Reintroduction after W30 fail

[MelloDeva]

Okay, I’m done with my Whole30 which I extended by 7 days hoping I could end on a more positive note. Not in the cards this time, so I’m now in the planning stages of re-introduction. I started the Whole30 hoping to have more energy and eliminate cravings for sugar. Astonishingly, sugar cravings vanished within 3 days and during the rest of the days, I had no cravings for anything containing sugar or grains.

 

To be honest, I was unable to eat the recommended amounts of food so I wasn’t surprised by the subsequent feelings of fatigue, brain fog and dizziness symptoms. The idea of eating 3 or 4 eggs at one time just made me laugh. There was no way I’d ever be able to keep that much down at one sitting and 1-3 cups of vegetables at each meal was also not gonna happen though I love vegetables more than any other food.

 

I’m an experienced cook and enjoyed coming up with compliant dishes so variety was never an issue. Coconut oil has been in my diet for years as well as other good saturated fats – ‘never bought into the conventional wisdom that saturated fats are bad. And though I was not bored with the eating plan, I did experience indigestion before and after every meal and that was not normal for me. Sleep was my usual 9 hours with a brief interruption every morning around 3:00 a.m. (typical for me). I was never a morning person anyway, but on the Whole30, I could not get myself out of bed in the morning. If I hadn’t needed to get up and feed cats, water the garden and soothe my worried husband, I would have stayed in bed all day or sat in a chair staring out the window like a zombie taking sips of water from the sports bottle attached to my wrist so I wouldn’t forget to hydrate. It’s kind of crazy because I had no pre-existing conditions or health issues, I’ve always eaten a mostly healthy diet and I never get sick. All I wanted out of this was a little more energy. And now I’m a mess.

 

Normally, I worked out 3 days a week but this past week I was unable to work out at all due to fatigue and dizziness. Next month we will be traveling quite a bit and I cannot afford to feel this crappy… I’m hoping I can at least get back to my normal level of energy (pre-Whole30) which was not ideal but at least I was functional. I need some help, how do I get out of this hole? Nothing sounds appetizing to me right now so I’m not sure how to go about correcting my symptoms so I can live normally again. Sorry I’m rambling but my brain is zombie fogged. Suggestions welcomed.

[ArtFossil]

Well, you don't have to eat eggs, and you can combine them with other proteins.

And one CUP of vegetables should not be problematic for someone who loves vegetables.

The bottom line is following the template at every meal makes it much more likely you'll reap the benefits of a Whole30.

That said, the fact that you are feeling so bad makes me wonder if other issues are at play. Have you had your thyroid/iron/Vitamin D tested? Do you have issues with FODMAPS? What about stress? Depression?

[Staggolee41]

Can you post an example of what you'd normally eat in a day? Enough fat and lots of vegetables are pretty important.

[MelloDeva]

What I've eaten recently:

 

¼ lb. hamburger sautéed with one egg, mushrooms, spinach and onions. Total in volume was about 1.5 cups – I couldn’t eat it all.

One cup of zucchini soup made simply with zucchini, bone broth and salt. One tbsp. coconut oil from the spoon. Coffee with coconut milk.

 

Around noon I’m not hungry but force down cold chicken with mayo dip, leftover green beans, sautéed kale or deviled eggs and a green salad with tomatoes. Sometimes I’ll have tuna fish salad on greens with a simple vinaigrette. Total volume about ¾ to 1 cup of food. Tbsp. of almond butter for extra fat.

 

Dinner: Typically a palm-size portion of protein (steak, chicken or fish), some green vege, occasionally a half a sweet potato or plantain mash… total volume about 1.5 cups of food. Sometimes I can finish it all, other times no.

 

I drink lots of water during the day, kombucha occasionally to help with indigestion, cashew milk for snack if I’m feeling weak. Occasionally I’ll have fruit but I’m not crazy about it.

 

I’m not depressed or under stress... I’m retired so I can rest whenever I want to and have plenty of time to prep food. I take vitamin D and FODMAPS are not an issue. I’m not particularly fond of avocados so I just don’t eat them. I’m pretty certain the amounts and probably the types of veges I’ve been eating are not “template approved”… I get that. I just want to stop this train and get back to where I was before I took this journey. Thanks for trying to troubleshoot this for me but it’s clear I didn’t do it correctly and that I do not have the will power to micro-manage every bite I eat. Thanks anyway.

[Tom Denham]

Just go back to eating whatever you were eating before. Go back to what you were doing before because eating as little as you seem to have been eating needs to end. 

[MelloDeva]

Thanks... In volume, I certainly ate more before whole30 with much less nutrient density I'm sure but in terms of functionality, it worked. Moving forward, with the exception of refined sugar; my exit strategy will be as you suggest. Thanks. I had bread tonight, it was awesome!