Help - sleep issues & others

[carny326]

Insomnia has always been an issue of mine. Since contracting Valley Fever it's been less of an issue as the disease is like having mono for a year, and you have no energy ever. 

 

The first week of my Whole30, I was sleeping like 10-12 hours a night (a little more than my normal VF self but not by much).

 

I'm on day 17, supposedly the tiger blood portion and for the last week or so my insomnia has been worse than ever. I've been very good about my sticking with the portion template, there isn't anything causing stress or anxiety in my life right now and no other triggers. Usually when I have an episode it only goes for a night or two, it's been a week without any significant sleep. What's the deal?

 

Also... sorry if this is TMI... but the first week on the program I was eating a lot of nuts and my BM's were fantastic, consistent and well formed (not usual for me). But I was told I was eating too many nuts and that I should cut back to a handful a day/every other day. Which I did, but since doing so my BM's are back to where they were prior to starting the program (inconsistent in both regularity and form.. sort of all over the map as to too much or too little). Should I go back to upping my nut intake?

 

Idk, I'm feeling defeated and that I'm not getting to much out of this program thus far... I know I probably won't ever get to Tiger Blood status, but seriously I'd be great with just having the feeling good, sleeping normal, and fewer cravings level of Tiger Blood... where are my benefits darn it!? Right now it just feels like I've given up a lot of stuff I really like for no reason at all...

[ladyshanny]

Hi Carny, without getting a read on what you've been eating, portions, timing, exercise etc, it's very difficult for us to troubleshoot. Go ahead and post some detail so that someone can take a look.

 

Constipation is not solved by purposely irritating your gut with nuts. It's increasing veggies (the leafy and non leafy green kind) and making sure you are drinking sufficient water (half ounce per pound of bodyweight). You might also want to try a magnesium supplement.

 

How's your sleep hygiene? Check out these two articles:

 

http://whole9life.com/2014/09/improve-your-sleep/

http://whole9life.com/2014/09/improve-sleep-quality/

[carny326]

Here is a link to my log which lists out what I've been eating: http://forum.whole30.com/topic/37712-started-75-first-whole30logging-experience/

Portions are in line with with what the template suggest most recipes come from either the whole30 book, approved books found in the whole30 book or websites that have whole30 compliant recipes. Timing: I eat breakfast within an hour of waking up, lunch 3-4 hours later, snack 3-4 hours later (if at all), and dinner about 3 hours after that so that I'm not eating to soon before bed. 

 

I eat a ton of veggies I include some with every meal, and if I do have a snack it's veggies. I live in the desert and it's summer time so I drink more water than that. When I started I weighed 128 (not sure what I'm currently weighing in at) and drink a about 85-100 oz of water a day. I'll look into the magnesium supplement. 

 

In terms of sleep hygiene, again I live in the desert so getting sunlight, not really a problem. And I've been eating a hearty breakfast every morning. And that list of 5 things is stuff that I've always done to help with my insomnia. 

[ladyshanny]

OK, so your log is very difficult to read and nearly impossible to determine portion size or even meal composition in most cases so I'm not sure exactly how you wish us to assist you?  Here's what I gleaned after scrolling through.

 

The fruit and nut porridge is not recommended at all, you should be having protein, vegetables and fats (not nuts every day). Adding fruit to this "porridge" is compounding the issue of tiredness and nuts are a gut irritant that are meant to be limited to a closed handful every other day at most.

 

Second, you are showing meals that have no protein and no fat (eg, zucchini fritters, zucchini latkes, vegetable soup, zucchini pesto dish).  You seem to be snacking every day that I can tell.  I'm not sure what a "cauliflower rice thing" is, nor what a "yummy homemade sauce" is.  Fat?

 

What is "a chicken dish that looks tasty"? Does it have 1-2 palms of protein, 1-3 cups of veggies and a couple servings of fat?

 

Review the meal template again.  Create every meal to have 1-2 palms of protein or as many eggs as you can hold in one hand or some combination of that.  1-3 cups of vegetables. Given your constipation issues, err on the high side.  1-2 servings of fat. Given your snacking and exhaustion issues, err on the high side.