Day 15 and Extreme Irritability

[VandyFNP]

I'm on Day 15, and I am insanely irritable. I know the Timeline says everyone's experience will be a little different, but I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I was irritable yesterday and the day before as well, but it is much worse today. I'm about to go nuclear over things that normally probably wouldn't even bother me. I sort of breezed through the first week with very little problem in terms of the typical symptoms. I have no idea why, it's certainly not because I was super healthy before I started. I ate healthy foods, but lots of junk in addition to them, especially sugar. 

Anyway, I just put all three of my kids down for a nap, and I'm going to go do some yoga and try to get in a better frame of mind.

[ShannonM816]

Normally, most people are past the irritable, kill-all-the-things phase by day 15. Is there a chance this is not really related to food -- maybe hormonal stuff, depending on the time of the month? If it's that, it should pass soon.

We can't really say if it's related to what you're eating, unless you want to give us a run down of a couple of days' worth of food, including approximate portion sizes.

At a guess, I'd say make sure you're getting enough fat with your meals, and if you're not already, be sure you're having a fist-sized serving of starchy vegetables at least once a day -- sweet potatoes, potatoes, winter squashes like butternut or acorn squash, root vegetables like carrots or parsnips or turnips or rutabagas for instance.

[VandyFNP]

I honestly don't know. I have one year old twins, and my cycle has not come back yet. It didn't come back after my older son was born till he was 15 months old. It could be that, but I really can't say. 

The kids have all been fussy for days, and the littles haven't been sleeping well. Normally I feel like I would be coping with it better though. Maybe not being able to turn to my usual coping method, chocolate?

[Little_Ramona]

On 2/9/2017 at 0:04 PM, VandyFNP said:

I honestly don't know. I have one year old twins, and my cycle has not come back yet. It didn't come back after my older son was born till he was 15 months old. It could be that, but I really can't say. 

The kids have all been fussy for days, and the littles haven't been sleeping well. Normally I feel like I would be coping with it better though. Maybe not being able to turn to my usual coping method, chocolate?

Is there a way you could reframe this as a positive? Because I read it as a perfect W30 moment and a Non-Scale Victory if you are starting to see how you cope with stress using food. My W30 experience was choked full of startling revelations like this one.... Seeing for the first time how my mind works but not acting on it because I am committed to this plan for 30 days. It forced me to really examine my coping skills and strategize alternative ways to decompress.

Also, can I just say that you are totally awesome for mothering 3 humans, two of which came at the same time and are under 1 year old?!?! Let's just let that sink in for one moment because I am in awe of mothers like you. I have one child and get overwhelmed sometimes. I'm going to guess that you are like the rest of us and put your family first and might have a hard time taking time for yourself. Maybe you have friends or family that have offered to come watch the babies so you could go out? If you have a nanny maybe they can come a few extra hours this week? A pedicure? A lunch date with your husband? Or else toss those babes in a stroller and take the longest walk ever?

I do think this is a glorious moment in your W30! Best of luck to you!

[VandyFNP]

Thank you! My older son goes to preschool 3 days a week, and the twins go to Mother's Day Out on Wednesday, so that is my day to do exactly as I please.

The yoga helped immensely. Honestly, it was amazing how much better I felt. I already knew that chocolate was my coping mechanism, but it was definitely empowering to find an alternative. I think the yoga worked better than the chocolate!