Losing too much, too fast?

[Veritaserum]

Today is Day 8. Yesterday and today I've been really shaky in the mornings. Eating an orange stops the shakes enough to be able to scramble up some coconut milk eggs.

What is more concerning is that I'm down a full dress size in clothing. I am 5'7" and started at 165. I've lost probably something in the 7 lb. range this first week. I'm eating a lot, including huge green salads at lunch and dinner as well as meat, nuts, and coconut milk throughout the day. I haven't been starving myself, I've just been eating healthy food.

I do have an autoimmune disease (Hashimoto's thyroiditis), which was why I started Whole 30. My pre-diagnosis normal weight was 140. My lowest adult weight (21 - 25 years old) was 125 due to a fast metabolism. I ate whatever I wanted whenever i wanted and did not gain weight.

I gave birth four months ago and am exclusively breastfeeding, which burns ~500 calories per day. I have not been exercising this week.

I don't expect to continue to lose this rapidly, but I am worried that what I have lost isn't safe! It does seem to be fat that's missing rather than muscle, but it's still alarming and I wonder if the morning shakiness is related to the rapid weightloss.

Thoughts?

[Tom Denham]

My guess is that you are not eating enough because 7 pounds per week is fast weight loss. It might be water loss/bloating than won't happen again your second week, but many people think they are eating enough when they start a Whole30, but really need to eat more. The number of calories in grains/processed foods can be deceptively high and you might not be replacing all of them with meat, veggies, and fats. It would help to see a detailed description of several days of meals to assess things.

[Veritaserum]

I'm eating until I'm full and snacking in between meals. Maybe I'm still not eating enough?

Breakfast:

3 eggs scrambled in coconut milk

3 strips of bacon

1 orange

Morning Snack:

Coconut milk smoothie: 1/2 can coconut milk, a banana or two, a handful of strawberries, and a few chunks of pineapple (sometimes I do avocado in the smoothie with coconut milk and a few pieces of fruit)

Handful of nuts

Lunch:

A few cups of dark, leafy greens topped with hard boiled eggs or crumbled bacon and 1/2 an avocado

Sometimes leftover dinner, too, if I still feel hungry

Afternoon Snack:

Coconut flakes with more nuts

Chopped, raw veggies

Dinner:

Chicken, pork, or beef

Dark green, leafy salad topped with 1/2 an avocado

Sometimes sweet potatoes

[Tom Denham]

Your breakfast looks okay, but lunch looks too small and dinner might be too. And eating less than you need at lunch and dinner might explain waking up shaky. I find that the accumulation of the whole day matters a lot.

There are very few calories in greens, which makes up the bulk of your lunch. A boiled egg or some bacon crumbles is not enough protein. The avocado half is good fat, but I'm thinking you need more protein, as in a portion of meat as big as the palm of your hand and up to 2 portions as big as the palm of your hand. You probably don't want to eat that much bacon and I would not repeat eggs at breakfast and lunch just because you need some variety.

The half avocado at dinner is a good choice, but you don't say how much meat you are eating. Again, 1 or 2 palm-size portions is important. And while nursing, I would think a sweet potato per day in addition to lots of greens would be important.

You are eating healthy snacks, but I'd like to see mini-meals with some protein and fat as snacks and not just fruit and veggies. The fruit and veggies are very low calorie and I think you need more. I just noticed that you have 6 young children! You must be active and need plenty of calories to support everything you are doing to keep up.

[nutmegananne]

As a former nursing mom, I know that breastfeeding exclusively (especially when your baby is yours' age and growing rapidly) burns a ton of calories. You need more calories while nursing exclusively than you do while pregnant. And yeah, with six children, I know you are amazingly busy!!

Tom's recommendations are great. I would definitely do the sweet potatoes, and add in more protein and fat with your fruit. Fruit is great, but when you don't slow it down with some protein and fat, it can cause wild blood sugar swings, which can cause shakiness. This is particularly true of stuff like bananas, which I believe are higher on the glycemic index.

[Marie Shipp]

When I was breastfeeding I always had to make sure to eat a large supper, if I ever skimped I would wake up with the shakes and then get horribly sick after eating. My babies always nursed throughout the night so I assume I ended up with really low blood sugar in the morning. It was awful but eating well the night before prevented it.

[Veritaserum]

Thanks. I had cut out eating after dinner when I started Whole 30. My baby does still nurse at night, so I should put that snack back in. I will beef up my lunches, too. I don't have much meal prep time available at lunch, which is why I've been eating salad. The best solution is probably to make more at dinner so that I have enough for lunch the next day.

[Tiffany Precissi]

I am newly diagnosed with Hashimoto's and am 13 weeks pregnant. I'm gearing up to jump back into a Whole 30 so I'm curious to see what will happen. I definitely want to keep an eye on your thread to see how you are doing. Good luck!

[Veritaserum]

I'm feeling so much better this morning! I made sure to snack before bedtime and I didn't wake up shaky. I made sweet potatoes as part of my breakfast. I grated some sweet potato yesterday and put it in the fridge so that I could easily and quickly cook some in coconut oil today (like hash browns).