Help! So miserable

[lcar28]

I posted on a different board a fee days ago, and the only response I got was I might not be eating/drinking enough, which I highly doubt as I'm consuming roughly 2500-3000 calories a day and I drink and pee all day long.

Started Oct 19 and it's only getting worse. I'm always hungry and nauseated, losing motivation to do anything, irritable and gassy, and just in a funk. My compulsions to binge haven't really gotten much better, though I have managed to not eat noncompliant food, which for the state I'm in is about as good as I could hope for. I'm so discouraged.

I follow the meal template recommendations and eat 4-5 meals a day, plus the pre and post workout snacks. I don't have an inordinate amount of stress, am relatively happy and sleep about 7 hours a night (I have a 10-month-old so this is big for me). I exercise 50-60 min 5-6 days a week, and I breastfeed. I work a full-time sedentary job.

I am trying this after 8 years of vegetarian/veganism to address PCOS and SIBO and related issues. Any suggestions other than "eat/drink more" are welcome.

[GFChris]

Hi there.

 

First off, breathe.   

Secondly, stop counting calories.

Third, I took at look at what you posted on October 30th on another thread. It's hard to tell portion sizes from what you listed (are you having a bunch of mini-meals instead of at least 3-4 full meals a day? The full meals, ideally, should include 1-2 palms of protein, 1-3 cups of veggies and a compliant fat), but here are a couple initial thoughts I have.

- Bone broth is to be used as a beverage, not as your sole protein source in a regular or post-workout meal.  Have a protein source that you can chew instead.

- The guidance for post-wo is lean protein and carb, no fat. Egg yolks are a fat source, so either switch to egg whites for your post-wo protein, or choose another protein (a popular choice is chicken).

- Are you drinking at least 1/2 an ounce of water per pound of body weight, daily?

- Are you salting your food?

- When soup is your main dish, be sure you're getting 1-2 palms of protein and 1-3 cups of veggies

- What kinds of meats have you been having?

- Besides the starchy veggies, what other veggies have you been having?  Cruciferous or raw veggies can cause gassiness.  What seasonings have you been using?  Garlic can also cause gassiness.


 

[lcar28]

Thanks for the quick response. My meals are full-size meals. Didn't think about the egg yolks, so I'll try switching to chicken and not go with just the broth.

I am definitely drinking more than 1/2 oz per lb. Though I don't track fluids (or calories - that was a rough estimate: I spent years of my life having to ignore (lack of) hunger signals and track calories while trying to gain weight after an illness, and it's a hard habit to break, so I'm a work in progress), if I had to guess it would be at least 70-80 oz a day and I weigh about 110-115.

I do salt my food, also eat olives and use coconut aminos pretty regularly.

My soups generally follow the guidelines you stated, and when they don't (i.e. vegetable soups) I add protein to the meal.

I don't eat too many cruciferous veggies or leafy ones. They fill me up before I've had enough calories. I do a lot of carrots, celery, cucumber, summer squash/zucchini, cooked spinach or kale, and in moderation cooked tomatoes (I know this is technically a fruit), broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage, onions and garlic. I use the garlic and onions sparingly. I shop mainly at the farmer's market so I just eat what's fresh really.

I eat mostly chicken and canned wild caught salmon, with a little beef, and eggs for breakfast on weekends (in addition to the pre-workout snack). I won't eat factory farmed or lower quality meat and this is all I can get/afford due to income and where I live.

Thanks again for the thoughtful reply!

[GFChris]

 

I don't eat too many cruciferous veggies or leafy ones. They fill me up before I've had enough calories. I do a lot of carrots, celery, cucumber, summer squash/zucchini, cooked spinach or kale, and in moderation cooked tomatoes (I know this is technically a fruit), broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage, onions and garlic. I use the garlic and onions sparingly. I shop mainly at the farmer's market so I just eat what's fresh really.

I eat mostly chicken and canned wild caught salmon, with a little beef, and eggs for breakfast on weekends (in addition to the pre-workout snack). I won't eat factory farmed or lower quality meat and this is all I can get/afford due to income and where I live.

Thanks again for the thoughtful reply!

Assuming the carrots, celery and cucumber are all raw, you might try dropping any raw veggies and switching to all cooked veggies and see if that helps you.

 

Tomatoes are considered a veg on a Whole30. 

You might also try dropping the broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage, and see if that bring you any relief also.

 

[lcar28]

Ok thanks. It's really more the crankiness, lack of focus, and torturous combination of constant hunger/nausea that's bothering me. Any tips for that?

[GFChris]

Ok thanks. It's really more the crankiness, lack of focus, and torturous combination of constant hunger/nausea that's bothering me. Any tips for that?

The only other items that occur to me are eating at the upper end of the template for fat at your meals, and get in 1-2 fist-sized servings of starchy veggies daily.

[Erica Gucc]

What was your diet like before whole30? Possible your die off is lasting longer/hitting you harder

[lcar28]

Ok thanks again.

My diet before was relatively high in carbs, though pretty low in processed foods and including a lot of fruit and veggies. I did try to sort of taper into my whole30 by eating about 80-90% compliant foods in the 3 weeks leading up to it (ran 3 races the weekend of the 17-18th, hence the 10/19 start).

[Erica Gucc]

It could just be that you're not getting nearly as much carbs as you're used to. I feel like what your describing is common for what is called "carb flu" which usually lasts 2 weeks, and you're in your third, so maybe its just lasting even longer for you. In my opnion, Whole30 is NOT low carb, but the standard american diet has a LOT of carb in there, with the bread and all.

 

If you were eating wheat/bread before starting whole30, im sure you would suffer from carb flu. Even if your consumption was small, I know that it affects us once we remove it entirely. 

 

I removed wheat from my diet 6 weeks prior to the whole30, and definitely experienced what you are describing then.

[lcar28]

Thanks Erica. I'll try to ride it out and just hope it gets better soon.

[AnnieAnderson06]

Hey There! 

 

Trust me, I know where you are coming from. I first attempted a whole30 over 1 year ago and made it a full three days. I was miserable, starving, gassy, and so bloated. It was terrible. I then went through a really rough patch with severe acid reflux and could not attempt another whole30 because so many of the things that are compliant, like onions and tomatoes and garlic and red meat, were causing me such bad reflux. When I finally got through that, I tried again and made it 14 days. It wasn't sugar or cravings that made me stop, I just felt so weak from hunger more often than not. Since then, I bought the second book and have tried some of the recipes. I fully believe in this and want to make it work but like you, I am hungry all day, everyday. I am 28 years old and have always had the appetite of a 12 year old boy. I eat a lot of brown rice, quinoa or risotto with each meal to fill me up so with the elimination of that, I get hungry within an hour after I eat. For my second attempt, I tried to incorporate more mashed potatoes to help fill me up but this time around, I am trying to also eliminate nightshades to see if that helps some of my issues.

 

(I will say that I LOVE sweet potatoes and they help fill me up. Every morning (whole30 or not) I peel one, slice it into rounds (like round chips), rub avocado oil on them and place flat on a bake sheet. Then I put pink salt and rosemary on one side and bake at 425 for 11-13 minutes. Then I flip them all over, add a little more salt and cook them for an additional 9-10 mins (you want them to be soft in the middle but not burnt on the edges!). I have these with eggs in the mornings or with a whole30 approved burger at night and they definitely help fill me up a little more.)

 

Again though, I understand where you are coming from and don't have any other expert advice. I am currently on day 2 of my third attempt and don't even want to get out of bed, I'm so tired and so hungry and I just ate lunch one hour ago! So, I completely understand how you are feeling. I did want to tell you about peppermint oil helping with nausea. I buy all of my essential oils through Young Living online (because you can ingest them) and when I am nauseas, I put a few drops of peppermint oil on a q-tip and rub it directly on my gums. Works instantly for me. 99% of the oils you can get a health food stores you cannot ingest so, I always recommend these to people. Check out their website and google how much essential oils can help in general - I also love lavender for cuts and scars! 

 

Good luck with your whole30 and if you get any other good advice on filling up - let me know! I'm hoping to make it through this time!

[ShannonM816]

If you're hungry, eat. If you have to eat extra meals, especially at first, that's okay. If you have to eat at the upper end of the meal template range at every meal, that's fine. If you have to eat more than that, that's also fine. You really shouldn't be hungry.

Be sure you're adding fat at every meal, in addition to the cooking fat you use. Focus on dense, cooked veggies, over salads. Choose fattier cuts of meat. Drink plenty of water.

[lcar28]

Thanks again everybody, I really appreciate the support! I will try to up my fats even more and hope that does the trick.

Annie, if you haven't tried Japanese sweet potatoes and can get your hands on some, do it - they are possibly the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. I just bake them and eat them with some coconut oil/ghee and cinnamon, but there are plenty of recipes out there if that doesn't sound appealing. Good luck to you and I hope you feel better soon!

[reneeruecks]

how's your iron? Those are all symptoms for low iron.  Maybe you need more carbs since you are bf

[Shanghaied]

Hi I came across your post while looking for info on SIBO. I'm on day 32 of my first Whole 32 and am a vegetarian like you, trying the omnivore version with eggs, fish and bone broth. My first 10 days I felt constantly nauseous and thought it was a reaction to the huge increase in protein that I was unused to (6 eggs per day plus one portion of fish/seafood). Vegetarians lose some of the enzymes needed to digest animal products and while they come back eventually it was a shock to the system.

 

The nausea went away after 2 weeks but I had IBS symptoms (gas, constipation, diarrhea, bloating) which by the end of the second week were more intense than they had been previously. I cut down on high FODMAP foods and stopped eating raw vegetables. I kept a food diary and noted reactions to cauliflower, celery and cabbage. There was a definite improvement after cutting out the high fodmaps which includes onions and garlic, avocado, stone fruits, cashew nuts.

 

Then last week I had a reaction to kohlrabi and bananas. I did an internet search and found that along with the previous high FODMAPS, starchy fruit and veg like kohlrabi and bananas aren't tolerated well by by folks with SIBO. Basically they're feeding the bacteria in the small intestine. So did some research on SIBO and these are some of the recommendations:

• Avoid high FODMAPs
• No more than 2 portions of fruit per day
• Cooked vegetables and small amounts of salad but no raw vegetables
• Be careful of starchy vegetables

• Eating frequently causes problems because the cleaning-waves in the small intestine can only occur when you’re not eating. The more meals that you have per day makes it easier for the bacteria to remain in the small intestine.

And also people with SIBO can crave the starchy food the bacteria in your small intestine feed on. This seems to fit with my symptoms but I don't have a diagnosis so off to the doctor's on Thursday to see. I'd be interested to know how they tested diagnosed you.

 

I imagine this would be really hard to implement and limit snacks while you're breast-feeding so you may need specialist advice.

[lcar28]

Hmm interesting input about the SIBO-specific diet. My diagnosis was an arduous process and the result of years of treatment, testing and trial and error. I think it was less well known at the time (2006). As a result I know more than most of the dietitians I've seen, but it is something to consider in the future. Thanks for sharing!

My iron was fine at last check, about 6 months ago. I'm not super tired so that didn't occur to me.