Day 16: Increase inflammation

[samade]

I am on day 16 with whole30 and I am more inflamed than I have been in the last 6 years. I have celiacs, and when I went gluten free in 2010 I reduced my inflammation greatly. I had less menstrual cramping, and less acne. I used to have ganglion cysts in my hands. Now all of these symptoms are back. I have ganglions in my hands, my menstrual cramps are terrible, I am breaking out all over my face (little raised bumps on my cheeks), as well as white heads on my forehead and chin. 

Has anyone else experience this? Is this a "gets worse before it gets better" scenario? I'm ready to give up. 

[SugarcubeOD]

Can you give us some idea of what you've been eating to help us help you troubleshoot?

 

Two or three days of typical meals including portion sizes, specific vegetables and fat sources and how much water you're drinking would be helpful to see if there's something that stands out.

 

It's also possible that depending on how bad your way of eating was previously or existing medical conditions, that this is still detox but hard to say without knowing what you're eating.

[samade]

My diet before this has been fairly healthy. I am 100% gluten free due to celiacs, and I am not a snacker. 

Breakfast:
Hard Boiled eggs (2)
Grapefruit

Lunch:
Grass fed beef - grill
Green beans - steamed
baked potato - with ghee
portabello mushroom - grill

Dinner: 
Romain lettuce
grass fed beef  - coconut oil
Cashews
Water chestnuts

green onion
Liquid aminos
sweet potato hash - coconut oil 

garlic

I could definitely be drinking more water - but my water intake hasn't changed. I do not believe that this could be the cause of my increase inflammation from beginning of whole 30 since I was drinking the same amount of water previously. 

[praxisproject]

When you say liquid aminos what brand/type are they?

[SugarcubeOD]

Okay a couple of things.  

First, have you seen the meal template?  Your breakfast is severely lacking... non existent veg and fat and eggs when your sole source of protein are as many as you can hold in one hand without dropping... I know you can hold more than 2.

 

I can't tell the portions of your lunch but you're probably short on fat unless your potato was drenched.

 

Your dinner looks like it was beef with some sort of seasoning on lettuce with sweet potato hash?  You're probably lacking fat there as well if you're only counting what you cooked with.

 

Overall, in this day, you ate a mushroom an amount of green beans and lettuce for your vegetables...

 

Please have a read through the template again and try and make your meals match the recommendations which are 1-2 palms of protein, 1-3 cups of veg (only a fist sized serving a day is starch to start off with.. more if you're very active, pregnant or a woman on or near her period) and added fat in the quantity that is listed for each fat type in the document.

 

I'm not sure that this is why you're having problems with your cysts/acne but under feeding yourself is not doing you any favors...

[Tom Denham]

Braggs Liquid Aminos is a soy product and you would not have started your Whole30 yet if you are using it because all soy is out. Soy can be a nasty trouble maker. 

[samade]

not soy - using coconut secret organic coconut aminos.

I would need to force down more food in order to complete whole30 according to the template. I weigh 100 pounds normally, and I cannot physically consume 2000 calories/day. Is it healthy to forcibly eat more calories when I am not hungry? 

 

I agree that I could use more fat in my diet. Suggestions? 

 

[SugarcubeOD]

No one said anything about forcing down 2000 calories a day...

The template asks you to use your own palm (thickness x width x length) to determine protein portion sizes and your own thumb volume to determine liquid fats and mayo.

If you can eat grapefruit at breakfast, then you can replace that fruit with vegetables... so that's not more volume or forcing down more food... and if you put a few blops of mayo on the veg you're going to eat, then you have a properly formed breakfast (assuming you can only hold two eggs).

If it's volume you're concerned about, then replace that salad with heartier cooked veggies such as roasted Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower etc... You do need a bucket full of greens to make salad count so again, if you're having trouble, then make what you do eat count for more...

That said, there's nothing here that I can see that would be causing cysts on your hands... it may be a coincidence that it's come back at the exact same time you're doing a whole30... period cramping CAN get worse while your hormones adjust, so that could be what that is, along with the face breaking out.

The best way to get your hormones in control as quickly as possible is to eat to the meal template. Your own palm size, your own thumb size and 1-3 cups of veg... (that means if you think you can only eat one cup of veg and you're satiated with that, then you eat one cup).

There's no way that you can't eat three meals a day to the low/middle side of the template using your own body size as a guide, even at 100 pounds.

Fat suggestions: avocado, mayo, olive oil, coconut oil, olives, lard, tallow, ghee, schmaltz, avocado oil

[samade]

I'll try those suggestions - I wouldn't be surprised if my adjusting hormone levels are causing everything. 

Thank you

[praxisproject]

I would also double check your ingredients, packaged/processed items as well as fresh things like beef if it's not a whole-style item, in case you have a rogue gluten substance in there - make sure your doctor knows about the return of your cysts.