the body responds differently to different foods. The body can use the calories from meat, veggies, and healthy fats better than it can calories from cake and donuts. So you can literally eat more calories from the Whole30 menu and lose more weight than if you were eating an equal amount of calories from junk food.