Day 17 boooo

[whole30turdy]

Hey guys! So this is my second time on Whole30 - I did it in April and LOVED my life. I stopped having cravings after about the first week, and could see weight loss in the second week. I had energy, was happier, etc. This time I started it and honestly feel worse than I did pre-whole30. It feels like it's been a whole 18 days of just being hungry and grumpy and I'm discouraged because I actually feel like I've gained weight. I'm bloated everyday, like 3-months-pregnant-bloated or "Girl, did you just have Chipotle???" My face even looks bloated. It's day 18 now and I'm going to keep going because I've already made it this far, but am genuinely confused. Has this happened before or is my body just...not....whole 30 compliant anymore? I don't understand how it's possible to have this affect considering I've followed it so closely. HELP! 

[GFChris]

Can you post 2-3 days worth of your Whole30 log, including meals, portion sizes, nightly hours of sleep, level of stress and daily water consumption?  That level of detail will help us to see if anything jumps out that would cause your current bloat, grumpiness and hunger.

Also, where are you at in your monthly cycle?

[whole30turdy]

Yes! 

Okay, Wednesday

breakfast: 2 pieces of turkey bacon, 2 eggs, salsa, and mixed greens (plain) 

smoked salmon lox (just salted added NO sugar) with plaintain chips (the chips were store bought but I was on the go and they were all natural), green beans with garlic and tomatos.

dinner: stirfry: zucchini noodles, coconut curry sauce (made from coconut milk and curry spice) snow peas, mushrooms, cashews, carrots, chicken. 

 

Yesterday I traveled so at 5:30am I had breakfast: 2 eggs, sweet potato hash with garlic and kale

iced coffee

 

Snack at around 10:30

grapes

Lara Bar Coconut creme pie 

 

2:30 grapefruit

4pm salad (spinach, olives, carrots, mushrooms, olive oil, chopped ham) a yam, sauteed zuccini,

cashews

 

Dinner 8:30 Burger with no bread (obviously) lettuce, onions, tomato.  

 

I usually get about 6-8 hours of sleep a night, I'm pretty stressed out all the time, especially since starting whole30 because I've just generally felt sick and tired. and I'm two weeks from my period. I drink water daily but I probably not as much. 

 

All cooking is done with coconut or olive oil. I was eating more fruit last week - but cut it out because I was googling why I was so bloated and learned about FODMAPS. I generally repeat these meals. I'll eat standard breakfasts, potatos, a meat, eggs, a green. I like avocado and eat that as a snack sometimes. Same with almonds or Cashews. I was eating a lot of watermelon, apples, grapes. But like I said, then I learned about FODMAPS so I cut that out. However, last time I was eating very similar to this, so that's why I'm confused. 

 

 

Thanks for your help chris!! 

[GFChris]

Ok, so here's what stands out for me:
- you're currently highly stressed
- raw veggies

- nuts, on their own or in a lara bar

I would suggest dropping the Lara Bar, nuts and the raw veggies, and switching to all cooked veggies, to see if that helps your bloat. Getting closer to 8 hours of sleep would be a good step also. 

 

What steps can you take to help cope with your stress?

The need to snack leads me to believe your meals are not big enough. For best results, build each meal to have 1-2 palms of protein, 1-3 cups of veggies and a compliant fat, and compose the portion sizes such that your meals satiate you for 4-5 hours.

Note that, if you are genuinely hungry between meals (litmus test: you could eat something bland like steamed fish and broccoli), the recommended snack is a mini-meal of protein, carb and fat.  Avoid having fruit by itself: have at least 1 of the other components with it.

From a compliance perspective, commercially made plantain chips are off-limits on a Whole30.  Also, double-check your turkey bacon and especially the ham - it's really tricky to find compliant ham on a Whole30.

 

[whole30turdy]

I actually feel like whole 30 is bringing stress on, it's expensive and it's making me feel terrible...that's why I think I'm stressed out. It's like I'm on a treadmill, taking the steps but not getting anywhere not matter how hard I run. 

 

turkey bacon and ham are both applegate. Lara bars are not a meal replacement, especially because they never make me feel full or satisfied, but I was in the airport yesterday so I needed something. And, raw veggies, isn't that where a lot of the nutrients is found? I know the store bought plaintain chips are off limits, but it felt like the less of two evils because I needed to eat. 

 

However, everything I did this time, I've done last time. I think that's why I'm confused because I would have nuts as a snack. But, oh well. Thanks for your help!

[GFChris]

I actually feel like whole 30 is bringing stress on, it's expensive and it's making me feel terrible...that's why I think I'm stressed out. It's like I'm on a treadmill, taking the steps but not getting anywhere not matter how hard I run. 

 

turkey bacon and ham are both applegate. Lara bars are not a meal replacement, especially because they never make me feel full or satisfied, but I was in the airport yesterday so I needed something. And, raw veggies, isn't that where a lot of the nutrients is found? I know the store bought plaintain chips are off limits, but it felt like the less of two evils because I needed to eat. 

 

However, everything I did this time, I've done last time. I think that's why I'm confused because I would have nuts as a snack. But, oh well. Thanks for your help!

You can get nutrients from both raw and cooked veggies, as this article summarizes. Raw veggies can, however, cause bloating and digestive distress for some. Hence my suggestion to switch to all cooked veggies.

Is this the Applegate ham you're using? It's not compliant, as it contains cane sugar. 

If this is the Applegate turkey bacon you're using, it's also not compliant, due to the maple sugar. 

Whole30 doesn't have to be expensive.  You might find some tips in this article and inspiration from this thread.