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Whole30 causing anxiety/depression?


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On 9/15/2018 at 6:59 PM, ShannonM816 said:

Hi there. I'm sorry you're feeling more anxious and depressed than usual. No one here is a doctor, so if you feel concerned about this, definitely speak to your doctor or a therapist if you have access to one. 

Be sure you're eating enough. I understand the fear of gaining weight, but undereating -- especially if you try to go too low carb or low fat -- can leave you not feeling great. Eat at least one fist-sized serving of starchy vegetable each day (like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other root veggetables like parsnips, turnips, beets, carrots; winter squashes like butternut or acorn squash; or plantains). 

When you worry about if you're going to gain weight, try to think about it this way -- you're unlikely to gain much weight in 30 days, especially if you're eating healthy foods and no sugar. You might have some weight gain, especially if you were really restricting calories before, just because your body is suddenly getting all this good stuff, and it's not sure if you're going to keep giving it good stuff, so in case you go back to restricting things, it's holding on to what it's getting for now. But even if that's something that happens, how much do you actually think you'll gain in 30 days? And if at the end, you have gained some, and you feel like any benefits you ultimately do feel from Whole30 are not worth that, you can go back to what you were doing before, and probably lose that in 30 days. So you might spend 60 days slightly heavier than you were before you started Whole30. However, if you embrace the rules and the recommendations for Whole30, there is a possibility that you'll feel really good, that you'll have more energy than normal, that aches and pains you've had before won't bother you any more -- or there's a whole bunch of other testimonials of what other people have experienced, so pick whatever seems relevant, you can read some of these here: https://whole30.com/2011/06/the-whole30-a-z-real-life-testimonials/.  And it is possible you could experience these good things, without gaining weight.  You won't really know what your results will be unless you try. 

Thank you so much for reaching out to me.  It feels nice just to know that someone has read it and took the time to respond.

I'm still feeling pretty depressed and anxious. I confirmed that I gained 3lbs.  My skin isn't good, I'm tired and irritable most of the day.  I am day 22 and struggling.  I know everything you said is true- I'm just not seeing ANY results yet.  If there was one thing I could point to and think "well at least I got blank out of it".  It would be easier to see the light.  

I know, I'm just complaining now.

There actually is one great thing that's come out of this, I'm cooking a lot and I've never done that before.  Turns out I am pretty good!  

Thanks again for your thoughtfulness and time.  I will stick it out and hope to report back that I'm a believer!

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  • 2 months later...

Carbohydrates reduce cortisol ( stress hormone ) and also stimulate seratonin production which is most likely causing your anxiety. Going too low carb isn’t unsustainable. 

 

Try spread your carbs out through out the day eg maybe 50-75 at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Make them clean sources 

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