Feeling Discouraged at Day 21

[AudreyRL406]

I'm a 23 year old living in The Midwest. I am on day 21 of my Whole30 and feeling for the first time like I need support to continue. Throughout the last few weeks I have been steadfast in following guidelines. Typically my meals include the following: 

Breakfast: 1 cup of black coffee, one piece of fruit, a handful of cashews or almonds 

Lunch: Salad with olive oil and vinegar or eggs with spiralized veggies 

Dinner: Lean beef or chicken paired with a vegetable or side of potatoes. 

Of course I mix things up a bit but this is the general idea. Sometimes I will not have time to eat breakfast due to my work schedule and just eat lunch and dinner, or sometimes just dinner. I only eat when I'm hungry and sometimes snack but only snack on nuts, fruit, or dehydrated vegetables and in small amounts. 

I should probably be drinking more water but try to drink a decent amount everyday. I live an active lifestyle teaching dance and gymnastics to kids and attending yoga and barre classes 2-3 times per week ( although last week I did not attend those classes) 

My stress level isn't great as I work two jobs and am attending classes in preparation for grad school. 

Now, at day 21 my energy has been really lagging. I am irritable and have noticed little to no change in my body. I haven't lost much weight and my clothes seem to fit the same as they always have. I am bloated and breaking out. I also haven't been sleeping well. I thought that by this point in my journey I would be feeling positive and excited but instead I just feel exhausted and discouraged. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to give up now! 

[ShannonM816]

Have you seen the meal template? For best results, make your meals match the template. You appear to be undereating, which is going to leave you tired.

Each meal should contain:

• 1-2 palm-sized portions of protein, the length, width, and height of your palm, or if eggs are your only protein, have as many whole eggs as you can hold in your hand
• 1-2 thumb-sized portions of fat, or 1/2 to a whole avocado, or a heaping handful of olives or coconut flakes, or 3-7 oz of full fat canned coconut milk, or occasionally a small handful of nuts. Often, much of the fat you cook in stays in the pan, and if you cook multiple servings at once, you have to consider that you're dividing that bit of fat up, so you almost always want to add at least one more serving of fat in addition to what you cook in, and maybe two servings.
• Fill you plate with vegetables. We say 1-3 cups sometimes, but the template actually says to fill the plate. Lots of vegetables. More vegetables than protein and fat. Any vegetables -- try to get in a mix of different types.
• Occasionally have some fruit if you want, but it's never required to have fruit if you don't want it.

Most people feel best if they have a fist-sized serving of starchy vegetables each day (like potato, sweet potato, winter squashes, plantains, or root vegetables). Some people, particularly those who are active, who are prone to depression or anxiety, or women who are pregnant, nursing, or in the week or so leading up to their period, often benefit from having more. A few people are fine with less. But start with making sure you get in one serving a day if you're not already.

For the next few days, make your meals look like this, and I bet you'll start to feel better. When you figure out how much to eat at a time, you'll find that you stay satisfied 4-5 hours at a time and don't need snacks between meal most of the time, though it may take you a few days to get the amounts figured out so you get to that point. If you do find yourself hungry between meals, try to have a combination of protein, fat, and vegetables, or at least two of the three.

 

[AudreyRL406]

Thank you for your help Shannon! I'll take you up on your suggestions. Any ideas as to why I am bloating though or having trouble with weight? I know the Whole30 is not about weight loss, but I suppose I expected to at least feel a bit lighter and healthier as appose to larger and heavier and bloated. I am confused what these symptoms have to do with under-eating, if thats where I'm getting tripped up. I'm more concerned with the feelings of heaviness and bloat I feel than with feeling tired. 

[Dreamlet]

You didn't mention which fruits and vegetables you are eating, but if you consume fruits/veggies that are high in FODMAP's that may cause bloating and discomfort.

Here's the low FODMAP shopping list: http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-shopping-list-FODMAP.pdf

Nuts can also cause bloating for some people. 

As far as the relationship to undereating, it's possible that low volume of food is slowing transit time, which can cause bloating. 

Try eating according to the meal template for a couple days and see if that helps. 

[Urnesha]

2 hours ago, AudreyRL406 said:

Thank you for your help Shannon! I'll take you up on your suggestions. Any ideas as to why I am bloating though or having trouble with weight? I know the Whole30 is not about weight loss, but I suppose I expected to at least feel a bit lighter and healthier as appose to larger and heavier and bloated. I am confused what these symptoms have to do with under-eating, if thats where I'm getting tripped up. I'm more concerned with the feelings of heaviness and bloat I feel than with feeling tired. 

It's also hard to lose weight if your calories have dropped by too much. Seems like your meals are very small (esp breakfast) and eating a good balance of protein, veggie and healthy fats within an hour of waking up is really important to get your metabolism going for the day. Have you read It Starts with Food?

[saraip]

@AudreyRL406 I'm feeling the same - this is my second Whole30 and I see no physical change...however, I think we have to view this as a long term change in our behaviour leading to a better and healthier lifestyle.  Keep our heads up and I'm positive that our bodies will change over time!

Good luck!