Endurance & Strength Diminished

[jilllabarre]

I'm on day 13 and have only run a few times since starting Whole30, but my muscles ache (legs and arms) when I do. They feel like lead and I'm not sure why. Is it a protein issue? I ran a half marathon at the beginning of June and now can barely complete 3 miles (since doing Whole30). 

 

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.

[ShannonM816]

It's pretty typical for workouts to suffer the first week or two as your body goes from primarily carb burning to primarily fat burning, especially if this is a big change from how you were eating before.

If you want to list a couple of days worth of food, including approximate portion sizes, we can take a look and see if anything stands out that you could change.

Be sure you're having lean protein and starchy vegetables for your post workout, protein and fat pre workout, both in addition to your three meals each day. Also be sure you're drinking plenty of water, and that you're salting your food.

[Tom Denham]

Read through lots of the posts in the athletes section and you will find lots of discussion of exactly what you describe. There is no way to skip this phase, but stay with it and you will come out stronger and faster on the other side.

[jilllabarre]

Thank you for the responses. Very helpful. 

[ABPrice]

How long does this phase last?  I'm a marathoner and Ironman (17 marathons and 3 full IM tris).  I eat pretty clean most of the time and am really in tune with my body.  Started Whole30 after three races in 2 months that required carb depletion/loading.  I hate the loading phase and feel like crud with all the refined sugar.  That and a round of prednisone threw my sleep off completely.  Needed a change and love the rules of the Whole30 (no cheating makes it easier for me not harder to follow).  I'm feeling overall really good.  My sleep is better but not 100%.  I'm on day 8.  I'm in recovery phase and not training for anything at the moment, but still love to run so I went out on an easy run of 4.5 miles on Day 3 and felt great.  Tried a 10k trail race yesterday (Day 7) and suffered the same muscle fatigue (arms, legs, abs) that jillabarre mentioned above.  I'm certain it is the Whole30.  I have been eating a lot of sweet potatoes and had Whole30 mashed potatoes with ground beef/peppers and NomNom paleo's Umami gravy the night before the race (which by the way my meat and potatoes husband approved of!).  I am not trying to set the world on fire these 30 days with my running, just want to keep running.  So I'm aware that my legs will feel like they have no snap, or like lead, or your favorite general sluggish feeling.  But how long should I expect this to go on?  Just don't want it to get me down and knowing it's coming will help a to!  Thanks all!  I haven't had any of the "hangover" issues or anything else, besides a small meltdown regarding breakfast foods (just how many eggs can one human consume?) things are going well and I'm enjoying cooking more.  Today's sweet potato avocado breakfast was a nice break!

[Anahivette]

I am right there with Jillabarre - since starting the Whole30 my energy levels have been lower than before. The main reason why I wanted to start in the first place is because I thought it would help with my energy level. I am a fitness instructor and am active every day. I'm finding myself out of breath more often and my endurance has definitely suffered. My Whole30 foods include: fish (salmon, sardines, tuna, pollock, cod), leafy greens, root veggies (all the squash variations, beets, radishes, carrots, sweet potatoes), cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, a wide variation of fruits, coconut water and coconut milk, whole30 approved almond milk, coffee and tea, and I use mostly coconut oil for cooking. I'm not sure what to do!

[ShannonM816]

3 minutes ago, Anahivette said:

I am right there with Jillabarre - since starting the Whole30 my energy levels have been lower than before. The main reason why I wanted to start in the first place is because I thought it would help with my energy level. I am a fitness instructor and am active every day. I'm finding myself out of breath more often and my endurance has definitely suffered. My Whole30 foods include: fish (salmon, sardines, tuna, pollock, cod), leafy greens, root veggies (all the squash variations, beets, radishes, carrots, sweet potatoes), cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, a wide variation of fruits, coconut water and coconut milk, whole30 approved almond milk, coffee and tea, and I use mostly coconut oil for cooking. I'm not sure what to do!

But what do your meals actually look like? Are you having 1-2 palm-sized portions of protein -- the fish in your case (and that's the length, width, and height of your palm); 1-2 thumb-sized servings of fat (or 1-2 heaping handfuls of olives or coconut flakes, or 1/4 to 1/2 a can of full fat coconut milk, or 1/2 to a whole avocado, or occasionally a small handful of nuts/seeds) -- that's in addition to the cooking oil; and filling your plate with vegetables (one cup, minimum -- aim for two or three cups or more)?  Are your meals easily keeping you satisfied 4-5 hours at a time? Are you having pre-workout (fat & protein) and post-workout (lean protein & starchy vegetables) in addition to your three meals (these don't need to be meal-sized, just a few bites -- but have your post-wo as soon as possible after you workout)?  As an active person, you should be eating at the upper end of the meal template (so where I mentioned 1-2 palm sized portions of protein -- most of the time, have two). You should be having starchy vegetables at at least one meal a day, you can probably have them more, but do be sure you have other vegetables too.