Day 30 & Downcast - no tiger blood, still have sugar cravings, dull energy

[McCLintock]

I have made it to day 30, but I am very disappointed with the results and i am wondering what I am doing wrong? I felt great after the first week - strangely elated, high energy, i felt like my waist had shrunk. But then by day 10 i experienced horrible energy slumps. I responded by upping my carb and fat intake (i dont think I had been eating enough beforehand - i was trying really hard but couldnt face meat and veg 3 times a day and every meal was a challenge to get down). After 2 weeks though i had adjusted and was able to eat the portions, and even enjoy it!

However the energy never returned and i tend to feel irritable. And i still have sugar cravings (feeling particularly deprived at the moment as i am on vacation with my family and cant enjoy treats with them). On the plus side - i do feel like my skin is glowing, my energy levels are fairly constant (just not up upbeat).

I am wondering whether i am doing something wrong? Other factors: I live a very active life wih 2 small kids, feel pretty worn out (particularly with the time and energy investment i have found the program to be). I have kidney disease, but have around 50%+function and my nephrologist was comfortable with me upping my protein for a limited period. Otherwise i might have low blood iron levels.

I want to continue the program to beat the sugar dragon at least and to improve energy levels bur if there is something i need to adjust then i would love to know.

[jmcbn]

Can you post a few days worth of your daily food/liquid intake along with your sleep/stress/activity levels?

Sometimes it isn't as straight forward as just eating compliant food, but rather how your meals are composed & the timing of your carbs etc.

The fact that you are still having sugar cravings tells me you were continuing to feed your sugar dragon in some way - be it with fruit, or even too many sweet potatoes or other starchy veg. Protein & fat stamp out those cravings, nothing else.

 

[ultrarunnergirl]

Yes, please post several typical days worth of food. Some people need a lot of carby vegetables to keep mood up.

[McCLintock]

Sorry, should have done that the first time around.

Typical menus:

Breakfast: 3 fried eggs, 2 handfuls of spinach, rocket or bok choy, mushrooms, one banana (i have a variation of this breakfast most days)

Lunch: steamed salmon filet, cauliflower mash, 3-4 roast sweet potato slices, guacomole, zucchini

Dinner: thai basil beef (ground beef, bell pepper, snow peas, mushrooms). Drank 100mls or so of coconut milk

Breakfast: large serving of thai chicken soup, one banana

Lunch: ground beef served in hokkaido pumpkin, leftover cold thai salad, sunshine sauce

Dinner: no fuss salmon cakes, green salad, coriander lime mayonnaise, 1/2 banana

If i cant hink of how to get enough fat in a meal, then i will drink some coconut milk or eat a handful of coconut flakes or cashews. I dont eat much friut, although i do have 1-1.5 bananas a day, sometimes grapes (eg if i am having a protein salad), and i have had the odd serve of berries during the course of the whole 30.

At the moment i am on vacation and the food options are limited (as well as the manner of preparing it) so boiled potatoes/sweet potatoes are featuring daily on the menu. Here is what i had yesterday, for instance:

Bfast: 3 fried eggs, 2 handfuls rocket, mushrooms, very small serve boiled sweet potatoes, 1/2 banana

Lunch: leftovers - 2 small lamb chops (from rack of lamb), 1-2 no fuss salmon cakes, boiled potatoes/ sweet potatoes, 1/2 avocado, green salad, mayo

Dinner: 2 no fuss salmon cakes, boiled potatoes, 1/4 avocado, large green salad, mayo, plus drank 100mls or so of coconut milk

Liquid intake: i drink mostly water (i was drinking 2.5 litres a day before the whole 30 but somewhat less than that during the whole 30). I drink one or 2 teas a day (usually rooibush vanilla). I discovered decaf coffee with coconut milk halfway through the program and started having them every day, but it felt too much like a treat so i stopped.

Sleep/stress: we had a fairly high stress period for most of the whole 30. i typically went to bed between 11:30pm and 2am but usually around midnight-ish. the sleep is usually broken (kids) and I get up at around 7/7:30 (also on weekends), although i fall into the category of people who require a good 9 hours of sleep. On vacation (the last 3 or 4 days) i have been getting more like 8 or 9 hours sleep (also broken).

Activity: i usually feel physically exhausted at the end of a day. I dont do formal exercise as such (apart from 20 mins of core exercises a day) but do a reasonable amount of walking around the neighbourhood running errands etc. We live in a 3 story townhouse plus a basement so i do a lot of stairs kn the course of a day.

I am 5 foot 4 in and weigh 120 pounds. Weight loss isnt a goal for me on the program (except to trim my waist somewhat).

Hope this information helps and interested in any ideas you may have.

Many thanks!

[McCLintock]

I probably should add that i eat large enough portions so that i meet the meal template, i am not tempted to snack and have enough energy to get through to the next meal, but i am never hungry (i was a very small eater before starting the program).

[jmcbn]

I think your meals look pretty good, although some are low in fat as you say - try the whole avocado, add some fat to the eggs you;re having for breakfast, use fattier cuts of meat, add coconut milk to sauces (rather than drinking it), or olives to salads... I think the fat will definitely help with the sugar cravings.

You should also ensure your water intake is as per the recommendation - 1/2 ounce of water per pound of body weight.

 

The tiredness/low mood & lack of Tiger Blood (which not everyone gets I might add) I'd put down to a combination of poor sleep & stress. Now that you're on vacation you're getting more sleep, but it's interrupted so the quality is poor. Is there any way you can add in an afternoon nap to try & make up for the deficit? Are you practicing good sleep hygiene to get the most of the sleep you do get?


You might want to read the articles below for some tips:

http://whole9life.com/2015/04/mental-health-sleep-1/

http://whole9life.com/2015/05/sleep-advanced-tips/

 

Has the stress that was present during your Whole30 lifted? Or is it on-going...? Is there anyway it can be eased (say with help from a relative for instance)...?

 

[McCLintock]

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond and for sending the links. I will try and increase the fats as you suggest. I am pretty sure i hit at least the minimum amount of water a day. Do you think i need to try to limit potatoes/sweet potatoes?

I expect to be able to catch up a bit on sleep while on vacation and while we are here, we are at a distance from the stressful situation, so i am hoping those factors may play together to improve my energy levels and sense of well- being.

I was planning to extend my whole 30 by about 10 days. Does that sound like a good strategy?

[jmcbn]

I think your sweet/white potato intake looked fine before your vacation. Three servings a day is probably a little much, so if you could swap even one serving to more greens for instance that might help - it could be that the starches in the potatoes aren't helping with your cravings . What sort of cooking facilities do you have? Can you braise some mixed greens in an oven with some ghee/coconut oil? You could also ditch the fruit in favour of more (non-starchy) veg - fruit is nutritionally inferior to veg, and it can continue to feed your sugar dragon - something to consider.

I think another 10 days with a few tweaks might be a good idea just to see if you can;t turn things around.

Fingers crossed your vacation will get you the sleep you need...

 

[McCLintock]

Many thanks jmcbn!