very discouraged

[eelaine]

Well, it's Day 30 and I have to say, I wonder why I even bothered.

 

I did lose 5.5 lbs (whoop-dee-doo). After all that, though, I expected more.

 

The only NSV I can think of is that my heartburn is gone. 

 

Other than that, my mood is awful. I really wonder if I'm ever going to enjoy anything again. My energy is in the toilet. I can barely get out of bed in the morning. Workouts have been a complete slog—despite complying with the pre and post workout meals, my limbs feel like they weigh a ton. I suppose I could have accepted the slow-as-molasses weight loss if my mood and energy had improved, but they've gotten worse. Much worse.

 

I was completely compliant. I even cut out coffee, potatoes and nuts because they have no brakes for me. I did eat sweet potatoes but kept that to once every few days.

 

I tried to keep a positive attitude. I avoided thoughts of what I was going to eat when this was all over (food porn). I felt this was all about breaking bad habits, and daydreaming about eating baked goods wasn't going to do me any good at all, so whenever I caught myself going there, I stopped it.

 

I'm going to continue with the no wheat and no sugar, but as for the rest of it, I don't think it's worth it. It's not worth arguing with DH over whether or not we put BBQ sauce on the meat he's grilling, or stressing out over every single label. Not if this is the result, anyway.

 

eelaine

[SugarcubeOD]

Wow, I'm really sorry to hear that eelaine!

 

Would you like us to take a look at what you've been eating and see if we can suggest ways to help you feel better?  I suspect (but could be wrong) that you were not eating enough if your energy was in the tank the entire time, unless you have undisclosed existing medical conditions that could be contributing.

 

5.5 pounds in 30 days is healthy, sustainable weight loss... that's nothing to sneeze at.

Your skin didn't appear fresher, hair stronger, nails thicker, clothes looser, sleep better?  

[eelaine]

Thanks for the prompt reply.

 

My breakfast nearly every day was half a bag of sauteed spinach with three eggs cracked into it.

 

Lunch and supper were a 1-2 palm sized portion of meat like chicken, pork or roast beef, either with a large salad or fresh or frozen vegetables. My fat was either olive oil, avocado or the homemade mayo (which was the best thing to come out of this). I also added sauerkraut, beet kraut and kimchi to nearly every meal.

 

Pre workout meals were a hard boiled egg with half an avocado. Post workout was often a banana or a piece of sweet potato with a few slices of meat.

 

I didn't snack. That was really hard and I kept telling myself it would get better, but it didn't.

 

About halfway through I told my chiropractor about the Whole30 and how miserable I was feeling. He suggested more healthy fat. I added half an avocado to each meal, or the homemade mayo.

 

I had bloodwork done last January, and it was normal. B12 and iron were at the low end of the range, but still normal. Anyway, I'd have thought a diet with this much meat in it, much more than I ate before, would improve that situation. 

 

I'm also 50, perimenopausal. Getting hot flashes, but not in full menopause yet.

 

My sleep has improved in that I'm not kept awake at night by heartburn or the heart-pounding caused by sugar.  Nails, skin and hair are pretty much the same. I'm a non-drinker to begin with so maybe there wasn't as much room for improvement. I have psoriasis. One spot cleared up, but others appeared. I had a particularly itchy night last night.

 

What's troubling me is the mood. I had read that carb-restricted diets can improve depression, but this actually seems to have caused a depression in me. 

 

I dunno. Hate to be so negative, and I know my post is reflecting the mood. I really wanted to end it better than this. I know that 5.5 lbs is sustainable and all that, and I would be happy with it if I didn't have to work as hard as I did. I can gain and lose 5 lbs easily in a week, so that's why it's kind of a so-what to me.

 

Maybe if I weighed more often it wouldn't have been such a let-down.

[CaGirl]

EELAINE, LOVING YOUR POSTS… Easy to read.. no sugar coating and you called it as you saw it!!!!!   

 

I dont think you were eating the correct amount of fat at each meal.. is why you felt so crapy.. And maybe you need more Sweet potato..  I'm not a moderator though so take what I saw with a grain of salt.. But thank you so much for writing your experience in a clear fashion!!!!

 

Go back and refresh in the book or where ever you got your "how to's " about the whole 30 and  take a look at the Meal Template again..   

 

Cheers

[jmcbn]

What's troubling me is the mood. I had read that carb-restricted diets can improve depression, but this actually seems to have caused a depression in me. 

People who are prone to anxiety or depression really need starchy carbs, and foods naturally high in selenium, tryptophan & serotonin.

You say you cut out white potatoes entirely, and ate sweet potatoes only every few days - did you eat any other starchy veg?

Were you including plenty of mushroom, liver, lamb, beef, eggs, bananas, shellfish, oily fish such as mackerel & salmon, tuna, turkey, & brazil nuts for their natural selenium, tryptophan & serotonin content?

If not I'd highly recommend that you do.

It would also be of benefit to make sure you get adequate time outdoors.

[eelaine]

Thanks for your feedback, CAgirl. Do you think I was getting too much or too little fat? I was eating half an avocado with every meal and really laying on the mayo (couldn't get enough of that).

 

jmcbm, thanks for your thoughtful reply. I am prone to anxiety and depression. I didn't experience any anxiety at all, and that's a bit of a plus for me because I have an issue with panic attacks. I have medication to take if I get one, and I didn't touch it at all last month. Part of the reason I went for the Whole30 was because of the tiger blood thing. I tend to have a low mood, which zaps my energy, and was looking for a boost. However, it only amplified my depression symptoms.

 

Re: the starches...It's very hard for me to get my weight to move. I did some reading on the forum here and saw some feedback to people who were having trouble with losing weight and they were advised to watch the starchy carbs. That's why I decided to limit the sweet potatoes, but given the depression issues that was probably a bad decision. 

 

I gave up potatoes early in the Whole30. One day I had some oven roasted potatoes, probably too many, and my mood completely crashed half an hour later. I blamed the potatoes, so they were out.

 

I exercise regularly and was hoping that would lift me out of the funk, but exercise became very difficult. Rather than having lots of energy early on in the workout, my large muscles would feel fatigued within just a few minutes. This would set off all sorts of negative internal chatter: I can't finish this workout, not a good day for this, it's too hard, etc. which made it all the more difficult to look forward to the next workout. Now, if this had been because I was burning fat instead of carbs I would have sucked it up, but according to my body fat scale, I actually increased  in percentage :-/

 

Thank you for the food suggestions. I was eating about half of those foods. And I do need to get outside. We've had a snowy cold April here which hasn't helped matters.

 

I'm going to include a final tally here. My mood was horrible yesterday, and I couldn't have seen a silver lining if you rubbed my nose in it. But today I'm feeling a little better and I took a closer look at things.

 

Weight:                          Start 174.5 lbs     Finish: 167 lbs  (it was 169 yesterday)

Body fat percentage:    Start 41                Finish 42 (?)

Waist at belly button:    Start 39.5 in         Finish 37.5 in

 

When I was whining to my mother yesterday she said that she thought my skin was looking brighter, and my husband also said I was looking a lot better, slimmer, etc. So, it was not a wash after all.

 

eelaine

[ShannonM816]

Body fat scales are bulls***. Here's an article with a little explanation of how they work. Their accuracy depends on your body shape, whether your feet are wet or dry, or even if they're heavily calloused. It also depends on your body shape -- slimmer legs and a larger belly/upper body will give you a reading that's probably lower than what your body fat actually is. If you carry a lot of fat in your legs (big thighs/hips), it might actually give you a higher percentage than what it actually is. Over time, like months and months and months, you'd probably get an indication that you were losing body fat (if you were), but to be up or down by 1% is probably well within the margin of error and rather than truly indicating a gain in body fat, probably just indicates that there wasn't a whole lot of change either way, at least in places the scale measures very well. If you truly want an accurate body fat measurement (although truly, there's no reason to worry about it, just keep eating healthily and exercising and it will go down), you'd need to find a place with a Bod Pod or one of those tanks where they measure water displacement.

 

You know you lost two inches at your waist -- so some fat went away there, it didn't like move to another part of your body or something. You weigh less -- and the amount you lost would be a good, sustainable amount, were you to continue to lose it every month. You look better, your skin is looking better. You have some suggestions for dealing with the mood issues, if you want to continue to eat this way.

[Chellesdoingr8]

There is more to us than a number on the scale.  Congratulations and best wishes on your healthy lifestyle journey

 

Michelle