Just need to hear this is normal for 2nd go: Day 22 and angry, sad, frustrated

[ODAAT]

I did my first W30 a couple of years ago and have been back and forth from overeating/lots of sugar to fairly strict Paleo since.  I had a very positive, very powerful experience with my first W30, and experienced freedom from the sugar dragon, increased energy, tiger blood, all the good stuff.  This time I am 22 days in and the past several days I have been moody, sort of depressed, irritable, anxious, mentally foggy, and just generally uncomfortable emotionally.  Today a ridiculously large box of treats arrived for my kids from my MiL and I found myself literally crying in self pity that I couldn't have them.  This is completely, vastly different from my first experience with the W30.

 

I am not thinking of stopping.  I am in for at least 8 more days and probably a lot longer.  But MAN I am so uncomfortable.

 

Of note: I am not getting enough sleep - I am sure that accounts for some of this.

 

Sample meals:

 

Breakfast pretty much every day: organic chicken sausage, either yukon gold or sweet potatoes, asparagus, and sometimes strawberries or another fruit

 

Lunch: big salad with greens, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, grilled chicken, olive oil and vinegar

 

Dinner: lettuce wrap beef "tacos" with W30 compliant spice blend, avocado, tomatoes, salsa, and a piece of fruit like a nectarine or some honey dew melon

 

I sometimes have to snack between meals due to hunger (I am currently breastfeeding a one year old which may contribute to this?) and if I do I usually have deli turkey (W30 compliant) rolled up with avocado, asparagus and raspberries, or just a whole avocado.  Occasionally pistachios or fruit.

 

I can't eat eggs this time around as my little nursling can't tolerate egg protein.

 

Thanks in advance for your input.

[SugarcubeOD]

Hey there, sorry to hear you're not having a good go of it.

Off the top, altho you haven't given portions, I"d say the primary problem aside from not enough sleep is that you're not eating enough. Breastfeeding women often need to eat four or five meals a day... don't forget you're keeping another human alive with your body... the three meals you eat sustain you... you need extra fuel to sustain the baby...

I would suggest instead of 'snacking' you plan for those extra meals...don't do the nuts and fruit on their own thing, that's just a recipe for disaster and is in no way helping the situation.

Take another look at the meal template (linked below) and match your meals to the high end of that... and put more meals in (or mini meals) instead of those snacks and see how that helps.

It would behoove you also to not compare your last whole30 (when it sounds like maybe you were getting sleep and not breastfeeding) to this whole30... each one is different at different times in our lives and we need to take our own unique context at the time of the current Whole30 into account. I"m glad you had a positive experience with the first one, and you can with this one too, just honor the fact that you're in a different place now than you were a couple years ago.