Help! Day 15 and Still Feel Terrible

[ilyssamich]

Help!

I decided to my third Whole30 right after New Years. Recently being diagnosed with fibromyalgia after having Gastroparesis for years I was certain that another round would help my extreme fatigue and horrible bloating that comes with both. While the joint swelling that I have experienced for awhile has definitely gotten better, this Whole30 just feels different for me. My second one was not nearly as difficult to get through as this one. I am currently on Day 15 and feel exactly the same as I did on Day 1. Even after sleeping 8 hours I wake up exhausted, I am still bloated and my head aches are almost worse than before.

Has anyone else experienced something similar on their Whoel30?

[Jaayimee]

Hi,

I feel like I could have written this. I have both of those too, the gastroparesis being the newer diagnosis for me, about 2 years ago. Sounds like it could be a fibro flare. I'm on round 1 day 23 and was just searching the forum for help on dealing with my gastroparesis while on the whole 30. Mine started flaring and I believe it's from all the veggies and the eating 3 times a day. Any hints?

[change4Meg]

I have no help to offer, but I can relate. I am on R1D23 and I feel terrible! I was diagnosed with FMS 20 years ago and I was hoping Whole30 would help with symptoms. I actually feel worse now than when I started. I eliminated eggs and am now considering going low fodmap. At this point I often feel physically ill after eating. I feel exhausted and just don't want to get out of bed. I struggle through the work day and to stay awake until I put my kids to bed. I had decided at the beginning to do a whole45, but now I'm not so sure I can make it through. Please let me know if it got better for you!

[KCoal]

I have fibromyalgia and this is my first time trying whole30. I've tried a few strict diets before and didn't seem to get any results. I'm on day 11 and feel AWFUL. My back hurts when I'm hungry(does this happen to anyone else?) and I've been hungry since I started. My husband is doing it with me and he's not hungry at all. Anyways, today my arms are hurting really bad and I can barely get off the couch. Just wondering if this is worth it or do I need to change something? 

[ShannonM816]

2 minutes ago, KCoal said:

I have fibromyalgia and this is my first time trying whole30. I've tried a few strict diets before and didn't seem to get any results. I'm on day 11 and feel AWFUL. My back hurts when I'm hungry(does this happen to anyone else?) and I've been hungry since I started. My husband is doing it with me and he's not hungry at all. Anyways, today my arms are hurting really bad and I can barely get off the couch. Just wondering if this is worth it or do I need to change something? 

Let's start with the hunger. You definitely don't need to be hungry. If you are hungry between meals (and hungry means you'd eat something boring, like plain grilled chicken and steamed broccoli, as opposed to those times when you think you're hungry, but boring food doesn't sound good, but you could really go for some chocolate or potato chips), eat. If you are consistently hungry, there's a good chance your meals aren't big enough. For each meal, you should be eating:

• 1-2 palm-sized portions of protein, the length, width, and height of your palm, or if eggs are your only protein, as many whole eggs as you can hold in one hand
• 1-2 portions of fat, in addition to what any oil you cook in -- so pick one or two from: a thumb-sized serving of oil/mayo/nut butter/etc., or a heaping handful of olives or coconut flakes, or 1/4 to 1/2 a can of full-fat coconut milk (the kind you'd cook with), or 1/2 to a whole avocado, or a small closed handful of nuts/seeds
• fill your plate up with veggies -- minimum 1 cup, aim for 2-3 or more at each meal
• occasionally some fruit if you want it, always eaten with a meal, not on its own, and try to mostly limit it to not more than two closed-fist-sized servings per day

It is okay to eat starchy vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips, carrots, plantains, or winter squashes like butternut or acorn squash. Most people do well with a fist-sized serving of starchy vegetables each day, but people who are very active, who are prone to depression or anxiety, or who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or in the week or so leading up to their period may need more.

All the recommendations for serving sizes on the template are a range. An adult human needs at least the minimum of the ranges listed, but it is fine to eat at the upper end of the range, and it's even okay to have more than the upper end of the range if you need it. 

In addition, be sure you're drinking plenty of water -- aim for 1/2 oz per pound of body weight, so a 120-lb person needs at least 60 oz. 

As for the pain, there are some foods that some people are sensitive to, that even though they're okay for Whole30, some people find they do better without. If you aren't already, I would recommend keeping a food diary, where you list what foods you have and then also note your pain level throughout the day (and anything else you want to track, like mood or sleep or energy levels), so you can see if any patterns show up -- they might be obvious, like every time you eat tomato sauce you have more pain, or they might be harder to spot because the pain doesn't happen immediately after eating a particular thing. The most likely type of foods to cause pain in people who are sensitive to them seem to be nightshades, which you can read about here: https://www.thepaleomom.com/what-are-nightshades/. I'm not saying you automatically need to cut those foods out, but pay attention, and if you see you're eating them at every meal, maybe try cutting back on them and see if you notice a difference. It's also possible it's some food other than these particular foods, or that it's not actually food-related at all -- this is just a particular group of foods that seems to cause joint pain issues in people sensitive to them, so it seems like a logical place to start looking.