Rough time at Day 20?

[violinbella]

This is my first Whole30, and I've been %100 compliant and pretty impressed with the results so far - I've been sleeping better, I'm managing the sugar dragon much better and I've got more energy. Well, I did...until yesterday and today. I'm feeling super sluggish, headachey, swollen and my jeans are tighter again! I thought I was through this??

 

Here's what I ate:

B: 2 eggs and leftover ground beef

L: Home-made (compliant) chicken vegetable soup, small salad with compliant vinaigrette

Snack (it was going to be a late dinner) 1/2 cup berries and 6 walnut halves

D: Steak and salad

 

I've been consistently drinking 2L+ of water a day.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[jmcbn]

Hi violinbella - welcome to Whole30

 

It's hard to tell from just one days worth of food, but the sluggish, headachey, swollen feelings you have may point to a couple of things....

Sluggish & headachey I'd say comes form a lack of fat - the food you list above doesn't really include any - I rarely count the fat in egg yolks and always add an additiional source, be it olives, avocado, mayo or something... The small amount of oil in a vinaigrette would not be enough given that you had no fat in meal one, your dinner again has no fat, and the 6 walnuts, whilst a fat source, are not really an optimal fat source given their poor omega 3:6 ratios. The nuts, if you've been eating them daily, would also contribute to that swollen feeling you describe.

Other foods that contribute to a swollen tummy (& I can empathise because I'm right now trying to pinpoint the root of mine) might be cruciferous veg, a lot of raw veg, raw cruciferous veg (double ouch!!), too much fruit/dried fruit/nuts/nut butters, and too much seltzer.

Ignoring the fact you had no veg in meal one, you did have two salads in one day - you may benefit from including more cooked veg which will be easier on your stomach.

If eating a lot of animal protein is a relatively new thing for you you may well benefit from including a digestive enzyme, or some fermented foods like sauerkraut, or kombucha.

In short, more fat, more cooked veg, less of anything listed above in bold italics and you should hopefully see some improvement soon.