Day 29 and I still feel like total crap.

[froglegs]

I'm on Day 29, which should be an exciting time of looking forward to reintroductions and generally feeling awesome, but instead I just feel tired. My workouts while on Whole30 have been mostly awful, and it seems like they are getting worse. This is a big problem for me. Running (and other athletic endeavors) are an important part of my life. Less than 3 months ago I did an Ironman triathlon, and yesterday I couldn't even slog my way through a half marathon without walking. It was extremely frustrating and discouraging.

After reading posts on this site, for the past couple of weeks I have been trying to increase the quantity of meat, fat, and carb-laden vegetables I eat with every meal. I use olive oil liberally in the preparation of most of my food. A typical day now looks like this:

Breakfast: 2-3 eggs, a handful of almonds, fruit and/or veggies (recent examples include banana, yellow squash, sweet potato, butternut squash)

Mid-morning snack: Handful of almonds or pistachios, fruit and/or veggies

Lunch: Large serving of meat (1.5-2x palm size), large serving of veggies (recent examples are zucchini, squash, mixed greens, asparagus), maybe a piece of fruit or sweet potato if I feel like it will fit in my stomach

Afternoon snack: A spoonful of almond butter, maybe a piece of fruit or sweet potato, maybe a whole avocado

Dinner: Large serving of meat and veggies

This seriously seems like a lot of food to me. I love to eat, have always eaten too much, and this is the first time in my life I've actually tried to make myself eat MORE food. I can't think of anything else that might be causing my problems - my sleep (quantity and quality) is fine, and my stress level is not too high. I am 5'-2", 140 lbs (pre Whole30). I was diagnosed hypothyroid about 6-7 years ago, but it has been well controlled by medication.

In many ways I have really enjoyed the Whole30. I haven't really missed any of the forbidden foods (except beer!) and I really want to continue this as a way of life.... but not if I'm going to keep feeling like this. In a few weeks I have a very difficult hike/run planned in a remote wilderness area, and if I bonk to the point where I can't continue, I could find myself in serious trouble. I'm really worried.

Anyway, if you made it to the end of this post, thanks. Any help is appreciated.

[Flynn]

I'm sorry you feel like crap...when I feel like I have no energy to do endurance types of activities it's always because I'm low on carbs. I know people say eat sweet potatoes and it starts to sound like a broken record, but seriously, eat more sweet potatoes! Dates, raisins and bananas are also great for endurance. Make sure that you follow the post workout guidelines by Melissa...eat very little fat after your workout so the energy can go right to your muscles Good luck!

[abril]

You might look into the book "Sweet Potato Power," I heard an interview with the author and it sounds like she is a paleo athlete that has incorporated A LOT of sweet potatoes into her diet with good results. She even has a sweet potato based bar for energy during a long event. (I haven't actually seen the book, just have seen many folks praising it.) A lot of your carbs sources seem to be "maybes," try doing a few weeks really focusing on eating carbs at every meal. It seems a lot of people on the boards are crossfitters or casual athletes, I would think endurance athletes need more carbs. You may also want to experiment w/ safe starches after your Whole 30 if you can't handle any more sweet potatoes (Paul Jaminet and Chris Kresser have a lot of info on this.)