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Last few days of Whole 30 are like the first few?


Caitibird

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So I am on day 27 today.  Yesterday and today I have had this obnoxious headache, right behind my eyes and forehead. I never get these types of headaches (I'm more of a one sided temple migraine person) but I had this same type of headache the first week of my Whole 30 while I was detoxing. What's the deal with getting them again?  My meals have only gotten stronger since I've started. I still have "tiger blood" energy, but this headache I can't seem to shake despite however much water, salt, and food I put into me. 

 

So I have a couple of ideas as to why this may be effecting me, but I wanted some opinions from some veterans:

 

-The last two days is I went from drinking 1 cup of de-caff coffee in the morning to drinking 1 cup of crio bru (100% ground cocoa beans which has less caffeine than de-caff). Would the withdraw from de-caff to something with less caffeine be causing these annoying headaches?

 

-I'm a few days out from starting a new cycle. I've been upping my carbs the last few days by trying to incorporate more sweet potatoes etc into my meals in anticipation though. Would my hormones be causing these headaches? Aside from these headaches I haven't really had my normal PMS symptoms which I usually suffer from each month, so that's a small nsv :)

 

Any suggestions aside from taking otc meds?

 

 

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The quick answer is that yes, both these things could be causing your headache, altho switching from decaf to criobru shouldn't cause too much strife.

 

You say your meals have gotten stronger but maybe you'd like to list out what you've been eating?  Sometimes by the time we get to the end of the Whole30 we think we're expert level meal template followers but our fats fall off a bit, we're a bit more fruit than veggie heavy and the protein is skimpy... not to say that's what's going on with you but it could be... Let us take a look at your meals and see if there's anything we can spot.

 

And you're welcome to take the otc meds (advil, tylenol... if I have a tension headache I often take half a muscle relaxant because that helps loosen things up).

Dont suffer!

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So I am on day 27 today. Yesterday and today I have had this obnoxious headache, right behind my eyes and forehead. I never get these types of headaches (I'm more of a one sided temple migraine person) but I had this same type of headache the first week of my Whole 30 while I was detoxing. What's the deal with getting them again? My meals have only gotten stronger since I've started. I still have "tiger blood" energy, but this headache I can't seem to shake despite however much water, salt, and food I put into me.

So I have a couple of ideas as to why this may be effecting me, but I wanted some opinions from some veterans:

-The last two days is I went from drinking 1 cup of de-caff coffee in the morning to drinking 1 cup of crio bru (100% ground cocoa beans which has less caffeine than de-caff). Would the withdraw from de-caff to something with less caffeine be causing these annoying headaches?

-I'm a few days out from starting a new cycle. I've been upping my carbs the last few days by trying to incorporate more sweet potatoes etc into my meals in anticipation though. Would my hormones be causing these headaches? Aside from these headaches I haven't really had my normal PMS symptoms which I usually suffer from each month, so that's a small nsv :)

Any suggestions aside from taking otc meds?

I was just going to ask something very similar. I am on day 25. I am also a day or two from starting my cycle and had a minor headache last night. Im also hungrier than usual ( I've been eating the same amount and same meals for 2 weeks and I've been feeling great every day). I've also really been wanting an evening sweet treat the last couple days. I haven't wanted this since day 5 but I used to have something sweet every single night before I started W30 and I could eat a box of cookies every day when I was on my cycle. I know it probably wasn't the right thing to do but I had an apple with almond butter both nights. I wonder if im going to have to fight the sugar dragon every month when my cycle is about to start?

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I think I solved my own problem. Doing some research on headaches I found that some people are sensitive to chocolate. I'm a little bummed that maybe the CrioBru might be the culprit, so I skipped my cup of it this morning and I am monitoring how I feel. I'll go ahead and post the last two day's meals though, just in case:

 

DAY 1 (Wednesday)

Meal 1: Sausage patty (size of palm), roughly 2 cups of sauteed veggies drenched in coconut oil (peppers, tomatoes, kale), roughly 1/4 cup of hashbrowns smothered in salsa, 1/4 cup of this pumpkin/coconut concoction (I don't know what to call it-has baked pumpkin, coconut milk, shredded coconut), 1 cup of CrioBru w/ 1 tbsp of coconut oil and 2 tbsp of hydrosolate gelatin.  -Pleasantly full.

 

Meal 2: Fist size of pulled pork w/ compliant BBQ sauce, roughly 2 cups of sauteed veggies (same as Meal 1's) swimming in coconut oil,  3 tbsp of guacamole, 1/4 cup of pumpkin/coconut concoction -So full couldn't even touch the strawberries I brought.

 

Meal 3: A giant bowl (like 2-3 cups) of ground turkey sweet potato skillet. -Afterwards, stuffed.

 

Snack before bed: Normally I don't snack, but it had been roughly 4 hours since my last meal. I ate about 1/4 cup of the pumpkin/coconut concoction.

 

**Overall feeling throughout the day: I felt great for the most part. I'm having what I think is "Tiger Blood", though it was stronger last week.  Had a headache all day long and I was getting pretty exhausted in the afternoon but once I got home I perked back up.

 

DAY 2 (Thursday)

Meal 1: This meal was a terrible flop.  I was running late to work and trying to cook my protein in the oven but it just wasn't cooking fast enough.  I ended up eating about 3 cups of sauteed veggies (kale, peppers, tomatoes-drenched in coconut oil) and nearly a full cup of my pumpkin/coconut concoction.  I had 1 cup of CrioBru with 1 tbsp of coconut oil and 2 tbsp of hydrosolate gelatin.  -I felt bad not getting a real protein in, but this did keep me perfectly full until lunchtime-about 5 hours later.

 

Meal 2: Chicken apple sausage, 1-2 cups of sauteed veggies (Same as Meal 1), everything smothered in guacamole, 1/4 cup of pumpkin/coconut concoction -Super filled, didn't touch the strawberries I brought again.

 

Afternoon Snack: Again, I normally don't snack, but I was getting ready to go to a work related dinner where I knew there wasn't hardly going to be anything compliant. I had a cup of roasted sweet potato drizzled with a touch of almond butter.

 

Meal 3: Work related dinner. I had what was possible the worst/driest hamburger patty (looked pre-made, I could barely eat a fourth of it, super bummed), and a plate full of lettuce, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper ( in olive oil dressing that I brought from home), small plate of fruit. -I wasn't really hungry afterwards, but I knew I would be needing something before bed.

 

Snack before bed: Had about a 1/4 cup of my pumpkin/coconut concoction. Should have had more protein, but I didn't have anything ready or easy to cook and I was tired.

 

**Overall feeling throughout the day: I felt great in the morning aside from my headache that lingered all day (regardless of taking Tylenol). I got very tired and exhausted in the afternoon. This is something that usually happens during my PMS symptoms, so it seemed typical but I'm sure had I had a more substantial breakfast I would have felt better. The sweet potato snack I had really hit the spot though :)

 

So overall, the last two days haven't been super stellar. At least I never left a meal feeling hungry. I'm bummed because I've been waiting for my avocados to ripen for almost a week now. I think if I had them to add to some of these meals, that may have helped things.  I also made a note that I realized I haven't been sleeping super well the last few nights. Either I've been staying up too late, or when I wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, I have a hard time falling back asleep.  So today I've nixed the CrioBru to see if that helps and I tried really hard to go to bed early last night (though I had trouble falling back asleep again after my nightly bathroom trip). I ate extra protein this morning at my meal 1 too.

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Is this "n'oatmeal" or "Faux-tmeal" a recent addition to your Whole30? It is absolutely not recommended and you've been eating quite a lot of it in places where you should be focussing on protein and veggies.

I think I solved my own problem. Doing some research on headaches I found that some people are sensitive to chocolate. I'm a little bummed that maybe the CrioBru might be the culprit, so I skipped my cup of it this morning and I am monitoring how I feel. I'll go ahead and post the last two day's meals though, just in case:

 

DAY 1 (Wednesday)

Meal 1: Sausage patty (size of palm), was this also the thickness of your palm? Sounds pretty skimpy on protein to me roughly 2 cups of sauteed veggies drenched in coconut oil (peppers, tomatoes, kale), roughly 1/4 cup of hashbrowns smothered in salsa, 1/4 cup of this pumpkin/coconut concoction see comment above regarding this item (I don't know what to call it-has baked pumpkin, coconut milk, shredded coconut), 1 cup of CrioBru w/ 1 tbsp of coconut oil and 2 tbsp of hydrosolate gelatin.  -Pleasantly full.

 

Meal 2: Fist size of pulled pork w/ compliant BBQ sauce, roughly 2 cups of sauteed veggies (same as Meal 1's) swimming in coconut oil,  3 tbsp of guacamole when avocado is your fat the recommendation is half to a whole one, use more here, 1/4 cup of pumpkin/coconut concoction -So full couldn't even touch the strawberries I brought.

 

Meal 3: A giant bowl (like 2-3 cups) of ground turkey sweet potato skillet. -Afterwards, stuffed. any fat here?

 

Snack before bed: Normally I don't snack, but it had been roughly 4 hours since my last meal. I ate about 1/4 cup of the pumpkin/coconut concoction. Your better bet here would have been protein and fat.  Hardboiled egg or an egg quickly scrambled in the microwave.

 

**Overall feeling throughout the day: I felt great for the most part. I'm having what I think is "Tiger Blood", though it was stronger last week.  Had a headache all day long and I was getting pretty exhausted in the afternoon but once I got home I perked back up.

 

DAY 2 (Thursday)

Meal 1: This meal was a terrible flop.  I was running late to work and trying to cook my protein in the oven but it just wasn't cooking fast enough.  I ended up eating about 3 cups of sauteed veggies (kale, peppers, tomatoes-drenched in coconut oil) and nearly a full cup of my pumpkin/coconut concoction.  I had 1 cup of CrioBru with 1 tbsp of coconut oil and 2 tbsp of hydrosolate gelatin.  -I felt bad not getting a real protein in, but this did keep me perfectly full until lunchtime-about 5 hours later. this type of breakfast would do nothing for any fatigue or headache. I know you know it wasn't ideal but in light of your symptoms, I'm wanted to point it out.

 

Meal 2: Chicken apple sausage This is not enough protein, 1-2 cups of sauteed veggies (Same as Meal 1), everything smothered in guacamole, 1/4 cup of pumpkin/coconut concoction -Super filled, didn't touch the strawberries I brought again. 

 

Afternoon Snack: Again, I normally don't snack, but I was getting ready to go to a work related dinner where I knew there wasn't hardly going to be anything compliant. I had a cup of roasted sweet potato drizzled with a touch of almond butter. Better option here would have contained protein and fat. This sort of "snack" isn't going to help fatigue or headache at all

 

Meal 3: Work related dinner. I had what was possible the worst/driest hamburger patty (looked pre-made, I could barely eat a fourth of it, super bummed), and a plate full of lettuce, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper ( in olive oil dressing that I brought from home), small plate of fruit. -I wasn't really hungry afterwards, but I knew I would be needing something before bed.

 

Snack before bed: Had about a 1/4 cup of my pumpkin/coconut concoction. Should have had more protein, but I didn't have anything ready or easy to cook and I was tired. No eggs available to scramble? Canned tuna/salmon?

 

**Overall feeling throughout the day: I felt great in the morning aside from my headache that lingered all day (regardless of taking Tylenol). I got very tired and exhausted in the afternoon. This is something that usually happens during my PMS symptoms, so it seemed typical but I'm sure had I had a more substantial breakfast I would have felt better. The sweet potato snack I had really hit the spot though :)

 

So overall, the last two days haven't been super stellar. At least I never left a meal feeling hungry. I'm bummed because I've been waiting for my avocados to ripen for almost a week now. I think if I had them to add to some of these meals, that may have helped things.  I also made a note that I realized I haven't been sleeping super well the last few nights. Either I've been staying up too late, or when I wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, I have a hard time falling back asleep.  So today I've nixed the CrioBru to see if that helps and I tried really hard to go to bed early last night (though I had trouble falling back asleep again after my nightly bathroom trip). I ate extra protein this morning at my meal 1 too.

So.......just as an outside person looking in: short on protein often, short on fat in some cases, eating subpar snacks, not sleeping well/staying up too late, normally gets exhaustion during PMS.  Reporting headache and fatigue. Some of it is environmental (PMS, sleep habits) and some you could probably balance out by better meal composition.  

 

As far as the CrioBru, it seems unlikely given all the info above.  But it could be.  Have you never eaten chocolate before? Did you ever have a negative reaction to it when you did?

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Thanks for taking the time to reply.

 

-Is it a faux-tmeal? No, I wouldn't call it that. In fact, it's actually not even very good, but I wanted to get some other carbs besides potatoes and I typically love pumpkin. Haha, then I realized pumpkin isn't that great without sugar! Pretty much tastes like nothing. Anyway, it's eaten cold. The consistency is sort of like baby food. If I think about it too much, it grosses me out, but I used a full can of full-fat coconut milk and lots of shredded coconut (not cheap) to make it. So I eat it. 

 

-Sausage patty, yes it's thicker than my hand. Btw, I have tiny hands. I am a petite 5'4" woman. I can't even imagine eating two of those.

-So when it comes to guacamole, we should be eating what would be the size of a typical avocado? I'm totally fine with that, but I wasn't sure since the other fats are only like a thumb size.

-I would love some eggs, but I've been out all week and haven't been able to replenish! My hook-up for fresh pastured eggs hasn't had any since our weather has been wonky here.  

-I cannot eat more than one chicken apple sausage. Tried, couldn't do it. Can't even eat 1 and a half.  If I did, I would have no room left for veggies.  One is my limit and it keeps me perfectly full so long as I have my veggies and some fat.

 

So my takeaway is to have more pre-cooked proteins around to incorporate into snacks if I need them.  Before Whole30, there would be some days I never ate any meat protein ever, so I've come a long way in the 28 days I've been doing this.  I just need to get in the habit of meal prepping. I have a menu plan, but I only plan out the dinners. It would be helpful to have some contingency meat available :)

Thanks again for your comments!

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Most of us need some starch daily but probably very few of us need it at every meal. You could try moving your starchy veggie to your last meal and see if your energy/sleep improves. Then load up on non-starchy veggies like green beans, asparagus, brocoli, cabbage, sprouts etc.  I didn't see much green in your list and the greens and other colorful non starchy veggies have the nutrients in them that give us energy.

 

Do you exercise? If so, are you using pre and post workout food?

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The only reason I've been including starches at every meal is because I'm just 2 days shy of starting a new menstrual cycle. From what I've read on the forums, it has been recommended to increase those carbs to help offset PMS symptoms.  So far, aside from some exhaustion, it seems to be working. Last week I was primarily having my starchy carbs with my dinner.  That makes sense why this week's sleep may be off because of the starches though. Maybe I should cut back on them a bit today and tomorrow and see how I feel.

 

As of right now, I'm not doing much exercising. I did get a lot of walking in on Tuesday and Wednesday though. By a lot, I mean I reached my 10k steps on my fitbit, something I haven't been doing much since Whole30 started.  So that may have also effected my energy levels. I don't think reaching 10k steps merits a pre and post workout food though, does it?

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We do recommend that some people need more food or even more starches leading up to their period but the recommendation is that you experiment.  See where you feel the best. Seems that maybe the quantity you are giving yourself might be too much for "best" at this time? It's all an experiment though.

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