Day 13 Major Rough Patch

[Jennybean1221]

So Day 13.... at least I made it through Friday the 13th but today is a rough one. I'm an ER Nurse, I worked last night and went to bed at 8:30 this morning and woke up at 11:45 and have not been able to get back to sleep since and I work another 12 hour shift tonight. I ate around 2:00 cause I was starving, had three scrambled eggs half an avocado and some leftover roast veggies. I've been tossing and turning in bed trying to get some more sleep to no avail.  And I'm starving again!!!  I just want a bowl of steel cut oats with apple and cinnamon and a coffee. 

I've noticed benefits from the Whole30 but I'm also sure I've gained weight. I was maybe 20lbs overweight to begin with but I'm sure it's gotten worse. And I'm still hungry all of the time. Maybe too many carb veggies, maybe too much fat. I'm not sure. My diet has very little processed foods in the first place, but too much homemade pancakes etc.  

Now I'm faced with a 12 hour night shift in a very busy ER where I'm sure there will be tons of chips, donuts, and candy that we use to keep us going at 4:00 am after another trauma rolls in the door. 

Bah!!  

[SugarcubeOD]

Sounds like you have a less than normal schedule so it's hard to say why you're starving all the time... maybe you can list out what you've been eating including portion sizes, meal times, water intake and we can see if we can help get things ironed out for you.  You're also near the part where people want to quit... Day 10 is 'the hardest day' on the timeline but perhaps you're a little behind the timeline and added to lack of sleep and potentially not eating enough, I can see why you feel bad.

Give us some more details and lets see what we can do to help!

[Jennybean1221]

Thanks for any and all help!!  It's going to be a tough night. I'm off for a few days after so fingers crossed it will get easier. I really want to stick with this and believe it will make a difference  just difficult to see it right now.

My eating is pretty varied depending on whether I'm working a day shift, a night shift, or a day off. For the day shift at 6:00 I eat a boiled egg and some fruit (I really can't manage more than this first thing in the morning). Between 8 and 10 I eat two more boiled eggs, a turkey sausage and maybe half a cup of potato or sweet potato. Lunch between 11 and 2 is maybe two cups of carrot, cabbage salad with tablespoon of home made mayo dressing, 4 oz chicken breast.  I have an afternoon break somewhere between 2 and 4 and typically eat an apple with two tbsp almond butter.  I have dinner between 4 and 6 which might be 2 cups of chilli with a handful of spinach or spaghetti squash. I get home around 7:45 and am sometimes really hungry and might eat a banana and a small handful of almonds.

 

Thanks again!!!

[SugarcubeOD]

Hey there Jenny;

It really does not look like you're eating enough. Eggs when they are your sole source of protein for a meal are as many as you can hold in one hand without dropping... 3-4 to start for most people.... if you don't want to eat that many eggs, try having the eggs AND sausage.  Eating a template meal within an hour of waking is going to go miles to help you... I know you say you 'can't' but that's because your hormones are probably out of whack (not surprising since you have a varied schedule).  Plate up a full template meal (including veggies 2-3 cups, full serving of protein at least and healthy fat).

Snacking is an indication that you are not eating enough so try and make inroads into combining that 6 am meal and 8am snack into a full template meal that will last you 4-5 hours.

I don't know what 4oz of chicken breast is in relation to your palm, but i do know since you're snacking, it's probably not enough.  Up the fat in that meal as well, that should help.

A handful of spinach is nothing so if that's your veg with your chili, that's not near enough and I don't see fat added to that meal.  Again, the fact that you're 'really hungry' tells me you're not eating enough. You really should not be starving on this plan.

If you do need to snack until you get this sorted, go for protein and fat (and ideally veggies) in a smaller serving than a meal... dried fruit and nuts, almond butter etc... is not your best choice, especially right before bed.

Stay the course tonight, you can do it. The one way to make sure you don't give in to cravings and frustration is to make sure you eat... if I ate what you eat, I would be ravenous and probably shiv someone for a donut... eat more, I promise it will make this easier!

[Jennybean1221]

Thanks so much for the tips!  I'll try making some modifications and see how it goes!