Can't maintain this - low blood pressure

[sal_the_gal]

I completed the September Whole 30 and felt great from Week 3 onwards. Reintroduction was rough for me though. I followed the ten day plan to a T. I discovered that none of the categories worked for me - pulses gave me terrible acidity, non-gluten grains made me depressed and lethargic, dairy aggravated my joint pains. Oddly, wheat seemed OK. But I figured that if I was leaving out non-gluten grains, it made little sense to include wheat, so I left that out of my post-Whole 30 diet plan as well. Which means I was pretty much left with the Whole 30 for the rest of my life! I did however cut myself some slack when it came to the preservatives in food, and eating chips whose ingredients are allowed.

Well - I joined a yoga class soon after reintro. I started feeling really and truly exhausted. I spent Diwali evening in bed, unable to move. Eventually I decided I'd had enough, and I was going start eating normally again. This was going OK until I had wheat at breakfast, lunch and dinner. That night was just awful - I couldn't sleep, and even worse, my depression was back with a vengeance. So I yo-yoed back to my Whole 30-style eating, and now I'm tired and faint again. I do have a tendency towards low blood pressure and low blood sugar.

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[ShannonM816]

A few things could cause this. First if you're on any medications, especially something like blood pressure meds, talk to your doctor as your dose may need adjusting. Second thing I'd wonder is, are you salting your food? Lack of salt could cause weakness and fatigue. The third thing I'd wonder about would be if you're eating enough, and if you're eating the right mix of stuff. 

If you'd like to list a day or two of typical meals, including approximate portion sizes and specific types of vegetables you're eating, we could take a look and see if anything stands out. 

Are you eating pre- and post- workout meals on days you work out? Are you adding fat in addition to what you're cooking in? Are you having at least one fist-sized serving of starchy vegetables each day?

[sal_the_gal]

Hi ShannonM816,

Thanks so much for your prompt response.

I only take an asthma inhaler; I'm not on any other medication.

I use the regular amount of salt while cooking, but haven't been adding extra salt to the food on my plate. Perhaps I should?

Yesterday for breakfast I had a banana, two fried eggs, and some sauteed mushroom with balsamic vinegar. The added fat was the coconut milk in my coffee. Lunch was two chicken meatballs, half a plate of lettuce salad with vinaigrette, and half a baked sweet potato. My evening snack was two dates and some cashewnuts. Dinner was three chicken meatballs, half a plate of lettuce salad and half a baked sweet potato. The added fat at lunch and dinner was the olive oil in the vinaigrette. Late at night I was quite faint so I had some prunes and coffee.

When I work out, I usually have a banana before the workout, and my usual breakfast (eggs, mushrooms, half a tomato) afterwards. In October, I had become slack about adding fat to meals, but I've been more particular in November. I have been trying to include potatoes or sweet potatoes at lunch and dinner since October.

Please let me know what you think. Would a good multivitamin help?

Thank you very much!

Saloni

[ShannonM816]

Your meals might be a little on the small side.

For instance, when eggs are your only protein, you should have as many whole eggs as you can hold in your hand -- likely 3-4, possibly more. If you don't want that many eggs at once, you can make up the difference with some other protein -- make some sausage, or just have whatever's left over and convenient. How much coconut milk did you have with your coffee? For full fat canned coconut milk, a fat serving would be 3-7 oz (1/4 to 1/2 a 14 oz can). Plus, "some sauteed mushroom" doesn't really sound like a lot -- you want to fill your plate with vegetables.

How big are the meatballs you're eating? Is two at least the length, width, and height of your palm? Lettuce salad tends to break down a lot as you eat and isn't necessarily super filling -- you can add heartier vegetables to your salad (like tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, bell peppers, snap peas, jicama, broccoli (I like to put broccoli slaw or rainbow salad on my salads for some extra crunch, it's just grated broccoli and other veggies), zucchini or summer squash), or have an extra vegetable on the side. You'd need at least a tablespoon of salad dressing for your fat to get a thumb-sized serving (approximately, for most people), and the thing about salad dressings is that they often end up pooled at the bottom of the dish, not eaten, so you may not actually consume the entire amount you pour on the salad. You could add some ghee or coconut oil to your baked sweet potato, or some avocado or olives to your salad. Don't be afraid of the fat -- many vitamins are fat-soluble, meaning you need the fat for your body to process them. Doesn't matter how many vegetables you eat or how many vitamins you take, if you're not getting enough fat, your body won't be able to use some of them.

Pre-WO, you want to have protein & fat -- an egg, some leftover meat with some mayo or olives or avocado. Post-WO, you want lean protein and optionally some starchy vegetables -- chicken or tuna with some sweet potato or potato. Both of these are in addition to your three meals.

I really think if you increase the size of all your meals, you'll feel better. As far as salt, just salt your food so it tastes good to you.

 

[sal_the_gal]

Thank you! I implemented your suggestions at lunch today - added cucumber and tomato to my salad, was generous with my dressing, also generous with the ghee on my sweet potato. Plus I made myself have two fish fillets instead of stopping at one, and was quite liberal in sprinkling salt and pepper over my sweet potato. I really do feel better already!