Day 24: SO tired, yet SO full..help!

[jp327]

I'm on day 24, and am so tired - I've been napping 1-2 hrs almost every day, despite getting 7-8 hrs sleep. 

 

A bit of background - I ate fairly healthy-ish before whole30, and exercised pretty intensely 2-3x per week. I had a sugar problem, and I had low energy (usually took a 1 hr nap each day) problem. I started whole30 to regulate my energy levels. 

I'm at day 24, and I'm still SO tired all the time (almost more tired than before I started).

 

Currently, I work out maybe 1-2x per week (spinning at Flywheel, so it's intense) because I can't manage anything more. I've been trying to take it easy but I miss working out. 

Symptoms I'm having trouble with -

• Energy: so tired! I wake up feeling refreshed and then crash by 10-11am and need a nap, or, if I can push through, by 4-5pm I need a nap instead. And by need a nap, I do mean I can *barely* keep my eyes open. This is even on days when I don't work out.
• Dizzy - Often times when I stand up too fast my vision goes dark for a few seconds, which is weird / concerning
• Strength - my muscles definitely aren't as strong as they used to be. They burn when going up stairs (I live on a 3rd floor walkup).

I've tried to push eating more vegetables and specifically more sweet potatoes, but I am SO full all the time. When I eat my meals, I can barely finish them most of the time and then I feel stuffed for at least an hour afterwards. Despite this, I am losing weight (which is nice, but was not my primary concern or goal). I am getting 7-8 hours of decent sleep, and always feel great when I first wake up. Also, I don't drink coffee / caffeine either. 

Here's a quick summary of a few days from the last week & so far today:

 

• Breakfast - 2 eggs, sweet potato mash, sausage
• Lunch - 2 salmon cakes, salad w/ carrots spinach & lettuce, lemon-thyme dressing, cucumber salad, handful of cashews
• Dinner - Chicken stir fry w/ green beans, sweet potatoes, onions, spagetti squash, strawberries w/ coconut whip & almonds

 

• Breakfast - Chicken frittata hand-sized slice(ground chicken, brocolli, eggs, onions), 1/2 avocado
• Lunch - Big bowl of chicken stir fry w/ green beans, sweet potatoes, onions, spagetti squash, & also carrots w/ ranch dressing (coconut cream based)
• Dinner - Pork ribs (maybe 3-4?), saute'd vegetables (zucinni, squash, mushrooms, peppers). Had planned on eating a salad too, but WAY too full.

 

• Breakfast - 2 eggs, sweet potato/sausage/apple hash
• Lunch - Bora bora fireballs (4-5 meatballs) w/ sunshine dipping sauce, carrots, cucumber salad, sometimes some fruit
• Dinner - Brisket w/ sweet potatoes, butternut squash, cauliflower rice

 

• Pre-WO - 1 hard boiled egg **Went to a 45 min spin class this morning**
• Post-WO - Chicken frittata (ground chicken, brocolli, eggs, onions) - shoved it down even though I wasn't even hungry.. **Took a 1 hr nap maybe 20 mins after eating this..**
• Breakfast - 3 eggs, 1/4 avocado (I was still stuffed from Post-WO)
• Lunch - Salad w/ tomatoes, carrots, dressing, 1/4 avocado. Couldn't bring myself to eat the chicken stir fry yet.. SO full still. I put it in the fridge and was gonna try again in an hour..

Any advice or thoughts would be so appreciated. I'm so frustrated, as being so tired is making completing my daily work at my job difficult.

 

Thanks!

 

[Karen_Suep]

You are a little light on fat. It should be 1-2 servings in addition to cooking and meat fats.

Post workout would be better with lean protein and a starchy veg (a few bites of both) rather than a frittata. Fat (in the egg) slows the muscles getting the protein needed to rebuild after workout.

Make sure you're having plenty of veggies (1-3 cups) Salads are good but often aren't enough unless you add heartier veggies to them.

How are you doing with hydration? Or salting your food? Both of those could effect your energy too. Aim for at least 1/2oz per lb of body weight (so for 150lbs, at least 75 oz. more isn't gonna hurt.)

[jmcbn]

I wonder if you wouldn't fare better energy wise cutting back on the starchy veg. Starchy veg does not provide energy, fat does, and some people find that they are particularly sensitive to starch which impacts their blood sugar and causes spikes & crashes in energy, and you're eating quite a bit.... I'd definitely suggest holding off on the sweet potatoes in the morning, unless it's in a postWO meal after some serious training.

You're also eating a fair amount of high FODMAP foods which will definitely make you feel stuffed if you're in anyway sensitive to them, and could also impact your energy - sweet potatoes being one of them, so really not a good way to start your day.

I'd also agree that you're low on fat.

In short, I'd eat less starchy veg especially in the morning, ease back on the FODMAPs (coconut, nuts, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, avocado, broccoli), eat more power greens such as kale, increase fat (switching the nuts, avocado & coconut cream for something like home made mayo, ghee, lard & oils) and see how you go.

 

Hope this helps 

[katiebranson]

Hello! jp327 - I totally understand. I'm on day 23 and can barely keep my eyes open. Has anything helped? 

 

Can a moderator help me here? I don't have much time to dedicate to cooking, so although my diet is complaint, I am hardly sticking to portion sizes or a fat-protein-starch ratio with every meal. I am almost done and I'm so incredibly exhausted, I get full within minutes of eating and I haven't seen any results. As much as I want to convince myself that I am happier, more energized, stronger, better skin, skinnier...nope. Not one thing has changed except my attitude and how hungry I am. Perhaps it's because I don't like meat very much, the idea of animal protein doesn't satisfy me or taste good because I was basically a vegetarian prior to this. Am I not getting something I need? Should I introduce non-gluten grains or a healthy bread with nut butter? I'm starving and absolutely exhausted...I'd just like this to end and wouldn't like to give up but perhaps this isn't made for me. Thoughts?

[jmcbn]

Hello! jp327 - I totally understand. I'm on day 23 and can barely keep my eyes open. Has anything helped? 

 

Can a moderator help me here? I don't have much time to dedicate to cooking, so although my diet is complaint, I am hardly sticking to portion sizes or a fat-protein-starch ratio with every meal. I am almost done and I'm so incredibly exhausted, I get full within minutes of eating and I haven't seen any results. As much as I want to convince myself that I am happier, more energized, stronger, better skin, skinnier...nope. Not one thing has changed except my attitude and how hungry I am. Perhaps it's because I don't like meat very much, the idea of animal protein doesn't satisfy me or taste good because I was basically a vegetarian prior to this. Am I not getting something I need? Should I introduce non-gluten grains or a healthy bread with nut butter? I'm starving and absolutely exhausted...I'd just like this to end and wouldn't like to give up but perhaps this isn't made for me. Thoughts?

For us to help you'd really need to let us know what you have been eating over say the past 3-4 days - give specifics on portion sizes, veg types etc - and then hopefully we can suggest a few tweaks...

[ladyshanny]

Hello! jp327 - I totally understand. I'm on day 23 and can barely keep my eyes open. Has anything helped? 

 

Can a moderator help me here? I don't have much time to dedicate to cooking, so although my diet is complaint, I am hardly sticking to portion sizes or a fat-protein-starch ratio with every meal. I am almost done and I'm so incredibly exhausted, I get full within minutes of eating and I haven't seen any results. As much as I want to convince myself that I am happier, more energized, stronger, better skin, skinnier...nope. Not one thing has changed except my attitude and how hungry I am. Perhaps it's because I don't like meat very much, the idea of animal protein doesn't satisfy me or taste good because I was basically a vegetarian prior to this. Am I not getting something I need? Should I introduce non-gluten grains or a healthy bread with nut butter? I'm starving and absolutely exhausted...I'd just like this to end and wouldn't like to give up but perhaps this isn't made for me. Thoughts?

There's no magic answer here for you, Katie, sorry.  You could do the Whole30 on solely almond butter and strawberries............but you would not feel very well.  We have recommendations for meal sizes, timing and composition for a reason.  If you are not going to make time to cook, prepare and eat properly planned meals, there's no magic answer for us to help you with your starving and exhaustion. The two are directly related.

 

That said, you can certainly minimize prep time by using tinned fishes, by batch cooking several chicken breasts/thighs at once, by using hard boiled eggs, pre-cut veggies, pre-made (compliant) guac etc.  There are lots of threads here on the forum about minimizing prep time while still managing to follow the recommendations for best results.