Struggling with Whole 30

[Larz77]

I have been battling some maladies for some time and my wife, out of desperation, is trying us on Whole 30.  I like the concepts of the program, but really following her lead.  Right now, I'm concerned that I'm not getting enough calories and I'm way tired of eggs.  I mean when you eat healthy like this, you can have all the veggies, fruit (and you are supposed to limit fruit right?) and meat you want....but there isn't a lot of calories there and you would go broke trying to eat that amount in healthy food. 

 

Yesterday (day 10) I had bad leg cramps, upset stomach, headache.  At night the past few night I have extremely bad cotton mouth.  Can anyone give me advice?  I'm thinking I can't continue....

 

[Carlaccini]

Sorry you are struggling - are you able to give us a run down on what you have been eating - you know meal compositions, water intake and activity levels?

 

Also in terms of breakfast - no one said you "had to" eat eggs for breakfast - you can eat whatever foods you like for breakfast.  Personally I am pretty much eggless as I discovered a sensitivity to eggs a while ago.  It is possible to eat leftovers or basically whatever you want for breakfast.

[LadyM]

It's great you're following your wife's lead, AND I highly recommend checking out the meal template for greatest success. It's not really a meat and veggies free-for-all--it's way more intelligent and elegant than that. And honestly, the bulk of your calories come from fat. Are you deliberately eating healthy fats at least three times a day with your pile of veggies and reasonable portion of meat?

 

Please do provide a sample log of what you've been eating from day to day so we can best help, as Carlaccini says above. Though your symptoms present a likelihood that you aren't consuming enough starchy veg (sweet potato, winter squash, carrots, rutabaga, parsnips, etc.), fat, and water--perhaps even salt. . . . 

[praxisproject]

Leg cramps are often from a deficiency, such as magnesium or sodium (salt).

[Larz77]

I clearly have not been eating my starches.  This does bring up a question if I can have regular potatos or not.  Seems like some comments on here say you can, but we have it in our mind that you can't from reading the book.

[Larz77]

I think my biggest concern is getting the right calories in.  I'm struggling to get there.  From someone that ate probably 3,500 calories a day to struggling to find calories, it's quite the change. 

 

I upped my eating game yesterday.  Breakfast:  2 eggs, 1/2 avocado, handful of cashews, banana.  Lunch, Apple, Paeleo friendly chicken salad (chicken, buffalo sauce from Tesame, sweet potato.  Dinner:  ground hamburger over greens.  Sweet potato, hand full of pistachios, nut butter (about two teaspoon full).

 

Now that is me upping my game from other days.  Making an effort to get good calories.  Welcome your thoughts.

[LadyM]

Regular potatoes are fine. That was a decision changed since publication of It Starts With Food.

 

It looks like you're making a good effort to follow the template AND that you need to eat more, honestly. You should eat as many eggs as you can hold in one hand in a given meal, which is at least 3-4, even for the smallest of women. In addition to protein (1-2 palm-sized servings), you should eat 1-3 cups of veggies. Eat the rainbow. Don't let fruit push veggies off your plate. Fruit is optional.

 

Worry less about calories and more about eating to template and paying attention to your own hunger cues. Each meal should tide you over for 4-6 hours. If it doesn't you need to eat more.

[praxisproject]

For anyone curious about the change with white potatoes: http://whole30.com/2014/07/new-whole30/

[tmhampton1]

I agree with the others. Stop counting or worrying about calories (it's actually against the rules to track them) and eat until you are full. Now I'm a woman who is 5' 10" and I can easily hold 4 eggs in my hand, so eating 2 is not enough. For breakfast I have 1 1/2 cups of sauteed cabbage or mix of other veggies, 1 chicken apple sausage, 3 eggs and half an avocado. This holds me over for 5 hours easily, and sometimes I can't eat it all. I always eat the protein and fat and will leave the veggies if I'm full. 

[ShirleyP]

I hope a few more days of eating more has helped you feel better! It doesn't seem from what you reported you were eating enough. Also, try to shift from "breakfast food at breakfast" thinking. That was hard for me, but I have come to love grilled chicken, hamburgers and even meat and veggie marinara over zucchini noodles for breakfast!!

I also noticed that I got leg cramps, headache and felt my mouth was more dry from lack of sodium and water intake. I discovered that around day 7, and always making sure I had at least 2-3 glasses of water in between my meals was a good way to keep track of how much I drank. Keep up the good work, it's so worth it!

[LydiaJo]

Make sure you get your healthy fats and water. As for eggs, if you're tired of them, don't eat them. What's wrong with chicken, fish or beef for meal 1? Eat the foods that make your mouth happy as well as your gut, but use the template.