Day 21, no positive results so far, what's wrong?

[fresh123]

Hi fellow Whole30-ers,

 

I am on Day 21 of what I hope is a squeaky clean Whole30 run. I went into this with the hope of having more energy and losing 5lbs. I have felt lethargic, sluggish, tired and frankly a little depressed ever since Day 2. I wake up with a really suffy head every morning. I usually exercise 2 times a weak (1.5h yoga and 1 session Soul Cycle) but I am down to either 0 or 1 per week just because I am so terribly tired and lack energy.

 

Below is the log for the last three days, my diet is monotonic and has been very similar over the last 21 days - many of my meals are outside my home due to my job and I try to eat organic so the options have been a bit limited. Not surprisingly, the lunch places that make custom salads have been my go-to places.

 

Is Whole30 just not for me? Maybe I am just not working without carbs.

 

Day 18:

BF: Omelette with prosciutto and onions, two mid-sized tomatoes with plenty of olive oil and a bit of vinegar

L: Big raw spinach salad with olive oil and lemon, steamed broccoli and carrots (about 1 "fist" each), 1 grilled chicken breast, 0.5 avocado

D: Filet mignon with salt and pepper, tomato salad with olive oil

 

Day 19:

BF: 2 scrambled eggs with scallions and tomatoes

L: Arugula salad with sliced steak, cucumbers, 0.5 avocado, carrots, 2 portions of egg whites, walnuts, oil and vinegar

SN: Grapes and cashew nuts

D: Mesclun salad with spicy chicken, cherry tomatoes, 0.5 avocado, celery, hardboiled egg, oil and vinegar

 

Day 20:

BF: Fried egg, fruit salad with coconut milk

L: Big salad with olive oil and lemon, broccoli and carrots (about half a cup each), grilled chicken, 0.5 avocado, almonds

D: Green curry (home-made) with chicken, peas, cauliflower, zucchini, Thai-eggplant, herbs, cashews

 

[NY2LA2MONTREAL]

Hi - I am definitely not a moderato and they will chime in with there expertise..but maybe you should introduce a sweet potato -- we eat 1/2 a potato with two meals a day.  Just sharing.

 

But.....wait for a moderator --- they will steer you in the right direction.

 

Good Luck.

[Loulabelle]

You are not eating enough, not nearly enough, it is no wonder you are feeling so tired. Try also adding in some sweet potato or other starchy veg for carbs, they are wonderful for elevating mood and energy levels.

[GFChris]

I don't think you're eating enough, which will help give you energy.  Also, how much water are you drinking daily?  We recommend 1/2 an ounce of water per pound of body weight.

Here are some specifics:
- I see egg whites with a lunch. Eat the WHOLE egg. Also, when eggs are your sole protein, the serving size is the number of whole eggs you can hold in one hand without dropping them. For most folks, that's 3-4 eggs.

- I see lots of salads. You need to eat a ton of salad (think HUGE mixing bowl in a single sitting), to stay satiated.  You might consider swapping out some salads and raw veggies for 1-3 cups of cooked veggies. Include at least a fist-sized serving of carb-dense vegetables daily.

 

- in one of your meals, there was fruit but not veggies. Don't let fruit push vegetables off your plate.

- are you regularly salting your food?  Be sure to adequately salt/season your food.

 

- are you having 1-2 palms of protein in each meal?  A palm is the length, width and thickness of the palm of your hand.

Side note: your last meal listed includes peas.  Peas are a legume, and are, therefore, off-limits on a Whole30.

[fresh123]

Thanks, everyone, this is really helpful.

 

A couple of follow-ups:

 

Regarding the portion size, I am not sure I can eat more. My salads are huge, seriously, as in a mountain of spinach in front of me, and yes, I do salt and season my food.  I will add more cooked veggies.  Somehow I thought snow peas were allowed, am I wrong?

 

Regarding the potatoes: I have never liked them and I have never eaten them. My normal diet doesn't contain them, under normal circumstances I eat a lot of quinoa, millet, barley, pasta and brown rice. Do I really have to add them now or is there a way around them?

[HealthyPhD]

If you don't like sweet potatoes, maybe try winter squash to add a bit of starchy vegetable matter to your diet. Your taste buds should also be changing, so maybe try a few things you thought you'd never like. I would also add to the above comments that if you're eating a huge pile of raw spinach on most days, plus raw broccoli, you could be exposing yourself to a heap of goitrogens, which could be having a negative effect on your thyroid hormones, contributing to a general feeling of sluggishness. And more variety in general, if you can manage it, would probably be helpful so that you are getting a broad spectrum of nutrients. And exposing cruciferous veggies to a little heat (roasting broccoli for a few minutes at about 350 or wilting spinach in the skillet for just a few seconds) can help minimize the goitrogenic effects.  

[JulieP757]

Snow peas are allowed  There are other starchy veggies you could try - beets, winter squash (butternut, acorn etc.), plantains (my new favorite food).  The starchy veggies will really help you feel better.

[GFChris]

Thanks, everyone, this is really helpful.

 

A couple of follow-ups:

 

Regarding the portion size, I am not sure I can eat more. My salads are huge, seriously, as in a mountain of spinach in front of me, and yes, I do salt and season my food.  I will add more cooked veggies.  Somehow I thought snow peas were allowed, am I wrong?

 

Regarding the potatoes: I have never liked them and I have never eaten them. My normal diet doesn't contain them, under normal circumstances I eat a lot of quinoa, millet, barley, pasta and brown rice. Do I really have to add them now or is there a way around them?

 

Snow peas are fine, as it's more pod than bean.  

There are carb dense options besides white potatoes: sweet potatoes, winter squash, pumpkin, jicama, beets, parsnips, rutabaga and plantains are among your choices.

If you feel you can't add to the salad, maybe pare back on the salad size and add in the cooked veggies to make up the difference.

[fresh123]

Got it, thanks! I will stear towards the cooked veggies more and try these potatoes.

[LadyM]

Thanks, everyone, this is really helpful.

 

A couple of follow-ups:

 

Regarding the portion size, I am not sure I can eat more. My salads are huge, seriously, as in a mountain of spinach in front of me, and yes, I do salt and season my food.  I will add more cooked veggies.  Somehow I thought snow peas were allowed, am I wrong?

 

Regarding the potatoes: I have never liked them and I have never eaten them. My normal diet doesn't contain them, under normal circumstances I eat a lot of quinoa, millet, barley, pasta and brown rice. Do I really have to add them now or is there a way around them?

I think you'll find that if you find a way to add in more starchy veggies, you'll feel better. If you're feeling down or depressed, it could be that you're not getting enough of those starchy carbs. Before Whole30 you ate grains, and now you need to replace them. If you don't want to eat potatoes, can you try other root veggies? Beets, winter squashes, parsnips, celeriac, rutabaga, carrots? Potatoes and sweet potatoes are the densest energy source of this category, but there are certainly other options.

[Chef Mike]

Looks like you are definitely not eating enough for this plan. If you follow the meal template, you would see that you are missing 1 or more servings of veg, fat and protein in you 3 meals. Fat adaption can only take place if you put enough into your meals. You try to do this plan as low cal/low fat like a traditional diet, even though you think that might be the way to go. Substituting your carbs for the menu on W30 would normally adapt you within 4-5 days, but you need to follow the portions and fat amounts, water intake and complex carbs at the right times.