Day 26 - Feeling Worse

[kania0512]

I am on day 26 of Whole30, my clothes are tighter than when I started, I am not sleeping well, I have no energy, and still have inflammation. Now what?

[jmcbn]

It's hard to tell without know what you've been eating.

If you'd like to list a few days worth of your food/liquid intake, along with your activity/stress/sleep levels, we can take a look and see if we can troubleshoot for you...

[kania0512]

Hi,

 

Sorry, I just now saw this. Typical meals for me are as follows:

 

BR: 6-8 ounces protein (grass fed beef, chicken, bison, turkey), cup of 3/4 caff blended with coconut oil, small piece of fruit

LU: 6-8 ounces of protein, salad (lettuce, carrot, red beet, cucumber) with olive oil, 1/3 to 1/2 potato, cup of decaff blended with coconut oil

DI: 6-8 ounces of protein, green beans sauteed in coconut oil, 1/3 to 1/2 sweet potato

 

I drink water throughout the day which has electrolytes (no sugar/sweeteners) mixed into it. Other than the coffee/decaff noted above, and the water with electrolytes, no other beverages.

 

I go to bed around 9:30 to 10 PM, usually wake around 2 to 3 AM, get up to urinate, then fall back asleep until roughly 6 AM. Sometimes it takes a while to go back to sleep and/or my sleep is very restless at that point. I wake up completely fatigued, brain foggy, and out of it. I have no energy to exercise.

 

I do not work right now because I don't have the mental or physical capacity. I deal with adrenal fatigue and low magnesium and was hoping that supplementing with lots of mag and doing Whole30 would help. I have not lost any weight, my energy is not improved, I still have daily pain (upper and lower back) nor do I see any other improvements. I wonder what I need to be doing differently.

[GFChris]

You might not be eating enough.  You also may not be drinking enough water.  It also sounds like you have a medical history which food might not fix in a month. In the meantime, are you getting professional medical attention for your adrenal fatigue, low magnesium and pain?

 

Some thoughts on the food front:

 

- Are you drinking at least 1/2 an ounce of water per pound of body weight, daily?

 

- Are your meals keeping you satiated for 4-5 hours? 

- Breakfast is missing vegetables: don't let fruit push vegetables off your plate.

- Salads don't tend to be very satiating: you might try swapping in cooked veggies instead.

- Are you getting enough vegetables at dinner?  Aim for 1-3 cups per meal (starchy veg serving is a fist sized amount).

[kania0512]

Hi Chris,

 

I don't measure my water intake anymore, but I drink water all day long. I would say that I get at least the amount you recommended, and possibly more. I do stay full in between meals. Actually, yesterday it had been 6 hours since lunch and I wasn't even all that hungry yet. For a long time I used to skip breakfast (for intermittent fasting) and then I ate just protein for breakfast and coffee with CO. I used to be hungry, but lately I have no appetite when I get up and pretty much make myself eat something for my adrenals. I add fruit so I get some carbs in at least and it's more carbs for a smaller serving than veggies. So adding veggies to my breakfast is not appealing at all.

 

Since I stay satiated I figured the salad at lunch is enough. I do sometimes eat veggies instead of a salad.

 

I do know I have a lot going on, and a lot of stress for the last few months (moving, trying to buy a house, other stuff), so I didn't expect to be totally free of all my symptoms. I am just surprised that I actually feel worse. I assumed I would see at least some minor improvements after 30 days. I did cheat on day 29 - sort of a "what's the point" feeling got to me, but I am back on track and will keep at it.

 

Thank you for the feedback.

 

~Kania