Day 12 blues

[alliebrat13]

I'm doing my first whole30 and am on day 12 and it seems like my timeline is off. Lately I've been in a "my pants are tighter", "kill all the things", "I dream of food", and horrible cravings funk and it seems like all at once too. I don't feel like I've gotten many improvements either. I can't fall asleep, my hives are sometimes worse, my mood is horrible!!!!, I don't feel like I've lost any weight, etc. I will say that my energy is much better but the past two nights of only 5-6 hrs of sleep are killing me. I haven't strayed or eaten serving after serving of fruit. I just wanted to see if this was normal for other people out there. I want to do a whole100 for autoimmune reasons but not if I continue to feel like this the entire whole100. Thank you for the help!!

[ShannonM816]

Could you list what you've eaten for the last couple of days, including approximate servings sizes? Maybe there's something that you could change that would help.

 

Are you having at least one fist-sized serving of starchy vegetable a day, like potato, sweet potato, winter squash, or any of the root vegetables? Most people find they do best if they have at least that much every day, and people who are very active, who are prone to anxiety or depression, and  women who are nursing, pregnant, or in the week leading up to their period often find they need more than that. Many people find if they have their starchy vegetable at their last meal of the day, it seems to help them sleep, so if you are already having some, you might try playing with the timing of it.

[alliebrat13]

Monday: breakfast: 2 eggs with half an avocado.

Lunch: bowl of protein salad with avocado and carrots/tomatoes with ranch.

Dinner: bowl of ground beef with tomatoes, onions and avocado.

Tuesday: breakfast: 2 eggs with leftover serving of ground beef and avocado.

Lunch: bowl of protein salad with tomatoes and ranch and grapes. Dinner: two slices of the Whole30 pot roast with carrots, onions, and celery

Snacks were grapes.

Wednesday: breakfast: 2 eggs

Lunch: bowl of protein salad, tomatoes with ranch

Dinner: 2 slices leftover pot roast and the vegetables

Snack: grapes

Thursday (so far) : breakfast: 3 eggs and half an avocado

Breakfast is now around 5:30 am, lunch is between 11:30-12:30, and dinner is between 6-7 pm. Bed is anytime between 10pm-12am.

Thank you for your help!!

[alliebrat13]

Scratch today's breakfast. It was actually three eggs and a banana. For lunch I'm packing the rest of the leftover pot roast, an apple, banana, and I have carrots, tomatoes, and ranch all ready at work as well.

[jmcbn]

Some of your meals are missing valuable components which may have an impact on how you are feeling, and although it's hard to tell I'm guessing you're not eating enough overall.

Meal one on Monday for instance is very low in protein & has no veg (avocado is a fat). 

Whilst you're including carrots in your salad I wonder how much carrot there actually is - a salad has to be HUGE to be satiating (consider how much leafy greens reduce down when chewed), and if you've grated some into your salad I doubt there's what would class as a fist sized serving there.

Again, meal one on Tuesday is missing veg.

 

Meal one on Wednesday is not nearly enough - it's low on protein (a serving of eggs when they are your only protein source should be the number of whole eggs you can hold in one hand, which is 3-4 for most people) & missing both fat & veg.

Meal one today - again missing veg & fat.

You're eating a lot of tomatoes too - you might want to switch it up a bit and see if cutting back on them improves your hives as they can be very problematic. Also, many people report that if they keep their starchy veg until meal three that their sleep is much improved. Failing that you could try a magnesium supplement.
 

The fact that you're needing to snack cements the fact that your meals aren't big enough, and eating the grapes on their own is not recommended as it spikes blood sugar - which will effect mood, & energy and continue to feed cravings. Fruit should also not push the veggies off of your plate - hello breakfast!

You need to up the size of your meals, building each one of them to the meal template (ensuring you get a fist sized serving of starchy veg - which you can vary from day to day), and stamp out those cravings when they come with protein & fat - not with fruit - that will only prolong your misery.

Also, make sure you are drinking a half an ounce of water per pound of body weight, daily.

Hope this helps! 

[alliebrat13]

Thank you for Your advice! I ate mashed sweet potatoes before bed last night and had no problem falling asleep! And whenever I say protein salad, that's not an actual salad salad, it's the protein salad from the whole30 book with a whole chicken shredded in a bowl and mixed with homemade mayo and lemon juice. I sometimes add grapes and almonds. I never shred carrots into anything. I eat whole carrots and dip them into ranch dressing.