Emotional, bloated, miserable

[rbrooks]

So I convinced my husband to do the Whole30 with me starting on Jan. 1. I JUST got the book from the library this week, so we've been reading that, finding new recipes online, etc. He was hesitant to do this, and I really thought I'd be this rock he could look to for inspiration during our Whole30 journey.

 

Instead, I've been a nightmare. My tolerance for *everything* is about zero. I have yelled at co-workers, flashed my lights and honked at other drivers for pretty menial reasons, and have burst into tears several times (all of which are VERY unlike me). I think my husband is afraid to come within 5 feet of me, so sex is out, too. I feel bloated and ugly and overall just really, really terrible. This is day 12, so I thought I'd be in my prime right now: tiger blood! Whole 30 queen! Really showing the world how good this is.

 

I guess I'm disappointed in my response to leaving behind bread/pasta/rice, etc. I thought I'd be all about the health aspects, but I'm not. 

 

Any advice? 

[jmcbn]

Hey there

 

Sorry to hear you're feeling so down. The symptoms you describe are most likely from the foods (and/or lack of) that you have been eating, but we'd be better equipped to help you move forward and start feeling better if we knew exactly what you have been eating.

 

If you could list 3 or 4 days worth of food/liquid intake (indicating portion sizes) along with sleep/stress/activity levels we can take a look & hopefully suggest some possible tweaks....

[Carlaccini]

Ok - Deep breath.

 

Sorry you are feeling miserable.  Kudos to you for hanging in there.

 

Let's start from the very beginning - are you able to list out a couple days worth of meals?  It's quite possible you might not be eating enough.  

[rbrooks]

So we haven't been totally measuring everything, but I'll try:

 

2 eggs plus maybe 1/4 avocado (I added in a half sweet potato yesterday and today) + coffee with coconut oil & ghee (maybe 1/2 tsp of each?) for breakfast (that's the same all the days)

 

A spinach or kale salad (prob. 2-3 cups of the greens), plus half a cucumber and a whole bell pepper cut up, a little rosemary sprinkled on (I heard it can help with hair growth-ha!), with a can of tuna or that weird bagged salmon you can buy for lunch, sometimes with an apple added in.

 

For dinner, we've been trying out different recipes, but generally around a pound of meat (we've done chicken, burger, bison, or steak so far) with 1-2 cups veggies. For example, last night I cooked half and onion + 3 bell peppers and a pound of burger, and we did lettuce wraps (from romaine lettuce). I ate 5 total. 

 

I eat maybe 3 Brazil nuts a day, too.

 

For liquids, about 10 ounces of coffee in the morning, then I have a 30 oz bottle I drink probably 2 of. I also drank one of those kombucha drinks last night (12 oz? 16?)

 

I have been exercising, but I'm noticing that the muscle burns start WAY earlier than usual (today while I was blowdrying my hair my arm was burning from the exertion!). Work is super stressful and I feel my tolerance for other people's stupidity has plummeted, so that may be part of it. Just, long hours and what I feel may be gross incompetence from basically everyone. 

 

Is that helpful? I'm obviously female, about 6 feet tall. My workouts aren't hardcore- I wouldn't call myself an athlete-- and they last probably 30 minutes, mostly cardio with some body weight exercises thrown in.

 

I'll do anything to make this better! I've read such good reviews. My headaches have gone away, so there's a silver lining, but I'd like to stop being a witch to everyone.

[jmcbn]

Ok, if you're exercising & it's increasing your heart rate then you need to be including at the very least a postWO meal of a lean protein & optional starchy carb - just a few bites of each is fine but it will help with recovery.

 

Your breakfast looks on the light side to me - eggs, when they are your only source of protein in a meal, should be the number of whole eggs you can hold in one hand - which is 3-4 for most females. Your husband will want more. You may feel better if you mix up your protein sources though - for instance maybe try some fish with those eggs.

You might also want to hold back the sweet potato (or any fruit/starchy veg) until at least meal 2, but preferably meal 3 - eating fruit/starchy veg in the am can lead to faux hunger, fatigue, lack of focus etc, plus holding it back until later in the day may also help with your sleep. Sleep will help with everything so if you're short changing yourself here try & get more - a magnesium supplement will also help with this.

You don't mention fat in meals 2 or 3 and fat is your friend here - add it to every meal, for satiety, energy & brain health - and your sanity!!

What we eat has a cumulative effect, so over the course of a few days it's not surprising you;d start to feel bad and starting out with a small breakfast has you constantly playing catch up - so it's time you caught up!     

Hope this helps 

[rbrooks]

Okay, awesome! Thank you! I'll start making those changes right away. Future me, plus my coworkers and husband, surely thank you!

[ladyshanny]

I feel my tolerance for other people's stupidity has plummeted, so that may be part of it. Just, long hours and what I feel may be gross incompetence from basically everyone. 

 

This is me, basically every day.  LOL!

[SpunkyBug]

If you remove the sweet potato from your breakfast, make sure to add in some other veggies.

[rbrooks]

What else do you do for breakfasts? I've put broccoli in the eggs, any other suggestions? I can't eat mushrooms. I'm trying to branch out with veggies, but I'm still searching for new loves.

[jmcbn]

Kale,cabbage, sprouts & spinach (any leafy green really) all work well with eggs, as do tomatoes, peppers & zucchini. Other than that there's cukes, onions, pickles, cauliflower & sauerkraut...

And yes, do replace the sweet potato with something - 3 cups of veg per meal is optimal!

[ShannonM816]

Zucchini or yellow squash cook up quickly and have a mild flavor you can season any way you want. I saute them, and then sometimes just put my eggs in with them and scramble it all together.

This morning I had sauteed collard greens with some pecans and raisins along with my hamburger patty, all topped with a couple of fried eggs.

Have a stir fry -- broccoli, carrots, snow or snap peas, chopped zucchini, onions, garlic, bell pepper if you like it. You can keep pre-chopped veggies in the fridge so you just grab some of each in the morning. Throw in some leftover meat to make a whole meal.

[praxisproject]

Asparagus is also a starchier green veggie.

 

I find if I'm cranky, extra starchy veg usually sorts me out, but if I ate 2 eggs for breakfast I might eat my partner's arm by lunchtime 

4 eggs, a few cups of diced zucchini (maybe a little bacon through it), capsicum (peppers), carrots, onion.

 

If you need any cooking inspiration, check out Mel Joulwan's recipes (Sunshine Sauce is a big favourite, as is Silky Gingered Soup).

[rbrooks]

EXCITING UPDATE!

 

I've been eating more and I feel SO GOOD now. Sorry about all the caps, but I honestly can't believe how different I feel. I may be super disconnected from my body, because I had no idea that I was just needing more food. Starving me= super b***h! (Can I say that on here? It's honestly true.) I've apologized to all the coworkers, and I haven't roadraged anyone in a few days. I feel better and won't wind up in jail... win-win

 

So we've been eating more and I've made sure my husband is eating a lot more, and he's feeling better, too.

 

Thank you guys for your support, knowledge, and ideas for getting more food in! I was going to quit and say "This wasn't for me", but we're going to stay true now.